Uchiha's personal opinion

However, in front of the Hokage, the honest Sakumo readily agreed to the task assigned by the Hokage, leaving Uchiha Tokumitsu no time to voice his objections.

“Sakumo-kun… I may grumble a bit, but our ninjas don’t have our physiques to withstand such frequent combat missions…”

Uchiha Tokumitsu sighed somewhat helplessly.

This is the downside of having a partner who is a passionate, honest, and impartial person.

"However... even though the Hokage is urging us, we can still travel slowly and rest along the way~" Hatake Sakumo rubbed his nose and said softly.

"Forget it, it's not worth being blamed for delaying the battle..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu sighed again.

He felt like he hadn't sighed as much as he had in the past week.

"Let's use the excuse of replenishing military supplies to take a day or two off before setting off again. I'll make a long list of demands later and submit it to the administration department. Let's work on the issue of replenishing supplies." Uchiha Tokumitsu rubbed his smooth chin with his left hand and thought for a while. "After all, since everyone has returned to the village, it wouldn't be right not to rest for a while."

“Alright, I trust you completely to handle this kind of thing.” Hatake Sakumo chuckled. “As for the ninjas, I’ll take care of their morale.”

"no problem."

Uchiha Tokumitsu readily agreed.

Then, while Uchiha Tokumitsu and the Konoha administration were arguing about the supply of mobile units, the Rain Ninja, under the leadership of Hanzo of the Salamander, launched a counterattack against the Sunagakure occupying forces, achieving a brilliant victory that shook the ninja world.

The Rain Ninja, having mobilized over three thousand ninja troops, led by Hanzo the Salamander who charged into battle, crushed four thousand Sand Ninja troops entrenched in the western region of the Land of Rain in just one night.

Under the venom of the highly poisonous summoning beast Salamander and Hanzo's miraculous water-style attacks, the Sand Village ninja army was almost powerless to fight back.

The poison gas from the salamander, in particular, is a veritable slaughterhouse on the battlefield; even the middle and lower-ranking ninja in ordinary ninja units are simply no match for this deadly gas attack.

Even though Sunagakure was the most skilled ninja village among the five great nations in using poisons, they were still helpless.

Unlike Uchiha Tokumitsu's previous campaign to pacify the Land of Grass, and also unlike the battles against the border forces of Iwagakure, Amegakure's victory over Sunagakure marked the first time since the establishment of the Five Great Nations system that a small nation had launched and defeated a large nation in a war.

Dogfights between major powers are nothing new, but when a wolf cub from a small country tears a ninja from a major power to shreds and leaves him covered in blood, that's absolutely earth-shattering news.

The Rain Ninja, who had caused a major incident, was suddenly transformed in the eyes of the great powers from a disliked thorn in their side into a formidable enemy they were determined to eliminate.

The Sand Village, in particular, suffered a crushing defeat, causing an uproar throughout the village.

The Daimyo of the Land of Wind even sent several official letters demanding that Sunagakure punish the defeated ninja commander and quickly organize a counterattack to regain their honor.

Enraged, the Third Kazekage could no longer afford to let the Sand Village ninja continue to entangle the border troops led by Mimura Yoru and Koto Mokumo in the Land of Rivers. He hurriedly dispatched the expeditionary ninja forces from the Land of Rivers to the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Rain to gather the defeated Sand Village ninja and rebuild the defenses, so as to prevent the Rain Village from taking advantage of the situation and invading the Land of Wind.

Subsequently, Ebizo and Chiyo, the advisors of Sunagakure, received orders from the Kazekage to lead a ninja army of over four thousand men on a whirlwind journey to the front lines.

After defeating Sunagakure with an unstoppable blitzkrieg, Hanzo of the Salamander led the Amegakure ninja army to regroup and, disregarding the approaching Sunagakure reinforcements, moved the entire army to the eastern border of the Land of Rain to prepare for an operation to expel the Konoha expeditionary force.

Riding the wave of their crushing victory over Sunagakure, the Rain Ninja, with their overwhelming momentum, had not yet launched an attack on the Konoha Expeditionary Force. However, the immense pressure was causing Danzo, the commander-in-chief of the ninja army, great unease. He sent several urgent messages back to the village, with only one request—

reinforce!

Although Konoha was powerful, it was still worried that the Rain Country's dispatched army might suffer some mishaps. In particular, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and his two companions were especially concerned that their old friend Danzo Shimura might be in danger, so they quickly mobilized the ninja army again for reinforcements.

After two days of wrangling, Uchiha Tokumitsu's list of material requests was quickly approved on the third day, and the full amount was promptly allocated.

The Hokage Building has only one request for the Mobile Force—immediate support!

"The Hokage is so generous!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu, who was happily counting the items, did not hold back his praise for the Third Hokage.

Having received so many benefits, I feel I can't live with myself if I don't praise Uchiha Tokumitsu.

