Konoha had deployed a total of 2,500 Border Defense Forces along the frontier lines surrounding the Land of Taki, Land of Grass, Land of Rain, and the Land of Rivers.
Shimura Danzō had transferred 500 troops toward the Land of Rice Fields and the Land of Hot Water, while another 500 were entangled with Sunagakure's shinobi in the Land of Rivers.
Out of the remaining 1,500 troops, the fact that Mimura Yōhaku managed to bring back 1,200 survivors after the sudden joint assault by Iwagakure and Sunagakure was already an impressive feat.
Uchiha Ren asked again,
"Do you know how many troops Iwagakure and Sunagakure sent this time?"
Mimura Yōhaku replied,
"Iwagakure has the largest force—at least 5,000 shinobi. Sunagakure has no fewer than 4,000."
Iwagakure was extremely powerful, but its alliance with Kumogakure and Sunagakure wasn't particularly stable. They still had to keep troops stationed at home to guard against possible conflict with those villages. Being able to mobilize 5,000 troops was already their limit.
Sunagakure was somewhat weaker. Although their barren territory meant less defensive pressure, they still had to maintain vigilance. In addition, some of their forces were tied down in the Land of Rivers to contain Konoha.
Gathering 4,000 troops already meant they had committed nearly everything they could spare.
5,000 from Iwagakure.
4,000 from Sunagakure.
1,000 from Kumogakure.
That meant the enemy coalition now had a full 10,000-man army.
As for Konoha, even if they went all out, they still had to keep forces stationed against Kumogakure and Kirigakure.
At best, they could gather 5,000 reinforcements.
Adding the 1,200 defenders already here, they would only have around 6,500 shinobi in total.
Even then, the Iwa–Suna–Kumo alliance still held an overwhelming numerical advantage.
The situation was far more severe than anyone had anticipated.
Uchiha Ren asked again,
"Captain Mimura, how long do you estimate before the Iwa and Suna armies reach this place?"
Mimura Yōhaku pondered briefly before answering,
"At most… half an hour."
Ren was startled.
"So fast?"
Mimura explained,
"Based on my observations, both the Iwa and Suna forces are traveling light and fast. They're carrying very little logistical supply."
"This is our crisis—but it's also our opportunity."
"Once they arrive, they'll definitely launch an attack immediately."
"But if we can withstand the first wave, they'll run into serious supply shortages and won't be able to continue their offensive until their logistics units catch up."
"So as long as we hold the first assault, Konoha reinforcements will arrive."
"We might even get the chance to launch a counterattack."
After all, this was still inside the Land of Fire.
In terms of logistics and supply lines, Konoha had the advantage.
Moreover, the alliance between Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Sunagakure had been formed hastily. They simply hadn't had enough time to prepare sufficient war supplies.
Their strategy was essentially a lightning offensive—they intended to decide the outcome in a single decisive strike.
As long as the first assault was stopped, Konoha's chances of victory would increase dramatically.
Ren shook his head expressionlessly.
"One thousand against ten thousand… You're quite confident."
"Ten thousand? Isn't it nine thousand?"
Mimura Yōhaku froze for a moment before recalling the situation at Kikyō Mountain Fortress.
"Lord Ren… what exactly happened on your side?"
"Wasn't the Konoha Military Police Force supposed to be responsible for security inside the village?"
Truthfully, Mimura had been curious about why Uchiha Ren was here in the first place. But earlier Ren had been asking the questions while he answered, leaving no opportunity for him to ask.
Ren explained,
"Something happened in the village last night. The Kumogakure diplomatic delegation tried to rescue the Eight-Tails c."
"Our Military Police Force had to respond, so we pursued them outside the village."
"Early this morning we captured the delegation and recovered the Eight-Tails jinchūriki. Soon after, we received intelligence that 2,000 Kumogakure troops had crossed into the Land of Fire, heading straight for Kikyō Mountain."
"We knew how important this fortress was, so we rushed here ahead of them and joined forces with the defenders stationed here."
"A fierce battle followed."
"If your forces hadn't suddenly appeared and frightened off the Kumogakure shinobi, we'd probably still be locked in combat right now."
Mimura frowned.
"This doesn't make sense."
"The Kumogakure delegation only had a few dozen people. How could they possibly escort the Eight-Tails jinchūriki out of the village under Konoha's layered security?"
"And those two thousand Kumogakure troops… Konoha has defensive lines in the Land of Rice Fields and the Land of Hot Water. How did they break through and enter the Land of Fire?"
From Ren's explanation, Mimura detected numerous inconsistencies.
Something about this entire situation felt terribly wrong.
Ren let out a cold, mocking laugh.
"What else could it be?"
"Someone in the village had the brilliant idea of using the Eight-Tails jinchūriki as bait—luring Kumogakure's army deep inside and then wiping them out in one decisive blow."
"He wanted to take a huge bite out of Kumogakure."
"But he didn't expect that Kumogakure wouldn't fall for it."
"Instead, they followed his plan and coordinated with Iwagakure and Sunagakure to launch a massive offensive against Konoha."
"In a strict sense…"
"We're all just cleaning up that guy's mess."
At those words, an image automatically appeared in Mimura Yōhaku 's mind—
A man with a cold and sinister face.
There was really only one person in Konoha capable of something like this.
Shimura Danzō.
Among the so-called Konoha leadership "F4," three of them belonged to the moderate faction.
Only the radical Danzō would carry out such an extreme plan.
So it wasn't hard to guess who Ren was referring to.
Mimura felt a wave of helplessness.
The Third Great Ninja War had finally ended. Konoha was supposed to be entering a rare period of peace.
Yet suddenly, Danzō had pulled something like this.
It was hard to know whether to laugh or cry.
"Ren. Captain Mimura."
At that moment, Hizashi Hyūga hurried over.
"I just had someone tally the situation."
"The number of wounded isn't too high. Our medical supplies are still sufficient, and food isn't an issue."
"But we're running into a problem with combat supplies."
"During the battle against Kumogakure, we used Explosive Tags without restraint."
"Not only have we burned through over half of our reserves, but many of the ninja tools we threw were deformed by the explosions and can't be recovered."
"When the enemy attacks again, we probably won't be able to maintain the same rate of resource expenditure."
During the earlier battle, following Uchiha Ren's orders, Konoha's shinobi had used Explosive Tags and ninja tools almost recklessly—essentially trading resources for enemy casualties.
Running short on supplies now was only natural.
"No need to worry. I—"
Ren was about to speak when his expression suddenly changed.
He turned his head sharply toward the distant forest.
From somewhere deep within the mountains, a terrifying surge of chakra was rapidly gathering.
The next moment—
A massive black-purple sphere of chakra shot toward Kikyō Mountain Fortress like a meteor.
Hizashi's Byakugan flared as he stared into the distance.
"It's a Tailed Beast Bomb!"
"The Iwagakure vanguard has arrived!"
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