The following morning, inside Konoha’s frontline command tent.
A huge sand table stood in the center of the tent, with the positions of the Konoha and Sunagakure forces carefully marked across it.
Hatake Sakumo stood before the map.
His short silver-white hair gleamed coldly beneath the sunlight, while his resolute expression was unusually solemn.
Chiya and Tsunade entered the tent side by side and glanced around at those present.
Besides the familiar Konoha Jōnin, there were also two unfamiliar faces standing in the corner.
They wore ordinary Konoha shinobi uniforms.
But their eyes were as sharp as an eagle’s.
Their posture was unnaturally straight, almost rigid.
They stood in stark contrast to the somewhat weary frontline shinobi around them.
“Tsunade. Chiya.”
Sakumo nodded slightly.
“You’re here.”
He gestured for them to take their seats.
Chiya’s gaze lingered on the two unfamiliar shinobi for a moment.
His brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
Their presence was extremely well concealed, but there was an indistinct coldness surrounding them.
It was completely different from the aura of ordinary frontline shinobi.
They seemed more like people specifically trained for assassination.
“Everyone, let’s begin.”
Sakumo’s voice pulled Chiya’s attention back.
He pointed toward several markings on the sand table.
“At present, we have a significant advantage.”
“Sunagakure’s main forces have already been pushed back toward the border.”
“But there’s some bad news.”
He paused.
His gaze swept across everyone present.
“Chiyo of Sunagakure has left the battlefield where the Sand forces were fighting Amegakure.”
“She has officially joined the battle against us.”
Chiyo.
Among Sunagakure’s shinobi, aside from the Third Kazekage, she was currently one of the most prominent figures.
It was said that this extraordinary puppet master could control puppets with nothing more than a single finger.
But that wasn’t all.
She also possessed formidable medical-ninjutsu and sealing abilities.
Calling her an all-around shinobi would not be an exaggeration.
The tent immediately erupted into discussion.
Chiyo’s name was famous throughout the shinobi world.
Her poison techniques and puppet techniques were regarded as exceptional, and countless shinobi feared facing her.
“I can’t believe she’s actually joined the battle.”
“Konoha is going to face a formidable opponent now!”
“Chiyo?”
“You mean the powerful kunoichi who even the Demigod of Amegakure couldn’t easily defeat?!”
“Things are looking much worse than expected…”
“…”
Sakumo raised a hand.
The discussion immediately stopped.
“Chiyo’s greatest specialties are poison and puppet techniques.”
“And those are precisely the things Konoha fears most.”
“According to the intelligence we’ve received, several of our shinobi have already been poisoned.”
“The symptoms are extremely difficult to treat.”
He turned toward Tsunade.
“Tsunade.”
“How confident are you in developing an antidote for Chiyo’s poison?”
Tsunade crossed her arms.
A sharp light flashed through her light-brown eyes.
“No matter how sophisticated a poison is, there is always a way to counter it.”
“Give me three days.”
“I’ll determine the antidote formula.”
Sakumo’s expression relaxed slightly.
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
Tsunade thought for a moment before adding,
“Besides preparing the antidote, we should continue training specialized medical ninjas.”
“They should be trained specifically to deal with Chiyo’s poison techniques.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
If they could do that, the wide variety of poisons Chiyo could produce would pose far less of a threat to Konoha’s forces.
Sakumo also showed a look of approval.
“Tsunade is right.”
“We need to prepare specifically for the enemy’s greatest strengths.”
The meeting continued for some time.
Then Sakumo suddenly turned toward one of the two unfamiliar shinobi.
“There are two more matters I need everyone to know about.”
“You explain the details.”
The shinobi stepped forward.
His movements were rigid yet precise, almost like a machine following a predetermined program.
His voice was low and steady.
There wasn’t the slightest trace of emotion in it.
“Everyone.”
“I am a member of Root’s Special Operations Unit.”
“My codename is ‘Chicken.'”
Chiya immediately understood.
He had already suspected that these two men were unusual.
Sure enough, they weren’t ordinary combat shinobi.
They were Root operatives.
Chicken…
The codename reminded Chiya of someone from his past.
Then again, using animal codenames wasn’t particularly unusual among Root and Anbu shinobi.
