The following evening, the latest intelligence arrived.
Before dawn, Sakumo Hatake led a contingent of Konoha shinobi north to intercept the Suna reinforcement army returning from the northern front.
By morning, Orochimaru had engaged the forces within Sunagakure in a fierce battle that ended in a stalemate.
By the afternoon, Sakumo successfully intercepted the Suna reinforcements. After two hours of grueling combat, he slew the enemy commander and routed the relief force.
Later that same afternoon, Suna reinforcements from the Land of Rain were spotted; Sakumo moved to hold them in a standoff.
Meanwhile, Tsunade and Kato Dan were pouring their efforts into constructing massive defensive fortifications and a permanent encampment around Sunagakure, signaling the start of a long-term siege.
Aburame Tetsumaru had stopped following the tactical shifts with much interest. Everything was proceeding exactly as he had predicted: Orochimaru had opted for a slow, steady war of attrition. There wouldn't be any major changes for at least a month.
More importantly, he had finally laid eyes on the Giant Ants. With that prize in sight, the war could have been happening on another planet for all he cared. His mind was entirely consumed by how to deal with the colony.
With Tetsumaru's arrival, countless Gadflies had infiltrated the nest. Combined with his three-kilometer Secret Technique: Domain Field Barrier, the secrets of the ant kingdom were laid bare.
Centered beneath an unremarkable set of ancient ruins, the ants had excavated a sprawling subterranean empire. Their tunnels tunneled through the sediment, bored through solid rock, and the Queen's royal chambers were nestled deep beneath the second layer of bedrock.
The Gadflies even discovered a series of hot springs within the royal geode, suggesting the colony's lower levels were dangerously close to a geothermal source.
Tetsumaru meticulously recorded data on his scrolls: ambient temperature, air composition, the specific heat of the spring water. He suspected these conditions were vital for the Giant Ants' reproduction. Before leaving, he made a mental note to secure a water sample.
Found the hatchery. The more eggs, the better. I need every scrap of data on the incubation environment.
Is this the cafeteria? I'll take a few food samples for nutritional analysis.
What is this cavern? I have no idea. Looks like I'll need long-term observation for this one.
Before he knew it, an entire scroll was filled. Tetsumaru sealed it away without hesitation and unrolled a second.
The sheer volume of data was staggering. He felt a surge of pure, academic bliss. Every data point recorded now would serve as the cornerstone for his future "Zerg" swarm. Every minute spent here today could potentially save him days or weeks of trial and error in the future.
Simultaneously, hundreds of Mole Crickets began tunneling from the Burrowing Worms' main shafts toward the ant nest. Eggs, pupae, hot spring water, food, and air samples—he had a long shopping list.
Tetsumaru couldn't exactly waltz through the front door. The nest housed over a thousand Giant Ants. In the cramped confines of their tunnels, even his swarm would be at a disadvantage. Combined with his desire not to damage the "merchandise," a frontal assault was out of the question.
He had to play the thief. As a ninja, why kick down the door when you can burgle the basement? It was, quite literally, his job description.
After working through the night, Tetsumaru began scouting for a site to build his tenth Broodmother in the Land of Wind. With a Broodmother on-site and the Mole Crickets' "smuggling" tunnels, he could monitor the colony daily without having to stay in the desert.
Finding the right spot was tricky. It couldn't be too far, or the signal to the larger insects would lag. It couldn't be too close, either; the current Broodmother support system relied on Sugar Ants and Mealworms, which required a lush vegetation base. Anything green within a few miles was already being harvested by the Giant Ants to farm their own fungi.
The Sugar Ants couldn't compete with their cousins, who were literally two million times their size. The difference in harvesting efficiency was a joke.
After a day of surveying, Tetsumaru realized there was no perfect location. Within a thirty-kilometer radius, every water source showed signs of Giant Ant activity.
Finally, Tetsumaru opted to expand a tunnel three thousand meters from the nest, boring through the first layer of bedrock. He deposited a Brain Worm and began the Broodmother's development.
This base would be a "consumer" hive. It would house no producer-type insects. All necessary nutrients would be transported from more distant Broodmothers—a logistical trek that would have to be repeated daily to keep the hive operational.
The third day was for the hunt. Tetsumaru planned to capture several foraging Giant Ants. He didn't want to use violence for fear of damaging the precious genetic samples, so he relied on anesthetics.
