At the front lines of the Land of Earth, inside a temporary war meeting room.
Danzo's face was so dark it seemed about to drip water. "Could someone tell me when that Four-Tails Jinchuriki entered the war? And why is he able to use the Tailed Beast Ball?"
Tatsuma Aburame chimed in, "This defeat, which caused major losses, was entirely due to the Intelligence Division's failure!"
Inoichi Yamanaka frowned. "The Intelligence Division does bear responsibility, but to say it's entirely our fault… Sorry, intelligence gathering has its limits too."
"Then it's a tactical mistake," Danzo continued. "If Seiki Shimaseki hadn't been assigned to the Rain Country battlefield, Commander Shige could've changed everything with the Flying Thunder God Technique!"
Rasa coldly stated, "Sending Seiki Shimaseki and Elder Chiyo to deal with Sanshouo Hanzo was the best choice possible. Replacing them with others would require at least twice their strength to achieve the same result!"
Tatsuma muttered sarcastically, "Kazekage-sama sure seems to understand Commander Shige quite well."
Pakura gave a disdainful smile. "I heard you jounin once said that anyone who could bring both sides together would be a hero. Hmm, what now, Hero? Not going to 'gugu' anymore, just trying to throw dirty water around?"
Tatsuma's eyes bulged. This bastard actually learned from Seiki Shimaseki how to shoot him down with his own words. "You! I…!"
Just as the verbal spat threatened to escalate into a physical fight, a familiar voice suddenly came from outside.
"Yo, this meeting really is lively!"
Everyone turned around to see Seiki Shimaseki and Elder Chiyo walking in one after another.
"Seiki, why are you here…" Inoichi asked, suddenly changing expression. "Don't tell me Hanzo broke through your blockade and already linked up with Iwagakure?"
Tatsuma immediately became energetic again. "Huh? Impossible, right? The battlefield commanded by the Commander wouldn't possibly…"
"Shut up, bratty kid!" Chiyo scolded sideways, "Do you think we're like you idiots dragging your feet and making a mess of things until you get crushed?"
Tatsuma twitched his mouth—this old hag was definitely unpleasant to be around.
Rasa then asked, "Elder Chiyo, did you win the war?"
Even though he was insulted as well, Rasa was used to being disliked and didn't care much.
Chiyo calmly replied, "Rain Country has already surrendered."
"Pu!"
"Cough!"
"Gulpgulp…"
A chorus of coughs, gasps, and spit-takes exploded across the room.
They thought they'd only won a single battle — so how come it's already time for surrender?
Rasa eyed her suspiciously. "Elder Chiyo, now isn't the time for jokes."
Chiyo lowered her eyelids lazily. "Now that Hanzo almost got killed, why would their surrender be so strange?"
Even Danzo couldn't stay calm this time. "What? That guy Hanzo actually nearly got taken out?"
Taking a deep breath, Rasa asked, "Elder Chiyo, exactly what happened back there?"
Chiyo wore an annoyed look and simply said, "Just a back-and-forth slugfest. And then that brat took him down."
"
Hearing Chiyo's vague description, everyone was momentarily speechless. Who in the world fights with sounds like *wham-wham*?
Noticing the gazes directed at him, Seiki gave a modest smile. "Although there was some luck involved, Hanzo was indeed defeated by Elder Chiyo and I."
As Seiki spoke these words, a sharp intake of breath filled the meeting room.
Then, their expressions toward Seiki turned unusual.
He had only just arrived at the Western Front camp days ago, yet he had already defeated Danzo, a high-ranking elder of Root. Those from Sunagakure knew even more—Seiki had also beaten Red-Sand Sasori and [The Puppet Kazekage]. Was this guy some kind of Legend-Breaker?
Fugaku couldn't help but praise, "With news of Lord Seiki defeating Hanzo, we can surely minimize the negative impact from our recent defeat!"
Inoichi Yamanaka nodded in agreement, "Given Sanshouo Hanzo's reputation, once word gets out, it'll crush the morale of the hired mercenaries under Tsuchikage's command!"
Tatsuma Aburame chuckled dryly and corrected, "Shouldn't we say Lord Seiki and Elder Chiyo jointly defeated Sanshouo Hanzo?"
Fugaku realized his mistake, "My apologies... I overlooked that part."
Chiyo, however, waved off the matter indifferently. "An old woman like me merely provided some cover. Including me would invite ridicule. Besides, Sunagakure owes him a major debt this time. Don't make me become someone others point fingers at behind my back!"
Rasa frowned in confusion, "Major debt?"
Chiyo explained, "Wasn't it that old bastard Hanzo got too carried away playing with poisons, causing one-third of all shinobi on the battlefield to get poisoned? This young man used [Slug Jutsu] to teleport chakra from afar, rescuing both Leaf and Sand ninjas."
"Lord Seiki, as for expressing gratitude..." Rasa started emotionally, then suddenly widened his eyes. "Wait, you could still defeat Hanzo after doing that?"
The rest stared at Seiki with near terror. Rescuing nearly half the battlefield's shinobi and still beating Hanzo? That was superhuman!
Tatsuma secretly felt shocked, thinking to himself, "This brat's power and prestige are growing rapidly. If I keep provoking him like this, will I endanger Lord Danzo?"
Danzo was also feeling uneasy inside. "How come this kid feels much more difficult to deal with than Hiruzen? At this rate, will I forever remain a mere deputy?"
Just when Seiki was about to modestly add something else, an intelligence ninja rushed over to report, "Lord Seiki, Danzo-sama—the Tsuchikage has launched an attack with Iwagakure's full army!"
"He dares launch another offensive?" Danzo sneered coldly and asked, "How many troops have they sent?"
"Impossible to tell exactly—just a massive number!" the intelligence ninja said anxiously. "At least fifteen thousand!"
"What?! Why so sudden?"
"Has the old Tsuchikage finally gone mad? Starting a decisive battle just like that?!"
Everyone present was incredulous—didn't every major battle always start with probes and tests? Who launches an all-in assault right at the beginning?
Rubbing his fingertips, Seiki mused, "They're probably worried that Rain Country's defeat will spark panic and division, so they've moved up their general assault, planning to wear us down with mercenaries and rogue ninjas!
Their expressions turned serious. After all, if they could come up with a plan, you can be sure the Tsuchikage already thought of it.
If Iwagakure refused to let those mercenaries and rogue ninja become a potential threat, the best solution was to make them useful in advance.
"Hmph! Onoki is indeed ruthless!" Danzo sneered.
The jonin present exchanged awkward glances. Danzo, aren't you the last person qualified to say that?
Seiki tapped on the table to get them to look at him. "Iwagakure moved too quickly. We don't have enough time to adjust our tactics significantly, so you should continue with the original deployment."
"As for me... with me here, that Four-Tails jinchuriki won't dare go all out using his Tailed Beast Ball. But just to be cautious, I'll take responsibility for dealing with him."
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