I, The New Hokage of Konoha

The land of grass is the main account of the Iwagakure Army.

Since hearing that the rear supply line was cut off by the Amegakure, everyone, including Oonoki, fell into a deathly silence.

Daito, fearing the killing gaze of everyone if he stayed longer, found an excuse and disappeared.

After a while, only a few Iwagakure shinobi remained.

There had been an experience a few years ago, and now, more quickly adapting, Rock Ninjas broke the silence with a dry tone, 'The key now is to quickly send people to reopen the logistics line.'

"That's right! As long as it's reopened, everything can still be salvaged." Oonoki, clear on what he should do as the commander, rallied, "They're just a group of Amegakure, as long as we allocate some of our forces, we can defeat them quickly."

"Indeed! Just a bunch of Amegakure!"

"A group that only deceives and sneakily strikes when we're vulnerable! We must find time to wipe out the Hidden Rain Village later, let them experience the consequences of invading a major nation!"

"Lord Tsuchikage, give me two thousand Rock Ninjas, I guarantee to swiftly eliminate the Amegakure and reopen the logistics line!"

"Lord Tsuchikage..."

No matter what their true thoughts were, at this moment, upon hearing Oonoki's words, the Rock Ninjaspresent responded indignantly.

Seeing this scene, Oonoki's expression softened slightly. Just as he was about to give orders, suddenly, a Rock Ninjas rushed into the main account and exclaimed, 'Lord Tsuchikage! The Konoha army has launched another attack!'

The moment the words fell, echoing the person's statement, the thunderous roar of chakra cannons from Konoha reverberated once again in everyone's ears.

Instantly, the words on Oonoki's lips ceased.

The arrogance of the Rock Ninjaswho had just boasted about deploying two thousand shinobi to crush the Amegakure army froze.

Because he knew very well, that those two thousand shinobi remained merely on paper.

The Hidden Konoha side, aware that the Iwagakure logistics line had been severed, hadn't been sitting idly.

Now, having become the proactive side, they had been tirelessly launching counterattacks against the Rock Ninjas in the Land of Grass.

This not only held back the Rock Ninjas, preventing them from freeing up their hands.

It also accelerated the consumption of the scarce supplies of the Iwagakure in the Land of Grass amidst high-intensity battles.

The more intense the battles, the greater the consumption of physical strength, chakra, and ninja tools.

With the rapid and continuous supply via the railroad line, the Konoha Village's ability to recover was swift.

But for the Iwagakure, supplies were becoming scarcer.

With each successive battle, their combat prowess would only diminish.

"Konoha wants to drain us here." Listening to the escalating battle outside, Kurotsuchi sighed heavily.

The current situation, aside from the larger scale of the battle, was no different from what he experienced during the Third War.

Back then, under the circumstances of the situation in the ninja world, Konoha, aiming to end the conflict quickly, didn't aim to completely wipe out the Iwagakure Army on the brink of running out of supplies.

But now?

Thinking of this, Kurotsuchi's expression tensed. Quickly, he turned to Oonoki and said:

"Lord Tsuchikage, the plan to drive off the Amegakure's forces with a large army no longer works. Now, the only option is to send elite squads, secretly supporting the logistics team and providing as much supply as possible."

"As long as we can hold out until the other Rock Ninjas forces sent to the Land of Earth complete their mission and return, successfully repelling the Yunagakure and Konoha coalition and returning, the threat from the Amegakure will no longer exist."

Hearing this, Oonoki, regaining his composure, nodded. "That's all we can do now. Inform the Rock Hidden Village to gather all their sealing scrolls, pack all the provisions, ninja tools, and other logistics supplies secretly, and send them. Kurotsuchi, you'll lead an elite squad to support."

The cost of one sealing scroll was exceptionally high, and even for a major village like Rock Village, the number they possessed wasn't plentiful.

Oonoki understood that even if they packed all the sealing scrolls with logistics supplies, it would be a drop in the bucket for the Iwagakure Army in the Land of Grass.

But just as Kurotsuchi mentioned.

Right now, they only needed to buy a little time. Once the Rock Ninjas forces sent to the Tsuchi were back, they could easily defeat the Amegakure, regain control of the logistics line, and nullify the threat of the Iwagakure Army in the Land of Grass. Then, facing the Konoha Village with no more hidden cards, they could regain the upper hand, even secure the final victory.

For this reason, Oonoki decided to have Kurotsuchi personally manage the support.

As for himself, if he were discovered leaving this place, it would completely unleash the power of Hashirama Senju, which would be a disaster for the Iwagakure.

At this moment, just as Kurotsuchi was about to agree, a blond youth suddenly entered, loudly declaring, "Old man, leave this to me."

The newcomer was Deidara.

