Year 45 in Konoha, mid-July.
The Ninja war had reached a white-hot stage.
Among them, small countries like the Land of Rain, which served as a buffer zone for great nation wars, naturally bore the brunt and fell victim to the ninja wars between major powers.
Among them, the war in the Land of Rain was the most intense and eye-catching.
Orochimaru, one of the Konoha Sannin, joined forces with the Hidden Rain Village Leader Hanzou, aiming to eliminate the threat of Hidden Sand with a swift and decisive strategy.
However, the high-ranking officials of Hidden Sand, led by Advisor Chiyo, saw through the anxious mindset of Konoha and Hidden Rain. They believed that though part of this situation stemmed from Hidden Sand itself, it was not the time to pursue responsibility. As long as the strategic goals of this war could be achieved, even if the timeline needed to be delayed by one or two years, it would still be worthwhile.
According to Hidden Sand high command's meticulous analysis, Konoha was deploying troops along three lines and had to provide substantial resources to the Hidden Rain Village to bind them to Konoha's war chariot. Therefore, while the situation seemed to be moving unfavorably for Hidden Sand, if they continued to drag it out, once Konoha could no longer afford the material support to Hidden Rain, the alliance between Konoha and Hidden Rain would inevitably fall apart, reverting to the original state of the war.
Thus, until that moment arrived, Hidden Sand must maintain full combat effectiveness, otherwise, even if Konoha and Hidden Rain dissolve their alliance, Hidden Sand would still be powerless to invade the Land of Fire.
As the tension on the front line grew, things were not peaceful in Konoha, deep within the Land of Fire either.
With the shifting dynamics in the Land of Rain, Konoha had to bear an incredibly heavy burden of resources every month.
Yet, Konoha could not let go of Hidden Rain as an ally. If they lost Hidden Rain's support, the Konoha Squad in the Land of Rain would be crushed by the Hidden Sand's massive forces, leading to a defeat as swift as a landslide, with far more severe consequences.
While the upper echelons of Konoha were troubled and worried, a letter was sent from the capital direction of the Land of Fire straight to Konoha.
The Third Hokage Hiruzen received the letter a day later, with the sender being the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, and the direct ninja under the Daimyo were responsible for delivering it.
With the letter from the Daimyo as the starting point, Hiruzen immediately dispatched Anbu to summon Advisors Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura for an urgent high-level meeting.
"Hiruzen, you called us at a time like this, is there something important?"
The two Konoha Advisors, in charge of procurement and other logistical tasks, appeared weary. Due to issues with resources, neither of them had slept well since the beginning of the year.
Many wrinkles were added to their faces, and their dark circles were severe.
Seeing his colleagues working themselves to this state, reduced in stature, Hiruzen could not help but feel a sense of guilt and discomfort.
"Thank you for your hard work during this time. The reason I called you is because of this letter."
Hiruzen handed over the letter for the two to read its contents.
Soon, the two finished reading the handwritten letter from the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, their brows slightly furrowing as if finding the contents of the letter quite troublesome.
"The Daimyo wishes for us to end the war as soon as possible. What do you think?"
Hiruzen took a drag from his pipe, exhaling a circle of smoke, asking the two for their opinions on the matter.
"Honestly, it's a bit unrealistic. Not to mention the issues with Hidden Sand and Hidden Rock, Hidden Cloud is also eyeing us aggressively, forcing us to dispatch some forces to monitor Hidden Cloud's movements. The village is already stretched thin for a decent support unit, and without sending reinforcements to the Land of Rain, it's nearly impossible to resolve the conflict swiftly, no matter how idealistic it sounds."
Mitokado Homura spoke truthfully.
The ninjas that can be deployed from the village have basically all been sent out.
Konoha Main Branch must retain a certain number of ninjas to safeguard the village, lest another large-scale defection event like two years ago occurs, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Currently, Konoha has stricter controls on personnel entry and exit, practically prohibiting non-combat personnel from leaving or entering the village.
Even foreign merchants during the war must undergo extremely rigorous inspection. If unable to present proper identification, they are directly expelled, and severe cases would face mandatory detention.
"I thought the same, but the Daimyo hopes we can quickly end this conflict, especially in the Land of Rain, it cannot drag on any longer."
Hiruzen said solemnly.
The importance of the battlefield in the Land of Rain was clear to him as the Hokage. Precisely because of this clarity, he felt the matter was extremely troublesome.
Hidden Sand gathering near seven thousand ninjas in the Land of Rain, declaring ten thousand to the outside, had already severely threatened the national defense of the Land of Fire. This was surely the point the Daimyo was worried about.
Moreover, the gratuitous assistance to Hidden Rain probably also dissatisfied the Daimyo-led elite class of the Land of Fire.
To be honest, Hiruzen did not want to provide free aid to Hidden Rain either, but Hidden Rain could not afford to purchase resources, and Konoha could not lose an ally like Hidden Rain, thus they could only provide free assistance.
Therefore, for the past year, the situation in the Land of Rain was essentially stagnant. Hiruzen was prepared for a prolonged war because the Land of Fire could afford it, but only with the Daimyo's strong support could they have the qualification to continue a prolonged war against Hidden Sand in the Land of Rain.
Once the Daimyo made adjustments to Konoha's supplies, Konoha would also have to change strategies passively.
"Indeed, the resources consumed in the Land of Rain are more than twice that of the Land of Grass. But in this letter, the Daimyo gave us only three months, by the end of the year at the latest, the threat of Hidden Sand in the Land of Rain must be neutralized... Doesn't that seem too rushed? You know, the threat from Hidden Rock is still unresolved."