"A full 100,000 explosive tags..." Sakumo Hatake clicked his tongue in amazement as he held the supplies list. "They actually allocated them like that..."

"Many of these are high-end goods that we Uchiha clan urgently purchased."

Uchiha Tokumitsu couldn't stop smiling.

The Uchiha clan, specializing in Fire Release techniques, were adept at creating powerful explosive tags. Especially as war approached, the price of explosive tags soared, and this purchase made the Uchiha clan quite a fortune.

Moreover, the explosive tags from the Uchiha clan were once again transferred to Uchiha Tokumitsu, which is truly a win-win situation, getting the best of both worlds.

—The so-called win-win situation is naturally that the Uchiha win twice!

"How about we set off this afternoon?" Hatake Sakumo, who had been absentmindedly looking at the supplies list for a while, suddenly said, "As for Commander Mimura, although Sunagakure has retreated, Amegakure is under great pressure and urgently needs reinforcements."

"Aren't the border defense forces stationed in the Land of Rivers commanded by Jonin Mimura Yoru and Koto Mokumo?" Uchiha Tokumitsu asked, somewhat puzzled. "Besides, Sunagakure has already retreated to the border region of the Land of Rain to confront Amegakure. They only need to maintain the border at the moment, so where does all this pressure come from?"

"The western border defense forces... have long been mobilized," Sakumo Hatake said with a wry smile. "The main force on the entire western front is with the Rain Country Expeditionary Army, so Mimura has no choice..."

"Having gathered the elite ninja forces of the entire western front, they still have the audacity to ask the village for help..." Uchiha Tokumitsu mocked mercilessly, "I think Danzo would be better off going back to his cave and continuing to be his earth rat. Maybe he's good at assassinations and intelligence gathering, but when it comes to commanding troops, he's really mediocre."

Sakumo Hatake chuckled twice, offering no rebuttal.

Danzo Shimura, known as the "Dark of the Ninjas," was indeed exceptional in intelligence gathering and assassination, but his performance in commanding troops was rather disappointing.

The Rain Country's dispatched army, after multiple replenishments, assembled as many as 5,000 Konoha ninja, including a gathering of Jonin and countless elites. Moreover, the Hokage's disciples Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya were all in the army. However, since the start of the war, apart from Danzo's old tricks of raiding, assassination, and framing Sunagakure, they have not made any progress in direct combat.

If it were anyone else, they would have been dismissed from their position as commander-in-chief and sent back to their village for investigation on the grounds of "mediocrity." Only Danzo, with his powerful background and the support of the Third Hokage, was able to remain in the position of commander-in-chief of the army group and continue to enjoy his underhanded assassination games.

"Danzo's talents are actually quite good... He is renowned in the village and in various countries of the ninja world." Hatake Sakumo couldn't help but say, "It's just that in terms of Danzo's strengths, he is not suitable for a public position."

"Official position..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu was also amused by Hatake Sakumo's words.

"So this is how Sakumo commands insults in such an elegant way."

The Jonin from the Mobile Force also joined in the fun, laughing and joking.

Although there were many items, the mobile unit worked together and quickly finished counting them, classifying them according to their uses and sealing them into scrolls.

Of the 100,000 explosive tags, Uchiha Tokumitsu kept 80,000 for himself, while the remaining 20,000 were distributed to the ninjas of the Mobile Force.

"This is the first time I've fought such a costly battle."

"Now that everything is ready," Uchiha Tokumitsu said to Hatake Sakumo.

"It seems that Tokumitsu-kun is still full of confidence." Hatake Sakumo replied with a smile.

"Who knows? Let's hope everything goes well." Uchiha Tokumitsu snorted slightly. "I do hope Danzo can pull himself together and withstand the attacks of Hanzo and the Rain Ninja, so that our comrades in the village don't suffer heavy casualties."

Sakumo Hatake nodded in agreement.

"I really don't want to fight in the Land of Rain. I hate the endless rain." Uchiha Tokumitsu complained as he put various ninja tool scrolls into his vest and ninja tool pouch. "I'd be lucky if my Fire Release could work at 70% power in that kind of hellish environment..."

The group of Uchiha Jonin nodded in agreement.

"Gentlemen..." Sakumo Hatake sighed, "The objective of this operation is to provide support on the western front, targeting the northern border region of the Land of Rivers. Are you ready?"

"Everything is ready!"

Upon hearing this, the mobile unit, which had been joking and playing around, immediately became serious and replied in a solemn voice.

“Then…” Sakumo Hatake nodded in satisfaction, “the mission begins!”

The entire mobile force transformed into streaks of light, speeding towards the Land of Rivers.

During the three days that Uchiha Tokumitsu and the Konoha leadership were bickering and arguing, the situation in the ninja world deteriorated further, with intense war clouds and killing intent almost permeating and obscuring the entire ninja continent.

