Rasa raised his eyes and swept them over the crowd: "At most, they have one or two thousand more ninjas. In the end, their total number will be at most eight thousand."
"And we number ten thousand!"
His palms rested on the edge of the sand table while his body leaned slightly forward as his gaze scanned the crowd.
"Ten thousand against eight thousand."
"The advantage is on our side!"
"Kazekage-sama's insight is brilliant!"
"Our troops have superior numbers and high morale; victory in this battle is assured!"
"We'll slaughter Konoha and send them back in complete defeat!"
The commanders echoed their agreement, and the atmosphere inside the tent became intense.
Rasa raised his hand, and everyone instantly quieted down. His gaze returned to the map, lingered for a moment, and then he said in a deep voice…
"Go and make preparations. It will be in two days!"
"At dawn, launch the final assault!"
"Understood!"
The commanders accepted the order and then withdrew from the tent.
…..
Two days later.
As dawn broke, an urgent intelligence report shattered the tranquility of Konoha's command center.
"Jiraiya-sama, an urgent message from the forward reconnaissance team!"
A ninja lifted the tent flap, strode in, and presented the report directly to Jiraiya.
"The Village Hidden in the Sand has made a move."
Jiraiya took the unfolded document, looked at it for a moment, and then handed it to Tsunade, who was standing next to him.
Tsunade took the document, gave a cold snort, and handed it to Suzaku Nara without saying anything.
Suzaku Nara strode forward, took the intelligence report, and quickly scanned it. Several nearby staff officers also gathered around, making the atmosphere suddenly tense.
The Village Hidden in the Sand's army completed its final assembly last night, and at dawn this morning, the entire army set out, splitting into three routes and heading straight for the Konoha camp.
The left flank, consisting of about a thousand ninjas, detoured from the northeast, intending to cut off Konoha's supply lines to the rear.
On the right flank, about a thousand ninjas were flanking from the southeast, targeting several forward outposts and supply depots on Konoha's flank.
And the central route, 8,000 ninjas.
The main force of the Village Hidden in the Sand, a full eight thousand ninjas, pressed towards Konoha's main camp along the most direct route, clearly forcing Konoha into a major battle.
Ninja battles mostly take place in small teams of three to five people, involving reconnaissance, harassment, ambush, and counter-ambush, requiring flexibility, mobility, and stealth.
However, this is not absolute. When the scale of the war reaches a certain point, and both sides realize that small-scale skirmishes cannot determine the outcome, large-scale melees will become inevitable.
Each Shinobi World War initially began with scattered operations, but as the fighting progressed, the battle lines became intertwined, eventually escalating into large-scale melees involving thousands or even tens of thousands of ninjas.
Jiraiya took a deep breath and shouted, "Notify all departments to prepare according to the previously simulated plan."
"Since Rasa wants to fight, then we'll fight him!"
"Understood!"
With the orders issued, Konoha immediately sprang into action.
Calling it springing into action was not entirely accurate.
As early as two days ago, all departments had already made preparations according to the simulated plan, especially the central attack direction of the Village Hidden in the Sand, Kikyo Pass, where a large number of elite troops had already been deployed.
All remaining personnel, supplies, and weapons were ready to be deployed at any time. As soon as the order was given, each unit filed out from its respective post and assembled at the designated location along the predetermined route.
The medical and logistics support troops are no exception.
Because once the large-scale battle begins, the traditional concept of rear medical stations becomes blurred, and wounded ninjas can no longer be transferred back in batches as before, and then treated and cared for at a leisurely pace.
A large number of Medical Ninjas had to advance with the main force, establish temporary medical stations near the rear of the battle line, or simply be integrated into combat squads to provide emergency treatment during gaps in the fighting.
Just like in the later Fourth Shinobi World War, as the fighting progressed, the medical and logistical units themselves rushed to the front lines.
This means that Shinichi will also be on the front line.
Before setting off, Tsunade glared at Shinichi.
Seeing Shinichi nod to reassure her, she nodded slightly, turned around, and led a team of elite troops who were already waiting.
Shinichi watched her retreating figure until it disappeared into the distance, then turned around and spoke to Hizashi Hyuga, who was standing to the side.
"I'll have to trouble you from now on, Senior Hizashi."
Hizashi Hyuga nodded without saying much.
Two days ago, Konoha's support troops arrived at the southwestern front, numbering approximately two thousand.
A significant portion of this support team consisted of members of the Hyuga Clan, numbering over a hundred, and all of them were elite members.
This would have been unimaginable in the past, as the Hyuga Clan is known for its conservatism and rarely sends so many elite clansmen to the same battlefield at the beginning of a war.
But this time, they had no choice but to come.
The reason is simple: the user of Red-Eyes.
Since Ebizo's ambush that night, the user of Red-Eyes has attracted great attention from the Konoha side.
Hyuga's Byakugan, known as the strongest perceptive eye in the Shinobi World, had been completely deceived during that ambush.
Similar situations occurred repeatedly in subsequent small-scale skirmishes.
Despite having ninjas from the Hyuga Clan in the team, the Village Hidden in the Sand always manages to detect and avoid them in advance, and they are even ambushed instead.
When the news reached the Hyuga Clan, it caused a great shock. The Clan Head, Hiashi Hyuga, summoned the clan elders for several days to repeatedly deduce, analyze, and discuss the matter.
At first, they thought that the Village Hidden in the Sand had developed some kind of Hidden Jutsu to counter the Byakugan, but later, through intelligence channels, they discovered that it was not a Hidden Jutsu, but another kind of Visual Jutsu.
The Red Eyes of the Hinokawa Clan.
An obscure little clan possesses a bizarre Kekkei Genkai that is extremely similar to the Byakugan and also has the ability to interfere with others.
When the news was confirmed, the entire Hyuga Clan was shaken, and they were immediately filled with intense killing intent!
The authority of the Byakugan had been challenged!
If the members of the Hinokawa Clan are not eliminated and they are completely controlled by the Village Hidden in the Sand and cultivated on a large scale, then the strategic value of the Byakugan, which the Hyuga Clan is so proud of, will be greatly diminished. The foundation upon which the Hyuga Clan has stood in the Shinobi World for hundreds of years will be completely shaken.
So this time, the Hyuga Clan is serious. More than a hundred clan members are all elites, including Hizashi Hyuga, the younger brother of the Hyuga Clan Head, who was sent to the southwestern front. They have two missions.
First, to support the village's war effort; second, to kill as many people from the Hinokawa Clan as possible, ideally until their entire clan is wiped out.
They will not allow anyone who threatens their status to continue living in the world.