"Great job! With the Iwagakure's offensive pushed back, we are in an amazing spot." Ebizo said in a pleased tone as various important officials, or at least those who survived the battle, gathered around a table in the command tent on top of the giant rock.
Most of them looked dead tired on their feet, but except for those injured or suffering from chakra exhaustion, they still gathered here to hear what would be the next step.
Temari, for example, was pretty much using Ren's body to support her weight as she leaned on him, her eyelids dropping from sheer exhaustion now that the tension of the battle drained out of her body.
She had used an enormous amount of chakra, keeping the center of the battlefield in a stalemate, and the effects showed. She was on the verge of chakra exhaustion when Ren met her after the battle, and since then, he has been slowly infusing his chakra into her to keep her going.
That and the amused glances from other, more experienced people around the table were the only things that gave her the stubborn determination to hang on and not give them the satisfaction of seeing her fall asleep during a meeting. Nevertheless, Ren had to poke her from time to time when he saw that her eyes stayed closed for a bit longer.
Fortunately for everybody involved, Onoki ordered a retreat around an hour and a half after the battle had started. He had seen that it was going nowhere and decided to cut his losses. His ninjas were not losing, per se, but it was obvious he would not be winning anytime soon either.
Ren was actually surprised. He definitely expected to get into a fight with Onoki. The man looked downright pissed, and he no doubt wanted to take some potshots at the Sunagakure's troops with his Dust Release ever since he had started watching.
But the old man kept his cool, and in the end, he flew away once the Iwa army safely retreated far enough without Suna forces pursuing them.
Then again, watching the battle, Ren had realized one important thing that did not compute for him previously. The Suna forces were holding very well, and the Iwa forces did not get the necessary momentum to push through.
Onoki could at best keep trading the lives of Iwa ninjas for the lives of Suna ninjas. And... sadly, that was a very viable strategy, one used a lot in previous ninja conflicts.
But here? He didn't need to do it. It would accomplish nothing. You only try to waste the enemy's manpower by sacrificing your own troops to dissuade them from attacking you.
And as Ren looked at the two armies clashing, it came to his mind that the Suna army? The seven-ish thousand ninjas were all that Sunagakure could currently field while also having enough ninjas to do missions, garrison the outposts, protect the village, and fulfill numerous other duties that the village had to uphold.
But the eight thousand Iwa ninjas on the opposing side? He heard that Iwa was preparing for a major offensive against Konoha back in their village. Those ninjas over there were just what Iwa could spare to half-heartedly throw at Suna to keep them occupied.
Realizing that, any previous notion he had of Suna going on the offensive against Iwa became laughable.
Suna just came out of a financial crisis, and unlike in the canon, they did not have three years to recover. They barely had a few months before this war started. Plus, due to the butterfly effect that Ren's presence had caused, their financial crisis lasted three years longer. Their situation became that much more precarious because of that.
Sunagakure troops were not going to go anywhere anytime soon. They could barely spare the manpower for self-defense. Iwa could sit in the Land of Fangs, where they had retreated, and continuously send smaller teams to harass the Suna forces in the Land of Wind. That would keep them sufficiently occupied to prevent them from reinforcing Konoha.
Pushing through and establishing a foothold in the Land of Wind would have been preferable and more beneficial for Iwa, but losing that opportunity was not such a big deal because Suna could not properly counterattack, no matter how much they wished for it.
It was a bit disheartening to realize that.
"Now that we pushed the Iwagakure's main force outside of our borders, the war will probably enter a passive stage where our ninjas will clash in the shadows for an extended period." Ebizo continued in a serious voice as he leaned over the map on the table.
"Wait, that's it?" Kankuro asked, bewildered, only to duck his head in embarrassment as several ninjas looked at him weirdly, some even rolling their eyes.
Ebizo chuckled. "Yes, young Kankuro. That's it. Onoki can't stay on this front for too long. He will want to lead the main force against Konoha's troops, and he will take many of his more elite troops from this front with him."
There wasn't much benefit in fighting against Suna. Konoha's country was far richer. This was just naturally going for a better target, and on top of that, for Onoki, the conflict against Konoha was personal.
It was some sort of cultural bullshit about ninja honor that Ren didn't understand. Something about them feeling the need to repay Konoha for winning the previous war?
Ren inwardly hummed and decided to stop thinking about it. He chalked it up to the Iwa people being weird. Namikaze was already dead, so it wasn't like they could get revenge against the man who butchered their people.
"Iwa's side won't have the necessary manpower for another major push into our borders." Ebizo continued. "If they had secured a foothold in a border town and fortified their position? Then yes, staying and fighting would have been financially worth it. But as it is now?" He shrugged. "It's just too much effort for not enough benefits."
"Man~, I wonder if the Daimyo is going to be upset that we won the battle." A tired-looking man with a bandana around his forehead dryly chuckled as a smirk appeared on his face.
If Ren remembered correctly, that was one of the commanders from the left wing. An important one from one of Sunagakure's clans. But as for his name, Ren had honestly forgotten it.
That was a bit awkward.
Several more ninjas exchanged amused smiles and chuckles, baffling the younger and less experienced ninjas in the room. Taking pity on them, Ebizo decided to explain.
