Soon after Ebizō returned to the Hidden Sand Village, he received reports from various locations about stolen medicinal ingredients. Hearing this news, his wrinkles deepened.
If only one or two places had their medicinal ingredients stolen, Ebizō wouldn't have cared, but for so many places to experience medicinal ingredient theft in such a short time, it raised suspicions.
After confirming the types of stolen medicinal ingredients in detail, Ebizō confirmed it was the Hidden Leaf Village's doing. These ingredients were some of the materials his elder sister, Chiyo, used to research poisons, so it could be assumed that the Hidden Leaf Village needed them to research antidotes.
In other words, with these medicinal ingredients, the Hidden Leaf Village might be able to develop an antidote, which would clearly be very disadvantageous for the Hidden Sand Village. One must know that a large reason the Hidden Sand Village performs well on the battlefield is its reliance on gaseous poisons. Once this advantage is lost, the Hidden Sand Village will no longer have an edge.
And now, another problem lay before Ebizō. Because of the pervasive infiltration shown by the Hidden Leaf Village's ninja during the medicinal ingredient theft incident, the local nobles of the Land of Wind felt a serious crisis and jointly petitioned to question the Hidden Sand Village.
The new lord of the Land of Wind also felt a certain threat. Although high-ranking nobles like the Daimyō had powerful guards by their side, one or two Jonin might not be enough to take them down, and even if they could win, the Daimyō and other high-ranking nobles would have time to escape to a safe place. However, allowing the enemy to freely enter the country's borders was truly unsettling.
Especially since even the Wind Temple, which held a high status in the Land of Wind, experienced theft. If the Hidden Leaf Village's ninja's goal wasn't theft but assassination, what would be the consequences?
Due to wartime protection, the Daimyō and important officials and generals were all arranged in safe, secret locations with guards. Even the Anbu couldn't find their positions without a long investigation, so their safety was guaranteed, but what about everyone else?
Once a large number of grassroots officials were lost, the rule of the Land of Wind would be severely shaken. The Hidden Leaf Village's current capabilities seemed perfectly capable of achieving such a situation, which is why the local nobles were anxious; they weren't like other important officials who had strong guards by their side.
Of course, as long as they were very cautious in their daily travels and arranged a large number of guards around them, even if their security wasn't as good as high-ranking nobles, the Anbu, even with the power to eliminate guards and carry out assassinations, couldn't conduct large-scale assassination operations. Facing that level of protective force, at most one or two would be eliminated, which would trigger a city-wide lockdown, greatly reducing the success rate of assassinations, and they might not even be able to escape.
No matter how freely they could enter and exit, it would certainly only be one or two small teams. If it were to deal with high-ranking nobles or important officials at the front, that would be fine, but there's no real need to deal with minor nobles unless there's another objective; otherwise, it would be a waste of elite ninja who infiltrated.
However, although Ebizō understood this principle, and the nobles also understood some of it, they couldn't help but worry, and questions for the Hidden Sand Village quickly arrived.
Ebizō was also very helpless about this, because of the lingering problems from the previous Daimyō and the geographical reasons of the Land of Wind, the number of Hidden Sand Village ninja had always been low. Now, with a large number of troops committed to the war, the alert forces that could be stationed domestically truly couldn't keep up.
But could Ebizō tell the Daimyō such a reason? Even if it was the previous Daimyō's fault, the Daimyō wouldn't admit it and would only tell the Hidden Sand Village to solve the problem themselves. The Daimyō hinted that if the domestic nobles chose to seek peace due to a lack of security, he, as the Daimyō, couldn't go against the majority of the country's nobles.
If they really chose to seek peace, the Hidden Sand Village would have a very difficult time, because they hadn't achieved much success yet. Either they had to solve the nobles' sense of security, or they had to quickly conquer the ruling territories before the nobles chose to seek peace.
And it seemed Ebizō only had one choice, because he really couldn't solve the domestic alert problem unless he recalled some of the frontline troops, but in that case, the frontline achievements couldn't be guaranteed, and the Hidden Sand Village was already giving its all.
