On the front lines, after a period of stalemate, the Konoha Ninja believed that the Sunagakure Ninja had mostly depleted their Chakra, so they decisively launched an attack.
Facing Konoha's offensive, the Sunagakure Ninja retreated steadily.
Even using Ninjutsu, they couldn't stop the Konoha Ninja from advancing.
Watching the Konoha Ninja close in, the Sunagakure Ninja had no time to form hand seals for Ninjutsu and were forced into close-quarters combat.
However, they had no advantage in close-quarters combat and were helpless against the poison developed by Renye.
As time passed, the number of Sunagakure Ninja deaths increased.
......
Commander Matsuda, upon hearing the news, could no longer sit still.
After dispatching Sunagakure Ninja from the camp for support, he found Chiyo again.
"Has the antidote still not been developed?!"
This time, he no longer had his previous composure; anxiety appeared on his face.
If the antidote couldn't be developed soon, they would undoubtedly be defeated!
Konoha's poison was too lethal; the Sunagakure Ninja had no way to resist it.
Hearing Matsuda's urging, Chiyo, who was developing the antidote, trembled slightly, unable to hold the herbs steady.
"Just a moment longer... I'll be able to develop the antidote very soon."
Matsuda heard this, looked at the pale-faced Chiyo, and frowned, asking, "How much longer will it take?"
Chiyo pursed her lips, and tears shimmered in her eyes.
She had tried her best to develop the antidote.
She hadn't closed her eyes for a day and a night, constantly trying to analyze the specific components of the poison, but she had no clue.
Since she couldn't analyze the components, she would approach it from the antidote.
However, after developing dozens of antidotes, none could neutralize the poison.
This put immense psychological pressure on Chiyo, especially with the Commander constantly urging her on.
The safety of the Sunagakure Ninja rested solely on her shoulders.
Yet, she still couldn't develop the antidote...
This physical and mental pressure nearly drove her to collapse.
Matsuda, seeing that Chiyo's condition was not right, couldn't help but raise his voice:
"I can wait for you here, but the warriors on the front line can't wait any longer!"
If the antidote couldn't be developed in time, the Sunagakure comrades on the front line were in constant danger of death.
With a slight misstep, these Sunagakure Ninja would be completely annihilated!
As the Commander of the battlefield, he would never allow such a thing to happen.
He could only hope that Chiyo could develop the antidote.
Hearing this, the medicinal herbs in Chiyo's hand fell to the ground.
She turned to look at Matsuda, her eyes red, and her voice trembling, "Lord Matsuda, I can't develop the antidote..."
Matsuda's pupils suddenly constricted, and a look of horror appeared on his face.
"What did you say?!"
He hadn't expected that the Sunagakure Village's genius in poison development would be unable to create an antidote.
How could such a thing happen?
Matsuda naturally assumed that since Konoha could neutralize Sunagakure's poison, they could naturally neutralize Konoha's poison as well.
He had never considered that Chiyo would be unable to develop an antidote.
After all, as fellow geniuses, their abilities should not differ much.
It was merely a matter of time.
But Chiyo's words just now shattered his illusion.
"I'm sorry, Lord Matsuda, I simply cannot develop the antidote!" Chiyo clenched her fists in frustration, tears streaming down her cheeks and dripping onto the ground.
She had truly tried her best to decipher the poison's components, but there was no progress; she simply couldn't analyze the specific components of the poison.
Let alone develop an antidote...
Sometimes she wondered if the person who developed this poison was truly human.
Matsuda stared blankly at the young girl in front of him, his brain instantly crashing.
Being unable to develop an antidote meant that they were completely helpless against Konoha's poison.
Surrender seemed to be the only option before them.
The crucial point was that the war had only just begun, less than a week ago!
If he surrendered like this, how would the Kazekage view him?!
At that time, he, the Commander of the battlefield, would surely die.
No matter what, they could not surrender, at least not now!
Thinking of this, Matsuda looked at the young girl with a serious expression, "No matter what method you use, you must develop an antidote for me!"
After a moment of silence, his tone softened, "At the very least... even developing a medicine to alleviate the poison would be good."
He no longer held out hope for a complete antidote.
Chiyo wiped away her tears, "I understand, Lord Matsuda!"
Matsuda patted the young girl's shoulder and said softly, "The safety of our comrades depends on you."
With that, he turned and left the tent.
......
Front line battlefield.
With the arrival of Sunagakure's reinforcements, the Konoha Ninja did not launch another attack.
Both sides began a prolonged war of attrition.
Although Renye's poison was powerful, it couldn't directly change the battlefield situation.
Once the Sunagakure Ninja actively widened the distance between the two sides, close-quarters combat became unfeasible.
On the battlefield, Shuriken and poisoned needles flew continuously.
The explosions of Exploding Tags were incessant.
Thus, Konoha and Sunagakure began a long war of attrition.
......
Three months passed.
During this period, reinforcements from both sides continuously arrived at the battlefield.
After three months, Sunagakure still hadn't developed an antidote.
Ultimately, they could only choose to change their combat style.
The Konoha Ninja were very frustrated with Sunagakure's defensive tactics.
They wished they could just charge directly at their faces.
However, this suggestion was rejected by Nara Honwa.
Currently, Konoha had an absolute advantage on the Southwest Battlefield, and there was no need to take such a risk.
According to this situation, Konoha would eventually win.
War was like this; unless there was an absolute crushing difference in strength, it was a battle of attrition between both sides.
The Land of Fire was surrounded by enemies on all sides and didn't have much military strength to launch a full-scale offensive.
They could only adopt this cautious approach, slowly depleting Sunagakure's combat power.
Especially after gaining an advantage on the Southwest Battlefield, most of the Village's support had gone to other battlefields.
Nara Honwa needed to be even more cautious and prudent in his decisions, otherwise, a slight misstep could lead to a disastrous outcome.
He had no need to take risks; he only needed to defeat Sunagakure with the smallest possible cost.
The war would not end anytime soon...
The four great nations were determined to carve up the Land of Fire's resources and would definitely not give up on their invasion easily.
Since Sunagakure adopted a defensive strategy, there had been no large-scale battles between the two sides.
Every day consisted of mutually releasing Ninjutsu and throwing Shuriken.
It was so leisurely that it hardly seemed like a battlefield.
Renye leaned against a tree, flipping through a theoretical book in his hand.
Taking advantage of this period without combat, he could finally read and study.
"I wonder how long this war will last?"
While Renye was contemplating how many years the war would last, Commander Nara Honwa came before him and handed him a scroll.
"Renye Jonin, Hokage-sama wants your squad to return to the Village as soon as possible."
Renye opened the scroll, and after seeing its contents, he couldn't help but feel a little confused.
"What does that Old Man want us back for?"
PS: Last time I'll slack off, I'll write properly tomorrow.