Aokawa dispersed the Spirit Bow in his hand, his brow furrowing imperceptibly before relaxing once more.
"The Rain of Light is still a bit off, but a single Chakra Arrow should be no problem now."
Just as he was about to try again.
Wooooo—!
A long, urgent blast of a horn pierced the silence, echoing throughout the Konoha camp.
An emergency assembly order!
The horn's sound cut through the forest, carrying an undeniable sense of urgency and grimness.
The spirit particles light in Aokawa's palm vanished completely. With a flash of his body, he disappeared from the top of the giant tree, dozens of meters high.
When he reappeared, he was already on the stone path leading to the main command tent.
The Ninjas he encountered along the way were all hurrying with tense expressions.
The Medical Ninjas in charge of logistics carried scrolls piled high, nearly sprinting toward the warehouse.
A scout Ninja, just returned from the Front Lines with wet mud and the scent of blood still on him, brushed past him without even having time to stop and salute.
The usual sounds of training and idle chatter in the camp were gone, replaced by a wound-up solemnity.
He looked up toward the source of the sound—the central command tent of the Konoha camp, brightly lit like an eye in the dark night.
An emergency assembly order of this level meant that something big enough to change the course of the war was happening.
A messenger Ninja happened to run up to him, stopping abruptly with ragged breath.
"Aokawa-sama, Minato-sama orders all Jonin, and you, to head to the command tent for a meeting immediately!"
Aokawa nodded without a word and walked straight toward the brightly lit tent.
Outside the command tent, two guards straightened up as they saw him. A hint of awe flashed in their eyes as they quickly pulled back the heavy curtain.
Aokawa stepped inside.
A wave of tension, thick with the smell of tobacco, soil, and sweat, hit him.
The interior was brightly lit, illuminating a massive military map in sharp detail.
Surrounding the map were Konoha's elites from the Front Lines; almost all high-level combatants were present.
Everyone's shoulders were as tense as a fully drawn bow.
His gaze swept across the room, spotting many familiar faces.
Shinku Yuhi, Shirakumo Hayama, Uchiha Yashiro... A strategist from the Nara clan was unconsciously tapping his fingers on the table, while a Ninja from the Yamanaka Clan had their eyes closed, seemingly receiving the final intelligence via Secret Techniques.
These Jonin, who usually held their own ground and commanded respect, were now gathered around the map with solemn expressions, silent as statues.
He gave a slight nod to a few acquaintances as a greeting, then found an inconspicuous corner to stand in.
In the crowd, Sarutobi Shinto's gaze had not left Aokawa since the moment he entered.
The youth was tall and handsome. Entering this tent filled with Jonin, where the atmosphere was so heavy it could almost condense into water, his face showed not a hint of tension or unease.
That composure made it seem as if he hadn't walked into a life-or-death pre-battle meeting, but rather his own dojo.
He couldn't help but nod inwardly.
No wonder his fearless younger brother, Asuma, rarely respected his peers but had mentioned this Aokawa several times, his words full of admiration.
Seeing him today, this steady Heart-Nature truly far surpassed his peers.
Aokawa's gaze circled the tent before finally meeting a scrutinizing look in mid-air.
He turned his head and looked directly at Sarutobi Shinto.
Seeing him look over, the other man smiled and nodded, a hint of approval in his eyes.
Aokawa nodded back in response.
Once everyone had arrived, Minato Namikaze, standing at the head, spoke. His golden hair shined under the lights, but his azure eyes were filled with gravity.
His voice broke the silence in the tent.
"At five o'clock tomorrow morning, we will launch a general offensive against the Kumogakure encampment."
As soon as he spoke, it was as if a massive boulder had been dropped into the tent, stirring up a thousand waves.
Suppressed discussions, like the buzzing of bees, instantly filled the space.
"A general offensive? Do we have enough manpower?"
"Wasn't it said that both sides were negotiating? Did Kumogakure tear up the agreement?"
"It's too sudden. We only have one night to prepare!"
Minato Namikaze watched the people below discuss in silence, not speaking.
Shinku Yuhi frowned. Though he was very confused by this order, military orders were absolute. He took a step forward: "Minato, how exactly are we going to fight?"
Minato Namikaze looked at the map, his finger pointing at the location of the Kumogakure camp.
"A full-scale assault."
"All Ninjas, including Chunin and Genin, will be fully deployed to the Front Lines of the battlefield."
This sentence caused the air in the tent to completely explode.
"What?"
"Everyone? That's insane!"
A veteran Jonin instinctively gripped the hilt of the Ninja Blade at his waist.
Another person looked directly at Minato Namikaze, his eyes full of disbelief.
Standing at the back of the crowd, a cloud of doubt also rose in Aokawa's heart.
Deploying all forces without leaving any reserves was equivalent to pushing all the chips onto the gambling table at once. If any accident occurred, the consequence would be total annihilation.
This didn't seem like a decision that a commander known for being steady and swift, like Minato Namikaze, would make.
"Minato!" Uchiha Yashiro took a step forward, his calloused palm slamming onto the table with a heavy thud.
"What exactly is going on? This isn't your command style!"
"Pushing all our forces forward... if the tide of battle changes, we won't even be able to dispatch reinforcements! This is gambling with everyone's lives!"
Minato Namikaze looked up and scanned the room. In those blue eyes, for the first time, appeared a weariness and helplessness that no one had ever seen before.
"This is an order from the Village."
The clamor in the tent came to a screeching halt because of the word "Village."
The Jonin, who had been emotional just moments ago, felt as if they were being strangled; all their questions were stuck in their throats.
The air seemed to freeze, leaving only the faint crackling of the burning oil lamps.
An order from the "Village" represented the Hokage's will. On the Front Lines, this was an absolute ironclad rule.
Minato Namikaze's voice dropped an octave.
"The order requires us to put sufficient pressure on Kumogakure."
"At the very least, we must maintain the posture of a general offensive for seven days."
Hearing this, everyone looked at each other. The shock and uncertainty on their faces gradually turned into a heavy silence.
Since it was an order from the Third Hokage-sama, no matter how much confusion or resistance they felt, they could only carry it out.
After a brief silence, the Jonin began to discuss the details of this crazy plan intensely, their arguments rising and falling.
Aokawa listened to it all in silence.
His brow, however, furrowed deeper in a corner where no one noticed.
While Hiruzen Sarutobi might be indecisive on certain major matters and strategies...
...on the tactical level of the Front Lines, he rarely intervened so directly in specific deployments.
Furthermore, it was such a desperate, nearly suicidal order.
"What is he planning?"
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