Chapter 59: The War Through Dana's Eyes
In the Land of Hot Water, one of the top ten hot spring inns had been bought by a mysterious wealthy merchant a while ago. It had been renamed the "Tento-kan," and its interior had been completely renovated, becoming even more magnificent than before, attracting many new customers.
What the common people didn't know was that during the renovation, a section of the sprawling building had been secretly modified. It was both separate from and connected to the main business, and it now served as the temporary secret base for the "Special Strategy Division."
The greatest hermitages are in the busiest cities.
In the very heart of the Tento-kan, in a private room, Dana was studying the latest intelligence reports.
"Young Master," Maki said, "please have some tea." She was sitting by his side, her long, slender legs forming a pleasing silhouette. She slowly pushed a cup of expertly prepared tea in front of him.
Dana just shook his head. He had never acquired a taste for sencha. He continued to stare at the map of the ninja world, planning his next move.
Of the five great villages, besides the Cloud, only the Mist had not yet joined the war. And due to their geographical location, their only options were to attack the Land of Fire or the Land of Lightning. Logically, ganging up on Konoha made the most sense and offered the greatest potential rewards. But there was no guarantee the Mist wouldn't do the opposite. They were, after all, the same village that had managed to get into a shouting match with the Stone Village across the entire ninja world during the First Great Ninja War. And the current Mizukage was the Third, a man Dana knew nothing about.
This was not the time for the Cloud to enter the war. The village was still in a period of growth, especially in the fields of medical ninjutsu and sealing jutsu. The advanced ninja school had also been established. It shared the same facilities and staff as the regular Academy, but with some additional instructors. Hiroto and the other top graduates had already enrolled. If the purpose of the Academy was to train rookie Genin, then the purpose of the advanced school was to train elite Chunin, with the best of them reaching the level of a Special Jonin.
The Cloud's overall strength was still growing. Every moment they could buy would give them a greater advantage when the war finally came. That meant they needed to give the Mist something to do. But their rivals were thinking the same thing. Right now, there were probably a lot of people in the ninja world who wanted to give the Cloud something to do. But with his father holding down the fort back home, he didn't have to worry for now. All the necessary precautions had been taken. The pressure was on him.
The best solution was to make the outside world believe that the Cloud was already facing its own internal problems, that it had already suffered losses. They had to be seen as a power not to be trifled with, but one that was currently unable to participate in the war. Only then would the other villages stop trying to cause trouble for them and be more willing to commit their forces to other fronts.
This was why he had leaked the existence of the Healing Talismans to Danzo. It was all part of a self-directed play, a drama about the conflict between the "war faction" and the "peace faction" within the Cloud. This was a story that had actually played out during the First Great Ninja War, with disastrous results. It should be a convincing narrative in the Second. It would be a series of elaborate self-directed plays. For now, the only audience was Danzo, but he was confident that in the future, the audience would grow.
The long hours of work had not exhausted the boundless energy of his young body, but his eyes were starting to feel sore. He rubbed them.
With his eyes closed, he reviewed the current situation. There were still a number of Konoha ninja in the Land of Grass. Though they were in a precarious, semi-surrounded position, they were also a thorn in the Stone's side. Only by eliminating them could the Stone launch a full-scale invasion of the Land of Fire. According to his intelligence, the current leader of the Konoha forces in the Land of Grass was Jiraiya. He was a formidable opponent and had no intention of retreating. Instead, he was trying to tie down the Stone's forces to buy more time for Konoha to prepare.
Should I lend him a hand?
As he was thinking, a pair of cool, small hands touched his temples, clearing his slightly dizzy head.
"Young Master," Maki's voice came from behind him, "please let me help you relax."
Dana resisted for a moment, then let himself go completely limp, resting his head on her lap. It wasn't as soft as he had imagined, but it was firm and elastic. He opened his eyes slightly and saw her curious, clear pupils.
"I should go," he murmured. "Otherwise, I'll melt away here."
Land of Grass
On a green hill, covered in waist-high grass, a few heads peeked out as the wind blew, then quickly disappeared again as the grass swayed back into place.
"Lord Jiraiya," one of his men reported, "the Stone's main force is gradually closing in on us."
The tall figure of Jiraiya's eyes narrowed. "So there's no escape," he said. "It seems we'll have to fight."
At twenty-four, Jiraiya already had the air of one of the future "Legendary Sannin." He was calm, confident, and magnanimous.
He had been sent to the Land of Grass before the war to watch for any movements from the Stone. Since his arrival, he had quickly consolidated the Konoha forces and intelligence networks in the country and had begun to probe the Stone's defenses. But the Stone's true objective had not been the Land of Grass. They had used the Land of Rain as a corridor to attack Konoha, which had left Jiraiya's forces in a semi-surrounded position. Now that the Stone's advance had been halted and they had set up camp on the Rain-Fire border, they were turning their attention to cleaning up the Konoha forces in their rear. Jiraiya's unit was the primary target.
In the initial clashes, the Stone had not had the upper hand. Jiraiya's elite team had successfully repelled their attacks, forcing the Stone to realize that they were dealing with a formidable opponent. They had then increased the pressure, sweeping through the Land of Grass with a larger force. Konoha had sent some reinforcements at Jiraiya's request, but they were still at a numerical disadvantage. Jiraiya believed that as long as there was a Konoha presence in the Land of Grass, the Stone could not launch a full-scale invasion of the Land of Fire. So, he had chosen to make a stand, while continuing to request more support from his teacher, Hiruzen.
His forces in the Land of Grass were elite, but they were few. They could not match the Stone's numbers.
"Things should get better once Sakumo-senpai arrives."
He looked at the first wave of reinforcements that had been sent from the village. They, too, were an elite force. He had long heard of this clan's exceptional talent and strength, but because they rarely went on missions outside the village, he had not known much about them. The battles of the past few days had shown him that their reputation was well-deserved.
In the distance, clearly separated from the other Konoha ninja, a four-man squad was on watch.
Four pairs of crimson eyes stood out against the green landscape.