Nearly a week had passed since Senju Mori led his army to the front lines. The Konoha and Kumogakure camps faced each other from a distance, seemingly calm on the surface, but the hidden battles had long since begun.
Inside the temporary command post, the flickering lamplight illuminated Senju Mori's half-smile.
He was carefully examining the intelligence scroll in his hand.
As Ninja squads were dispatched into the Land of Hot Springs and the Land of Frost, Senju Mori received countless intelligence reports daily, like snowflakes, but this particular one was uniquely different.
It was a logistics map of Kumogakure.
Drawn by Jonin Danzo Shimura and his Special Tactics Unit, it was submitted to the temporary command post this morning and finally presented to Senju Mori.
One had to admit, Danzo was truly capable in his youth.
The squad of seven Jonin was also an elite force. Under Danzo's leadership, they not only retreated safely from the Land of Frost but also brought back this highly valuable intelligence.
"Hokage-sama."
Nara Shikaku, standing by, reminded him in a low voice, "Danzo's intelligence has an unknown source and carries considerable risk. Please be very cautious..."
Nara Shikaku was a Jonin of the Nara Clan and also Nara Shikatsune's younger brother. He had been assisting Senju Mori with various intelligence matters these past few days.
"You're right, Shikaku."
Senju Mori closed the scroll, a meaningful smile playing on his lips:
"The authenticity of what Danzo submits is, of course, questionable. Not only do you not dare to use it, but I don't dare to use it either, and it's certainly impossible to use it as the basis for the army's actions."
Senju Mori always remained wary of Danzo, so he naturally wouldn't easily trust his intelligence, nor would he be foolish enough to personally risk danger because of it.
He stood up and walked towards the large map hanging nearby, his finger pointing at the heartland of the Land of Lightning, his smile growing brighter.
"However, returning it to Danzo is perfectly suitable."
"As the one who personally drew this map, Danzo himself must know whether this is genuine intelligence or a malicious trap."
"Order!"
With a soft command from Senju Mori, a Ninja immediately entered the tent, kneeling on one knee.
"Order the Special Tactics Unit to take this intelligence and infiltrate the Land of Frost and the Land of Lightning."
"Tell them that to achieve the objective, I allow Danzo to take all necessary measures, and I allow him to formulate and execute all plans for sabotage against Kumogakure on his own."
"No need for instructions, no need for support. All actions will be decided on the spot by Captain Danzo Shimura."
Open the gates, unleash Danzo!
During wartime, the risks of infiltrating enemy territory for sabotage were self-evident.
However, even if Danzo and his team were all lost in the Land of Lightning, Senju Mori wouldn't feel too much pain. At most, he would engrave their names on the Konoha Memorial Stone, as was customary.
But if Danzo miraculously survived and truly led his team in—
Senju Mori was very much looking forward to seeing how much destructive power a completely unrestrained Danzo, leading an elite squad of Jonin, could unleash.
"Yes!"
The messenger Ninja quickly stood up, took the scroll from Senju Mori's hand, and instantly vanished from the spot.
After dealing with Danzo's matter, Senju Mori returned to his desk, his gaze calm once more, and instructed Nara Shikaku and the others:
"We must not be complacent either. Continue to sort through the intelligence and keep a constant watch on Kumogakure's movements."
"They have repeatedly sent out elite squads but have been slow to gain an advantage in combat and unable to fully infiltrate the Land of Hot Springs. I believe Third Raikage will soon lose his patience."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Nara Shikaku respectfully replied, once again opening a new intelligence scroll and reading it carefully... Meanwhile, in the southwest of the Land of Frost, at the Kumogakure main camp.
The largest tent in the center of the camp was the core of this force—where the Third Raikage resided.
"Bang—!"
Accompanied by a thunderous roar, the solid wooden desk in front of Third Raikage shattered into dust, and the scrolls on it scattered across the floor.
"Konoha rats! Only capable of such underhanded tactics!"
The future Fourth Raikage's explosive temper and his bad habit of causing destruction in his office probably inherited from his even more fiery-tempered father.
Ay's anger was not without reason; Senju Mori's passive defensive strategy had truly disgusted him.
He had just received intelligence that another Jonin squad had lost contact in the Land of Hot Springs.
Given the inherent lack of systematic sensory Ninja, facing a series of despicable tactics such as traps, barriers, and ambushes, the Kumogakure elites who entered the Land of Hot Springs suffered heavy losses.
Violent Chakra surged within the tent. After a long while, Ay forcibly suppressed his rage, panting as he sat back down in the main seat.
This feeling of having power but nowhere to use it was truly unbearable. He knew he couldn't continue this attrition war with Konoha.
"Furui! Ze!"
At Ay's angry shout, two Kumogakure Jonin instantly appeared.
"Raikage-sama."
Both knelt on one knee and responded in unison.
The man named "Ze" looked more mature, around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, roughly the same age as Ay himself, with a serious expression and a white Ninja blade strapped to his back.
Furui appeared younger, probably not yet twenty, wearing rimless glasses, with his brown spiky hair particularly striking.
"No need to send out any new squads!"
Ay clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking, his voice like a low, muffled thunder, "Based on the intelligence received previously, we can roughly determine the location of Konoha's main forces."
"My order: gather all forces, and notify all Ninja squads we can still contact. Tomorrow at dawn, follow me directly to the Konoha camp for a decisive battle!"
Upon hearing this, Furui subconsciously pushed up his glasses and said urgently:
"Raikage-sama, there's no need to wait until tomorrow! Our forces can be assembled within an hour! If we're going to attack, why not move under the cover of night and catch them off guard..."
"Fool!"
Ay couldn't help but retort angrily:
"Haven't we learned enough from our previous losses? As long as those Byakugan bastards from the Hyuga Clan are around, there's no possibility of Konoha being ambushed!"
"There's no need for any more schemes or tricks! The essence of war lies in greater power!"
"As long as we can directly defeat the Ninja army led by the Hokage on tomorrow's battlefield, whether it's Konoha's bloodlines or the wealth of the Land of Fire, they will all be Kumogakure's for the taking!"
"Compensation? Apology?"
Ay let out a cold snort from his nose, the fighting spirit in his eyes burning like a raging fire.
"Hmph! The Senju boy, his words are quite bold, but I wonder... how much strength he truly possesses!"