At night, inside a temporary makeshift encampment, many Jonin from the Ninja Squad gathered.
The interior of the tent lacked chairs, having only a large stone table created with Earth Release, on which lay a map of the Land of Grass and its surrounding areas.
Mokgetsu and Jiraiya stood together on the northern side of the table, while Namikaze Minato and Kakashi stood behind each of them, and the other Jonin positioned themselves around the table.
"I'm sure many of you have your doubts about why we regrouped so quickly after dispersing, and why Mokgetsu is here," Jiraiya began slowly.
Some Jonin nodded, as the sudden changes left them struggling to make sense due to the lack of information.
"Firstly, Mokgetsu is leading the support troops to join us in dealing with the Hidden Rock," Jiraiya began to explain.
"Due to the urgent situation at the frontline, Mokgetsu selected elites from the support troops to reach the Land of Grass with the fastest speed possible; thus, the main force of the support troops has not yet arrived, only the fifty elite ninjas of the vanguard unit are here now."
A Jonin, grinning with joy, couldn't help but ask, "Mokgetsu-sama, how many ninjas are in the support troops?"
Since the elite forces have arrived, the main force, even if slower, wouldn't be too late, and he was eager to erase the shame from the last defeat.
"Including the elite force, there are a total of one thousand ninjas," Mokgetsu answered earnestly.
"That's great! With the support troops, our military strength isn't inferior to the Hidden Rock Squad; we definitely won't lose this time!" The Jonin who just asked looked even more excited.
This was indeed a reinforcement of a thousand ninjas; in all his years of combat, it was the first time he saw Konoha dispatch such a strong backup force at once.
It wasn't that Konoha was stingy, but rather because Konoha's forces were not large compared to many Ninja Villages.
From its founding till now, Konoha has had only over twelve thousand official ninjas in total.
Now that the Ninja World had reached the Third Great Ninja War, the toll of constant warfare combined with the natural deaths of ninjas left Konoha with very few active ninjas indeed.
If the number of ninjas in each village were not confidential, and a rank of active ninjas were made, Konoha might be at the bottom among the Five Great Ninja Villages.
The other Jonin also looked astonished, feeling as if they had never fought such a wealthy war, with a thousand reinforcements no less.
"That's impressive, Teacher Mokgetsu, even his deception is remarkable." Observing no one doubting the words, Obito silently praised Mokgetsu.
Disguised as Hyuga Tsaka, White Zetsu also revealed a look of surprise, silently noting down the information to relay it later.
"Previously, the dispersal was due to insufficient strength, for fear the location would be discovered and we'd be completely wiped out. But now, with the arrival of a thousand ninja troops, hiding is no longer necessary," Jiraiya continued.
The Jonin nodded in agreement, never fearing matching the numbers of another Ninja Squad.
"Where do you think is suitable for the rendezvous with the support troops, serving as the temporary main base?" Jiraiya began to gather ideas.
Each Jonin studied the map carefully and expressed their views.
Once the strategy meeting concluded, Jiraiya solemnly reminded everyone:
"There might be spies among our troops now, do not leak the contents of this meeting!"
Previously, not many saw Jiraiya's assassination attempt by Sarutobi Jonin, and with Jiraiya deliberately concealing the information, the Ninja Squad was unaware that its failure was due to a spy.
The Jonin inside the tent showed faces of seriousness.
"No need to be overly worried, all present were called because they are absolutely trustworthy ninjas," Jiraiya smiled as he spoke.
"As long as no accidents occur, we can definitely turn defeat into victory this time."
The Jonin exchanged glances, agreeing with Jiraiya's words, believing that the Jonin here, mostly comprising Ninja Clan members or esteemed veteran Jonin, couldn't possibly harbor spies.
As long as these individuals remained problem-free, no secrets would be leaked, minimizing the risk of accidents.
"So tempted to cancel the Transformation Jutsu and show them, it would surely be amusing," White Zetsu chuckled internally.
Hyuga Tsaka indeed was trustworthy, but the one present was not Tsaka; it was he, White Zetsu!
Of course, White Zetsu merely entertained the thought, still needing to complete the task of transmitting the information.
However, not revealing his true self now didn't matter; he planned to taunt them loudly before escaping once Jiraiya and his team fell into an ambush and reached a dead end.
After the meeting ended, the ninjas dispersed, including Jiraiya and Mokgetsu.
Yet after leaving, Jiraiya, Mokgetsu, and Namikaze Minato quickly used Shadow Clones for disguise, regrouping secretly at a concealed spot.
The previous meeting was to mislead White Zetsu. The actual strategy meeting had long concluded, with only the three of them present.
"The bait is ready, now let's see if the Hidden Rock takes it," Jiraiya said, gazing towards the northwest where the Hidden Rock Ninja were stationed.
