"Big brother, Lord Kazekage has returhe vilge has summoned you back immediately!" Ye g excimed, her voice filled with urgency.

  "Pack your things a ready to return to the vilge. Prepare yourselves—it's our turn to step onto the battlefield," Jinghang said, adjusting his battle gear with a calm determination.

  The Sed Kazekage had indeed returned, but it was on a stretcher.

  The war in the Land of Rain had been a chaotic chessboard from the start. Just as Sunagakure and Amegakure were locked in fierbat, Konohagakure made its move. Surprisingly, the ones leading Konoha's forces weren't seasoned warriors like Danzō Shimura or Torifu Akimichi, but the new geion of ninjas: Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsuheir target wasn't the aggressive Sunagakure but the already embattled Amegakure. This ued attack pced immense pressure on Amegakure.

  Hanzō of the Samander quickly ceded rge swathes of territory to Sunagakure, regrouping his forces to front Konoha. During the battle, Hanzō summoned his samander, Ibuse, unleashing a massive poison cloud that incapacitated many Konoha ninjas. In the end, only Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru remaianding. Impressed by their resilience, Hanzō hohem with the title "Legendary Sannin of Konoha." Although Konoha emerged victorious, it was a costly win. However, Amegakure firmly aligself with Konoha after the battle.

  Meanwhile, Sunagakure, worn out and resource-depleted, chose to bide its time, hoping to be from the chaos. But Konoha's new geion proved to, f even Hanzō, a man known as a "Demi-God," to yield. At this point, Danzō Shimura's reinforts from Konoha arrived, f the Sed Kazekage, Shamon, to engage in a grueling battle with this hreat.

  The war had failed to meet the strategic expectations of the parsimonious daimyo of the Land of Wind. With resources drained and supplies exhausted, Sunagakure was at a disadvantage from the start. Chiyo's poisons were all ralized by Tsunade, leavi a loss. The Sed Kazekage, Shamon, attempted to turide with his formidable strength, but Danzō Shimura and Kagami Uchiha proved to be equally formidable. Despite his best efforts, Shamon could only achieve a stalemate. Sunagakure's forces suffered heavy losses, with their defenses on the brink of colpse.

  As the saying goes, "A prolonged defense is bound to fail." Danzō seized an opportunity to unch a full-scale assault on Sunagakure's defenses, which quickly crumbled. Shamon personally stayed behind to cover the retreat, falling right into Danzō's trap. Multiple Konoha elite jonin surrounded Shamoe his exceptional skills, he was ultimately overwhelmed. Before exhausting his chakra, he mao take down Kagami Uchiha but was stru the back by Danzō's *Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere*.

  Just as Shamon was about to meet his end, Elder Chiyo arrived with her ultimate teique, the *White Secret Teique: The Chikamatsu Colle of Ten Puppets*. At the cost of one arm, she mao rescue the gravely injured Shamon. Unfortunately, Chiyo had not yet developed the Reanimation Teique and could not save Shamon's life. By the time they reached the camp, Shamon was barely ging to life. He muttered, "Find... Jinghang," before losing sciousness. Chiyo had no choice but to order a retreat to the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Wind while arranging for mediinjas to escort Shamon back to the vilge for his final moments.

  When Jinghaered the Kazekage Hall, he saw the elders, led by Ebizō, seated around the table. Nearly half the seats were empty, a stark reminder of the heavy casualties in this war.

  The Sed Kazekage y pale and lifeless, clearly holding on to his st breath to wait for Jinghang. Upon seeing Jinghaer, a spark of light returo Shamon's eyes.

  "Jing...hang, it seems... you were right. I was too hasty," Shamon whispered weakly.

  "Lord Kazekage, please save your strength—"

  "No, I must speak!" Shamon's eyes widened as he summohe st remnants of his energy.

  "Jōnin Jinghang, with your fht, exceptional skills, and noble character, you are the rightful successor to the Kazekage. Does anyone object?" Shamon's voice was resolute as he sed the room.

  The elders unanimously raised their hands in agreement.

  "Good... good... good," Shamon said, repeating the word three times before passing away in the Kazekage Hall.

  The crowd bowed to Shamon's body in m and then to Jinghang in aowledgment of their new leader.

  "Lord Kazekage, do you have any instrus regarding the funeral and the succession ceremony?" Elder Ebizō asked.

