The Land of Wind was the largest among the Five Great Ninja Nations, yet its economic power ranked the weakest.
Although vast in territory, most of the land was desert, resulting in low agricultural output.
Its people built villages around scattered desert oases, and the population was actually quite dense. Many years ago, after the Five Kage Summit, the Land of Wind began significant trade with the Land of Fire, thus improving its economy.
However, during the period before the outbreak of the Second Great Ninja War, tensions rose among the Five Great Ninja Nations, and this trade was forcibly cut off. To this day, the economic damage to the entire Land of Wind remained severe.
Endless stretches of desert, winds howling fiercely and raising swirling sands.
[Sh sha!]
Over two thousand Konoha ninjas advanced steadily across this desert.
Having completely gained control over the battlefield in the Land of Rain, Konoha had no interest in invading other countries.
But because the Sunagakure forces from the Land of Wind had used despicable tactics twice against them, the Third Hokage could endure no longer.
Therefore, this war, though seemingly an invasion of another country, was actually aimed at demonstrating the authority of Konoha—recognized as the top village among the Five Great Ninja Nations.
A country—especially a strong one—can't afford to let its pride slip, or others will see it as weak.
That absolutely could not be allowed.
This time, Hiashi Hyuga had not only brought more than two thousand ninja, but also sufficient supplies for a prolonged campaign. Unlike in the Land of Rain, the frontline here would be much longer.
As the war progressed deeper into the Land of Wind, transporting provisions became extremely difficult.
Gradually, night fell.
Across the vast desert, clusters of campfires lit up the darkness.
In the temporary command tent, Minato handed a newly arrived intelligence scroll—delivered by a toad from Mount Myoboku—to Tsunade, then stepped out.
Tsunade immediately spread the scroll across the table before her. Sakumo and the others, from different angles, read the contents clearly.
After Hiashi, Tsunade, and the others finished reading the scroll, their eyes flickered slightly.
Because what it reported was that Cloud Ninja forces had crossed the barren wasteland and invaded the Land of Earth.
It seemed the Third Tsuchikage had anticipated this move; Iwa Ninja units set up defenses along the border line and successfully resisted the Cloud's advance thanks to favorable terrain advantages.
The two nations' ninja forces had now begun direct confrontations. Despite Iwa's preparation, they still suffered defeat.
This wasn't particularly surprising. After all, Daichi himself—one of Iwa's most powerful warriors—had fallen in the Land of Rain. Though Iwa possessed more elite warriors than just Daichi alone, compared to the fully rested and unexhausted forces of Kumogakure—which hadn't participated in the previous battle in the Land of Rain—Iwa appeared comparatively weaker.
Moreover, the Third Raikage's son apparently shined in this battle against the Iwa forces, taking down several of their top warriors.
"The fact that Iwa and Cloud are clashing works in our favor."
Orochimaru chuckled. Although many had predicted this outcome, the speed at which Iwa had collapsed was still surprisingly fast.
Within just a few days, the Iwa forces had been driven back into their own borders, allowing Kumo to seize control of the border regions.
Once that happened, Kumogakure could continuously dispatch reinforcements and launch a full-scale offensive against the Land of Earth.
"He must be furious in his office right now," Hiashi Hyuga said with a faint smile. "He likely despises Konoha with all his heart."
Tsunade and her team completely annihilated Iwa's elite forces — one of the main reasons for Iwa's defeat this time.
"Let him hate all he wants. Under current circumstances, even if that old man Onoki hates us, he'll just have to swallow his anger."
Tsunade didn't care. The Iwa forces were already at a disadvantage in their fight against Kumo; provoking Konoha now was even less likely.
With these two nations locked in conflict, Konoha no longer needed to worry about events in Amegakure or changes within the Fire Country.
...
The next morning, the Konoha forces set out fully equipped.
Throughout the journey, things went unusually smoothly — not even a single Suna reconnaissance squad appeared along the way.
"Are the Suna ninjas really this cowardly? It made sense for them to ambush us in Amegakure before, but now that enemies are at their doorstep, they still won't come out and fight!" Behind the ranks, Nawaki spoke with clear contempt.
If it hadn't been for Minato, he would have died at the hands of a Suna ninja. After thinking it over, he realized the root cause was his own recklessness and overconfidence.
He wasn't yet qualified to fight Jonin, but as someone deeply devoted to Konoha, Nawaki couldn't understand why Sunagakure remained passive in the face of invasion by other nations.
Even though he himself was now part of the invading Konoha forces.
Beside him, Shurou and Choza Akimichi were nodding along with him.
"You really believe Sunagakure's leadership is too afraid to fight, so they've chosen not to resist Konoha?"
Shikaku Nara scoffed at their naive idea and shook his head with a smile.
"Isn't that exactly what's happening?" Shurou asked doubtfully, glancing sideways.
"Of course not. No matter how you look at it, they're still one of the Five Great Shinobi Nations. Even though Konoha brought many powerful experts and over two thousand shinobi, Suna isn't foolish enough to feel threatened by such numbers."
With a light laugh, Shikaku continued, "It's not that Suna refuses to resist — they simply refuse to waste effort on meaningless actions. You all saw how we marched straight across more than a hundred kilometers of desert yesterday. Just imagine how vast that desert must be."
"In a desert that expansive, trying to guard against a force of two thousand ninja would just be pointless," Hiashi Hyuga immediately understood and nodded in agreement.
Shikaku acknowledged his understanding with a nod.
"I suggest you abandon such naive thinking before continuing with this war. Underestimating your opponent can cost you your life."
"Shikaku reminded the group. He was usually too lazy to say anything like this, but seeing that Nawaki — someone who'd already been through war — was still so naïve, he decided to speak up."
"Thanks," Mikoto said with a nod.
At that moment, Minato — who was leading the squad — caught wind of the conversation between his teammates and couldn't help but smile.
What Shikaku said was exactly what he'd been thinking all along.
Although the Konoha forces currently held the upper hand, the battlefield's greatest taboo was an arrogant heart and underestimating opponents.
And this genius from the Nara clan, though never having experienced war himself, had still seen right through it.
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