To deceive the spy, very few knew the real battle plan, besides Mokgetsu, Jiraiya, and their disciples, only the senior members of the support troops were informed.
"Based on the current intentions displayed by Hidden Rock, they're definitely aiming to wipe out the Konoha Squad in the Land of Grass in one fell swoop. They'll definitely take the bait, but consuming this big fish won't be easy," Namikaze Minato pondered.
The thousand-strong support troop mentioned by Mokgetsu earlier was merely a lie to lure Hidden Rock, in reality, the support troop combined with Jiraiya's squad only totals twelve hundred ninjas.
The number of ninjas on the Hidden Rock side isn't known exactly by Namikaze Minato, but judging by the current show of numbers, it must be over eighteen hundred ninjas, at least six hundred more than Konoha.
Six hundred as a ninja unit is already quite significant, enough to form a squad.
"After all, the overall situation is still unfavorable for us; annihilating them completely will definitely be difficult, aiming to eliminate half would suffice," Mokgetsu considered and said.
Jiraiya nodded in deep agreement, "Half is already a good figure; if the word gets back to Hidden Rock, it'll be enough to make Onoki distressed for a long time."
Half of eighteen hundred is nine hundred, and the resources needed to cultivate nine hundred qualified ninjas are enormous.
"If this time you manage to defeat the Four-tailed Jinchuriki, you'll truly be the number one among Konoha's younger generation!" Jiraiya said cheerfully, patting Mokgetsu's shoulder.
During the strategy meeting, Mokgetsu took the initiative to volunteer, stating that he'd made significant progress in Water Release recently, and could handle the Four-tailed Jinchuriki and the ninjas guarding the Four-tails alone.
"Minato, you need to give it your all too; why not go refine your skills in Sage Mode at Mount Myoboku now?" Jiraiya continued, patting Namikaze Minato.
Namikaze Minato looked helpless, "Teacher Jiraiya, stop joking. How can it be possible now; besides, didn't Fukasaku Sage say last time that my chakra training isn't enough?"
Sage Mode, being a special skill that can enhance ninja abilities comprehensively, is something Namikaze Minato naturally wants to learn, but learning Sage Mode itself requires powerful chakra.
And Namikaze Minato currently hasn't met the standard for "powerful chakra."
"Lacking chakra is a serious obstacle; otherwise, with your talent, under tremendous pressure, you might just learn it quickly," Jiraiya said, touching his chin.
He spent a long time learning Sage Mode.
However, Jiraiya's situation was unique; he didn't directly live at Mount Myoboku for special training while learning Sage Mode. He practiced occasionally, and the total practice time wasn't particularly exaggerated.
Of course, compared to someone like Uzumaki Naruto, who breezed through the training, Jiraiya certainly expended much more time.
...
"The difference in feelings from the last visit is really huge." Obito muttered quietly, leaning against a tree and looking bored up at the sky.
Even though it's the same ninja squad, the morale and spirit compared to the last mission have decreased significantly.
"After all, they've experienced a heavy defeat," Kakashi replied.
"Hey, Kakashi, why aren't you asleep yet?" Obito looked surprised at Kakashi, sitting on a tree branch.
They were to move soon, so they all just found places to sleep.
"So why aren't you sleeping?" Kakashi countered.
Obito scratched his head and finally honestly said, "I'm a bit worried about spies in the squad and the atmosphere here."
Obito has gone through quite a bit by now, but his squad has never suffered a huge defeat, nor have there been incidents of Konoha ninjas turning traitor and becoming spies.
"Actually there's no need to worry. Since they've become spies, regardless of the reason, they're already enemies of Konoha. As for the squad's atmosphere, once you achieve a major victory, the familiar feeling will return," Kakashi said calmly.
"Oh." Obito wanted to express that his real concern wasn't the surface but some essence revealed after the event.
But not knowing how to describe it, he could only scratch his head and sigh.
"So, Kakashi, why aren't you sleeping?"
Obito remembered Kakashi hadn't answered his question.
"Worried you'll accidentally leak information, I'm keeping an eye on you," Kakashi answered bluntly.
The information they had wasn't as complete as Mokgetsu's and Namikaze Minato's, but it was still among the most informed group besides them.
Obito's face darkened and wanted to reprimand Kakashi, but remembering it's deep into the night, he could only swallow his words and glare at Kakashi.
"You wicked, despicable white-haired fellow! Looking down on me like this," Obito seethed internally, cursing to himself.
To prove his ability to keep secrets, Obito immediately fell asleep.
After Obito fell asleep, Kakashi opened the Transparent World to observe their surroundings, then soon closed his eyes too.
PS: There's another chapter coming soon, but the time isn't certain, suggest checking tomorrow.
Anyway, you'll definitely be able to see it tomorrow.