Inside Konoha's command tent.
The usual few people were still sitting there. Kakashi's brows were tightly furrowed as he looked at the intelligence in front of him.
From time to time, people from the intelligence department would deliver messages.
Kakashi and the two border commanders looked at the constant stream of intelligence reports, their expressions growing more and more serious.
Shinji sat to the side, picking up the reports they had finished reviewing.
The current situation was difficult.
Although he had brought back three corpses of Sunagakure Jonin, he still hadn't uncovered any useful information. He only knew that Sunagakure was currently waiting for an opportunity, but what that opportunity was...
They had found almost no clues in their minds.
Sunagakure's high-level secrecy work was quite good, but other aspects of the news were not optimistic.
There had indeed been people borrowing passage through the Land of Birds recently, but their numbers were too small, and they almost always returned the same way within two days.
Shinji shook his head. Such a trick could only fool idiots.
Moreover, when Asuma was investigating the location of the provisions, he clearly discovered some people who were different from Suna ninjas.
Whoosh—
The tent flap was pulled open, and Asuma walked in, looking exhausted.
"Kakashi, I can't investigate any further."
Hearing this, Kakashi's brows furrowed slightly, and he asked, "What happened?"
"The spies within Sunagakure have completely lost contact. I estimate they have already—" Asuma lit a cigarette and said very calmly.
Hearing this, the tent immediately fell silent.
After a long pause, Kakashi finally nodded. "I understand. The information we have so far is enough. As for those spies, I will report it to the village."
It wasn't that he was cold-blooded, it was simply the nature of war. Who knew, the next time it might be one of those present who would die.
Asuma nodded. He was no longer the same person he used to be.
The 'King' was not just simply equivalent to the 'King' that needed to be protected in shogi. Now, the sacrifice of these comrades bought intel that gave Konoha breathing room.
Were they not also 'Kings'?
It was just that each 'King' had their own different choices and methods.
Click—
Asuma's thoughts were interrupted. He looked at the lighter in front of him and turned his head. He saw Shinji with a slight smile, gesturing for him to light up quickly.
Oh, Ninja World, when will there be peace?
Shinji saw Asuma come in with a cigarette in his mouth but hadn't lit it for a long time, so he naturally knew what he was doing. It's good for people to think, but they shouldn't fall into a dead end. Once trapped, they would never get out.
"You brat, didn't you object to me smoking?" Asuma chuckled, then used the lighter in Shinji's hand to light his cigarette.
"Old Asu, I'm not against you smoking, but you shouldn't smoke like there's no tomorrow." Shinji pouted. This guy almost ate cigarettes for meals.
"Get lost." Asuma rolled his eyes and snatched the lighter from Shinji's hand.
Kakashi, seeing this, couldn't help but show a hint of envy. He also wanted to be that relaxed.
—
On a mountain in the Land of Birds, a middle-aged man wearing purple clothes and chest armor, with his hair tied in a ponytail at the back and a large beard, frowned as he looked at the note in his hand.
After a long while, he slowly exhaled. "Fine, let's end this. After this, I will no longer concern myself with the village's affairs."
After speaking, the man began to take out a scroll and write, then tied it to a ninja beast that had been waiting for a long time.
As the ninja beast flew away, the man looked in the direction of the Land of Wind. With a flicker, he instantly vanished.
—
Night.
Shinji was sitting inside the main tent, helping Kakashi deal with some matters.
Suddenly, exclamations rang out from outside the tent.
Shinji and Kakashi exchanged glances, both seeing confusion in each other's eyes. They quickly put down the scrolls in their hands and walked out.
As soon as Shinji pulled open the tent flap, a cold sensation landed on his nose.
"Is this... snow?"
Outside the main tent, snow was falling everywhere. Although the quantity was small, it still made them feel cold.
Not far away, Asuma's figure hurried over.
"Kakashi, Shinji!"
Shinji looked over and saw Asuma's anxious expression, then looked at the falling snow in the sky. Their faces immediately turned serious.
"I'll go notify people to come over." Shinji stepped out of the main tent and quickly disappeared.
"Good." Kakashi then led Asuma into the main tent, his expression also hurried.
The border of the Land of Rivers, bordering the Land of Wind, had never been known to have snow. But now, at this time, there was such a snowfall. If human factors were excluded, it meant that this year's weather was abnormal.
Before long, the entire main tent was filled with Jonin and the captains of their respective squads. Everyone looked serious.
Kakashi tapped the table and slowly began, "I have just sent a message to the village. The village's inspection department has reported back that this year's weather will be extremely extreme."
"The report states that even the Land of Grass, which borders the Land of Earth, has already had snow."
Inside the tent, everyone looked at each other.
Shinji said, "The most urgent task is to pay attention to the actions of the Suna ninjas. Their provisions were already insufficient. Now that it has snowed, their troops will be even more unaccustomed."
"I'm worried that they will disregard everything and directly initiate war."
This was the reason he and Kakashi were worried.
The formation the Suna ninjas had taken did not allow them to prolong this situation for long. Moreover, now even the heavens were not cooperating.
"Indeed, we need to speed up our actions." Kakashi, who was beside him, nodded.
"I'll go." Asuma said.
As the Hokage's son, he had to set an example in such matters.
Kakashi showed a difficult expression. This mission was at least most suitable for Asuma, both in terms of strength and his previous experience in scouting Sunagakure's rear. This greatly increased the chances of mission success.
However, Asuma was Hiruzen's only remaining son. If anything unexpected happened...
The two border commanders, seeing this, also disagreed. There was no reason for the Hokage's son to undertake such a dangerous mission.
Attacking the enemy's provisions meant deep infiltration into the enemy camp, and one wrong move could mean death.
Last time's scouting of the location was due to the presence of spies within Sunagakure, so the danger was not that great.
Shinji didn't speak, he was thinking about other things.
"Shinji, what do you think?" Kakashi, who was beside him, rubbed his brow and asked Shinji, who was deep in thought.
Suddenly, the entire tent fell silent, and everyone looked at Shinji.
The person in front of them had defeated the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki. And he was also the third Hokage's last disciple.