The Konoha garrison in the Land of Grass is significantly larger than the one in the Land of Rivers. Nearly 2,000 ninja are stationed here.
Kazuyama isn't surprised. After all, Iwagakure has deployed two Jinchūriki in the Land of Grass—if Konoha doesn't maintain a strong presence, it risks being overwhelmed.
The commander of this outpost is Jiraiya.
It had been a year since Kazuyama last saw the old, white-haired lecher.
"Yo, Lord Jiraiya, you're still amazing."
Kazuyama handed over the supplies to the three kids to sort out, then followed Minato to find his sensei.
"Hahaha, Kazuyama boy, you're here," Jiraiya greeted him. "These supplies are a big help. Many of our comrades have already run out of ninja tools. This will last us a while."
This shipment consisted of shinobi gear—shuriken, kunai, katanas, and other strategic supplies.
"I just got demoted from the Land of Rivers and sent here as a delivery boy," Kazuyama grumbled. "I'm exhausted."
Feigning fatigue, he earned a hearty laugh from both Jiraiya and Minato.
"By the way, Kazuyama, is Kushina doing well?" Minato suddenly asked, a hint of embarrassment in his voice.
Kazuyama sighed. Even in the middle of war, this blonde guy couldn't stop thinking about his girlfriend.
"She's doing great. With Pakura around, she's happy every day."
Minato smiled faintly at the news, but his expression soon turned serious.
"What's wrong? Why the long face when hearing about your beloved?" Jiraiya shot his disciple a glance before answering for him.
"We encountered Iwagakure's two Jinchūriki," he said grimly. "The power of a Tailed Beast is terrifying on the battlefield. The appearance of a Tailed Beast Ball forced us to retreat."
Tailed Beast Ball? Oh?
Minato is already working on Rasengan. But, hahaha, I am ahead of him on that.
"Come on, Minato, it's just a Jinchūriki. You've seen them before, haven't you? Didn't you watch one chase me all the way to the Land of Grass?" Kazuyama scoffed.
"Pfft, not just Iwa's Jinchūriki. I've seen Kumo's too."
"The Eight-Tails' Jinchūriki is a sword master named Killer Bee. Be careful if you run into him. He may be new, but he's already wielding the Eight-Tails' power."
Minato nodded, recalling the battle that day.
"The power of the Tailed Beasts... sigh..."
Kazuyama knew Minato wasn't lamenting their strength—he was thinking about the Nine-Tails sealed within Kushina.
This guy... such a sentimental fool.
As they spoke, two figures suddenly rushed in from the front lines, their expressions anxious as they hurried to Jiraiya's side.
"Lord Jiraiya, a large number of Iwa ninja are entering the Land of Grass from the Land of Rice Fields."
Jiraiya frowned slightly at the intelligence officer's report. That shouldn't have been happening—after all, Iwa and Kumo were currently engaged in battle in the Land of Rice Fields.
"Kazuyama, you're an expert in intelligence. What do you think about this?"
Kazuyama's mouth twitched, and he responded in an exasperated tone, "Lord Jiraiya, who doesn't know that you're the strongest intelligence expert in Konoha?"
Still, something was off with Iwagakure's movements. They had abandoned their deployment in the Land of Rice Fields and were now moving large numbers of troops into the Land of Grass. On the surface, it seemed like they were preparing to attack Konoha, but that didn't feel right.
"The four major nations have always set their sights on Konoha," Kazuyama continued, "but there's been plenty of friction between Iwa, Suna, Kumo, and Kiri. I suspect there's more to this."
Narrowing his eyes slightly, he considered the intelligence he had just gathered. Iwagakure was pulling back, seemingly building up for a direct attack on Konoha—but he knew history well.
Last time, Iwagakure turned on Kumogakure, ambushing and killing the Third Raikage.
That was bad.
If Iwa withdrew now, Kumo would be forced to step in, dragging the Land of Hot Water into the conflict...
"Minato, Lord Jiraiya, are you interested in taking a look?" Kazuyama asked, a slight smirk playing on his lips. He was eager to stir things up again. Iwagakure was shrinking its defensive line—if they didn't act now, when would they?
"I think it's a good idea," Minato said. "The two of us have the Flying Thunder God Technique, and there's no doubt about Jiraiya-sensei's strength either. Even if we run into a Tailed Beast, we can retreat safely."
After some thought, Jiraiya nodded in agreement.
Without delay, Kazuyama left his subordinates in Gaku Inuzuka's care and set off with Minato and Jiraiya toward the border between the Land of Rice Fields and the Land of Grass.
The Land of Grass wasn't large, and all three were seasoned veterans. It took them only half a day to reach their destination.
Just as the intelligence officer had reported, a large number of Iwa ninja were crossing into the Land of Grass from the Land of Rice Fields.
"My, there are a lot of them."
Kazuyama observed the Iwa forces in the distance through his Hive Mind. He had to admit—there were indeed a lot of them.
Jiraiya and Minato looked serious.
"Entering the Land of Grass on this scale… is Iwagakure planning a full-scale attack?"
"If so, our current troop strength isn't nearly enough."
"If they launch a full-scale assault, we won't be able to hold them off for even a day."
Kazuyama didn't respond immediately, focusing instead on observing the terrain with Hive Mind.
Chōmei, can you check if there's a big pit about 2,500 meters ahead?
Huh? A big pit? Yeah, looks like one. Why?
If I pour a large amount of Scale Powder into it and then scatter it, will it have any effect?
Nope. My Scale Powder won't disappear unless it encounters a particularly strong flame—an open flame, like Matatabi's fire.
Hearing that, Kazuyama immediately formed a plan.
"Lord Jiraiya, Minato, I found a large pit up ahead," he announced. "If I inject one of my poisons into it and detonate it on a large scale, the airborne toxin will spread, creating a sort of barrier."
"This could buy us enough time to deploy reinforcements."
His tone was firm—he had already made up his mind. No matter what, he would ambush Iwa.
There were no particularly famous ninjas in their ranks, but their sheer numbers were overwhelming.
By leveraging the properties of Scale Powder, he was confident he could take down thousands at once.
If quality wasn't enough, then sheer quantity would have to do!
(100 Chapters Ahead)
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