Somewhere along the border between the Land of Grass and the Land of Earth, the Konoha Command Headquarters was established.
Several well-known Konoha Jonin could be seen here, such as Hizashi Hyuga, Shinku Yuhi, Shibi Aburame, and many others. These men were among the most vital leaders of this particular theater of war.
Inside the central command tent, the group was currently deliberating on how to deal with the Stone Ninja.
"The strength of the Stone Ninja exceeds our own here, so we must consider how to achieve victory using the minimum amount of force possible," Shinku Yuhi said, studying the maps. "Looking at the surrounding terrain, there are simply too many places where the Stone Ninja can hide."
"We are fortunate in one regard," Hizashi Hyuga added. "Iwagakure hasn't launched a full-scale assault yet. Perhaps they are also hesitant to let their ninjas perish in a battlefield like this."
"For now, we can only wait for them to make a move and react accordingly," Shinku said helplessly.
It was a blatant fact that Konoha was at a disadvantage compared to the Stone Ninja in this region.
"I heard that Lord Hokage has dispatched reinforcements from the Mount Kikyo battlefield. I wonder who will be arriving—Lord Jiraiya, or perhaps Lord Orochimaru," Hizashi guessed.
"Hard to say. It could be anyone," Shinku said, shaking his head. "Even if those two eventually come to this front, they certainly won't be here at the start, and the initial number of reinforcements won't be large."
Shinku continued, "Only once the situation on that side is fully stabilized will Lord Orochimaru and Lord Jiraiya be able to pull away and come here."
"Then it's anyone's guess. It could be Minato Namikaze, Choza Akimichi, or others," Hizashi said with a smile.
"No use guessing. The reinforcements should arrive within the next two days," Shinku concluded.
Suddenly, the voice of a Konoha ninja drifted in from outside. "My lords, I have a report!"
The commanders looked toward the entrance and signaled for the ninja to enter.
"What is it?" Shinku asked, looking at the messenger.
"My lords, the reinforcements from the other battlefield have arrived!" the ninja reported hurriedly.
"They're here already?" A look of joy crossed the faces of Shinku and the others. They were eager to see exactly who had been sent.
"Come, let us go out and welcome our comrades," Shinku said, leading the way.
Hizashi, Shinku, and the rest soon spotted the arriving troops. They also saw exactly who was leading the group: Tianyuan, the legendary genius of Konoha.
Due to the ongoing war, news from the other front had suffered some delay, leaving them still unaware of Tianyuan's magnificent achievements. Consequently, Hizashi and his peers were quite surprised.
"Tianyuan, Kushina, you've had a hard journey," Shinku was the first to react, followed quickly by Hizashi and the others offering their greetings.
"I didn't expect Lord Hokage to send you here," Hizashi said with a hint of curiosity. According to the letters from the Hokage, the leader of these reinforcements would hold a degree of authority in this theater that even surpassed their own.
"Haha, I don't know either. Maybe the Old Man had something in mind," Tianyuan replied with a light smile.
He didn't bother mentioning his own battle record. Tooting one's own horn like that would be far too low-brow. Now that his team was here, there would naturally be plenty of people to spread the word for him.
"Tianyuan, Kushina, and the rest of you—please go and get some rest first. Rushing here from another battlefield must have been exhausting," Shinku suggested. "Oh, Tianyuan, Kushina, why don't you two follow me? I'll take you to your quarters."
"Thank you. You all go and rest up," Tianyuan said, turning to address his subordinates.
"Yes, Lord Tianyuan!" more than a hundred ninjas responded in unison. Their voices were thunderous, filled with palpable admiration and respect.
This display didn't just surprise the Konoha Jonin; even the surrounding ninjas stood in a daze for a moment.
What is going on? How did this Konoha genius elicit such a reaction from these ninjas? Is there something we don't know?
Tianyuan ignored their confusion and followed Shinku away from the main crowd.
"Tianyuan, I truly want to thank you," Shinku said as they walked. "Thank you for looking after Kurenai." He had clearly seen Kurenai among Tianyuan's ranks.
As a Jonin, Shinku couldn't prevent his own child from entering the battlefield—that wasn't allowed, as Konoha belonged to everyone. The best he could do was try to arrange for Kurenai to be stationed in a safer location.
Back then, Shinku had made a request to Jiraiya. Eventually, Jiraiya noticed that Tianyuan's unit was exceptionally safe and had Kurenai assigned there. Because of this, Shinku knew that Tianyuan's strength must be formidable.
While still at the village, these Jonin had heard vague rumors of Tianyuan's excellent performance. However, because the spotlight was often shared with the likes of Jiraiya and Orochimaru, Tianyuan was mostly known by the ninjas who were actually on the front lines.
Hearing Shinku's gratitude, Tianyuan smiled. "Jonin Shinku, Kurenai is my friend, isn't she? Naturally, I will protect her."
"That is true," Shinku smiled back. "However, I am curious about one thing. Why does it seem like your squad members view you as more than just a superior officer?"
"Lord Shinku, perhaps you will find out soon enough," Tianyuan replied enigmatically. "Are these our quarters?" He pointed to the two tents in front of them.
"Yes, this is where Jonin Tianyuan and Jonin Kushina will be staying," Shinku confirmed. "If you need anything, feel free to come find me at any time."
"Many thanks, Jonin Shinku," Tianyuan said with a smile.
Watching Shinku walk away, Kushina curled her lip slightly. "Tianyuan, if they knew what you did to the Sand Ninja, they probably wouldn't have any words left."
She had noticed that the other ninjas didn't seem to have much expectation or surprise upon seeing Tianyuan arrive. To them, he was likely just one more Jonin added to the roster.
"Alright, Kushina, let's get some rest. We've pushed ourselves hard to get here," Tianyuan said.
"Got it. But tomorrow, let's show them exactly how powerful we are," Kushina said with a brilliant smile.
"By the way, Tianyuan, why is it that I feel a strange sense of closeness when I look at you?" Kushina asked suddenly.
"Oh, maybe it's because I have an Uzumaki Physique as well," Tianyuan joked.
"Liar," Kushina muttered before stepping into her tent.
"The Stone Ninja, huh?" Tianyuan turned his gaze toward the endless mountain ranges in the distance the heart of the enemy's territory.
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