Shindai felt extremely uneasy. Although he was officially the squad leader of the three-man team, he found himself behaving deferentially in front of Pakura and Hikaku Uchiha, as if he were their subordinate.
Moreover, Shindai's right eyelid kept twitching uncontrollably, giving him a foreboding that something bad was going to happen.
Meanwhile, Sarutobi Tetsuya's communication frog had just received a new set of orders from Minato Namikaze.
Sarutobi Tetsuya gathered the ninja and announced, "Kumogakure has turned the tables on us, falsely accusing us of unprovoked murder of their ninja and threatening Konoha by declaring war against us. Therefore, I will now dispatch ninja beasts to deliver our declaration of war. At the same time, we will directly enter the Land of Lightning to conduct missions.
We will conduct flexible combat in trios without engaging the enemy head-on. Your own safety takes priority. This isn't a fight to the death—only engage when you have the advantage. If the battle turns into a deadlock, retreat immediately.
If Kumogakure insists on continuing this conflict, then Konoha's main forces will enter the Land of Lightning, at which point we'll regroup and face Kumogakure directly in open battle!
Now, check your radio communication devices. As soon as you encounter any trouble, notify others through the communication device immediately. Nearby comrades should offer assistance first. Once equipment checks are complete, you're all dismissed to begin combat!"
After some ninja finished checking their radios, they quickly entered the Land of Lightning.
"Shindai, we're heading out first!"
Obito called out to Shindai before entering the Land of Lightning with Kakashi and Shisui.
Although medical ninja had been assigned for this mission, they weren't meant to take part directly in such frontline operations. Instead, they remained stationed along the border, ready to treat injured ninja at any moment.
Therefore, Obito, Kakashi, and Shisui formed a three-man squad.
As Shindai prepared to lead Pakura and Hikaku Uchiha into the Land of Lightning, Sarutobi Tetsuya approached him.
"Shindai, because your jutsu can cause widespread attacks, I'd like to assign you a special task."
Shindai immediately grasped Sarutobi Tetsuya's intention. "Captain Tetsuya, are you asking me to attack Kumogakure?"
Sarutobi Tetsuya nodded, "Exactly. The Raikage will likely deploy numerous ninja to hunt down our operatives once hostilities begin. After all, this is the Land of Lightning—Kumogakure's territory. Even with guerrilla-style tactics, the risks remain high.
If Kumogakure itself suffers a large-scale assault, the Raikage would probably recall some forces for defense. This would significantly reduce the pressure our comrades are facing. Considering wide-area offensive capabilities among our current ninja, [Magnet Release] appears to be the only technique capable of achieving this."
Shindai hesitated, "However... To launch an attack strong enough to force Kumogakure into recalling troops, I might not have sufficient chakra."
Sarutobi Tetsuya turned to Hikaku Uchiha. "I've heard from Ebisu, Kurenai, Guy, and others about Hikaku Uchiha's Dojutsu ability, the Eight Trigrams Sealing Array. The medical ninja stationed here will continuously refine chakra, transferring it into your body through the Imprint to assist Shindai in performing Ninjutsu."
Except for a few individuals who knew the complete effects of Hikaku Uchiha's Eight Trigrams Sealing Array, most people, like Might Guy and others during the Nine-Tails' attack, only believed this technique could transmit chakra through the Imprint without distance limitations, unaware that it also allowed control over one's mind.
After all, such an ability to manipulate consciousness was too likely to cause panic, even though Hikaku had no intention of mentally controlling anyone.
The Imprints placed on Might Guy and others were removed by Hikaku once the Nine-Tails' attack concluded, but Shindai's remained intact.
Upon hearing Sarutobi Tetsuya's suggestion to use Hikaku Uchiha's Eight Trigrams Sealing Array for performing techniques, Shindai nodded in agreement. "Fine then, Hikaku, place the Imprints on them first, and then we'll head straight to Kumogakure."
Hikaku Uchiha marked each medical ninja with an Imprint.
Once completed, Shindai, Pakura, and Hikaku Uchiha set off toward Kumogakure.
When Konoha's ninja entered the Land of Lightning, they immediately began their mission, attacking any ninja wearing Kumogakure forehead protectors.
News of this quickly reached Raikage A.
Raikage A couldn't quite believe it at first and repeatedly confirmed whether these attackers were truly Konoha Ninja. Each report clearly stated it was indeed Konoha Ninja.
Raikage A instantly dispatched Cloud Ninja to hunt down the Konoha intruders. At the same time, one of the Cloud ninja rushed into the Raikage's office.
"Lord Raikage," he reported, "we encountered a ninja beast, and this is Konoha's letter!"
Raikage A opened the letter and read its contents.
The message first condemned Kumogakure and Raikage A himself, then declared if compensation wasn't made, war would follow. If you seek battle, then let us battle—immediately.
Finally, it proposed that if Raikage A came to his senses, he should respond via letter, initiating negotiations under the witness of a mutually accepted third party. But the prerequisite for such talks was that Kumogakure must admit their attempt to steal Konoha's Byakugan.
If they refused, there would be no need to negotiate further. Konoha would send its main assembly of ninja troops into the Land of Lightning, fulfilling Raikage A's wish by formally declaring war between the two villages.
Raikage A slammed his fist onto the table, furious. Forcing them to confess stealing the Byakugan—while true—there was absolutely no way they would accept it.
They hadn't even admitted defeat after the Third Great Ninja World War, so how could they possibly now acknowledge attempting to steal the Byakugan?
One of Kumogakure's higher-ups cautiously advised Raikage A, saying, "Lord Raikage, if we really go to war against Konoha, Iwagakure and Sunagakure, who are both allied with Konoha, are likely to take action. And Kirigakure, which has long been at odds with us, definitely won't miss this opportunity either. We must proceed with caution!"
"Another senior official chimed in: 'Right now, Konoha is at its peak. Even handling Konoha on our own is proving to be a major challenge. If other ninja villages get involved too, Kumogakure will find itself in dire straits!'
Raikage A had barely recovered from the anger caused by that report when their words enraged him even further.
'Do you expect me to back down in front of Minato Namikaze and Konoha? Never! First, eliminate the Konoha ninja within our borders! Then gather our forces and prepare for war!'
Witnessing Raikage A's unwavering resolve to wage war, all the present higher-ups sighed deeply. This wasn't the time to be worrying about pride!
The Konoha ninja consistently followed Sarutobi Tetsuya's battle strategies—scattering to engage only in advantageous fights and retreating the moment a deadlock seemed imminent.
These Konoha ninja were all elites—not ordinary Chunin or Genin. At the very least, they were Tokubetsu Jonin with specialized skills, and could only be caught if pursued relentlessly.
However, if they were chased directly, other Konoha ninja operating in nearby areas would quickly converge to ambush the pursuers and aid in the escape, leaving the Cloud ninja completely powerless to respond.
This battle left the Kumogakure ninja deeply frustrated."
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