Naruto：Immortality and the Eight Inner Gates[Double agent]

Konoha Year 33.

It had been over half a year since the war began.

In the past six months, the nations of Wind, Earth, and Fire initially tiptoed around each other within the borders of the Land of Rain.

But once the battlefield shifted to the Land of Grass, these three scoundrels started going at each other hammer and tongs.

At first, Konoha capitalized on Hanzo of the Salamander holding off the forces of Wind and Earth, allowing them to reposition quickly and gain an early advantage.

However, the moment the Wind and Earth nations regained their footing, they deployed sealing squads, nearly scaring Hanzo out of his wits.

What followed was a joint assault by the Wind and Earth forces, which managed to hold their own against Konoha despite its initial advantage.

But good times didn't last long. Soon, Sunagakure's logistical shortcomings began to show as their supply lines stretched too thin.

Konoha seized this opportunity, repeatedly cutting off Sunagakure's supply chains.

Of course, Chiyo, the once-renowned beauty of Sunagakure and now a menopausal terror, came up with a brilliant idea: poisoning their own food supplies.

This ploy caused Konoha to suffer a significant setback.

The tides of the battlefield shifted unpredictably.

Taking advantage of the chaos, the Sunagakure-Iwagakure coalition nearly breached the borders of the Land of Fire.

However, just as things were heating up, Sunagakure and Iwagakure started fighting amongst themselves.

Neither the Third Kazekage, Rasa, nor Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage, were pushovers.

The two old foxes went from covert scheming to outright attacking each other's forces.

After all, war is just an extension of politics.

And politics? At its core, it boils down to money and power.

So, the problem became simple.

After half a year of fighting, even a game of mahjong would have left someone eating scraps by now.

It was time to see some results.

The Land of Rain was rich, but it was also home to a certain monster who liked to wander into other villages uninvited.

Onoki knew this better than anyone, considering his Four-Tails, Son Goku, was still sobbing in the arms of the Third Raikage.

Thus, the Land of Rain was off the table.

With Amegakure ruled out, and Konoha proving too tough a nut to crack for the time being, Onoki decided to stab his ally in the back.

However, Chiyo wasn't one to be trifled with.

"Oh, you want to mess with me? Fine! Then no one gets to have it easy! I'm menopausal and off my meds—are you scared yet?!"

And so, the battlefield in the Land of Grass descended into utter chaos.

Sunagakure, Iwagakure, Konoha, and Hanzo of the Salamander, along with a gang of mercenaries, were all at each other's throats.

Seizing the opportunity, Konoha began rotating small units back to the village for rest, in preparation for the real big bully who had been drooling on the sidelines all this time—the Third Raikage.

As for Kirigakure? Did that village even exist among the Five Great Nations? Maybe it did, maybe it didn't. Who cared? Let's just pretend it didn't.

Thus, Tsunade was given a critical mission: to organize the gradual withdrawal of a portion of the forces for recuperation.

At the gates of Konoha, Tsunade led a group of nearly two hundred soldiers back into the village.

But rest would have to wait. First, the troops had to undergo a self-inspection led by Konoha's Analysis Division to root out any potential spies.

After handing over the troops, Tsunade swung her arms freely and swaggered into the Hokage's office.

Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi sat with a furrowed brow, poring over the intelligence reports from the frontlines.

Overall, Konoha was holding up, but only economically. In terms of manpower, they were at a disadvantage.

Tugging at his chin beard, Hiruzen muttered to himself, "Do we have to lower the graduation age from the Ninja Academy again?"

It was a dilemma.

War, especially one where the balance of power wasn't overwhelmingly tilted, ultimately boiled down to people and money.

People were the foundation of everything, and money was the lever for victory.

Having money but no people? That's just a fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered.

Having people but no money? That's... well, that's Kumogakure. Or at least, Kumogakure in the past.

As Hiruzen wrestled with his thoughts, a knock at the door interrupted him.

Irritated by the disruption, he was about to snap when a loud, brash voice called out from the other side.

"Old man! Can I come in?"

Hearing this, Hiruzen let out a long sigh and responded reluctantly.

"Come in."

The door creaked open, and Tsunade strode in, clad in a black close-combat outfit with blue-black armor layered over it.

"Old man, here's the casualty report. I'll just leave it here."

She marched up to the desk, quickly placing a scroll as long as her arm on it, as if it were burning hot to the touch.

Hiruzen nodded slightly, pressing his hand on the scroll as his eyes discreetly assessed his student.

She was travel-worn but seemed in good spirits.

Clearing his throat, Hiruzen spoke calmly.

"How's the situation on the frontlines? Are the medical supplies holding up?"

Tsunade nodded. "The situation's manageable. Sunagakure and Iwagakure are at each other's throats, and they've suffered heavy casualties.

As for medical supplies... well..."

She hesitated, her newfound frugality kicking in, before abruptly changing her tune.

"They're not enough! We need more!"

Hiruzen didn't argue, nodding indifferently. "Alright. I'll have the logistics department increase the allocation."

Tsunade blinked in surprise.

Since when was the old man so agreeable? I just casually complained, and he's already approving more supplies?

Suspicious, her frugal instincts flared up again. Rubbing her hands together, she smiled slyly and leaned forward.

"Sensei, I'd like to set up a battlefield medical training program to teach basic first aid skills to a select group. What do you think?"

"Approved," Hiruzen replied without hesitation.

What the—?! Did hell just freeze over?

Has the old man finally gone senile?!

Is this my chance?!

Without thinking, Tsunade, her eyes sparkling, pressed on.

"By the way, about the proposal I mentioned last time—assigning medical-nin to long-term mission teams. What do you think?"

At this, Hiruzen's face darkened instantly.

"Idiot! Do you think I'm a wish-granting machine?!"

Slamming the desk, the old man barked, "I've already told you before—this is wartime! Wartime!

Reorganizing team structures now would severely impact their combat effectiveness!"

Pouting, Tsunade rolled her eyes dramatically.

You were so much more agreeable when you were acting senile!

Her scheme foiled, Tsunade waved dismissively and turned to leave.

But just then, Hiruzen called out to stop her.

"Wait. That... that brat Rinjin is back. He's been holed up at home, reading those... inappropriate books."

"???"

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