The Land of Frost has a peninsula topography, with the overall national shape being long and narrow. Although the land is connected to the Land of Fire, both the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning are its maritime neighbors.
Therefore, according to the deduction of the strategist Shikaku, the battlefield where the two sides will engage should be in the northernmost part of the Land of Frost.
As the strategic defender, the Land of Fire can completely rely on the natural defenses of the Land of Fire behind it and supply lines that are almost right at their doorstep to guard the border.
At this moment, on the border between the nations, the Konoha's Ninjas who have arrived at the border begin setting up camp.
As the leading officer of the medical Ninja unit, after the surrounding Ninjas set up the field hospital, Sakura specifically uses Wood Release to add a layer of vegetation on the outside as camouflage.
"You're being too cautious, aren't you?"
Sasuke, returning from patrolling with a team of red-eyed Ninjas, looks at Sakura's arrangement and can't help but comment.
"Better safe than sorry!"
Sakura leads him into the tent, sits down, and catches her breath. "By the way, since you're not in Konoha, who's managing the Uchiha Clan and the Police Department?"
"Uh, well..."
The black-haired youth raises his hand and scratches his cheek, recalling his mother's puffy-cheeked expression at their parting.
'She should... be able to handle it, right?'
Inside the tent, the two continue their conversation, while outside, a black night bird carrying instructions dives straight through the black cloth curtain.
"Sakura~, Headquarters is summoning all unit commanders!"
Leviathan, flapping its wings, slowly lands on Sakura's shoulder and whispers in her ear.
"Got it, I'm on my way!" Sakura stands up and instructs them: "Keep an eye on Sato Sakura for me. Don't let her go to the battlefield."
Sasuke and Leviathan, who has flown onto his shoulder, nod in agreement, then watch Sakura run out of the tent, heading toward the front of the area where the Konoha's Ninjas are stationed.
Inside the temporary headquarters of the Ninja forces, all department heads have already gathered: the Allied Forces Commander Jiraiya, Chief Strategist Nara Shikaku, Reconnaissance Captain Aburame Shibi, Company Commander Hatake Kakashi, Logistics Division Akimichi Choza, Communications Division Yamanaka Inoichi, Sealing Division Gekko Hayate, Barrier Division Shiranui Genma...
By the time Sakura arrives, the conference table in the tent is almost completely surrounded by people attending the meeting, leaving her momentarily unable to find a place to sit.
"Come here by me!"
Jiraiya, seeing his disciple's bewildered expression, like a student in a boring class trying to slip to the back row but finding no empty seats, grins and calls her to the front.
"Tch!"
Sakura gives Jiraiya a glare, but not wanting to undermine the authority of the Commander, she maintains a cold expression and slowly walks over to him.
"Alright, now that everyone is here, let's begin today's strategy meeting. Let's try to resolve all issues at once. We don't want to waste time on the battlefield!"
Quickly slipping into his role as the force commander, Jiraiya's gaze sharpens, his voice carries determination, and his entire demeanor exudes an undeniable aura.
"Jiraiya-sama! I have a situation to report!"
Before Sakura can urge the medical unit about the issue of supplies not yet arriving, Shikaku beats her to it.
"Hmm?" Jiraiya takes the intelligence report from Shikaku and falls silent.
After a long moment, he distributes the paper for the assembled senior leadership to see.
"The residents of... the Land of Frost?"
Sakura reads through the intelligence Shikaku has compiled at lightning speed and exclaims involuntarily.
Near the Konoha defense line, from the border of the Land of Rice to the border of the Land of Waterfalls, the area spanned by that line contains multiple settlements where residents of the Land of Frost live.
Caught in the middle of a battlefield between great nations, with their own nation's Ninja Village too weak to protect them, these citizens of the Land of Frost will most likely instinctively migrate toward safer places when war breaks out.
If that happens, they will surge against Konoha's border. Even worse, among the chaotic mix of refugees, there will often be large numbers of Rogue Ninjas, mercenaries, and enemy spies.
So Shikaku's implication is asking Jiraiya whether they should implement a scorched-earth policy against these residents.
"Sakura, what do you think?"
Jiraiya's eyes shift slightly, his questioning gaze turning to his disciple beside him.
'—What do I think? I think sitting down is fine!'
Arms crossed behind her head, the girl rocks on her chair, a trace of helplessness showing in her half-open eyes.
With the situation among the four great nations being so complex right now, and the Land of Frost being one of the few Ninja Villages on the continent that has established friendly cooperative relations with Kirigakure.
If Konoha were to scorch the earth on another nation's soil right now, it could very likely become a pretext for Kirigakure to intervene, potentially escalating the ongoing war between Kumogakure and Iwagakure into a four-nation free-for-all.
And as for the last nation, the Land of Wind...
If the other four of us are already fighting, do you think you'll have a chance to stay out of it? Why are you thinking so big in the marriage market when you don't have a single penny in your pocket?
It's almost foreseeable that if a fourth great nation intervenes in the Land of Frost, where troops from three great nations have already gathered, the Great Ninja War will begin in an instant.
All that can be said is that this war between the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning is far too abnormal. So abnormal that even those who don't understand politics should start to sense something amiss.
"Set up traps around the area and put up warning signs. If, after being warned in advance, someone still forces their way through, then we must prepare for the worst."
Everyone present in the allied leadership understands the implication of Sakura's words: play the disclaimer game. That whole 'no responsibility for unannounced actions' routine.
On the surface, it's steady and leaves no loopholes in principle, but essentially, it would also surrender their initiative, allowing those who scheme in the shadows to pull them by the nose.
But the question is, does anyone have a better solution that could extinguish the other four great nations' desire to turn Konoha into a national elixir?
The answer is… no.
Even if Hashirama were reborn, the nations, with their severely mismatched population and resources, would still have to fight you. Either they take enough money and grain, or enough people die to quell this upheaval.
"In the short term, this is all we can do." Jiraiya sighs, turning his gaze to the others. "If there are any other issues, report them quickly, so we can coordinate while all department heads are present!"
These words seem to open the floodgates, and the various commanders rush forward with their grievances, the entire command tent drowning in noise.
At this moment, Jiraiya displays his veteran savvy as a battle-hardened Ninja, handling many seemingly confusing matters with organization and clarity.
He even finds time to mentor Sakura... Or rather, his original purpose in keeping his disciple by his side is precisely to pass on as much of this experience to her as possible!
As the sky darkens, Jiraiya finally finishes with Choza regarding the logistics, taking a moment to sit back in his chair and moisten his nearly hoarse voice with tea.
"So, do you want me to go urge the transport team about the medicine delivery?"
Jiraiya, with a teasing expression, leans on the table, glancing at Sakura, and raises his eyebrows, flashing her a handsome smile.
"Forget it. It's rare that you set such a good example for me today." Sakura stands up and stretches. "So I suppose I'll put in a rare bit of effort myself!"
"Huh?" Jiraiya blinks in confusion.
'No, what can you even do about the medicine situation? What, can you just grow it out of the ground?'
His attempt at a cool pose failing, he doesn't have time to call his disciple back.
He can only watch as she walks out of the tent and disappears from sight.