With the campaign against Kumogakure concluded, Konohagakure could finally focus its energy elsewhere. Because Kirigakure was being blocked by Iwagakure, they did not cause too much trouble for the Land of Fire; thus, the focus should shift to the Land of Wind on the other side.
Because Kumogakure and Kirigakure had drawn off most of Konohagakure's forces, only the Uchiha Clan troops led by Uchiha Kagami and the Fourth Division acting as reinforcements had been sent to the Land of Wind battlefield.
Due to insufficient manpower, Uchiha Kagami could only adopt a defensive stance and was unable to launch an effective counterattack, making the campaign against the Land of Wind appear somewhat passive.
Fortunately, Konohagakure could finally free up some resources, and Tobirama summoned the Jonin present to hold a strategic meeting regarding the campaign against the Land of Wind.
"According to the intelligence conveyed by Uchiha Kagami, in addition to their customary Wind Release Ninjutsu, Sunagakure has added two brand new things."
Tobirama handed the intelligence scroll to everyone to read and said, "One is a Secret Technique for manipulating sand, which is like adding wings to a tiger in the environment of the Land of Wind, making even a normal counterattack very troublesome; the other is a specially made puppet. These puppets have a large number of hidden mechanisms, and the weapons they carry are highly toxic. Under the control of Sunagakure Ninja, they have caused us heavy casualties."
Among the Five Great Nations, due to their geographical environment, the Ninja cultivated by Sunagakure, while quite strong, were limited in number. Yet, relying on these two treasures—the Sand Secret Technique and puppets—they were actually able to amplify their strength to this extent.
One must know that the Uchiha Clan is extremely powerful and is a Fire-attribute clan that counters Wind Release. Even though their numbers are not high, the fact that they could be suppressed to the point where they couldn't even vent their frustration shows just how strong they are.
It is precisely because the Village's overall strength is lacking that they need other equipment to compensate.
Fūmori Masaki had always been itching for Sunagakure's Puppet Technique; more accurately, it was the chakra metal used to make the puppets. In his view, this chakra metal was the key resource that could create Chakra technology.
Sunagakure used this resource for puppets. In this respect, they were a step ahead of those who currently only used chakra metal to make cold weapons, but that was it. In the decades that followed, they only became more and more adept at using puppets, and as for the idea of using chakra metal elsewhere, they never had it.
In Fūmori Masaki's memory, utilizing this chakra metal like the Land of Snow in the original storyline was the right path. If they could embark on the road of industrialization and utilize it in various fields, then the extent to which Konohagakure's strength would expand was something Fūmori Masaki could not imagine.
Fūmori Masaki felt that in this war, they should deal a heavy blow to the Land of Wind, forcing them to give up some ore veins so that Konohagakure would have enough resources to use.
However, one must also consider pacifying the Land of Wind so as not to drive them to desperate measures.
Of course, the main point is to hurt the Land of Wind first before offering a carrot, right?
Moreover, for a barren country like the Land of Wind, if the wealthy Land of Fire were to indirectly control them using its own resources, it might actually be quite feasible. The same applies to the Land of Water; at the very least, it is more feasible than with the Land of Lightning or the Land of Earth.
In Fūmori Masaki's mind, the Land of Wind and the Land of Water should be relatively easy to handle, while the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning are countries that might compete with the Land of Fire for hegemony and must be taken seriously.
"If we only block the Land of Wind back, that shouldn't be much of a problem. It is just that defeating Sunagakure on the territory of the Land of Wind is quite troublesome; it is not as simple as just transferring some people over," Hiruzen Sarutobi said.
"No matter how troublesome it is, we should still fight," Fūmori Masaki said. "The Land of Wind covets the land of the Land of Fire. Unlike the bellicose nature of the Land of Lightning, this is a matter of survival. Unless they have no other choice, they will never back down."
"That's right. We cannot just plan to defend; at the very least, we should deal a major blow to Sunagakure to make them give up this idea," Danzo Shimura added.
"Then we have to transfer a large amount of troops to the Land of Wind, and we won't be able to leave many people on the side of Kirigakure. Iwagakure might—" Hiruzen Sarutobi mused, worried that if they withdrew a large number of troops, it might make Iwagakure dissatisfied, thereby affecting the alliance between the two countries.
"It doesn't matter. Let Iwagakure deal with Kirigakure," Tobirama said. "The Second Mizukage and the Second Tsuchikage have an old grudge, and the two countries will basically not make peace. Even if we withdraw, Iwagakure cannot betray us because the Land of Water will not cooperate with them, and the Land of Lightning does not have the strength to send troops. They can only continue to ally with us."
After the common enemy retreated, the alliance between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth became somewhat precarious. Tobirama believed that if the Second Tsuchikage had the opportunity to betray the alliance, he would tear up the agreement without hesitation; during the Warring States Period, such behavior by the Second Tsuchikage had already been heard of.
After analysis, Tobirama was certain that the Second Tsuchikage would definitely not choose to betray the alliance. Even if the other party was unhappy that Konohagakure did not help them with all its might, they would have no choice but to accept it. Moreover, the campaign against the Land of Wind was also a very good reason; the other party could not find any fault with it.
"In that case, we can take a strong counterattack against the Land of Wind," Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded.
"The plan is like this: first, have the main force head to the border of the Land of Wind to attract the attention of the Sunagakure troops, and meanwhile, send a small unit to take a detour from the Land of Rain to the central part of the Land of Wind, and attack Sunagakure from the rear," Tobirama said. "Although Sunagakure uses puppets to compensate for the lack of combat power, one fact that cannot be changed is that their manpower is always less than ours."
Yes, even if a Puppet Master can control two, three, or someone like the person mentioned in the intelligence who can control ten puppets, in the final analysis, that is still one person. Moreover, it is impossible to control puppets if they are placed very far away, which means they can only stay in one place.
Even after attrition, Konohagakure's main force is still superior to Sunagakure. Once they press forward, Sunagakure, which is already at a disadvantage in terms of numbers, must deploy its main force to the front line. Therefore, there will inevitably be very few Ninja left behind in other places. It does not require many people; as long as a team of a certain size that is good at surprise attacks is formed, they can break through Sunagakure's defense line and strike their rear.
"Although that is the case, in an environment like the desert, success is not an easy task. For this operation, I intend to let you two, Masaki and Danzo, go. Is that okay?" Tobirama asked.
"No problem," Fūmori Masaki and Danzo Shimura replied.
After receiving the reply, Tobirama continued to arrange the combat mission. Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu would accompany him and the main force to the Land of Wind, while Hiruzen Sarutobi and Akimichi Torifu would stay behind to command the Konoha Ninja Forces here.
Even though they did not intend to go all out with Iwagakure to deal with Kirigakure, as allies, they still had to make an effort. Leaving Hiruzen Sarutobi and Akimichi Torifu behind was already giving face to the Second Tsuchikage.
After some adjustments, about one-third of the Konoha Ninja remained, under the command of Hiruzen Sarutobi and Akimichi Torifu, while the remaining two-thirds basically set off with Tobirama. Fūmori Masaki and Danzo chose twenty-one people as teammates and set off for the Land of Rain to enter the Land of Wind.
Realizing that most of Konohagakure's forces had been transferred out, Iwagakure was indeed somewhat dissatisfied, but the Second Tsuchikage also knew the current situation, so he suppressed his dissatisfaction. At least one-third of the Konoha Ninja remained, and the commander was still Hiruzen Sarutobi, which could be considered a considerable combat force.
The war between Iwagakure and some Konoha Ninja against Kirigakure is a story for another time; what is about to break out now is the campaign between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind.