"Temporarily halt the attack on Konoha."
In the Hidden Sand Jonin meeting, Elder Chiyo announced this decision.
The supplies sent by Hanzou of the Hidden Rain Village have secretly arrived at the Hidden Sand camp, along with Hanzou's letter hoping that Hidden Sand can quickly break the Konoha Ninja and move into the Land of Fire for combat, rather than linger on the territory of the Land of Rain.
In response, Chiyo made the decision to temporarily cease the attack.
Because the power of the Land of Rain is weakened, it temporarily does not meet her expectations.
Moreover, as long as Hidden Sand lodges their camp within the borders of the Land of Rain, they can use protection treaties to have the Land of Rain help share some supplies for them, significantly saving Hidden Sand's daily expenses.
Given this, Chiyo also replied in the letter that due to cold weather, the fighting enthusiasm of the Hidden Sand Ninja was declining, and they would consider breaking Konoha Ninja in early spring next March.
As for how angry Hanzou might be, it is outside Chiyo's scope of consideration; her original intent was also to incidentally weaken the power of the Land of Rain. After all, the battle hasn't reached a year yet, which seems too regrettable.
Having the Land of Rain share supplies can also reduce the number of Konoha Ninja, strictly speaking, Hidden Sand's losses will remain at the minimal level.
By next March, they can launch a full-scale assault into the Land of Fire and occupy the resources there.
In such a favorable situation, Chiyo is not in a hurry to have Hidden Sand Ninja launch a full attack on Konoha.
The Hidden Rain Village Leader, Hanzou, poses a similar threat to Hidden Sand.
Restraining the development of the Land of Rain is also a necessary task for Hidden Sand.
"Understood."
The Jonin simply obeyed Chiyo's orders without voicing opposition.
"Furthermore, hasten the cooperation with the Land of Demons, let Shion Flower Pharmaceutical Company continue to mass-produce the medicines our Hidden Sand needs. In March next year, a full-scale attack on Konoha will occur, and by April, without surprise, we will occupy this area of the Land of Fire."
Chiyo pointed with her finger at the position on the map.
It was the Fire Country border extremely close to the Land of Rain.
There are multiple resource-rich areas marked there.
"Then expand again in July to occupy several resource-rich nearby areas as well. I have calculated that it will require a total of five thousand ninja. By January next year, after the new year, two thousand more reinforcements from the village will reach the battlefield."
Unlike Konoha's three-line dispersal of troops, and Hidden Rock's dual-line combat, Hidden Sand has no entanglements with Hidden Cloud, nor any conflicts with the Hidden Mist across the sea.
Furthermore, a place like the Land of Wind is not worth anyone's scheming.
Hence, all of Hidden Sand's strength can focus on Konoha.
For Hidden Sand, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
After squeezing the Land of Rain dry, it's the Land of Fire's turn.
For this war, Hidden Sand has spent over five years in preparation, making various strategic analyses, and addressing unexpected situations with appropriate countermeasures.
This is also where Chiyo's confidence stems from.
Hidden Sand doesn't need to be overly eager for success, holding the advantage is theirs; they just need to steadily advance and exhaust Konoha's living force, then Konoha's resistance would weaken during internal combat in the Land of Fire.
By then, the resource-rich area of the Land of Fire will allow them Hidden Sand to plunder at will.
After January next year, two thousand more ninja will be transferred to the front lines, plus over five thousand Hidden Sand ninja on the front lines, totaling seven thousand against Orochimaru's less than three thousand Konoha troops, Chiyo can't find a reason for Hidden Sand to lose.
Orochimaru's fierce momentum is also a reason Chiyo needs to consider.
Among the ninja she knows, this snake-playing brat among the Sannin is the one who fights most ruthlessly, an unrelenting counterattack that disregards battle damage is also one of the reasons Hidden Sand can only stall for now.
Other Jonin nodded repeatedly, even if all seven thousand ninja were dispatched to the Land of Rain, Hidden Sand Village still has several thousand ninja to guard, in case of sudden incidents, there's enough time to support there and back.
Overall, the strategy remains unchanged compared to when the Third Kazekage was around.
Whether weakening the Land of Rain's power or consuming the number of Konoha Ninja, the objective has mostly been achieved.
By next March, the ultimate goal will be the Land of Fire's turn.
At that time, enclose and surround Jiraiya from the Land of Grass along with Hidden Rock to cause Konoha further heavy losses. Such a strategy can be considered flawless.
However, among this, precautions against that Third Hokage stationed in Konoha must also be taken.
Once Orochimaru is defeated, the Hokage himself might arrive at the front lines. To restrain this Third Hokage, it'll likely require at least two thousand ninja's living force.
"Since there are no objections, let's adjourn. Even if victory is in sight, do not let your guard down against Konoha. According to my intel, Root Leader Shimura Danzo has already infiltrated the Land of Rain, let the Sand squads patrolling outside be extra vigilant."
"Understood."
The Jonin's spirits tightened.
Indeed, the more it is at times like this, the less careless they can afford to be, lest the enemy finds an opportunity advantage.
"Furthermore, the March attack on Konoha, based on the results each of you achieve during the all-out attack and final contributions, I will initiate a high-level meeting to determine the candidate for the Fourth Kazekage. Please make sufficient preparations, candidates."
The Jonin candidates for the Fourth Kazekage in the meeting couldn't hide their excitement in their eyes and began to develop a vigilant mindset against other candidates.