- Location
- Italy
In no particular order:
- Over the past couple of weeks, Asuma has started ordering a lot of scorch squad missions. Shikamaru thinks that some of them have been of marginal military utility but Asuma has been firm about it without offering any explanation.
- After the Orochimaru massacre, Cloud drew back for about ten days and then started plinking around the edges again. They recently stopped and have been holding position outside of Leaf's borders.
- Leaf has lost 12 jōnin (some of them special jōnin), three dozen chūnin, and well over a hundred genin.
- Losses on Rock's side have been similar, perhaps a bit less.
- Given that Leaf started the war with 21 jōnin and Rock started with (best guess) 150-200% of that, Leaf was originally on a sure track to defeat. Mist and Isan reinforcements have evened the odds if not better, but Rock has continued to hold the initiative. Fortunately…
- It turns out that Shirogane was the consort of Rock's Kage. The Yamanaka and T&I experts have been peeling his brain like a grape and getting a priceless trove of military data from it. Among the data obtained so far are the locations of multiple unit positions, including half a dozen jōnin (who also hold valuable information) and general outlines of their abilities. Asuma is deploying three separate strike forces, one of them being "Orochimaru, plus two chūnin to deal with standing guard at night and any chaff during the battle." There is an excellent chance to decisively turn the tide of the war.
It would be interesting to know how much of an impact the Zoo Rushes had on this result.
- Over the past couple of weeks, Asuma has started ordering a lot of scorch squad missions. Shikamaru thinks that some of them have been of marginal military utility but Asuma has been firm about it without offering any explanation.
Did...did something happen to Kurenai?