After successively receiving news of the Land of Water and the Land of Wind joining the war, Tobirama's originally good mood soured. Fortunately, the Land of Earth had not changed its course and was still willing to ally with the Land of Fire, and the Land of Wind had not allied with other nations, opting only for unilateral aggression. These two facts kept him from becoming even more pessimistic about the future prospects.
Since Tobirama was currently fighting on the front lines, the alliance treaty between the two countries was signed by the two Daimyos, guaranteeing mutual assistance in this war. Meanwhile, the New Ruler issued an order to Tobirama, demanding that he defeat the Land of Lightning forces as quickly as possible, reclaim the lost territory, and uphold the nation's dignity.
Tobirama looked at the intelligence before him, marking the offensive positions of the Land of Lightning, Water, and Wind on the map. He pondered how to deal with them; relying solely on the Samurai Corps was certainly not enough. If they could truly hold the line, the Ninja Villages wouldn't have become a country's primary military force. Therefore, he still had to dispatch the Konoha Ninja.
But the problem was that the Konoha Ninja Village currently had limited manpower. The large units that could be mobilized had already come here. Should he send the Fourth Division, which was responsible for support? Or perhaps dispatch the Uchiha Clan, who were staying behind to guard the Konoha Ninja Village?
Tobirama thought about it and felt it was unfeasible. The Village needed to keep defensive forces, and the support from the Fourth Division was also very necessary. No one knew if an unexpected situation would suddenly arise on the battlefield; if he sent the Fourth Division away, there would be no one left to provide support when needed.
Tobirama felt that he still had to allocate combat power from the current large units. However, the Land of Lightning forces were entrenched and refused to retreat. If he directly withdrew a portion of his combat power, the pressure on the front line would become quite heavy—ultimately, it was because the Land of Lightning's surprise attack had seized the initiative, occupying part of the Land of Fire's border towns. With the loss of these places, the Samurai Corps' defensive line was broken, making it difficult for them to be effective.
The Land of Lightning also understood this. As long as they could continue to occupy these places, the Konoha Ninja would not dare to split their forces to deal with other Ninja Villages. As time passed, other parts of the Land of Fire would slowly be captured by the other Ninja Villages, which was naturally a good thing for the Land of Lightning.
Therefore, the Land of Lightning hadn't even launched an attack in recent days, focusing their energy on defense. They remained unmoved by several provocations from the Konoha Ninja, clearly intending to stall for time. After all, the longer the delay, the more advantageous it was for them.
The pressure on Tobirama's shoulders was truly immense. If he didn't quickly repel the Land of Lightning, what would happen to the defensive lines in other areas? He couldn't allow Iwagakure to go and defend in their stead, letting Iwagakure enter the heart of the Land of Fire. Even knowing the reason for their alliance, Tobirama still didn't feel at ease.
Tobirama thought to himself that he had to settle this quickly. If this delay continued, other places would be difficult to defend. They didn't necessarily need to completely defeat the Land of Lightning; as long as they could drive the Land of Lightning forces out of the Land of Fire, they would have the spare capacity to support other areas.
Tobirama's gaze fell on the location of the Land of Rice Fields on the map. He tapped it lightly with his finger, having already decided in his heart that the breakthrough for the current situation would be opened from here.
As everyone knows, every war requires logistical support. Whether it's food, weapons and equipment, or daily supplies, these are all factors that guarantee victory in war. The distance between the Land of Lightning and the Land of Fire is very far; they were essentially conducting an expedition far from home. If the logistical supply was insufficient, it would be impossible to sustain until now.
For instance, Konoha Ninja Village is within the Land of Fire, making it very easy to obtain logistical supplies. But the Land of Lightning is different; it is separated from the Land of Fire by the Land of Rice Fields. The Land of Rice Fields is not a vassal state of the Land of Lightning. Although they didn't dare to offend them, they wouldn't directly provide supplies either; they weren't that weak yet.
In other words, the Land of Lightning's logistical supplies still came from within their own country, and they had to be painstakingly sent to the Land of Rice Fields before being received by the troops. This put immense pressure on logistics. Once cut off, it would not be so easy to restore.
