Silence engulfed Sunagakure's council room as everyone sat deep in thought. They had just received reports from their spies informing them that a Konoha army led by Fujin had marched out.

After some time, Ryota said, "Three thousand ninjas… That's not enough to attack us. However, it is still too high for a simple training exercise. What is their intention?"

Sajo said, "My first thought was that they were out to hunt Baki's group. However, Baki has crossed into the Land of Rivers. They'll enter our country soon. So, it's too late to do it…"

The council was perplexed. Not knowing whether Konoha intended to attack them, put them in a spot. If they acted rashly, then Konoha would know about their movements. On the other hand, if they didn't do anything, Konoha could catch them off guard.

Suddenly, Ebizo chuckled, causing everyone to turn their heads towards him. He shook his head and said, "I have been retired for so long, but Konoha still hasn't changed."

Chiyo sighed and said, "Yeah, every single move they make can be interpreted in several ways. It's no different this time. It must be Nara."

Ebizo looked at the puzzled expressions and exclaimed, "There are several objectives Konoha could have with this move. On the surface, this looks like a simple military exercise. Their numbers aren't high enough to invade us and the leaders of the armies are inexperienced. If this is indeed the case, then this is the best-case scenario for us.

Unfortunately, Konoha always implements several schemes at the same time and we have to look beyond the surface. Even though the leaders are inexperienced, it doesn't take much time to send experienced leaders to take over or advise the current ones.

In addition, nothing is stopping Konoha from sending more ninjas. Perhaps this army is just the vanguard meant to catch us off guard. Or, Konoha could have secretly sent a few thousand more ninjas to join Fujin's army later. So, while we anticipate a three-thousand-strong force led by inexperienced commanders, we may end up being attacked by a force that is twice or even three times stronger and led by their Sannins. This will be the worst-case scenario for us.

There are several possibilities between these two extremes. Irrespective of what it is, there is no doubt about one thing. Konoha wants to see how we'll react. No, they want to see how every village will react. This army will be flexible enough to change their tactics depending on what sort of reaction everyone gives."

Solemn expressions appeared on everyone's faces. Most of the current council members in Suna were selected after the end of the Third Great Ninja War. Even though they fought against Konoha during the war, they didn't have to face them in tactics. They suddenly realized how difficult it was to understand Konoha's intentions.

Ryusa asked, "So, how do we…"

Tojuro cut him off and said, "There is another important aspect that we need to consider. Don't forget what Suzuki Fujin did in our western parts. They may be planning to create several such situations to weaken us."

Chiyo immediately replied, "It worked the previous time because you weren't prepared. They can't do it openly during the war. Sending him alone would have been a far more effective way to repeat that. The bigger danger is what the boy did in yesterday's battle."

Goza sighed and muttered, "That's true. If he can kill over a hundred ninjas in the blink of an eye, then this army could cause us a lot of harm. They could send such a small army into our country to bait us into attacking and have him run amok our forces. Along with yesterday's losses, our situation will be dire."

Ebizo nodded and said, "Yes, that is why, we won't engage them on the battlefield."

Ryusa asked, "But wouldn't that send a message that we are weak?"

Ebizo replied, "No, it'll send a message that we are willing to go to any extreme to protect Sunagakure."

His answer surprised most of the council members. Ebizo pointed to three towns on Sunagakure's map on the table and said, "Send a hundred ninjas to each of these 3 towns. Send them openly. Let Konoha's spies report their exit to their village."

His words once again left most members puzzled. Tojuro frowned and asked, "Just three hundred ninjas? What would they do? Besides, didn't you just say that we won't engage them in battle?"

Ebizo explained, "These movements will send a message to Konoha that we have reacted. Needless to say, they wouldn't believe that we would only send three hundred ninjas. They will expect us to send an army and begin looking for it. However…"

A smile appeared on Ebizo's face as he continued, "They will never find it because it won't exist. Every day they waste trying to locate this non-existent army is valuable time we'll gain.

Of course, we can't be completely defenseless. Otherwise, if they really attacked, we would be doomed. Since we can't send an army, we'll send units as we had discussed earlier.

Dispatch 500 squads consisting of 8 ninjas each. However, all of them will be dispatched secretly under the cover of the night. Other than us, no one should know how many ninjas we dispatched.

Even the squads will only be aware of the presence of four other squads, who'll be stationed nearby. These 5 squads will share one ninja from the communication department who will carry the Chakra Transmission Communication devices to communicate with us. This way, even our ninjas won't know how many ninjas we have dispatched.

The only issue that we could face is Konoha's spies. To deal with them, the eight ninjas in every squad have to be ordered to stay together at all times. This will prevent the spies from sending a message to Konoha. Though Konoha will eventually guess our tactic, they will be wary if they aren't sure."

Everyone thought for a bit before nodding. Goza asked, "If we don't plan on engaging them, what will these squads do? I'm not sure how effective our normal harassment tactics would be. Even if they are successful, our casualties would be very high if Suzuki Fujin plays an active role. And, Konoha could counterattack by targeting those three hundred ninjas."

Ebizo answered, "These three towns, though next to each other, are still several hours apart. As such, Konoha can only target a hundred ninjas at a time and the number is too low for them to be tempted. Even if they march on those towns, we can ask our ninjas to retreat and disperse. Though it'll ruin our reputation if Konoha targets the civilians, we don't have the luxury of worrying about it. Not to mention, it'll also ruin Konoha's reputation, which will help us in the long run.

As for the 500 squads, they won't confront Fujin's army either. Konoha could target other towns and cities and strategic locations, but these squads won't move to intercept them. That would leave Fujin with two choices. The first is to wait for Konoha's main army to arrive and reinforce him.

The other is that he can get overconfident and come deeper into the desert, perhaps marching directly towards us. In that case, we may have an opportunity to surround and eliminate the entire army. After all, no matter how strong he is, he is just one ninja. The others in their army aren't as difficult to deal with."

The eyes of the council members immediately lit up. However, they quickly dimmed. As good as the scenario sounded, they knew very well that Konoha wouldn't act so stupidly. With heavy hearts, they began preparing for a full-scale war against Konoha.

As the council room emptied, Ebizo and Chiyo glanced at each other. Ebizo asked, "You feeling the same thing I am, Sister?"

Chiyo nodded. Even though Ebizo put out a sound analysis, he instinctively felt that Konoha's plans weren't what he speculated. He was just preparing for the worst-case scenario. As for what Konoha's real plans were, neither could guess.

Much like Konoha, Suna became very busy too. Following Ebizo's suggestions, three hundred Suna ninjas left the village. Over the next couple of nights, another four thousand ninjas left secretly! The silent desert suddenly became very active.

Suna's movements were immediately picked up by other hidden villages. Shikaku guessed some of their plans but didn't bother thinking about it too deeply. Onoki and Ay readied their forces while waiting patiently. The minor villages nervously paid attention too. Contrary to everyone's expectations, the first move wasn't made by Konoha or Suna!

In Konoha, the council members met once again at the request of Shikaku! Only the clan leaders and the elders were called. Koharu asked, "Is there a new development for you to call for another meeting so quickly?"

Shikaku replied, "Something like that, though it hasn't happened yet. I received a rather interesting proposal an hour ago."

Shikaku placed a scroll on the table. The symbol of Kusagakure was visible to everyone. Koharu and Homura went through the scroll first. Immediately, a weird expression appeared on Homura's face. On the other hand, Koharu frowned and muttered, "This doesn't make sense. Are they setting a trap for us so openly?"