"Deidara? Are your injuries healed?" Oonoki asked in surprise.

"More or less. Although there's still some lingering pain, it won't be a problem for me to act." Deidara patted the thick bandages already wrapped around his back, nonchalantly saying.

Under the neglectful treatment of the Iwagakure, he had been lying obediently for several days, and by now, he was almost completely recovered. Naturally, he was now restless.

Seeing this, Oonoki thought for a moment before nodding in agreement.

Although Deidara hadn't rested for the full seven days as he had suggested, he seemed to be in good shape now, and currently, with the Iwagakure needing manpower, the former's appearance indeed resolved his urgent need.

After all, compared to Kurotsuchi, Deidara, who had equally formidable strength and flight capabilities, was undoubtedly a better choice for support.

"Remember, prioritize the logistics supplies, avoid the Amegakure if possible, and try not to engage with them too much. According to what that idiot Tobi said, there are also skilled flyers among the Amegakure and one of the Konoha Sannin, Jiraiya, is there too..." Oonoki quickly briefed Deidara.

As the latter nodded repeatedly, soon, the other preparations were ready.

"Old man, I'm off."

Molding several giant birds out of clay, Deidara led an elite team and set off. Waving goodbye.

Watching this team that held high hopes depart, Oonoki took a deep breath and, along with the others around him, rushed toward the front lines.

With Konoha's aggressive attacks, as a precaution, they also needed to personally join in.

...

Far away.

While the forces of Konoha and Iwagakure engaged in one intense battle after another, Indra and Uchiha Madara continued to watch silently without any intention of intervening.

For Indra, the entire battle was tilting towards Konoha, coupled with other favorable news on other battlefields, he was not worried at all.

As for Uchiha Madara, it was more about his ego.

Although the two had been at a standoff, information from the current battlefield, even from various aspects of the ninja world, had been transmitted to them in various ways.

Having fought battles for most of his life, the experienced Madara was well aware that the current situation was highly unfavorable for his "allies."

Although he also wanted to do something.

But having agreed earlier not to intervene unless Hagoromo broke this rule, the proud Madara wouldn't be the first to break it.

By doing so, wouldn't he seem inconsistent, losing face in front of Hagoromo?

Compared to being a useless tool, he preferred not to lose face in front of Hagoromo and Indra.

Thus, Madara ultimately chose to watch coldly from the sidelines.

However, he was not entirely idle either.

For instance, he was currently preparing his hidden cards.

Such as the White Army of Infinite Zetsu being created under the Outer Path Chibaku Tensei.

And the earlier notification to Tobi, secretly investigating the Iwagakure intelligence department, gathering information about the jinchuriki of various villages.

In case the "allies" suffered a complete defeat, they would have a response.

For Indra, although not understanding Madara's thoughts, from another perspective, the latter's actions were limited to these.

He didn't pay much attention and instead stimulated him with, "It seems that the final winner of this Ninja World War will still be Konoha!"

"Hmph! It's only been this long, and you're jumping to conclusions too early, little Thousand Hands!" Regardless of what he thought inside, Madara didn't yield an inch.

Seeing this scene, Indra chuckled.

One had to admit, the enemies in the world of Shinobi seemed quite impressive sometimes.

The stronger the strength, the more dignity they held.

Just like Madara now.

Having agreed to stand aside, unless pushed to a dead-end, he wouldn't go back on his word.

Unlike some powerful individuals in other worlds, who lied as easily as breathing, unscrupulously used dirty tricks, and had no bottom line, lacking any semblance of dignity as a strong individual.

Encountering such enemies, even if one's strength surpassed theirs, dealing with them would be troublesome.

So, idealists are better after all!

No matter how they achieve their ideals and methods, their goals are there, without any hesitation.

This gave you, as their enemy, a chance to act.

Coincidentally, the Shinobi world wasn't lacking in such idealists.

Even if they were enemies, each of them advocated peace.

In this way, Indra could confidently face any turmoil; everything would remain within his control.

At this moment, noticing the inexplicable smile on Indra's face, Madara was somewhat puzzled.

Just as he was about to ask, the former had already regained composure, and he couldn't be bothered to think further, refocusing his gaze on the front line.

Seeing the Iwagakure forces, no longer as sturdy as before under Konoha's onslaught, he pondered whether to send the White Army to deal with the Amegakure.

But after a moment's thought, he shook his head.

Aside from the considerable distance between the White Army and the Land of Earth, which would take quite some time.

At present, with the limited number and average strength of the White Army, it was highly likely they wouldn't match up against the forces led by Tobi and Konan from the Amegakure, not to mention revealing one of his hidden cards, which would be unwise.

In the end, Madara chose to watch coldly from the sidelines.

For now, they could only hope for the Iwagakure to rescue themselves."