Since he chose the latter, Ebizō had to be careful about the upcoming war situation. The Hidden Leaf Village might have already developed an antidote for the current gaseous poisons. He had to let his elder sister know about this. He wasn't a medical ninja and didn't know much about medicine.
So, Ebizō immediately wrote a letter and had someone deliver it to the front lines. He told his elder sister, Chiyo, and the Hidden Sand ninja who received the order quickly rushed to the front, arriving at the Hidden Sand Village's command camp and delivering the letter to Chiyo.
Chiyo had also been exasperated these days. She didn't know how, but the Hidden Leaf ninja troops, who were clearly at a disadvantage, suddenly began to counterattack. Those elite teams, relying on their flexible mobility, constantly harassed the Hidden Sand Village's defensive line, leaving them no peace and even affecting their ability to gather troops for another attack.
The defensive line established by the Hidden Sand ninja troops wasn't very sturdy, also due to their limited ninja numbers. Although they could maintain it with gaseous poisons, there were ultimately limits. Of course, the Hidden Leaf Village's actions weren't a big problem, just a headache.
Chiyo planned to vent her anger in the next large-scale attack. This time, the amount of poison used would be even greater. At this moment, she received a letter from her younger brother, which surprised her a little. As a medical ninja, she knew how complex her poisons were. Unless someone had a medical skill comparable to hers, it would be impossible to decipher them in a short time.
According to the information collected by the Hidden Sand Village, the Hidden Leaf Village recently sent a medical ninja here, but they didn't know who the person was. Chiyo didn't pay much attention at first, not believing that a newcomer could solve her poisons, but she didn't expect to hear about such a thing so soon.
Chiyo knew that those medicinal ingredients were used to make antidotes. If the medicinal properties of those ingredients could be understood, the time to find substitute ingredients in the future would be shortened, which would be very detrimental to the Hidden Sand Village. She didn't expect that medical ninja from the Hidden Leaf Village to actually be capable.
Even so, Chiyo had no good solution. While she possessed more powerful poisons, the materials were too rare to be used on a large scale as gaseous poisons. The only way for Chiyo was to improve the existing formula, making it more complex. However, this was just a variant of the existing poison, and theoretically, an antidote could still be developed by extending the existing poison's principles.
Chiyo couldn't be sure if that medical ninja from the Hidden Leaf Village had such abilities. Just deciphering the poison she was currently using only proved their competence, but whether they could apply that knowledge and, starting from basic theory, decipher a variant poison, was an uncertain matter.
From a rational standpoint, Chiyo naturally hoped that medical ninja didn't have such abilities. She could only pray for that now, while simultaneously beginning to research new poisons and contemplating the upcoming war situation. With the appearance of the antidote, the Hidden Leaf Village would surely launch a counterattack, and she would have to deal with it properly.
At the same time, all the medicinal ingredients collected by the Hidden Leaf Anbu and other intelligence ninja were sent to the Land of Grass. Upon receiving them, Tsunade immediately began making the antidote. Since the formula was already determined, after a brief test, the first antidote could be produced.
Once the antidote was created, all the high-ranking officials in the camp immediately gathered, cautiously observing Tsunade conduct clinical trials of the antidote. When they saw a ninja who had been poisoned for a long time and was only kept alive by other means, recover, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"Good. With the antidote, we finally don't have to be so stifled," Inuzuka Shigeo said excitedly. "This time, we'll get even and show those Hidden Sand Village guys what we're capable of."
The others expressed their support. As everyone rejoiced, Tsunade also let out a soft sigh of relief. For a healer, developing a life-saving antidote was undoubtedly a pleasant thing. After calming down, Tsunade began mass-producing the antidote. The antidote she developed could maintain immunity to poison for a certain period, and not only to existing poisons, but also to any variants derived from this poison, which would completely strip the opponent of their original advantage.
Chiyo never expected that even before her variant poisons, which she was currently researching, had appeared, Tsunade had already prepared for subsequent defenses. The poisons she researched were destined to be useless, although Chiyo was not yet aware of this.
