If they couldn't sustain the war through battle spoils, then a large-scale war would be a heavy burden on Konohagakure.
The village leadership naturally wanted to avoid such an outcome.
"Captain, what should we do with him?" Yuhi Mitsune asked.
"Since we can't get any valuable information out of him, and his identity is nothing special, there's no reason to keep him. The Rain ninja won't come to rescue him either. Just end it quickly," Jiraiya replied.
Yuhi Mitsune nodded. Konoha didn't have a habit of torturing enemy ninjas unnecessarily.
After dealing with the matter, Jiraiya chatted with Tsuchiki for a while before heading back to his cabin to rest.
Killing Danzō and infiltrating Tetsuishi Town for intelligence had left him feeling exhausted.
As soon as he lay down, there was a knock at the door. Tsunade walked in.
"You didn't get hurt while gathering intel in Tetsuishi Town, did you?" she asked with concern.
She had wanted to ask as soon as he returned, but with so many people around, it hadn't been the right time.
"I'm fine. The elite jōnin and jōnin in Tetsuishi Town didn't even notice me before I was already gone," Jiraiya said with a grin.
Then, he looked at Tsunade seriously. "Since our relationship is out in the open now, let's just stay together tonight."
Tsunade hesitated. "Wouldn't that be inappropriate?"
Jiraiya pulled her into his arms, seating her on his lap.
"We're already a couple. What's inappropriate about it?"
His cabin had been specially prepared for him by the ninja at the base when they heard he was coming. It had three rooms—a bedroom, a living area, and a bathroom—fully furnished and comfortable.
Tsunade eventually nodded in agreement.
"When we attack Tetsuishi Town, you should stay in the rear. Your job is to heal the wounded, not fight on the front lines," Jiraiya said seriously.
Sieging a town was extremely dangerous. With hundreds of ninjas clashing, attacks could come from all directions. Even a moment of distraction could lead to getting hit.
Among all types of ninja battles, sieges had the highest casualty rates.
Jiraiya knew he would be facing the enemy's top fighters, meaning he wouldn't be able to protect Tsunade. Since she had mastered numerous medical techniques and possessed the Slug Summoning, which excelled at healing, keeping her in the rear to save lives was the best course of action.
Tsunade nodded. She had no objections to his arrangement.
Later that night, Jiraiya carried her into the bath, and after that... battle commenced.
The intense "fight" lasted for more than an hour before they finally fell asleep in each other's arms.
The next morning, Jiraiya woke up to Tsunade kissing him.
"I like this way of waking up," he chuckled, flipping her beneath him.
Afterward, following a short rest, Jiraiya sensed multiple chakra signatures approaching the base.
Konoha's reinforcements had arrived.
He and Tsunade quickly cleaned up and left the cabin.
Using his Observation Jutsu, Jiraiya spotted a large group of ninjas entering the base. The majority were from the Uchiha clan, followed by the Hyūga clan, with other prominent clans trailing behind. Not a single civilian ninja was among them.
The reinforcements numbered over four hundred, mostly chūnin. Jōnin and elite jōnin were scarce—only sixteen jōnin and four elite jōnin in total.
With the addition of these reinforcements, their forces were sufficient to attack Tetsuishi Town.
The clan ninjas were exceptionally powerful, particularly the Uchiha and Hyūga. The Uchiha presence was overwhelming, making up nearly half of the reinforcements, and half of them had already awakened the Sharingan.
This was a formidable force, almost as if the Uchiha clan had sent out their elites in full.
Konoha intended for the clan ninjas to be the main force in the upcoming battle—not just because of their strength, but also as a way to weaken them through war.
Leading the Uchiha was an elite jōnin named Uchiha Raiden, accompanied by two jōnin. The Hyūga were led by a branch family elder, Hyūga Tetsuki, who was also an elite jōnin.
As for the other clan leaders, Jiraiya didn't recognize them.
Uchiha Raiden and Hyūga Tetsuki were well-known figures in Konoha, so he could identify them at a glance.
"Jiraiya-sama, all of the village's reinforcements have arrived," Tsuchiki reported shortly after.
Konoha had deployed over two thousand ninjas to invade the Land of Rain. Nearly half had been assigned to reinforce this base, meaning there wouldn't be any further reinforcements. The rest were tasked with capturing other resource-heavy locations.
There would be no additional waves of reinforcements in the future. Konoha couldn't afford to send more, as they needed to keep enough forces within the Land of Fire to deter the other great nations from launching an attack.
"Find them accommodations first. Once Elder Danzō returns, we'll call a meeting for the clan leaders," Jiraiya instructed.
He had no intention of meeting the clan leaders right away. The clan ninjas didn't hold him in high regard, and he wasn't interested in trying to win their favor.
Once the siege began and he demonstrated his strength, their attitudes would change on their own.
Only strength commanded respect.
Although Hiruzen Sarutobi had built him up as a prodigy, the clans had never seen Jiraiya fight firsthand. They still doubted his abilities and had yet to fully believe in the war achievements Hiruzen had attributed to him.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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