Naruto: Kushina's Redemption, My Revenge

Chinya followed Orochimaru to the Land of Hot Water.

After several days of long travel, Chinya and Orochimaru finally reached the Konoha ninja encampment stationed at the border between the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Fire.

Tents were set up across the camp, with a few ninjas patrolling the area.

The ninjas who spotted Orochimaru respectfully greeted him as "Lord Orochimaru."

Without hesitation, Orochimaru led Chinya straight into the tent at the far end.

Inside the tent were Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze.

Jiraiya's face lit up with surprise when he saw Orochimaru walk in. "Orochimaru, you're finally here! The old man said you'd be coming to support us in the Land of Hot Water—it really lifted my spirits."

Orochimaru skipped the pleasantries and cut straight to the point. "What's the current situation?"

Jiraiya's expression darkened. "It's terrible. We've been retreating nonstop on the front lines until we're practically out of places to fall back to."

As Orochimaru approached the sand table, Jiraiya began explaining the current state of affairs in the Land of Hot Water.

From the moment Chinya entered the tent, he started sizing up Minato Namikaze.

Years had passed since they last met, and Minato had changed drastically. He looked taller, his appearance more determined, and carried a sharp, formidable aura honed through years of training.

Minato was also sizing Chinya up.

In Minato's eyes, Chinya had changed just as much.

Chinya shifted his gaze, walked over, and stood beside Orochimaru, wanting to observe the tactical situation in the Land of Hot Water.

Jiraiya explained to Orochimaru, "It seems the ninja from Cloud Village have allied with the Hidden Hot Water Village. Many Cloud shinobi are currently stationed there.

The border between the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Fire is extremely long, and with our limited numbers, it's nearly impossible to cover such a vast frontline. Right now, we can barely keep the enemy at bay beyond the Fire Country's borders.

Additionally, Cloud Village has stationed many forces in the Moon Country. Should we suffer any losses, reinforcements will immediately arrive from there to replenish our ranks.

At this rate, we may have no choice but to completely withdraw from the Land of Hot Water back into the Land of Fire."

Orochimaru stared at the sand table, his brow deeply furrowed.

He had braced himself for the possibility that the Konoha forces stationed in the Land of Hot Water might be in a dire situation—but not this bad.

Meanwhile, inside, Jiraiya was practically grinning from ear to ear. Ever since arriving in the Land of Hot Water, he'd been walking around with a frown on his face every single day.

If it had just been about fighting, Jiraiya wouldn't have cared.

But handling all the formations, assigning missions—these responsibilities had been weighing heavily on him.

Now that Orochimaru had shown up, he could finally pass all that crap off onto him. After all, Orochimaru was the master strategist here.

As Orochimaru continued studying the sand table in thought, Jiraiya turned to Chinya. "Well look who it is! It's been a while, brat. Never thought you'd actually become Orochimaru's apprentice. He's got high standards, y'know? Not bad."

Chinya bowed respectfully to Jiraiya. "Long time no see, Jiraiya-sama."

After exchanging greetings, Chinya ignored Jiraiya and resumed examining the sand table alongside Orochimaru.

Seeing how cold Chinya was acting, Jiraiya curled his lip and muttered, "No wonder they're master and apprentice; both have such indifferent personalities."

Chinya stared at the flag representing Konoha on the sand table, his expression somewhat strange.

This frontline was practically right at the border of the Land of Fire.

If we retreat any further, the entire defensive line will collapse, forcing us straight back into the Land of Fire.

Orochimaru turned his head toward Chinya and asked, "Chinya, what do you think we should do to change this situation now?"

Not just Chinya, but Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze also looked at Orochimaru in surprise.

They hadn't expected Orochimaru to ask Chinya for advice on turning the tide of war.

Orochimaru continued, "Just speak freely, this is a battlefield."

The meaning behind Orochimaru's words was obvious—this battlefield was the perfect chance to prove yourself.

If Chinya wanted to enter Konoha's inner circle, he needed to find every possible way to stand out.

Orochimaru was helping Chinya earn recognition.

Chinya furrowed his brows slightly, lost in thought.

Jiraiya whispered to Orochimaru, "Orochimaru, isn't it a bit hasty asking a mere kid about such an important matter?"

Orochimaru chuckled and replied, "Don't underestimate my disciple, Jiraiya. He's even smarter than I am."

Jiraiya gave Chinya, who was still deep in thought, a doubtful look. "You're kidding, right?"

After a long silence, Chinya finally returned from his thoughts.

Orochimaru asked, "Chinya, how is it?"

"I've got an idea, but it might not be very solid."

"Just say it. I'll determine whether your idea is feasible or not."

Chinya nodded, then asked, "Before that, I'd like to ask Jiraiya-sama one question. Is it because of you that our Konoha ninjas haven't retreated to the Land of Fire and can still hold our positions at the border? My following idea will build upon this point, so please allow me to ask, Jiraiya-sama."

Jiraiya rubbed his chin as he answered, "Okay, yeah, maybe it does sound a bit arrogant—but sure, that's definitely part of it. After all, I'm one of the Legendary Sannin—famed warriors across the shinobi world."

Chinya started his analysis: "From what I see, Kumogakure certainly hasn't yet prepared for full-scale war with Konoha either. Otherwise, given the current situation and the vast power gap between our forces, the Cloud ninjas definitely have the ability to attack us here and force us back into the Land of Fire.

"In this context, Jiraiya-sama has played a crucial role. The fact that one of the Sannin—Jiraiya-sama himself—is stationed here directly demonstrates Konoha's determination to defend its borders.

"If even Jiraiya-sama were defeated, Konoha would certainly dispatch more ninja reinforcements, which wouldn't serve their interests.

"Currently, it's already known that Iwagakure has allied with them. If Konoha sends additional forces to support the Land of Hot Water, Kumo's pressure will increase significantly—even though they're allied, I don't believe Kumo would want to bear the full weight of Konoha's force while Iwagakure reaps the benefits without lifting a finger.

"Therefore, in my view, before the outbreak of full-scale war, Kumo won't take further action and will instead maintain the current stalemate."

"So once the full-scale war kicks off, they'll be able to easily breach the border defenses and march straight into the Land of Fire to begin the war."

Jiraiya's expression grew darker as he listened to Chinya's analysis.

Indeed, what Chinya said made sense. Right now, in the Land of Hot Water, the Konoha ninjas were heavily outnumbered by Kumo ninjas. If Kumo gathered their forces for an attack, they could only retreat into the Land of Fire.

But since they fell back to the border, Kumo's attacks had become much less frequent.

Thinking about it this way, Chinya got it right with his analysis. Kumo was intentionally maintaining the current situation in the Land of Hot Water.

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