Meanwhile, the Hidden Leaf ninja troops began discussing the upcoming counterattack. The enemy's poison gas had left everyone holding their breath for a long time, and now they finally had a chance to erupt. Every Hidden Leaf ninja was filled with righteous indignation, their fighting spirit soaring, and their combat power was sure to increase.
"Since the antidote has been developed, we can go all out," Inuzuka Shigeo decided to make a big move. With the current morale of the Hidden Leaf ninja, achieving such a strategic goal was possible. "We'll contact Lord Kagami in the Land of Rain and launch a pincer attack on the Hidden Sand Village from two sides."
Because of the Land of Rain blocking the way, the Land of Wind had a very limited number of troops deployed in the Land of Grass, mainly to assist the Hidden Stone Village and tie down the Hidden Leaf Village's forces. Their main troops were stationed near the Land of Rivers and the Land of Rain. Due to setbacks in the Land of Rain, the Hidden Sand Village shifted its focus back to the Land of Rivers, and the troops led by Uchiha Kagami also turned there.
According to the village's standards, there was no requirement to occupy fixed territory; the main goal was to wear down the enemy's ninja numbers. Inuzuka Shigeo planned to activate both Hidden Leaf ninja forces, drawing out the movements of the Hidden Sand ninja forces, thereby bleeding them dry.
Upon hearing this, everyone knew that this would be a large-scale operation, involving the Second Ninja Division, the Hidden Rain Ninja Division, and the Fourth Ninja Division. Once the objective was achieved, it could deliver an unprecedented major blow to the Hidden Sand Village, forcing them to retreat.
"In that case, the village needs to carefully consider this matter," someone reminded.
"Hmm, I understand. Lord Kagami and the village need to discuss it," Inuzuka Shigeo nodded. "By then, the new equipment for the Hidden Stone Village should also have arrived. We also need to consider the movements of the Hidden Stone Village. In other words, our main focus still has to be on Lord Kagami."
"Since that's the case, we need to increase Lord Kagami's strength," Uchiha Setsuna said at this moment. "I suggest transferring some elites from the Fourth Ninja Division to the Second Ninja Division. What do you think?"
Inuzuka Shigeo pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "Alright, indeed, Lord Kagami needs more leverage. Lord Kagami is the main force of the counterattack."
"Then, I hope to be recalled to the Second Ninja Division," Uchiha Setsuna continued, "I want to lend Lord Kagami a hand."
Inuzuka Shigeo knew Uchiha Setsuna's formidable strength and that he was from the Uchiha clan, which would make cooperation with Uchiha Kagami easier. He said, "I will consider it."
Uchiha Setsuna couldn't help but show a faint smile. Only he knew that his good luck had finally arrived. In such large-scale operations, variables would become more and more numerous, and the things to consider would become more and more complex. In other words, the possibility of fishing in troubled waters would increase.
Uchiha Setsuna had a vague premonition that this would be an opportunity to completely remove Uchiha Kagami, that dog of the Hidden Leaf Village, from this world. He would never let it go. And to ensure he achieved his goal, he also had to return to Uchiha Kagami's side, eliminate all interfering factors, and personally watch him die.
He glanced at the topographical map of the Land of Rivers and formed a plan in his mind. Uchiha Kagami's strength was considerable, and dealing with him when he was with a large force would be very troublesome. The best method was to catch him when he was isolated. Coincidentally, the topography of the Land of Rivers had a place where this could be achieved.
—It all depended on whether Uchiha Kagami would accept his suggestion. The success rate was not low; lies, when half-truths, could deceive most people.
Uchiha Setsuna's mind raced. He had a way to achieve this, because he had a good partner still lingering on this battlefield. It was a variable no one could predict, and no one could interfere with its actions. It could turn something that was originally true into a complete lie.
Uchiha Setsuna could almost see Uchiha Kagami's dying figure, and that would be the beginning of the Uchiha clan's return to glory.