As the commander of the Western Front Army, Setsuna quickly received intelligence on Konoha's overall troop deployment.
The total number of active Ninja was just over 23,000. Among these, fewer than 3,000 held official Ninja Registration Numbers.
Setsuna wasn't particularly surprised by this figure.
During the Fourth Great Ninja War, the Allied Shinobi Forces claimed 80,000 troops, but that didn't mean the villages contributed equally. Konoha, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure had relatively larger numbers.
Furthermore, the Allied Forces' numbers also had to account for losses from previous wars. For instance, the battle where the Third Raikage single-handedly fought 10,000 Iwagakure's Ninja… although the Raikage ultimately fell from exhaustion, he took at least over a thousand Iwagakure's Ninja with him.
Calculating this way, Konoha having over 20,000 Ninja was a reasonable number.
But if you considered registration numbers, like Shizune's number 010800, you'd find that Konoha had only a little over 10,000 officially registered Ninja since its founding. The rest were 'informal employees' without registration numbers.
Out of these 23,000+ Ninja, Konoha decided to leave just over 1,000 to defend the village.
The remaining 22,000 Ninjas were allocated as follows: a full 12,000 were assigned to the Eastern Front Army responsible for blocking Kumogakure, 6,000 were assigned to the Southern Front Army blocking Kirigakure, leaving only 4,000 Ninja falling into Setsuna's hands.
When Setsuna led this limited-force army to the border of the Land of Grass to rendezvous with the Sunagakure's troops, the atmosphere suddenly grew tense.
The Sunagakure's camp was built on the edge of the desert, with rolling yellow sand and weathered rock pillars standing everywhere.
The moment the Konoha's troops stepped into Sunagakure's perimeter, the surrounding Sunagakure's Ninjas stopped what they were doing. All eyes focused on one person.
"Is that... the man who destroyed Sunagakure?" A Sunagakure's Chunin murmured softly, his fingers unconsciously tightening around a kunai.
He had been knocked out at the time and had no idea how Sunagakure's was actually destroyed. Later, when Setsuna came to Sunagakure to form the alliance, he missed it because he was in the hospital.
"Don't stare at him!" His companion pulled him sharply, voice lowered to a whisper. "They say he can sense hostility from a thousand miles away. A single glance from him can kill an enemy."
Hearing his companion's words, the Sunagakure's Chunin's hand trembled involuntarily. "I don't have any hostility! I'm just scared and holding my kunai tight... I won't die, right?"
The Konoha's Ninja sensitively noticed the Sunagakure's Ninja's unusual reaction.
A young Konoha's Genin swallowed hard and whispered to his companion, "Hey, did you see that? Those Sunagakure's Ninja... the way they look at Setsuna-sama... it's like they're looking at a god."
"No kidding," His companion glared at him. "Have you ever seen someone single-handedly destroy a Ninja Village?"
Even the Sunagakure's leadership was no exception. When Pakura led the Sunagakure's command team to meet them, Setsuna clearly felt her Chakra fluctuating unnaturally, as if her heartbeat had accelerated.
Rasa, behind her, had an even more tense expression, afraid that any movement of his might displease Setsuna.
The Konoha's Ninjas exchanged glances, feeling deeply shocked.
'Is this the deterrence brought by sheer power?'
'Sunagakure should be our enemy, but now they don't even dare to look Setsuna-sama in the eye.'
"Welcome, Commander." Pakura tried to keep her tone calm. "All six thousand Sunagakure's Ninjas are ready for battle."
"You are too polite, Kazekage-sama. You are the commander of our combined forces."
During the strategy meeting, Rasa initially wanted to keep a low profile. But seeing no one else speak first, he couldn't help but say, "Our forces are inferior to Iwagakure's. Perhaps we should adopt a turtle defense… Cough, I mean, a [Sand Guardian] tactic. I will lead the Sunagakure's forces to construct three layered defensive lines, with explosive tag traps and poison mist zones arranged at intervals between each line."
"As for you, Commander-sama-" Rasa looked at Setsuna in the main seat, his mind momentarily dazed.
Two weeks ago, he was the one on the platform watching Setsuna fight. Now Setsuna's in the main seat evaluating his plan. Rasa felt an empty sense of loss.
Fortunately, Rasa quickly adjusted his mindset and continued, "Commander-sama, your very presence is the greatest deterrent to Iwagakure. Onoki is forced to keep his most elite troops in reserve to guard against your surprise attacks. What we need to do is wait. Wait until their nerves are stretched to the limit and their morale collapses. Then, you will launch the fatal strike!"
Many Konoha's Ninjas showed surprised expressions. They had heard about Rasa losing the Kazekage's position due to his own cleverness and thought he was a fool. It seemed he had some capability after all.
Setsuna nodded slightly. "A good strategy. But I'd like to make some adjustments."
Rasa inquired, "What are your thoughts, Commander-sama?"
Setsuna was concise: "Fierce assault!"
Rasa seemed not to have heard clearly, asking blankly, "Huh? Fierce assault?"
Setsuna nodded. "Correct. Full army attack. No reserves."
Rasa instantly petrified, 'This isn't 'some adjustments'! This is a complete overhaul!'
Rasa hurriedly dissuaded him, "Commander-sama, isn't this too rash? Even if we are to attack, we should first send scout teams to gather intelligence, then use small units for further probing, and finally make the decision for a decisive battle, right?"
Setsuna lightly tapped the table with his fingertip. "Prolonged defense inevitably fails, especially when Jinchuriki are involved in the battle. No defensive line can withstand Tailed Beast Bomb bombardment. It's better to catch them off guard now, while they haven't yet figured out my movements. Once they know I'm on the battlefield, they might pull all their village's forces forward."
Pakura spoke up appropriately, "According to reports from our sensory units, Iwagakure currently has 13,000 troops deployed in the Land of Grass, commanded by the Tsuchikage's son, Kitsuchi. Both the Four-Tails' Jinchuriki, Roshi, and the Five-Tails' Jinchuriki, Han, are already participating in the battle."
Setsuna nodded slightly. "We have 4,000 from Konoha and 6,000 from Sunagakure. Our total forces are inferior to Iwagakure's, but we have the advantage in top-tier combat power."
Rasa smiled wryly. "I know you, Commander-sama, wouldn't fear the Jinchuriki. Even the two Jinchuriki joining forces might not be able to defeat you. But similarly, Jinchuriki aren't easy to kill. What if they avoid fighting you directly and focus on using Tailed Beast Bombs to attack our ranks? The final outcome might be mutual destruction."
Setsuna interlaced his fingers. "No need to worry. I can use a 'beam struggle' to neutralize one Jinchuriki's Tailed Beast Ball. As long as you don't get too close to me."
Although he didn't quite understand what a 'beam struggle' was, Rasa chose to believe him. "What about the other Jinchuriki?"
Setsuna looked towards Minato, who had yet to truly shine. "I believe our Deputy Commander can handle it."
Facing the gazes directed at him, Minato smiled gently. "If it's just about transferring a Tailed Beast Bomb using the Flying Thunder God Technique, I can do it. If I can place a Flying Thunder God's mark in the Iwagakure's camp beforehand, I can even transfer the Tailed Beast Bomb directly into the Iwagakure's ranks."
"Your Flying Thunder God can even transfer Tailed Beast Bombs?" Rasa looked at Minato with great surprise.
People used to group Rasa, Minato, and A together, calling them the future of their respective villages. But Rasa had been somewhat dismissive back then. After all, both he and A were successors to the Kage's position, while Minato was a nobody. How could he be ranked with them?
But now it seemed this man was indeed not to be underestimated.