During the capture, Tetsumaru was shocked to discover that these natural insects were significantly more powerful than his bio-engineered Scythe-Mantis bugs.
A Giant Ant could hit a linear sprint of ninety miles per hour, dwarfing the Mantis's fifty-five. Fortunately, the ants were clumsy and had the tactical intellect of a brick. After being surrounded by six Mantises, one ant grew so confused it just spun in circles before being tackled. A swarm of Sac-Bugs immediately smothered it, pumping it full of anesthetic gas.
During the capture of the third ant, a Scythe-Mantis was slightly out of position. The ant lunged, catching it in its mandibles. With two quick grinds of its sickle-like jaws, the Mantis was sliced clean in half.
Aside from the mandibles, the stinger at the tail was lethal. While no bug was actually stung, the ant sprayed a high-pressure jet of toxin as it struggled.
The venom was incredibly corrosive. The chitinous shells of the five surviving Mantises were pitted and scarred; in some places, the armor had been melted through entirely.
Even Tetsumaru took a hit. Sixty-seven of his Armor Beetles—which he wore as a constant defensive layer—were liquidated. He lost nearly half a suit of "armor."
Considering this version of the Armor Beetle could withstand the Kazekage's lighter attacks, the ant's chemical potency was terrifying.
Naturally, the greater the loss, the happier Tetsumaru became. He couldn't stop grinning. He immediately named the toxin Formic Acid, as its primary method of damage was chemical corrosion.
After capturing six ants and sending them back via a Summoning Nest, Tetsumaru stopped the hunt. Each ant weighed over seven hundred kilograms; there was no way he could transport more across the Great Desert, and they were too large for his standard worm tunnels.
Instead, he killed four more and preserved them as specimens in sealing scrolls for later dissection and cellular analysis.
Late that night, the Mole Crickets finally breached the hatchery. Tetsumaru was busy hauling away a hundred eggs when the entire nest suddenly went into a state of total alert.
It was baffling. During the day, he had killed ten adults—one percent of the colony—and the hive hadn't twitched. Yet, the moment he stole a hundred eggs, the nest erupted. Hundreds of Giant Ants swarmed into the hatchery, slaughtering every Mole Cricket that couldn't escape in time.
Even more ants surged to the surface, beginning a carpet search of the ruins.
Crap, Tetsumaru thought. He'd had such a smooth run that he'd grown complacent. He hadn't bothered to mask his scent or tracks while moving back and forth.
He acted instantly. He used a scent-neutralizer on the Broodmother's entrance, splashed a bit of fresh blood on himself and a few Mantises to draw the ants' focus, and led them on a chase away from the base. With that, his expedition was over.
Tetsumaru sprinted through the night until he reached a familiar abandoned Suna outpost. Only then did he stop to rest and process the last three days of war intel.
The reports were a monotonous loop. Aside from Sakumo crushing a second reinforcement wave in the north, Konoha and Suna were locked in a daily cycle: Suna attacked, Konoha defended.
Siege warfare by day, raids and counter-raids by night.
The battles were carbon copies of each other.
That was fine with Tetsumaru. No change meant Konoha held the upper hand, and no change meant they wouldn't need to recall a certain "Special Jonin" currently "guarding" the Land of Rivers. His unauthorized vacation remained a secret.
He rested for a day and prepared to head back under the cover of night. But before departing, he received the latest daily report, and his jaw nearly hit the floor.
The "vibe" of the battlefield had shifted overnight. The Konoha army had deployed its entire force in a total, all-out assault on the walls of Sunagakure. Sakumo Hatake had even ignored the brewing third wave of reinforcements from the north to join the main force.
Even now, with the sun down, the assault was continuing. They weren't stopping to rest.
Tetsumaru felt a stinging sensation on his face. He had just spent days bragging that Orochimaru was patient—and then the man pulled this?
They were at the enemy's front door. Suna had one month of food left. It was a guaranteed win through attrition. Why launch a relentless, day-and-night frontal assault? The Leaf was going to take horrific casualties. Had Orochimaru lost his mind?
Sunagakure was a natural fortress. The village was ringed by towering rock walls, with the only entrance being a narrow fissure known as the "Gap." It was the definition of "easy to defend, hard to attack."