“According to our intelligence, a force of approximately five hundred Iwagakure shinobi has appeared near Amegakure.”
“They have disguised themselves as refugees and merchant caravans.”
“But their movements are suspicious.”
“They are highly likely to be preparing a military operation targeting the Land of Fire.”
The tent instantly fell silent.
The atmosphere seemed to freeze.
Iwagakure’s involvement meant the situation was about to become considerably more complicated.
“Iwagakure?”
A Jōnin couldn’t help speaking up.
“Weren’t they maintaining neutrality?”
“Military action doesn’t necessarily mean a declaration of total war.”
Sakumo explained calmly from the side.
Everyone present was speechless.
So Iwagakure is really going to play it this way?
It was obvious.
They wanted to take advantage of the situation.
While Konoha, Sunagakure, and Amegakure were locked in conflict, Iwagakure intended to seize whatever advantages it could.
“Chicken” showed no reaction.
He continued with the second piece of information.
“Additionally, Kumogakure has also shown signs of movement.”
“Their reconnaissance teams have infiltrated the borders of the Land of Rain.”
“Their objective is currently unknown.”
The situation was even worse than they had expected.
Everyone couldn’t help thinking the same thing.
After finishing his report, “Chicken” suddenly turned toward Chiya.
A strange glint appeared in his cold eyes.
“Uchiha Chiya.”
“Lord Danzō has a new mission for you.”
Danzō?
Chiya immediately became cautious.
He raised an eyebrow.
“What mission?”
“The Eight-Tails jinchūriki of Kumogakure, Fukaki, has recently been frequently active near the border.”
“Lord Danzō wants you to intercept and eliminate him.”
“This will weaken Kumogakure’s combat strength.”
Chiya’s heart stirred.
Isn’t this the target from my previous system mission?
He had thought that mission would probably fail.
He hadn’t expected Danzō to find him first.
Chiya deliberately appeared thoughtful.
Then he nodded.
“I can accept.”
“But I need detailed intelligence.”
“Chicken” took a scroll from inside his clothes and handed it to him.
“The specific operational plan will be discussed at the Root headquarters.”
Tsunade abruptly stood up.
Anger burned in her light-brown eyes.
“You want Chiya to fight a jinchūriki alone?”
“Have you lost your minds?!”
“Chicken” remained expressionless.
“This is Lord Danzō’s order.”
“And he won’t be going alone.”
“Others will accompany him.”
“Besides, given Uchiha Chiya’s strength, he is fully capable of completing the mission.”
Sakumo raised a hand, stopping the argument before it could escalate.
He looked toward Chiya.
“Chiya.”
“What do you think?”
Chiya smiled faintly.
His gaze was firm.
“I’ll accept the mission.”
“A jinchūriki is too great a threat.”
“If we can eliminate him in advance, we may be able to prevent Kumogakure from using this as an opportunity to start a war.”
“If successful, it will benefit Konoha.”
Tsunade gritted her teeth.
She clearly wanted to say something else.
But Chiya gently placed a hand over hers.
“Don’t worry.”
“I’ll come back safely.”
The meeting ended soon afterward.
Everyone gradually left.
Chiya arranged a time with “Chicken” to visit Root headquarters.
Then he walked out of the command tent alongside Tsunade.
The setting sun bathed the two of them in golden light, stretching their shadows across the ground.
Tsunade finally couldn’t hold back her question.
“You’re really going?”
Chiya nodded.
A deep light flashed through his eyes.
“Not just for Konoha.”
“For myself, too.”
Tsunade was silent for a moment.
Then she suddenly pulled a delicate medicine bottle from inside her clothes and pressed it into his hand.
“It’s a specially prepared antidote and some soldier pills.”
“They could save your life at a critical moment.”
Chiya accepted the bottle.
His fingertips lightly brushed across her palm.
He gave a quiet laugh.
“When I come back…”
“I’ll properly thank you.”
Tsunade turned her face away.
The tips of her ears turned slightly red.
“Enough nonsense.”
“Just come back alive.”
Chiya smiled.
Then he looked toward the distant sky.
His gaze gradually turned cold.
The Eight-Tails jinchūriki of Kumogakure…
It’s time to deal with him.