Apart from Kirigakure, the Land of Water, which is isolated overseas, wars broke out across all countries almost overnight.

Originally preparing to spy on Iwagakure and Konoha, Kumogakure first sent a ninja army to harass the northern border of the Land of Fire to confuse their eyes and ears. Then, they launched a surprise attack on Iwagakure with lightning speed, targeting Roshi, the Jinchuriki of the Four-Tails.

After receiving assurances that the Cloud Village would attack the Konoha border, the Iwagakure border ninja commander, Rōshi, also planned to lead his troops into the Land of Grass. However, the Cloud Village was not prepared to launch a surprise attack on Konoha while secretly advancing on Iwagakure. The Cloud Village army caught them off guard and suffered repeated defeats before finally managing to regain their footing.

The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, who arrived shortly after, and the Third Raikage, who led his troops into battle, began to deploy their forces and confront each other within the Land of Earth.

Meanwhile, Sunagakure, determined to avenge their previous defeat, dispatched its most elite ace unit—the Sunagakure Puppet Force—led by advisors Chiyo and Ebizo, to launch another attack on Amegakure.

With Hanzo the Salamander having moved to the eastern border to confront Konoha, the Rain Ninja, lacking top-tier ninja to command, crumbled in a single battle and was easily defeated by the Sand Village.

The Sand Village army, advancing rapidly, once again occupied the western border region of the Land of Rain, and dispatched small ninja units to continuously attack the heartland of the Land of Rain in order to weaken the power of the Rain Village.

Originally eager to defeat Konoha in one battle, Hanzo of the Salamander, after much planning, had no choice but to lead his troops to the western border again to defend against the attacks from Sunagakure.

Even with a powerful figure like Hanzo the Salamander, the Rain Village, with its severely fragmented talent pool and uneven combat capabilities, remained a weak and small-country ninja army without Hanzo's personal leadership.

The large-scale attack by Sunagakure also shattered the illusion of Amegakure's strength.

Just as the entire Rain Country Expeditionary Force breathed a sigh of relief as Hanzo the Salamander marched west, the mobile force led by Uchiha Tokumitsu and Hatake Sakumo finally arrived in the Land of Rivers, where they joined forces with the western border defense forces led by Mimura Yoru and Kime Kouta.

Chapter 86 Purge! The Mysterious Sand Village Raiders

Surrounded by mountains, the landscape is scarred and devastated.

This was Uchiha Tokumitsu's first impression of the Land of Rivers.

The Land of Rivers is the largest of the five great nations in terms of territory. Unfortunately, like the Land of Winds, most of its territory is an uninhabitable wasteland.

Cliffs and precipices eroded by wind and sand over thousands of years are everywhere, and strange rocks and bizarre formations abound. But the rarest of all are the green vegetation that represents life and hope.

It is precisely because of the barrenness of the River Country that neither the Fire nor the Wind Country has much interest in its territory, regarding it as a buffer zone between major powers.

Moreover, due to the unique terrain and harsh natural environment of the River Country, there are many barren lands unsuitable for ordinary people to live in. Therefore, the frequent conflicts between the Fire and Wind Nations within the River Country have not had a significant impact on its citizens.

This can be considered a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

The two commanders of the western border defense forces, Mimura Yomi and Kōtō Kō, are both veteran Jonin of Konoha.

Although the two became famous early and were very strong, they lacked a strong foundation and backing. Therefore, although they had a certain reputation among the Jonin of the village, they did not have enough status and were constantly transferred to various border defense forces stationed outside the village.

"Lord Sakumo, Lord Tokumitsu, welcome."

At the entrance of the western border defense forces' base, Mimura Yomi excitedly grasped Hatake Sakumo's hand tightly.

Uchiha Tokumitsu was observing the two of them.

I had met Mokumu Kōdō once before. He was once the commander of the garrison camp in the Land of Grass, leading the northwestern border defense forces. When Uchiha Himon and Uchiha Tokumitsu took over as border commanders, they had a brief encounter during the handover of duties.

Compared to his previous composed demeanor, Mumu Kōdō now appeared exceptionally tired and haggard.

Holding Hatake Sakumo's hand tightly, Mimura Yomaki, tears streaming down her face, was also like this.

"Ye Juan-kun looks much more haggard..." Hatake Sakumo said frankly to his old friend, "You've really had a tough time as the border commander."

"The fact that Mr. Sakumo and Mr. Tokumitsu led the mobile forces to our aid has truly relieved our urgent crisis." Speaking of her own situation, Mimura Yomi was also filled with sorrow and tears.

"Wasn't the main force of Sunagakure transferred to the Land of Rain to attack Hanzo's Rain Ninja army?"

Uchiha Tokumitsu found it rather strange.

"Even with the main force of Sunagakure being recalled, the remaining Sunagakure ninja are giving us a real headache," Mimura Yoru said with a wry smile.