At the border between the Land of Earth and the Land of Grass.
The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, flipped through the intelligence reports in his hand and said, "So, the commander of the Konoha shinobi forces facing us is Danzo?"
Standing nearby, Kitsuchi replied, "Yes, according to the intelligence unit's findings, the commander leading Konoha's forces on our front is indeed Danzo."
Iwagakure's sudden mobilization had forced Konoha to respond with strategic deployments.
Among the three Konoha Elders, Danzo was dispatched to the front lines against Iwagakure by the Third Hokage. Koharu Utatane was sent to Sunagakure to negotiate an alliance, while Homura Mitokado took charge of defending the eastern coast of the Land of Fire from potential Kirigakure raids.
This kind of information was hard to conceal, so Iwagakure's intelligence division intercepted it almost immediately.
After a moment of contemplation, Onoki asked, "And what about the Third Hokage?"
Kitsuchi shook his head. "No concrete updates yet, but it's said he is still in the village, holding the fort."
"Hiruzen is certainly good at keeping calm," Onoki chuckled. Then, as if remembering something, he asked, "By the way, have the Konoha shinobi who killed Iwama been identified?"
Iwama, captain of one of Iwagakure's few remaining beheading squads, was an elite jonin. His death was both a painful loss and a source of great anger for the Third Tsuchikage.
"According to the spies stationed in the Land of Demons, Iwama was killed by Konoha's Anbu Unit Eleven."
The Third Tsuchikage furrowed his brow. "Konoha's Anbu?"
Anbu identities are always classified in any village, so even a great village like Iwagakure would find it difficult to gather detailed information about Konoha's Anbu Unit Eleven.
"Has this Anbu Unit Eleven appeared on any battlefield?"
Kitsuchi had clearly done his homework. "No."
The recent clash between Konoha and Kumogakure had drawn attention from nearly every major shinobi village, and Iwagakure was certainly the most invested.
At the onset of the conflict, Iwagakure had deployed numerous shinobi skilled in Earth Release infiltration techniques into the Land of Fire to serve as independent observers and gather firsthand intel from the front lines.
From what the reports showed, Konoha had suffered a major blow.
Their front-line defenses were easily breached by Kumogakure, resulting in devastating losses in both manpower and supplies.
There were even rumors that the daimyo of the Land of Fire had flown into a rage.
With his hands clasped behind his back, Onoki smiled. "If Kumogakure keeps pressing the attack, they'll be knocking on Konoha's gates in just a few weeks."
Seeing his longtime rival in such dire straits brought him no small amount of joy.
More importantly, this war had stripped away Konoha's intimidating facade. Everyone could now see clearly that the village was no longer the invincible force it once was.
Kitsuchi, however, wasn't as optimistic. He shook his head. "Things improved considerably once Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, arrived. Kumogakure's offensive has been temporarily stalled."
No one really knew why Jiraiya had arrived a full week later than expected, but whatever the reason, his presence had successfully halted Kumogakure's momentum.
After thinking for a while, the Third Tsuchikage said, "Something's off with Konoha's response this time. Despite their lack of power on the front lines, there's no sign of the Uchiha Police Force, and that formidable Anbu Unit Eleven hasn't shown up either. There must be something behind this. Send someone to look into it. I want to know the reason!"
"Yes, I'll get right on it."
In the Land of Fire, inside Kumogakure's forward camp—
After receiving a message from the rear lines, the two Jinchuriki and the Storm Release shinobi Aida exchanged confused looks.
The message was brief, containing only four words:
"Suspend the offensive!"
Killer Bee scratched his head and asked the others, "Why would the village send an order like that?"
Aida shook his head. "It makes no sense. We've already broken through Konoha's main defenses. If we stop now, everything we've done so far will be for nothing."
Yugito Nii added, "Could something have happened back in the village?"
Killer Bee and Aida quickly nodded, agreeing that it was the only plausible explanation. Otherwise, the typically aggressive Raikage would never send such a bizarre order.
Back in the Konoha command camp across from the Kumogakure lines—
Shikaku burst into the command tent and said, "It looks like the Kumogakure forces have halted their attack!"
Hiashi Hyuga frowned immediately. "They clearly have the advantage. Why would they suddenly stop?"
Jiraiya, who knew a bit more, said, "Maybe the old man's strategy worked."
He then briefly explained how the Third Hokage had sent his personal Anbu to infiltrate and attack Kumogakure's border warehouses.
Upon hearing this, everyone sighed.
A mission involving infiltrating enemy territory to destroy key facilities was already extremely dangerous, even in a minor village. In this case, the target was Kumogakure, a force nearly equal in power to Konoha. So even if the mission succeeded, it was likely the Anbu would not survive.
In the Land of Hot Water—
Alone by the lakeside, Hyuga Kagami was washing up and had removed his dark goggles.
In the crystal-clear water, he saw the reflection of his pure white eyes.
He focused on the lake's surface for a moment, confirming that what he saw was indeed the Byakugan—identical to his eyes before injecting the gene solution, with no visible changes.
After confirming again, he slowly closed his eyes and channeled chakra into them. Then, with a sudden motion, he opened them.
In that instant, his eyes shone with a brilliant sapphire glow. They looked as if they held a galaxy within, and his vision became incredibly sharp. He could see even the fine lines on tree bark far in the distance.
"Heh, so it works like this after all."
Hyuga Kagami chuckled softly and let out a breath of relief.
This recent ordeal had turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as it allowed him to discover how to activate and deactivate the Tenseigan. After several experiments and this final test, he confirmed that the Tenseigan could indeed be turned off—just like how Uchiha clansmen could deactivate the Sharingan.
To his surprise, he also discovered that once the Tenseigan was deactivated, the Caged Bird seal on his forehead became active again.
This realization sparked his interest. The Caged Bird seal was clearly not a simple mark—it surely contained many secrets. For the first time, he began to see real research value in it...