[Iwagakure Council Room]
The stone table trembled as Elder Hishin slammed his fist down. "Deploying the jinchūriki? Reckless! The boy's barely mastered the tailed beast! One misstep and he'll turn on our own army!" His gravelly voice echoed off the cavernous walls.
Elder Mokoto leaned forward, her knuckles white on the armrest. "This reeks of desperation, Onoki. Since when does Iwagakure rely on children to fight its wars? Your leadership is crumbling. First the supply lines, now this?"
Onoki hovered above his seat, fists clenched. A vein pulsed at his temple. "Crumbling? You cling to scrolls and dusty traditions while our men bleed! Ishizo's forces are starving. Konoha's ghosts pick us apart. What's your plan? Sit here until Earth Country burns?"
Hishin snorted. "Ghosts? A handful of Konoha rogues—"
"—who've butchered thirteen convoys!" Onoki's voice cracked like a whip. "You think Hiruzen's the only monster in their ranks? Whatever's out there… it's not just rogues. Sensors can't track it. Escorts vanish. We need raw power to crush this threat—now!"
Obviously, the elders were uneasy. Granted, the situation on the western front made them cower in fear, but Onoki's growing influence after becoming the third Tsuchikage made them even more fearful. His aggressive policies on clan's supremacy had made them all into enemies.
Mokoto scoffed. "Raw power? The Fourth Tail's a wildfire. Unleash it, and we risk losing the boy and the beast. Konoha's shinobi would salivate to steal it. Or have you forgotten Uzushiogakure's seals are dust?"
Onoki's gaze darkened. "The jinchūriki is mine to command. He's been trained. He'll hold."
"Trained?" Hishin barked a laugh. "You mean beaten into submission. The boy's a bomb. One flicker of rage, and—"
Onoki let his aura wild. The others gasped
"And what? Let Ishizo's legion die?" Onoki drifted higher, looming over the elders. "You whisper of 'tradition' while shinobi starve. You fear risk? War is risk. Or would you rather kneel to Konoha's shadow?"
Silence fell. Kurotsuchi exchanged a glance with Hishin before muttering, "The council will not endorse this."
"Good thing I don't need your endorsement," Onoki snapped, landing with a thud. "I am Tsuchikage. The jinchūriki mobilizes at dawn. Pray his wrath falls on Konoha… not you."
As he stormed out, the elders' protests chased him
"You can't do this!"
"The council will remember!"
"This is no way to command! You will regret this. Do you hear, Onoki? You will regret this!"
===
[Western Front, Iwagakure Borders]
"Have you heard from the village's reinforcements? This is the thirteenth convoy missing in the past two months!", Ishizō fumed with rage
Ishizo had the battlefield in the palm of his hands, until two months ago, that is. Known as the stone titan, he was superior in strength to the Akimichi patriarch, and this fundamental difference allowed him to gain the upper hands.
Additionally, the village had been supplying him with reinforcements, allowing his men to recover and be drafted in a continuous cycle, whereas Konohagakure had to conserve its strength, hoping for another battlefield to end and help them.
However, everything went into the drain two months ago. Reinforcements were cut off, and with only a tenth of supplies coming onto the battlefield, Ishizo had no choice but refrain from charging repeatedly the Konhagakure settlement. The Nara clan was known for its intellect, and they had understood their predicament, adopting a more defensive stance. The one attacking was losing twice the men compared to their opponents, causing a stalemate to fall onto the battlefield, with no party breaking the status quo.
The Iwagakure supply routes, however, were getting annihilated, no matter how strong the escorts were. At some point, Oniki decided to slow down the rate at which he sent reinforcements, as they always disappeared.
Ishizo continued: "What did the investigation team say?"
The iwagakure ANBU, wearing a fox mask, stuttered: "Euh...They never returned, sir! Based on the commotions and fumed, it seems like the party that has been attacking our supply routes struck again! Their efficiency is terrifying! Our sensors did not spot them at all..."
"Even if we could pinpoint their location, they would just disappear. Last time we tried to chase them, we ended up losing a third of our forces in skirmishes without even claiming the life of one of them. Worst still, Konoha used this as an opportunity to push us back to the lands of Earth...", Ishizo
"Are they Konohagakure ANBU? Even a group of ten jonins should be insufficient to cut our supplies. At least, they would leave a trace. Hiruzen has been spotted on the Eastern front too, so it can't be him...", an iwagakure jonin spoke
"It does not matter. At this rate, we will be drained from all forces. I sent an urgent message to the Tsuchikage. He agreed to summon the fourth-tail jinchuriki. Although he is still young, he should be strong enough to deal with Konohagakure's finest jonins. Unless Hiruzen comes down to this battlefield himself, we will get our supplies, and the stalemate will finally be broken!", Ishizo laughed