The Land of Frost lay to the northeast of the Land of Fire, where snowstorms raged all year round. Most of the region was desolate, uninhabitable. It lacked any military force of its own. However, due to its location—bordering the sea and serving as the only land passage from the Land of Lightning to the Land of Fire—its geographic adversity ironically gave it immense military and economic significance.
At this moment, Sakura and her group had already left Konoha three days ago and had successfully arrived at the frontline camp under Jiraiya's command.
Sakura, wrapped in a heavy brown cloak, trudged through the snow, her boots crunching loudly beneath her with each step. The snow reached almost to her calves. She looked down, lost in thought.
That the Land of Lightning would launch an offensive against Konoha—this came as no surprise to her.
The Land of Lightning was composed of treacherous cliffs and narrow plateaus. There was very little arable land, much like the Lands of Wind and Earth, forcing them to rely heavily on food imports for survival.
Due to her manipulations—and Kumogakure's near-militant expansionist policies—the situation in the Land of Lightning had become even more dire than that of Sunagakure or Iwagakure.
The vast number of soldiers they maintained consumed terrifying amounts of food daily. Their only leverage was their arsenal of weapons and military strength.
What could they do when their supplies ran low?
Simple: steal from others.
In fact, Kumogakure's behavior had always been consistent with its policies.
Their shinobi were built like tanks—broad shoulders, towering statures, and incredible muscle. But to see them as simple-minded brutes was a mistake only fools made. Their cunning could easily rival the most seasoned tacticians, and historically, Kumogakure had always been one of Konoha's greatest threats.
Just ten years ago, they had tried to kidnap Hinata under the guise of a peace treaty. They did this confident that Konoha wouldn't dare retaliate, even flipping the blame to act like the victim.
Think about it—this was after the war had supposedly ended. To stir up such trouble during a ceasefire? It wasn't just about the Byakugan. Kumogakure clearly had no intention of allowing the peace to last.
And if you looked back further in time—after the Second Great Ninja War but before the Third—Kumogakure had once even attempted to steal away the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.
They almost succeeded too, if not for the intervention of Namikaze Minato.
Had they succeeded, Naruto's skin might've ended up a different shade entirely.
Now, with Sakura having maneuvered her way into controlling the Land of Lightning's critical resources, how could they possibly sit still?
War was the most natural response for them.
Back in the day, the Third Raikage single-handedly held off ten thousand Iwagakure troops, a feat that became legend.
But that glory came with consequences. Kumogakure's military numbers had swelled far beyond what they could afford to feed.
They had no choice but to seek opportunities outside their borders.
A thought crossed Sakura's mind—somewhat dark, yet entirely plausible.
Perhaps Kumogakure had too many mouths to feed, and now they were sending troops to die in battle, just to reduce the burden back home?
She looked up at the tall pines beside her and kicked one forcefully. Snow showered down, covering her head and cloak.
"I didn't expect you to be so childish, Sakura."
Kakashi leaned lazily against a nearby tree, arms crossed as he watched her with a half-smile.
Seeing the look in Kakashi's visible eye, clearly finding her amusing, Sakura walked over and gave the tree he was leaning on a hard kick.
Snow rained down onto Kakashi, covering him in white.
With his trademark dead-fish eye, Kakashi glanced at the now-laughing Sakura in resignation.
Heh. In her previous life, growing up in the warm south, she'd never seen this much snow.
Brushing off the flakes, Sakura bent down to scoop a handful of snow. She packed it into a ball and hurled it straight at Kakashi.
He dodged easily with a flicker, letting the snowball strike someone walking toward them—someone with dark hair.
Sasuke took the snowball full in the face.
Although he looked momentarily annoyed, the irritation quickly melted when he saw the pink-haired girl not far away, snickering behind her cloak.
Wiping the snow off his face, Sasuke gave the two of them a long look and said calmly:
"Jiraiya's looking for you."
—
In the command tent at the Frost-Fire Frontline
Jiraiya, wrapped in thick furs, sat beside the brazier, staring intently at the sweet potatoes roasting over the coals.
Aside from him, two or three other individuals were seated—mostly officers and squad leaders stationed along the border.
The tent flap suddenly lifted, letting in a gust of frigid wind that cleared the drowsiness from their eyes.
"Ahhh, sorry, sorry. We're late."
Kakashi's lone exposed eye curved into a crescent as he spoke apologetically, though his tone hardly conveyed any actual regret.
"No worries. It's not urgent."
Jiraiya waved his hand dismissively and used a stick to poke at the roasting potatoes.
"Actually, you're right on time. A few more minutes and these'll be ready."
The others didn't complain. The atmosphere was relaxed, if a little tense with anticipation.
Sakura peeked out from behind Kakashi and scanned the tent.
Aside from Jiraiya, all the faces were unfamiliar. These were probably long-term border commanders.
To her surprise, Bai Yunzao was among them.
Wasn't he supposed to be stationed on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Grass?
One of the commanders looked curiously at Sakura, clearly surprised to see someone so young at a military meeting.
They had been stationed on the border for years and didn't know much about the new generation in Konoha.
"Oh, this is my junior, Haruno Sakura. Don't let her age fool you—she's sharper than I am."
Jiraiya introduced her casually, eyes still fixed on the roasting food.
Before taking this command post, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already explained the situation in detail—this war that now involved four great nations.
Though he didn't approve of Sakura's methods, the die was cast. Even if he wanted to stop it, he couldn't.
"So she's the Hokage's apprentice."
Upon learning her identity, the others softened considerably in their demeanor toward her.
Sakura responded with polite humility and sat quietly beside Kakashi.
"Ahem. Now that everyone's here, let's get started."
"Any thoughts on how we proceed?"
Jiraiya glanced briefly at Sakura before shifting his gaze to Kakashi, clearly assigning him the task of starting the discussion.
So far, Kumogakure had launched only minor skirmishes, all of which Konoha had easily repelled. Then… silence.
An eerie quiet for a nation supposedly initiating war.
Warfare—this is no trivial matter for any nation.
Everyone looked at each other. No one volunteered to speak first.
Jiraiya's eyes narrowed lazily. He looked at Kakashi again.
"You. Kakashi. Say something."
Caught off guard, Kakashi hesitated. Then, after thinking for a moment, he began:
"Well… I believe we should wait and see. Let them act first."
"Let's hold our ground and adapt accordingly. After all, this is their war. They're the ones in a hurry…"
(End of Chapter)
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