Tobirama determined that if he wanted to force the Land of Lightning to withdraw in a short time,
he could only strike at their logistics. Without logistical supplies, even if they wanted to fight a defensive war, they wouldn't be able to, and would have no choice but to exit the Land of Fire.
However, the Land of Lightning couldn't possibly fail to understand this logic. They had also experienced many wars and were seasoned veterans. Naturally, they took care in protecting their logistics routes. Initially, Tobirama felt that as long as he held out, the Land of Lightning would surely lose, so he hadn't adopted this combat method. But now the situation was different, and they had to take a risk.
Although logistical units are important, they wouldn't have too many guards. Firstly, because manpower was needed on the front lines, and secondly, because an operation to raid a logistics unit couldn't involve too many people, otherwise it would easily be noticed by Ninjas, who would then reinforce the defense. Therefore, only a small unit could act, which didn't require many people—just an elite Ninja defense was needed. Similarly, Tobirama only needed to send an elite Ninja unit to carry out the surprise raid mission.
Tobirama began to think about what kind of people to send for this combat mission. Those protecting the logistical supply line would surely be Kumogakure Elites, so Konoha must also send elites, and they had to be suitable for this task. The requirements were speed, ruthlessness, and precision.
After a night of contemplation, Tobirama decided which squad to send for this operation. He quickly issued orders, demanding those people be called over.
When Fūmori Masaki saw that Tobirama had someone call for him, he couldn't quite figure out the other's intention for a moment. But seeing others heading to Tobirama's tent as well, he began to understand Tobirama's thoughts.
Fūmori Masaki had also thought about how this war should be fought. After learning about the offensive from the Land of Water and Wind, he had also concluded that raiding the logistical supply line to force the Land of Lightning to withdraw was the strategic plan. Furthermore, he felt that he was one of the suitable candidates for this operation.
Fūmori Masaki's combat style involved high speed combined with Wind Release Chakra attacks, which was inherently very suitable for surprise raids. Especially for missions like raiding supply lines that required small units, having him do it couldn't be more appropriate—just like Minato Namikaze, known as the yellow flash, was chosen for the Battle of Kannabi Bridge during the Third Great Ninja War in the future.
Thinking about it this way, the mission he was about to undertake was the First Great Ninja War's version of the Battle of Kannabi Bridge?
Fūmori Masaki looked at the Konoha Ninjas accompanying him. There was only one familiar face, Hyūga Kei. As for the others, although they were from the same Village, he wasn't very familiar with them. He didn't even know their full names, let alone their abilities.
The next person to appear was also someone Fūmori Masaki knew: Senju Touka. Her presence here meant that this mission would be led by her. After all, Senju Touka was a Jonin; aside from Tobirama, no one could have a higher rank than her, and Tobirama had to attract the enemy's attention on the front lines.
Senju Touka saw Fūmori Masaki and gave him a slight nod. As a Jonin, she was aware of the upcoming combat plan. Therefore, it was within her expectations that Fūmori Masaki would be selected.
Upon arriving in Tobirama's tent, Tobirama looked at the seven people before him. These were the ones who would execute the surprise raid plan. He said, "I've called you here today hoping you will form a squad to carry out an important mission. If successful, the tide of this war will gradually turn in our favor."
Except for Fūmori Masaki and Senju Touka, the others hadn't thought of the strategy to raid the supply lines. Thus, hearing Tobirama say this, they felt a bit nervous, wondering what kind of mission Tobirama would assign.
"You need to go to the Land of Rice Fields to destroy the Land of Lightning's logistical supply line. Senju Touka will serve as the captain for this mission." Tobirama glanced at Fūmori Masaki, who showed no sign of surprise, and continued, "Time is short, and we haven't obtained very detailed intelligence. This information is only for your reference."
Senju Touka stepped forward to take the scroll. Then Tobirama said, "I'll state beforehand that this mission is very dangerous, so you must not be careless. One more thing: Iwagakure will also coordinate with your actions, drawing the attention of the Land of Lightning forces over there to make it easier for you to move. So remember to link up with them once you arrive—time is very tight, so I won't say much more. Go back and learn about each other's information, then set out."
Senju Touka said "Yes," immediately assuming her duties as captain. She led Fūmori Masaki and the others out of the tent, telling them to go back and prepare their equipment, and that introductions could be made after they set out.