At the north of the left flank battlefield, Tsunade and Sakumo, following Danzō's orders, had already instructed their subordinates to establish temporary encampments to block any surprise attacks by the Suna ninjas on key routes.
But more than thirty days had passed, and not a single Suna ninja had come through this area. It was as if they had completely abandoned this front.
According to the intel that came in, after suffering heavy losses on the northern front, Chiyo had chosen to consolidate her forces in the south and was focusing all efforts on attacking Danzō's line.
As a result, through repeated battles, the Suna ninjas regained their confidence and began to believe that Konoha wasn't all that formidable after all.
What was strong were Tsunade, Sakumo, and the Uchiha clan, not Konoha as a whole.
As long as they didn't fight those individuals, the Suna ninjas felt fearless.
In fact, Suna ninjas who had infiltrated the Land of Fire had looted a large amount of supplies, money, and food from the local populace, bringing great gains to their village.
Yet Danzō had done absolutely nothing about it.
"How did it go?" In the temporary command room, seeing the messenger return, Tsunade quickly stepped forward to ask for news.
"Danzō-sama said..." the messenger hesitated, clearly unsure how to continue.
"Just say it," Tsunade said.
"He said that his affairs are none of your concern. Whether he defeats Chiyo or not is just a matter of will. He told us not to meddle and ruin his strategic setup."
"He also said... if we disobey orders and cause his plans to fail, we will be severely punished."
Tsunade slammed her fist on the table, shattering it into pieces.
Who the hell wants to meddle in your damn business?
If it weren't for Danzō repeatedly losing battles and wasting a huge portion of Konoha's strength, would she have even bothered to ask whether he needed support?
And this was the thanks she got?
"Jiraiya is not helpful too. I really want to ask him what the hell he's doing. He kept saying that as long as he went out, he could turn the tide. But so far, he hasn't made a single splash."
"Danzō is clearly panicking," Sakumo added angrily. "He doesn't even care anymore as long as it stops us from gaining more merit."
"Just thinking about how the top brass of Konoha are all like this makes me want to beat them."
"And on top of that, he's blocked all our paths!" Tsunade said bitterly from the side.
"That way, no matter what move we make, he can blame his failures on us, saying our reckless actions ruined his plans."
"Sakumo, do you have any ideas?"
Sakumo was stunned for a moment at the question. You really think that highly of me?
He was good at fighting, not strategizing.
If Tsunade had asked him to go assassinate the Third Kazekage, he'd have done it without hesitation. But thinking through complex schemes…
Suddenly, someone came to mind. He said, "Why don't we call Minato over and ask him?"
Tsunade didn't know whether to laugh or cry at that.
Did he really think calling Minato would help?
But it was kind of embarrassing to admit that the two of them might not be able to match a kid. Still, now wasn't the time to worry about pride. Tsunade activated the Flying Thunder God mark inscribed on her kunai.
In the next instant, Minato appeared in the command room.
"Hi!" Minato greeted them cheerfully. "What can I help with?"
Tsunade also asked, "We haven't seen you for a while. Where've you been?"
Minato's face instantly darkened with anger. "Danzō... His troop deployments are full of holes, the rear lines have been turned into sieves."
"Suna ninjas are burning, looting, and killing everywhere, and he's done nothing. He even said these are 'inevitable losses in war.' He can go to hell with that!"
"Fugaku, Hizashi, and I have been hunting down those Suna ninjas. It's one thing to rob people, but why kill everyone they see?"
"What is Danzō even thinking? If not for protecting the civilians, who the hell would want to clean up his mess?"
Tsunade shook her head after hearing that, then asked, "But if you rushed over here, are they still safe?"
"Don't worry. They're resting right now. The rear area is vast, unless someone's actively looking for them, the odds of running into trouble are very low."
After a round of mutual complaints and updating each other on the situation, Tsunade shared her dilemma with Minato and asked for his advice.
Minato grinned and said, "Didn't you know? Danzō's reputation is completely trashed back in Konoha."
"How does that help our plan?" Tsunade asked in confusion.
"It matters a lot!" Minato said seriously. "He's suffered multiple defeats in a row, and these defeats have nothing to do with you two. They're entirely due to his own incompetence."
"The fact that you offered to support him today and he refused with sarcasm, that'll spread all over Konoha by tomorrow."
"By then, even if he tries to pin the blame on you, no one will believe him. On the contrary, plenty of civilians will speak out in your defense. So there's no need for you to stay holed up here. Do what needs to be done."
Grabbing a map, he pointed and said, "Chiyo may look down on Danzō, but she's still wary of you coming to reinforce him, so she's stationed heavy forces along every route you might use to reach him."
"That means—" he pointed to Chiyo's rear encampment, "this area is very likely poorly defended."
"You can create the illusion that you're going to support Danzō."
"Then secretly send a top-tier elite squad behind enemy lines under the pretense of reconnaissance. Hit Chiyo's rear camp hard with a surprise attack. That'll force her to stretch her attention thin, which will ease the pressure on the southern front. And if Danzō actually reacts in time, he might seize the opportunity to launch a counterattack and cause Chiyo massive losses."
Both Tsunade and Sakumo's eyes lit up. Almost in unison, they said, "Brilliant!"
After discussing the details further, Tsunade immediately called a meeting to implement the plan.
To make the feint convincing, Tsunade herself would personally lead the "support mission" to Danzō.
The infiltration behind enemy lines would be led by Sakumo.
To ensure Danzō could actually respond at the right moment, Tsunade even sent Minato to the southern front camp to relay the plan to Jiraiya, so he could push Danzō to act decisively for once.
---
Inside the Konoha command room in the Land of Rain, at a newly established base, Fukuyama was brewing tea.
He handed cups to Shin and Orochimaru, then took a sip himself, visibly relaxed.
"Ahh, wonderful!" The warmth of the tea flowing down his throat made him feel as if he were floating.