On the outskirts of the Hidden Leaf Village, over a thousand Konoha ninjas had gathered. At their head stood two men: Minato Namikaze and Tianyuan.
It was clear that these thousand ninjas were under their command. Despite the large number of people, the entire group remained exceptionally quiet, a testament to the discipline of a shinobi force.
"Target: Mount Kikyo. Prepare to move out!" Minato announced.
"Yes, sir!" the thousand ninjas replied as one, rising to their feet.
"Tianyuan, let's go," Minato said.
"Understood." Tianyuan scanned a corner of the village before his figure flickered, keeping pace with Minato. Behind them, the massive contingent of Konoha ninjas followed closely. They would not stop until they reached Mount Kikyo.
The movements of such a large force did not go unnoticed by the villagers of Konoha. They knew Sunagakure was attacking. Deep in their hearts, the villagers prayed for Konoha's ultimate victory.
"Tianyuan..." In a secluded corner, Anko and Yugao watched Tianyuan depart. Their gazes were filled with reluctance and worry. In a Great Ninja War like this, death was far too common.
"You must survive. Please, come back alive."
Led by Minato and Tianyuan, the Konoha force headed straight for Mount Kikyo, where the two sides were currently locked in a standoff. Along the way, Tianyuan and his group met no resistance.
This was only natural; even a small squad of ninjas would scare off bandits, let alone a force of this size. The bandits were lucky if they weren't scared out of their wits; most were terrified that Konoha was coming to exterminate them. Of course, they were overthinking it Konoha's ninjas had no time to waste on common thugs.
Pressing forward with haste, Minato and Tianyuan reached Mount Kikyo in less than a day. This was the site of Konoha's main camp and the location of the high command.
As soon as they entered, they could feel the heavy atmosphere of war. Anger, sorrow, and despair hung over the area. Wounded soldiers were everywhere some with severed limbs, others with life-threatening injuries. For a ninja, losing an arm was perhaps one of the most cruel fates possible.
After meeting with Jiraiya and the others and seeing the reinforcements settled, Minato and Tianyuan headed to the central command tent, the meeting place for the Jonin. In this theater of war, Orochimaru and Jiraiya served as the Supreme Commanders, assisted by the other ninjas.
"Tianyuan, Minato, come in." Jiraiya led them inside. Orochimaru, Choza Akimichi, and several other Jonin were already there.
"You've arrived." Orochimaru nodded toward them.
"Jiraiya-sensei, what's the current situation?" Minato asked.
"The situation isn't great," Jiraiya replied. "Although we're mostly fighting in small squads now, Konoha simply has too few combat personnel. We have reinforcements now, but overall, we're still at a numerical disadvantage."
Tianyuan and Minato understood. Konoha still had to guard against other hidden villages. If the village committed its entire strength here, they wouldn't be able to respond in time if another village decided to attack.
"Furthermore, that Chiyo from the other side is quite troublesome," Orochimaru said in a low voice. "It's not just her Puppet Technique, but her mastery of poison. It makes her a weapon of mass destruction. It's a pity Tsunade isn't here."
During the Second Great Ninja War, Tsunade and Chiyo had clashed, a battle that ultimately ended in Tsunade's victory.
"Tianyuan, I remember Tsunade mentioning that you've done some research into Medical Ninjutsu as well," Jiraiya said.
Every ninja in the room turned to look at Tianyuan. His reputation as a genius in Konoha was immense; if he truly knew Medical Ninjutsu, they wouldn't be surprised only overjoyed. If he could help, their disadvantage against the Sand ninjas would be significantly reduced.
"Medical Ninjutsu... I know a bit. I can give it a try," Tianyuan nodded.
"Good. Now, let's discuss the current positions of our forces and Sunagakure," Orochimaru said slowly.
The state of the battle changed every day, requiring daily strategic adjustments to counter the enemy. A single mistake could result in the loss of one's life, and the same applied to every ninja in Konoha.
"Minato, Tianyuan, you two must be exhausted after rushing here from the village. Go and get some rest first," Jiraiya said, looking at them. "This war won't be over in a day or two."
"Understood." Minato and Tianyuan nodded and left the tent. They both knew that since Sunagakure had made their move, they wouldn't retreat easily. This was the culmination of over a decade of military buildup since the Second Great Ninja War.
On their second day at Mount Kikyo, Tianyuan was jolted awake by an urgent matter. After quickly dressing, he hurried to the briefing area.
"Tianyuan, one of our assault teams was ambushed," Jiraiya said hurriedly the moment he saw him. "About a hundred people were hit by an unknown toxin. They're in a state of total chaos and need immediate help."
"Where are they?" Tianyuan asked instantly.
"Follow me." Jiraiya led Tianyuan straight toward another section of the camp.
Before long, Tianyuan arrived at a different campsite. The scene was wretched; most of the ninjas were groaning in agony.
"What's the situation?" Tianyuan asked a medical ninja directly.
"Sir, the patients have ulcerating skin, their Chakra is extremely chaotic, and their mental state is blurred," the medical ninja reported. "Most importantly, the toxin is infectious."
"Infectious? Are they trying to start an outbreak within Konoha's ranks?" Tianyuan's eyes narrowed. He immediately put on a mask to isolate himself from the pathogen.
"Bring them to me. We're starting virus research immediately. We need to develop an antidote as soon as possible, or Sunagakure will use this chaos to launch their attack."
"Yes, sir!"
"Pervy Sage, leave things here to me," Tianyuan said, looking at Jiraiya.
"I'm counting on you," Jiraiya nodded.
Meanwhile, over ten kilometers away from the camp, stood a Sunagakure outpost...
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