  "Elder Shokusa, please arrange for the Sed Kazekage's body to be preserved in the cold ste. Maki Jōnin, prepare the operations room. All jōnio vene for a strategy meeting in ten minutes. As for the funeral and succession ceremony, we'll discuss them when I return," Jinghang replied.

  "A strategy meeting? Lord Kazekage, do you io tihe war?" Ebizō was surprised, knowing Jinghang had previously been against the war.

  "We have no choice, Elder," Jinghang tightened his wrist guards. "Only by winning we have something to iate."

  ---

  "The current situation is that Elder Chiyo is leading the remnants of the expeditionary force to fortify Nightingale Sands. Danzō's vanguard has already ehe Land of Wind and is expected to reach Elder Chiyo's position in a day," Maki expined, pointing at the rge sand table.

  "Any other news from Konoha?" Jinghang asked.

  "Yes. Acc to intelligence from our informants in Konoha, their high and has decided to dispatch a force through the western route via the Land of Rivers to strike at our rear."

  "When was this information received?"

  "Three days ago."

  "Who's anding this force?"

  "Konoha's White Fang, Sakumo Hatake."

  The room erupted in murmurs. The name "Konoha's White Fang" carried a fearsome reputation for his ruthless and ing tactics.

  Jinghang stared ily at the sand table, calg silently. Konoha's move was a direct blow to Sunagakure's vulnerable rear. With Shamon gone and the main forces tied up at the northern border, Sunagakure had little left to defend the west. Acc to the timelihis was the battle where Chiyo's son and daughter-in-w met their tragid.

  Suddenly, Jinghang poio a location. "I recall we have some forces statio the Lishi Fortress in the west. How many are there? Who's in and?"

  "About fifty men, led by Jōnin Akasuna Guimu and his wife."

  Perfect. It matched the records.

  "Elder Ebizō, what about the war funds and supplies we requested from the daimyo?" Jinghang asked.

  "After repeated appeals, the daimyo of the Land of Wind has allocated 15 million ryō. We've also gathered enough provisions to sustain the current war effort for three months. Additionally, we've received half of the ninja tools we ordered from the Land of Craftsmen. However, if we don't settle the payment by the end of the year, they will cease supplying us," Ebizō replied helplessly.

  "Damn it!" Jinghang cursed under his breath. The situation was dire—insuffit funds, supplies, and manpower, with problems piling up oer another.

  Massaging his temples, Jinghang carefully sidered his options. The northern front, though battered, remained Sunagakure's main force. Despite low morale aed resources, they were now on home turf. With timely reinforts, Danzō would find them hard to break. The real threat was Sakumo Hatake's fnking force. Jinghang realized he had to personally intercept Konoha's White Fang.

  "Orders!" Jinghang anded.

  The room fell silent as everyoood at attention.

  "Elder Ebizō, ahe logistics team to deliver all avaible funds, provisions, and ninja tools to Elder Chiyo's front line."

  "Uood!"

  "Jōnin Rasa, aside from the Abyss Prison, gather all remaining jōnin in the vilge. plete the reanization within two days ao reinforce Lishi Fortress."

  "Uood!"

  "Jōnin Ye g, prepare two days' worth of soldier pills for me to take on the road."

  "What?!" The crowd stared at Jinghang in shock.

  "No choice," Jinghang shrugged helplessly. "Based oelligence, Sakumo Hatake is expected to reach Lishi Fortress by noon tomorrow. The Akasuna couple won't hold out long. If I leave now and hurry, I might just make it in time."

  "But going alone is too dangerous. Let me lead a team to depart immediately," Rasa suggested.

  " you move faster than me?" Jinghang chuckled, patting Rasa's head. "Besides, the remaining jōnin in the vilge are mostly ANBU members, academy instructors, and administrative persoheir bat capabilities vary—bat types, sensory types, medical types. Sending them all at once would be like feeding them to Konoha's White Fang. Proper reanization is necessary to maximize their bat effectiveness. Uand?"

  "Uood. I will not fail," Rasa k on one knee.

  "Good. I'm off then." Jinghang took the water bottle and soldier pills hao him by Ye g.

  "Make sure you're there three days from now in the m. Otherwise, I'll go down in history as the shortest-reigning Kazekage."