The battle was over, and all the Konoha shinobi let out a sigh of relief.
But the reinforcements were still nowhere in sight.
Akimichi Torifu returned to normal and sat down on a rock, gasping for air.
"Torifu-san, what happened on this battlefield?"
"What about our defensive lines?"
Tsunade slowly walked over to Akimichi Torifu and began asking about the battle situation.
Hearing her questions, Akimichi Torifu sighed.
"From the border of the Land of Hot Water to the border of the Land of Fire, we established two defensive lines in total."
"They were manned separately by me and Shirakumo. But just earlier, Kumogakure launched a large-scale assault on the eastern front."
"The line was breached. To avoid mass casualties, I decisively ordered a retreat—dispersed withdrawal back to the second line of defense."
Tsunade nodded. She knew Shirakumo—one of Konoha's elite jōnin.
His swordsmanship was powerful, and he was a man of integrity. Though already over forty, he hadn't lost his edge.
Rumor even had it he recently had a child.
Wait, something didn't add up—if there was another line of defense, why hadn't she seen it on the way here?
"You're probably wondering—where's the final line of defense, right?"
Tsunade nodded.
Akimichi Torifu smiled and said:
"The final line of defense is actually the border itself. But that guy Shirakumo, wanting to better observe the Land of Fields, purposely stationed his camp in the western part of the Land of Hot Water. My original camp was in the east."
"We were stationed on opposite sides to guard against a surprise attack from Kumogakure."
"Looks like we'll have to make adjustments going forward."
Tsunade immediately understood. The Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Water shared a large border—it was impossible to defend all of it thoroughly.
Guarding the east and west was the most practical plan.
"What about personnel?"
Now that the camps were clarified, it was time to confirm troop deployment.
"Shirakumo's side had a few more people than mine—since it's closer to the Land of Fields, he had around 1,200 troops."
"I had 800. But in the previous battle, nearly 200 were killed."
"After the scattered retreat, I'm not sure of the exact numbers. I brought over just over a hundred, but we lost several dozen in the recent battle."
A trace of sorrow flashed across Akimichi Torifu's face.
Even though casualties were inevitable in war, it still pained him.
"What about reinforcements? How many arrived?"
"The situation here in the Land of Hot Water isn't great. Kumogakure's main forces are entering continuously. You saw Dōdai as well."
"He's a high-ranking officer of Kumogakure. If even he is here, you know what that means, Tsunade."
Tsunade nodded and glanced at Gekko Chizan beside her.
"The village sent me with 500 reinforcements, including elites from the Hyuga and other major clans."
"Don't worry. If Kumogakure wants a fight, we'll give them one!"
"For now, we should withdraw."
Now that Tsunade had arrived, she shared command of the operation.
The troops immediately changed direction and moved westward within the Land of Hot Water.
Within half a day, the entire force had regrouped.
The western base in the Land of Hot Water was still intact.
But the arrival of Konoha shinobi, many of them injured, made Shirakumo's face turn grim.
He knew this must have been Kumogakure's doing.
Soon after, Akimichi Torifu and Tsunade appeared before Shirakumo, and his anger turned to relief.
"Torifu, you're finally back."
"Tsunade, huh? So reinforcements have arrived."
"Excellent!"
All of Konoha's forces in the Land of Hot Water were now gathered.
The casualty report from Torifu's troops had also been compiled.
Out of the original 800, only 500 remained.
That was already a heavy loss.
Inside the meeting room, Gekko Chizan sat to the side—Tsunade had forcefully dragged him in.
"The conflict between Iwagakure and Kumogakure over the Land of Fields has ended."
"Now, Kumogakure will surely focus all efforts on attacking Konoha."
"Shirakumo-sama, I suggest we abandon the original base. The shared border between the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Fire is too large. Relying on fixed camps for defense, we won't be able to counter Kumogakure's surprise attacks effectively."
"Instead, we should move the base directly to the border of the Land of Fire and deploy scout outposts to monitor Kumogakure's movements. That way, we can better defend against the enemy."
Shirakumo nodded. He had originally stationed here to observe the Land of Fields.
Now that the conflict there had ended, he had no reason to stay.
"Since the Hokage sent you to the frontlines, you'll handle command from here."
"My blade has been itching for some time now."
Tsunade nodded—this was not the time to refuse.
She'd seen a hint of blood on the battlefield earlier, and her heart had begun to tremble again. Her hemophobia wasn't something that could be overcome overnight.
Even though she was forcing herself to deal with it, it would still take time.
"Chizan, head out first. Use your talent and Flying Thunder God to help us observe enemy movements."
Gekko Chizan had a bad feeling the moment he was called in...
He hadn't even warmed his seat before being assigned a task.
"Oh? Gekko Chizan from the Gekko clan, huh?"
"I've heard about you. A promising young man. Good—Konoha's next generation is coming into their own."
Shirakumo looked at Gekko Chizan with a faint smile. Clearly, even someone from his generation had heard of him.
"I got it, I got it. Here, I'm leaving this with you. Don't lose it, alright?"
"My life's in your hands now, Tsunade-sama!"
Gekko Chizan originally wanted to treat Tsunade's injuries too, but it looked like that would have to wait.
That's the downside of being intelligence personnel—always being sent out for recon. If you're not gathering intel, they use you as a sentry.
So annoying!
Setting down his kunai, Gekko Chizan disappeared from the meeting room with a Body Flicker.
"Hehehe, not a bad kid. One of Orochimaru's students, right?"
"Those two snakes he just summoned must've been his too."
Akimichi Torifu watched Gekko Chizan leave and gave his thoughts.
"Yeah, that brat's Orochimaru's student. Just as twisted as his teacher."
"Hmph, alright then. Let's start preparing for the move."
With Tsunade's order, they began moving out.
...
At the same time, Dōdai had already been carried back to Kumogakure's base in the Land of Hot Water.
On the battlefield, his miserable scream had immediately caught his comrades' attention.
Then they saw him spiral into the sky and crash to the ground unconscious.
Seeing their commander like that, the Kumogakure shinobi were stunned and quickly carried him away.
"What the hell happened?!"
"Why is Dōdai in this state?!"
Seeing Dōdai's condition, A—the Raikage's son—was instantly furious.
Killer Bee, standing beside him, looked at the unconscious, twitching Dōdai and quickly covered his mouth.
He was afraid he might burst out laughing...
...
A/N: Some readers previously suggested raiding Kirigakure for swords...
But thinking it over, those Seven Swords really don't suit the protagonist...
The sword he snatched from Orochimaru before actually looks way cooler.