Konoha, within the Hokage's office building.
"Hokage-sama, urgent intelligence has arrived." An Anbu ninja announced, materializing in the room.
"Is it about the three battlefields?" Sarutobi Hiruzen set his pipe down on the desk, his senses perpetually sharpened for this war.
"No, it concerns Kirigakure." The Anbu ninja replied.
"Kirigakure?" Hiruzen's expression shifted slightly. "Hand me the report."
"Yes, Hokage-sama." The Anbu ninja presented a sealed letter to Hiruzen.
"You're dismissed." Hiruzen waved, and the Anbu ninja vanished from the office.
"Kirigakure." Hiruzen muttered, a sense of foreboding settling in.
Surrounded by sea, Kirigakure's actions were harder for Konoha to track compared to other ninja villages. With three major villages already attacking the Land of Fire, any move from Kirigakure could mean they were preparing to join the fray.
Hiruzen opened the letter, his eyes scanning the contents. As moments passed, his face grew graver. The situation was as dire as he feared, and urgency gripped him.
Kirigakure had dispatched over a thousand advance troops toward the Land of Fire, nearing its borders. Due to the village's isolation, intelligence leaked slowly, and by the time this report reached Konoha, the threat was imminent.
This battle with Kirigakure would likely unfold at the Land of Fire's border.
Konoha had no choice but to send reinforcements. If Kirigakure's ninja broke through unchecked, the devastation to the Land of Fire would be catastrophic, with its many towns caught in the crossfire.
"What to do?" Hiruzen's gaze turned contemplative. After a moment, he made his decision: mobilize ninjas from the three major battlefields to reinforce the border. These seasoned fighters would be best equipped for the task.
As for the three battlefields, Konoha would continue dispatching additional ninja to support them. Such actions were routine in war, where ninja casualties were commonplace, victory or not.
Too often, grieving ninja or their families mourned loved ones lost in this Shinobi World War, sacrificed for Konoha and the Land of Fire.
Hiruzen swiftly penned three letters, directing them to the three battlefields with orders to send ninja to the Land of Fire's border to repel Kirigakure's advance.
He also arranged for more Konoha ninja to reinforce the existing battlefields. While Kirigakure's attack was a pressing threat, neglecting the other fronts could spell disaster for Konoha.
Konoha was now fighting four major ninja villages simultaneously, an unprecedented crisis since the village's founding. A single misstep could doom the Land of Fire.
Even the Land of Fire's Daimyo was shaken, fully committing resources, money and supplies, to support Konoha. The fates of Konoha and the Land of Fire were intertwined. If Konoha fell, the Daimyo's title would be meaningless, and he risked death at the hands of other nations' ninja, who would carve up the Land of Fire.
Whatever Konoha needed, the Daimyo provided, all for the sake of victory in this war.
…
At the Kikyo Mountain battlefield.
Jiraiya received the intelligence about Kirigakure and Hiruzen's orders. He quickly gathered the jonin of the battlefield.
"I've received word from Konoha regarding Kirigakure." Jiraiya said, his expression heavy.
Seeing Jiraiya's demeanor, the Konoha ninja felt a knot in their stomachs. With three major ninja villages already attacking, Kirigakure was the missing piece.
In truth, neither Konoha nor the other villages had paid much attention to Kirigakure. Its isolation and self-sufficiency, coupled with its current state as the "Blood Kirigakure." where ninja promotions hinged on brutal combat, kept it apart. Their rare participation in the Chunin Exams had puzzled Konoha and others, a fleeting moment of openness before reverting to their closed ways. The other four villages had since ignored Kirigakure.
Jiraiya shared the news of Kirigakure's invasion, stunning the Konoha ninja. The idea of Kirigakure invading the Land of Fire was unthinkable. One village facing four others was unprecedented.
"Just me?" Nara Shikaku asked. With Kirigakure's invasion, pulling too many ninja from this battlefield wasn't feasible, and a small force against a large number of Kiri-nin seemed impossible.
"Don't worry." Jiraiya said with a smile. "The other two battlefields will send support, led by familiar faces."
"Familiar?" The Konoha ninja exchanged glances. They knew most of the ninja from the other battlefields, but Jiraiya's words were vague.
"They came from this battlefield." Jiraiya hinted.
"Could it be…" Shikaku's mind raced, recalling past comrades.
"Some of you may have guessed." Jiraiya continued. "Minato will lead support against the Iwa-nin, and Tengen will lead forces against the Kumo-nin."
"Minato, Tengen." The Konoha ninja murmured, realization dawning.
"Understood, Jiraiya-sama. I'll assemble the troops and depart immediately." Shikaku said.
Moments later, a large force left the battlefield, crossing the Land of Fire to halt Kirigakure's advance.
***
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