- Commander, a message from the Raikage! - flew into the tent, a short but very broad shinobi dressed in the standard Kumogakure jonin uniform, except for the kirata armor, used mostly only in times of war.
- What is it, Takeda?
Irui Tinagi, commander of the strike group stationed on the coast of Haran Bay, whose purpose was to serve as a strike fist that would serve as a distraction to draw Leaf's attention away from the approach of Cloud's main forces, set aside the documents he was checking and turned to his deputy.
- The order to move out! - The man grinned bloodthirstily.
Accepting the scroll, Irui unfolded it and ran his gaze over the columns of short text and mirrored his subordinate's expression, gaining a very intimidating look - completely bald and with a pair of lacerated scars on the left side of his face, the jonin could scare the pants off children just by smiling.
- Get the men up, Takeda, it's time to pluck the Leaf while our forces are gathering," Tinagi ordered his subordinate, crumpling the paper and sizzling it with a flash of lightning in his hand, "I'll leave at midnight.
Preliminary plans had long been drawn up by Kumo's strategists - the strike force was to cross Haran Bay and moving along the islands of the Land of Waves, enter the enemy territory from the coast.
Intelligence reported that Konoha's border forces were increasing, but a hundred experienced jonins, supported by two hundred chunin and tokubetsu jonins, would easily displace them, diverting attention from the main strike that would go through the territory of the Hot Springs.
The fact that the two small countries were on the side of Kaminari no Kuni this time, having been bought up at the root while paying lip service to their former allies, was a closely guarded secret, and such an operation was intended to confirm Cloud's use of the path of least resistance in delivering troops.
If the enemy decided that the main strike would be made from the sea side rather than by land, it would serve as a very significant advantage in the war that was beginning.
Yes, the strike group was taking extreme risks in order to draw out the main Konoha forces and the projected survival rate was very low, but not only had all the fighters been in the last war and had extensive battle experience, each of the kunoichi and shinobi under Irui was a volunteer who knew exactly what he was signing up for.
- It will be done, Tanagi-san! - The subordinate bowed and sprinted out of the tent, and a moment later his voice was heard outside, issuing commands to the men who had been in the camouflaged camp for weeks now and were mostly idle.
- It has begun," the commander whispered, alone.
He had been waiting for this moment for years, since the end of the Second Shinobi World War. Thanks to the massive losses during the assault on Uzushiogakure, Kumogakure was in a precarious position, sometimes throwing even recently promoted chunin into the fray in an effort to stop or at least slow down Konoha's onslaught, and Irui had lost a son in the process. He had something to remind the flyers of, even if he had to sacrifice his life to do so.
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