"My plan is to use this incident to give Sunagakure a ladder to climb down," Hatani said, ignoring the glares from the elder ninjas.
He had been mulling over this move since his journey back from the supply raid.
"What do you mean by that?" Sakumo asked.
"A cornered beast is at its most dangerous, and the Suna forces across from us are exactly that," Hatani explained.
"If we insist on clutching Suna's throat right now, they'll have no choice but to fight to the death. They still have seven thousand ninjas; if they make a desperate final stand against our remaining two thousand, it's a suicidal risk. One slip-up, and we're the ones who face a total rout."
Hatani deliberately emphasized the disparity in their numbers, even fudging the figures slightly to drive his point home.
"However, if we leave them an opening to retreat, Suna—knowing their rations are about to run out—might just take the opportunity to save face and withdraw."
"You're suggesting we just let the enemy walk away?!" several of the elder ninjas cried out, their faces flushed with righteous indignation.
"Exactly! If you let the Suna army escape now, they'll just return the moment they've restocked their supplies. Do you expect another elite Mist squad to just happen to be passing by to destroy their logistics next time?!"
For once, they had actually hit the nail on the head. Sakumo harbored the same reservations.
"That's why we need a second step," Hatani said calmly, holding up two fingers.
"A second step? What is it?" Sakumo asked, his brow relaxing slightly.
"Redirect Suna's attention!"
"Ridiculous! Suna would never—"
The elders, who had been waiting for a brilliant masterstroke, began to sneer. However, Sakumo cut them off mid-sentence. For the first time, he found these once-reliable seniors to be a bit too noisy after having been away from the front lines for so long.
"You mean... the Five-Tails?" Sakumo guessed, immediately making the connection to the Mist capture team Hatani had mentioned.
"Right now, of the Five Great Villages, Konoha and Suna are locked in a death match. Iwagakure has stopped making moves since that last battle, which means they've almost certainly organized a massive elite force to drag the Five-Tails back home. Kumogakure has been suspiciously quiet, likely for the same reason, and we already have proof of Kirigakure's intentions after last night."
Though Hatani lacked hard intelligence, he could easily deduce the moves of the other villages based on the meta-knowledge of how they operated.
"Leaving Iwa aside, even villages like Kumo and Kiri—who already possess two Tailed Beasts—are this invested in the hunt. I don't believe Suna, who only has the One-Tails, would be any less interested."
His encounter with the Mist had given him a clear understanding of just how much weight the Tailed Beasts carried in the hearts of the Hidden Villages. Even if some Suna leaders were hell-bent on revenge against Konoha, there would definitely be a faction that preferred capturing the Five-Tails.
"Furthermore, the Mist team destroyed Suna's supplies and killed hundreds of their ninjas last night. We just need to do our best to point Suna's hatred toward the Mist. If Suna sees a chance to secure the Five-Tails while simultaneously getting revenge on the Mist, they'll likely abandon their assault on Konoha. After all, compared to a full-scale war, an elite capture team of a hundred or two costs far less to maintain—and the potential rewards are astronomical."
"Sakumo!"
Seeing the light of realization grow in Sakumo Hatake's eyes, the elders couldn't help but interrupt Hatani again.
"You aren't actually as naive as this cowardly brat, are you?"
"That's right, Sakumo! Suna has killed so many of our comrades! Can you really bear to let them off scot-free like this?"
"This is not a decision any of us have the authority to make," Sakumo stated, cutting through their protests with a solemn expression.
The weight of his words immediately silenced the elders. None of them dared to argue with that logic.
"Minato, return to the village immediately and report this to Lord Third. Let him make the final call."
Seeing that no one else (dared) to object, Sakumo issued the command to the boy standing beside him.
"Understood."
Minato, who had already finished his recovery, gave a firm nod. He activated the Flying Raijin Jutsu, and in a blink, his silhouette vanished from the tent.
Sunagakure Main Camp
Ryusa was currently at his wit's end.
The Suna survivors had fled back to the camp in a panic. By the time he received the news and tried to suppress it, it was already too late. The nearly four hundred retreating ninjas had already spread the word to every corner of the camp.
Everyone knew: their supplies had been obliterated by Hidden Mist ninjas who had appeared out of nowhere.
Anxiety and panic began to seep through the camp like a slow poison. Fortunately, the authority of the Jonin held firm for now. Under their heavy-handed suppression, the Chunin remained at their posts. As long as the middle-ranking backbone of the army didn't buckle, the army wouldn't collapse, no matter how fast the Genin whispered rumors.
However, this was a temporary fix. If the problem wasn't resolved within three days, Suna would implode even without Konoha lifting a finger.
Ryusa was left with two choices.
Option one: Abandon their gains, withdraw from the Land of Fire, and sprint back to the Land of Wind. Once there, the village could resupply them for a second offensive.
But thinking of yesterday's gains, Ryusa was loath to give up. He was only two or three days away from a total breakthrough. If he succeeded, he could use the fame of defeating Sakumo Hatake to skyrocket into the Council of Elders and reach the pinnacle of his life.
Moreover, even if he wanted to retreat, he had to worry if Konoha would let him. If the withdrawal was handled poorly, it would turn into a slaughter.
Option two: Go for broke. Tell the men that they would launch the most ferocious assault today, stirring up their morale for a "sink or swim" final battle. If they crushed Konoha, they could sustain themselves by looting the Land of Fire.
This was a gamble with their lives. If they failed to break Konoha before sunset, the news of the impending starvation would cause morale to plummet like a stone. The army would shatter instantly.
In a situation that wasn't quite at a dead end yet, he found it impossible to make such a drastic commitment. After all, if he failed and retreated now, he could blame it on the "Act of God" intervention of the Mist ninjas rather than his own tactical failure.
This was the tragedy of those with something to lose. When there is still a way out, very few people possess the courage of a legendary conqueror to burn their bridges and commit to a fight to the death.
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