The Second Kazekage had spent over a decade turning those walls into a death trap. Trap seals, mechanical hidden weapons, and puppet-mounted ballistas were layered so thick you couldn't see the stone.
When the Leaf charged, the Suna defenders opened up with everything. The sky turned dark with projectiles. The fire was so dense that Suna commanders coordinated the volleys to ensure that no matter how a ninja dodged, they would still be in the line of fire.
Half of the Leaf ninjas were shot down before they even touched the wall. Those who reached the top were met by puppeteers firing from fortified buildings within the village, creating a lethal crossfire.
One of Tetsumaru's Shadow Clones had snuck close to watch. When the clone dispelled, the sensory feedback hit the original Tetsumaru like a physical blow. He saw Konoha ninjas falling by the dozen, plummeting from the cliffs to their deaths.
Tetsumaru couldn't help but curse out loud.
"Dammit! Orochimaru is insane. He's completely lost it!"
Tetsumaru began to run. With this level of meat-grinder combat, it wouldn't be two days before they started drafting every available body. He was going to be the first one called up.
Sure enough, that very night, a Shadow Clone relayed an order from Orochimaru via the Broodmother network.
"I don't care where you are. Get here now. Leave the brats behind."
"Son of a..." Tetsumaru cursed. His location hadn't been discovered, but Orochimaru had correctly guessed he was slacking off. The Sannin was essentially using his knowledge of the "slacker" to blackmail him into an immediate return.
But on second thought, Tetsumaru realized this probably wasn't blackmail. If Orochimaru was this desperate, something had changed—something that could potentially blow Tetsumaru's cover if he didn't clean up his tracks immediately.
He didn't dawdle. He used his Shadow Clones to give new orders to his three disciples, then made a show of "starting his run" toward the front before dispelling the clones and letting the information settle in his main body.
He turned toward Sunagakure. He had to see for himself what could possibly make the cold, calculating Orochimaru act with such reckless, dangerous desperation.
Upon entering the Konoha main camp outside Suna, Tetsumaru instinctively used his Domain Field Barrier. He noticed a squad of Leaf ninjas processing through the East Gate.
Two of them were familiar faces—all too familiar. Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, the Hokage's advisors. They had arrived almost at the same time as he did.
Given their track record, there was only one reason the Hokage would send those two to a front line: a diplomatic mission.
This was a terrible omen. Suna was still fighting for its life, tooth and nail. They weren't even close to admitting defeat. What kind of diplomacy could there be?
Unless... Konoha is the one asking for peace?
The horrifying thought was confirmed as the two Elders began briefing the command. The news triggered an immediate explosion of outrage.
"On what grounds!?"
"We refuse to accept this!"
Two Inuzuka Jonin were the first to roar, their fury boiling over.
"Total victory is within our reach! How dare you obstruct this achievement? The Uchiha will not stand for this!"
An Uchiha Jonin stood, his eyes blazing.
Most of the other Jonin remained silent, but their disapproval manifested in other ways.
An Aburame Jonin grew so agitated his Kikaichu began swarming visibly, buzzing aggressively at Homura and Koharu. A Kurama Jonin glared at Homura with such intensity that the Elder broke into a cold sweat, unaware he had just been momentarily caught in a Genin-level spite-illusion.
The Ino-Shika-Cho trio were more restrained. The Akimichi pulled out a bag of chips and began crunching loudly, the sound echoing through the tense silence. The Nara produced a shogi piece—a pawn—and rolled it between his fingers. The Yamanaka did nothing at all; their clan's techniques made people jumpy, so they were always the most careful in a crowd.
Finally, Orochimaru stood up. He suppressed the room's anger, offering the two Elders a shred of professional courtesy before speaking.
"I find your mission repulsive," he said coldly. "However, it is the Hokage's order, and I cannot openly defy it. That said... I believe I have the authority to adjust the timing of your mission based on the situation on the ground. You will not initiate contact for at least forty-eight hours."
As the two "dead weight" Elders were ushered out, Orochimaru's expression turned lethal.
"You all heard him," Orochimaru said, his gaze sweeping the room. "We have forty-eight hours."
The Jonin nodded as one.
Orochimaru looked at them, his voice low and steady. "Then let's give it everything we have."
Even Sakumo Hatake stood up. The room thundered with a single, unified response:
"OSU!"