"With the war entering this 'skirmishing in the shadows' stage, Iwa will try to infiltrate the Land of Winds with several teams that will act like bandits and saboteurs. Contrary to what you might think, it would have been more comfortable for the merchants if Iwa troops had actually pushed us back and had taken territory. Sure, the civilian merchants and nobles would have to pay fees to them, but that would also mean the Iwa ninjas would have to act with restraint toward their temporary golden goose."
The bandana-wearing man grinned at Kankuro, "It's funny because our victory here will probably result in more costs for the nobles and merchants in the future. They will have to hire our ninjas to protect them against the threat of raiding Iwa teams. And they will do it, but they will also hate it a lot. I bet some of the Daimyo's officials definitely wished we would lose here."
"This is some complicated shit." Kankuro muttered to himself, but it was loud enough that everybody in the room heard him and subconsciously nodded in agreement. Even Ren found himself nodding.
He preferred it when he didn't need to think about the consequences of every little stupid event because it affected the world on a wider scale, either politically or economically.
It almost made him wish he were reincarnated in the Potterverse instead. He could have had fun with magic, enjoyed a magical boarding high school experience, and could have just somehow given Dumbles the intel on Horcruxes so he would not need to deal with the whole Voldy situation himself.
Then again, he wouldn't have met Hinata, Ino, or Temari if that were the case, so that kind of evened it out, he guessed.
"We don't need to worry about that." Ebizo shook his head, and Ren inwardly reeled as he was reminded that he was in an important meeting right now and he should not daydream. "As long as our border outposts and patrols stand, we should defend against the Iwa's infiltration teams with moderate success."
A beaming, content smile spread on Ebizo's face, "We couldn't be in a better position than this. I am very proud of what you have achieved here today. This war should be simple for us from here on. I think we all deserve to celebrate this monumental..."
A ninja suddenly intruded on the meeting, walking into the tent with a grim face and urgency. "I have an important report." He saluted as most eyes turned toward him. "The western and eastern outposts closest to this position were attacked during the battle. Lord Gaara managed to fend off the attacking Iwa force to the east before they could reach their target, but the western outpost..." He trailed off with a small grimace, causing the previous elated mood in the tent to instantly vanish.
"The Iwa ninjas somehow managed to quietly bypass the minefield, and our forces stationed in that outpost were taken off guard. The casualties were massive." He finished, and with every sentence, Ebizo's beaming smile became more and more strained. Suna was already having manpower issues. Hearing that hundreds of their ninjas were either dead or injured was not a pleasant revelation.
An oppressive silence spread in the tent as everybody was digesting that information.
"... I see." Ebizo eventually spoke. "That's very unfortunate." He wearily sighed. "But it is not the end of the world. We will have to reinforce that position again and-"
Another ninja urgently barged into the tent with an alarmed expression that spelled nothing good.
"Esteemed Elder! The border outposts!" He was forced to stop and desperately gasp for air, showing that he hurried here as fast as he could. From his haggard and sandy attire, Ren guessed the man ran here all the way from Suna. "Many of them along the northern borders failed to check in since yesterday!"
Ebizo's eyes briefly widened before he went silent as an unhappy frown appeared on his face. That... wasn't good. Not at all.
During wartime, the border outposts had to check in daily. It wasn't unusual for the enemy to overwhelm one and silently destroy them. In which case, the bordering outposts could go check and report it. But if several went dark all at once?
That meant their defenses were breached, and their border on that side was wide open. The Iwa ninjas could stream into their country from several unguarded entry points as much as they wished.
"How the hell did they even know the positions of our hidden border outposts?" Ebizo angrily muttered, his frown grimly widening as the atmosphere in the tent turned heavy and defeated.
Their previous victory in driving the Iwa forces out of their country was instantly negated. What good would it do that the main Iwa forces were pushed out of their country when they could just scatter and infiltrate the Land of Wind through several now unguarded entry points without anybody even noticing?
They were ninjas. They were used to acting independently in small teams. They could easily regroup into a big army deep inside the Land of Wind. It was the border outposts that prevented that from happening.
But now...
"It looks like the upcoming shadow war will be much bloodier and more demanding for us." Ebizo commented with a heavy heart and downcast expression.
Feeling a small tugging sensation from the sleeve of his right arm, Ren looked over and met Temari's worried eyes. He gave her a reassuring, if a bit sad, smile and pecked her on the lips, trying to get her mind out of thinking too much about these problems. At least, for the moment.
But he didn't offer her any consoling words because what could he really say at this point? They were not losing, but they were not winning either, and Sunagakure went from a winning position to being on the backfoot at the drop of a hat.
Even he, who only cared about Suna by proxy, because of Temari and the investment he had put into the village, had felt very bad. He couldn't even imagine how much it must suck for the actual Suna ninjas.
Pulling Temari into a hug, Ren inwardly sighed as he closed his eyes. 'Well played, Onoki. I guess this round goes to you.' He wryly thought as he caressed her hair while feeling her go slack against his chest as she buried her face in the crook of his neck.
In a rising exasperation, he had realized she had fallen asleep on him.