Tsunade was absolutely certain that something was seriously wrong with Uchiha Itachi's physical condition!
As the world's foremost medical ninja, Tsunade could guarantee that Uchiha Itachi wouldn't live for many more years, and that was her trying to be optimistic about his prognosis.
But she couldn't shake the feeling that Uchiha Itachi had no genuine desire to continue living at all.
The man seemed to be actively seeking death!
Or perhaps he was actually looking forward to its arrival?
This was also the primary reason why Tsunade had so easily agreed to help arrange a meeting between the two Uchiha brothers.
Just as Tsunade was still contemplating these troubling thoughts, the thick concealing fog suddenly began to shift and change.
"Ice Release: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!"
"BOOM!"
The dense mist rapidly contracted, and large areas of the battlefield became visible once again.
The fog then condensed into water droplets, which quickly transformed into ice crystals, soon forming a vast frozen field that trapped everyone in the immediate vicinity!
A cold wind swept across the area, and despite it being midsummer, the temperature became freezing.
Now that everyone had regained their vision, they could see Momochi Zabuza coughing up blood and collapsing to the ground. Might Guy's fist was descending toward him for another devastating blow, but at that critical moment, Haku gasped with exhaustion and managed to freeze Guy solid within a pillar of ice.
"Ice Release?"
Tsunade looked down at the ice field spreading beneath her feet with genuine surprise. The ice crystals were binding her ankles. Although the restraining force wasn't particularly strong, there was a constant chill spreading from her feet throughout her entire body.
Therefore, if someone remained bound by these ice crystals for too long, their body would definitely suffer serious internal damage from the extreme cold.
Any kekkei genkai in the ninja world deserved tremendous respect and caution!
"We're leaving!"
Uchiha Itachi appeared beside Haku and Zabuza, helping the exhausted Haku lift the gasping, wounded Zabuza. The three of them quickly departed from the battlefield.
"CRACK!"
There was a sharp, crystalline sound - the noise of ice shattering.
Might Guy suddenly broke free from his frozen prison with blazing chakra, looked in the direction where Uchiha Itachi and his companions had fled, roared with fury, and prepared to give chase.
"That's enough! Stop pursuing them!"
At this point, the others had also easily broken free from their ice crystal restraints. Tsunade gave a commanding order, and everyone had to abandon their plans to chase the fleeing enemies.
"The village's defenses have been compromised, so there's no need to pursue them. We can't risk other security gaps that enemies could exploit to infiltrate the village!"
"Everyone maintain your positions!"
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
"Guy! Take Kakashi to the hospital, and you should get a medical examination as well!"
"No problem!"
Everyone present immediately sprang into action. Those requiring medical attention headed to the hospital, those responsible for protecting the Hokage continued their duties, and those assigned to village security remained vigilant.
At this time, many additional ninja from throughout Konoha Village had arrived at the scene. After learning that the enemy had been repelled and that casualties were minimal, everyone gradually dispersed.
Return to the Front Lines
Shihouin Naraku, observing from his position hidden within the clouds, saw that the excitement had concluded and prepared to return to the front lines.
"Zabuza will definitely die from those injuries!"
"But Haku's Ice Release abilities are truly impressive. He definitely couldn't have executed that large-scale technique in the original timeline. So Akatsuki must value Haku's potential enough to provide him with special training."
Stroking his chin thoughtfully, Shihouin Naraku concentrated his chakra. Dragon energy erupted from the Sky Comet Dragon's wings as red light blazed forth, and they shot away like a dazzling meteor.
The journey from Konoha Village to the border of the Land of Lightning took only a few minutes at the dragon's tremendous speed.
Naraku didn't want the Sky Comet Dragon to fly directly into the Konoha encampment, as that would certainly cause misunderstandings and chaos among his forces. Instead, he signaled for the dragon to stop in mid-air.
"Return to your realm!"
Reaching out to pat the Sky Comet Dragon affectionately several times, Naraku leaped directly downward. The Sky Comet Dragon roared farewell as red light flashed, and it vanished completely from the sky.
"WHOOSH!"
Shihouin Naraku landed silently outside the Konoha encampment and walked toward the command area.
"Lord Naraku!"
"Naraku-sama!"
Obviously, Naraku, who had led the ninja forces to decisive victory, had earned everyone's unanimous recognition and respect. This was the fastest way to gain genuine prestige among military forces.
