Strictly speaking, the Land of Rain was carrying out a large-scale infiltration operation aimed entirely at destroying Konoha's logistics network.
Every village used this kind of strategy at some point, but the frightening part was that the Rain Village did not need to worry about anything else. Their only task was to sabotage Konoha's supply lines, nothing more.
That alone was enough to create enormous pressure.
Konoha's supply routes were stretched too far, and because of the lack of manpower, the number of shinobi protecting them was limited. Before the Land of Rain entered the war, Iwagakure and Sunagakure could not bypass Konoha's frontline camps to strike the supply routes inside the Land of Fire.
Back then, the weakness existed, but no one was able to take advantage of it.
Now everything was different. Once the Land of Rain declared war, the weak points in those supply lines became the main target, and the danger would only grow larger with time.
The importance of supply routes had already been proven long ago. During the later stage of the Third Great Ninja War, Iwagakure lost a huge advantage because the Kannabi Bridge was destroyed. Minato used the Flying Thunder God Technique to infiltrate deep into the Land of Earth and distract the enemy, while Kakashi's team destroyed the bridge and completely cut off Iwagakure's supply route.
Compared to that situation, Konoha did not have a single weak point as obvious as Kannabi Bridge. However, according to the latest intelligence, the Rain Village planned to divide its forces into small teams. Depending on the mission, they would operate in four-man, three-man, or even two-man squads.
That made Hanzō's intentions very clear. He was preparing for a long guerrilla war.
Whether he wanted to preserve his strength or avoid a direct confrontation did not matter. For Konoha, it was terrible news.
The Land of Fire was completely different from the Land of Wind. Forests were everywhere. If the Rain shinobi hid inside those forests, tracking them down would be extremely difficult.
Even if they could not defeat you directly, they could keep harassing you endlessly until the situation became unbearable.
For Hayashi and the others, the priority was obvious. They had to clear the enemy out of their territory and protect the supply lines at all costs.
According to current intelligence, the Rain Village had deployed around two thousand shinobi. Hanzō could not leave his village undefended, so this was likely the maximum number he could send out.
Inside the main tent, Sakumo looked at Hayashi and Shikumo and spoke calmly.
"If we eliminate these forces, Hanzō will have no choice but to withdraw from the war."
Hayashi nodded. The logic was simple, but carrying it out would not be easy. As they had already discussed, Hanzō clearly intended to rely on guerrilla tactics rather than open battle.
At the same time, the number of shinobi under Hayashi and Sakumo was not very large either. Nearly half of their forces had already returned to the village to strengthen Konoha's internal defenses.
That decision was not only because of the chaos in the Hidden Mist Village, but also because the Rain Village had already begun sending small teams deep into the Land of Fire.
The strength of small shinobi squads should never be underestimated. If left unchecked, they could easily carry out important missions that might change the course of the war, or even launch direct assassination attempts.
If Konoha did not strengthen its defenses, Hanzō might suddenly lead two thousand shinobi straight toward the village itself.
Strangely enough, aside from the Land of Water, the Land of Rain had become the second country to push the battlefield directly into the Land of Fire during this war.
Hanzō had already turned the entire situation inside the Land of Fire upside down.
"We currently have six supply routes," Sakumo continued, pointing at the map. "But in reality, they all fall into two main directions. If Hanzō splits his forces, we will have to do the same."
Shikumo nodded and leaned closer to the map.
"Every reconnaissance unit must be deployed as well," he said, marking several locations. "Each sector needs eyes watching it at all times."
On the map of the Land of Fire, the supply lines had been divided into multiple sectors. The new operational plan focused entirely on reconnaissance. Konoha had been able to win several wars largely because of three advantages: strong logistics, an advanced medical system, and a large number of skilled reconnaissance shinobi.
Right now, Hayashi and Sakumo had a significant number of reconnaissance shinobi under their command, and that was their biggest advantage.
"The plan itself is not the problem," Sakumo said quietly. "The real problem is still Hanzō."
His expression became more serious.
No matter how confident he was, Hanzō was still a shinobi who could stand on equal footing with the Third Hokage. Sakumo could not claim that he would definitely win in a direct fight.
But the most troublesome part was that Hanzō might not fight directly at all.
He was skilled with a blade, proficient in Fire Release, and possessed one of the most terrifying weapons on the battlefield, poison gas. Someone like him could cause massive casualties in a very short time.
That was exactly why the Sannin had once risked everything just to stop him from entering the battlefield. Once Hanzō joined a large-scale battle, the entire front line could collapse almost instantly.
On top of that, his Body Flicker Technique was extremely fast. If he focused on harassment instead of direct combat, the disruption he could cause would be only slightly weaker than Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique.
Hayashi thought for a moment before speaking.
"Tracking Hanzō's position can be left to Shibi."
He and Shibi had known each other since their time at the Ninja Academy. Shibi was the kind of person who rarely attracted attention, but his abilities were far from ordinary.
His insect techniques were useful in both offense and defense, but more importantly, they were perfect for long-distance reconnaissance and tracking. In certain situations, his abilities were even more practical than the Byakugan.
He could also use different insects for support roles such as treatment, detoxification, and helping wounds heal faster.
That made Shibi one of the rare shinobi who could handle reconnaissance, combat, and support all at once.
The only problem was that he was far too low-profile. Most people in the village had no idea how strong he really was.
Objectively speaking, the Aburame Clan had always been extremely good at hiding their strength.
Even so, Hayashi trusted him completely. If anyone could find Hanzō before he struck again, it would be Shibi.
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