Of course, the primary requirement was actually achieving victory!
Among the five great nations in the ninja world, commanders capable of leading large ninja armies in successful warfare were extremely rare talents. Each hidden village possessed only a handful of such exceptional leaders.
Such abilities truly deserved everyone's respect and admiration!
Intelligence Reports
"Naraku, I was just about to send someone to find you!"
The moment Shihouin Naraku entered the command center, Nara Shikaku handed him an urgent intelligence scroll.
"What's the situation?"
"This is information from our intelligence network. News of the Two-Tails Jinchuriki's death, Cloud ninja's defeat, and our occupation of Lightning Country territory has reached the Hidden Cloud Village. The Raikage is absolutely furious and has assembled his forces for immediate deployment!"
"According to our timeline estimates, the vanguard troops led by the Raikage himself will arrive at the border by noon tomorrow!"
Naraku nodded and examined the intelligence report carefully, suddenly finding himself amused. "The Raikage said he would never retreat until he personally cut off my head?"
Nara Shikaku explained, "This is what the Raikage declared under oath in front of numerous civilians in the Hidden Cloud Village. It should be completely accurate."
"No, I don't doubt the authenticity of this information," Naraku said, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "It seems the Raikage is genuinely enraged, or he wouldn't make such a public declaration."
"What's your assessment? Should we retreat back to the Land of Hot Water? In such a short timeframe, there are numerous vulnerabilities in the defensive installations along Lightning Country's border. It will be extremely difficult to address all of them with our current troop numbers."
The defensive measures at the Lightning Country border were designed to prevent external invasions, not internal attacks from forces that had already penetrated the perimeter.
Although the Konoha forces had captured these facilities, they couldn't effectively use them to defend against attacks from the Hidden Cloud Village.
So Nara Shikaku's meaning was straightforward: abandon these currently useless installations along Lightning Country's border and utilize the established positions and strongholds in the Land of Hot Water for defensive operations, thereby reducing Konoha casualties.
This was also the consensus opinion among most of the staff officers, primarily because everyone was unfamiliar with Lightning Country's terrain, and their supply lines had become dangerously extended. If Cloud forces launched surprise attacks, it could result in catastrophic losses.
Therefore, the greater one's tactical advantage, the more cautious one should become.
Many wars had been lost due to seemingly insignificant details like these.
The Bold Strategy
"No!"
Shihouin Naraku shook his head firmly, rejecting the proposal. "I'm not skilled at defensive warfare - I prefer offensive operations! We must never stop attacking!"
Nara Shikaku frowned with concern. He somewhat disapproved of continuing aggressive operations, but since Naraku was the supreme field commander, he could only offer subtle suggestions.
"So where exactly do you intend to attack?"
Naraku walked to the strategic map and pointed his finger at a specific location.
"Here!"
"Thunder Gorge?!"
Nara Shikaku was genuinely confused, because this canyon contained the most complete defensive installations and the largest concentration of troops in all of the Hidden Cloud Village's territory.
"Thunder Gorge is incredibly easy to defend but nearly impossible to attack! Additionally, the Hidden Cloud Village has been maintaining and improving it for many years. If we want to capture this position, we must be prepared to sacrifice our entire military force."
"I understand your strategic thinking. If we can take Thunder Gorge, there won't be any additional obstacles in our path. But the fundamental problem is that we simply cannot capture Thunder Gorge!"
Thunder Gorge was an extremely dangerous mountain pass along the Lightning Country border. Although it was indeed easy to defend and difficult to attack, capturing this pass would leave the rear territory completely exposed, with no terrain features that could hinder advancing enemy forces.
Thunder Gorge was a unique geographical feature of the Land of Lightning, and the Hidden Cloud Village fully understood that if this position was breached, the losses to their homeland would be absolutely devastating. Consequently, they had established perfect defensive measures at the Thunder Gorge pass and deployed large numbers of elite ninja for its protection.
Even though Konoha Village had successfully broken through the border defenses of Lightning Country, the ninja forces stationed at Thunder Gorge had made no moves whatsoever and showed no intention of leaving to expel the Konoha forces.
Because their mission was to defend Thunder Gorge at all costs, they couldn't abandon their posts even if the outer border defenses had been compromised!
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