The familiar name made Kazuyama curl his lips.
Nara Shikaku caught the small movement and, a little puzzled, immediately asked,
"What's wrong, Kazuyama? Do you have a better idea?"
"Or am I oversimplifying things?"
"That's right, as an intelligence expert on the battlefield, you must have a better insight. Come on, tell us."
Shikaku's sincere tone left Kazuyama stunned.
What the hell? An intelligence expert?
Isn't Jiraiya supposed to be Konoha's intelligence expert?
"Kazuyama has indeed performed exceptionally well on the battlefield recently. His intelligence gathering and transmission abilities are outstanding."
"Shikaku's strategy is solid, but clearly, there are things we've overlooked."
"Kazuyama, share your thoughts."
Homura Mitokado pushed up his glasses, giving him a look full of expectation.
Koharu Utatane and the others around them also nodded in agreement.
Even Danzō Shimura remained silent, though his gaze locked firmly onto Kazuyama, clearly waiting for his answer.
Kazuyama: Why the hell did I curl my lips! Serves me right!
Now what? The Battle of Kannabi Bridge is unavoidable—how the hell is he supposed to smooth this over?
Wait a minute... something feels off.
The situation now doesn't seem as bad as it was in the original story...
Konoha isn't doing that badly, right?
Isn't it just the Four-Tails and Five-Tails pressing forward?
For the current Konoha, that shouldn't be too big of a deal.
"I want to say, Shikaku, you're absolutely right."
"But our situation isn't that bad, is it?"
"War on all fronts? No way. Kumo and Sunagakure don't even have the strength to wage war anymore. Only Iwa and Kirigakure are still capable."
"One versus four and one versus two—it's a huge difference."
"And it's just the Four-Tails and Five-Tails, right? We have the Sannin! Who's bigger than Jiraiya's toad? Who's tougher than Tsunade's slug? Who's sneakier than my sensei Orochimaru's Manda?"
Good grief, that whole string of comments dragged the entire Sannin trio into it.
But he wasn't wrong—the toad was indeed huge, the slug practically unkillable, and Manda certainly as shady as they come.
Of course, if the Sannin had been present, even with ten times the courage, he wouldn't have dared say any of that.
After hearing Kazuyama's words, Shikaku fell silent.
With his IQ over 200, he instantly realized it.
He had indeed fallen into a mental trap. Since the war began, Konoha had always been on the defensive.
But as Kazuyama pointed out, the situation had completely changed—it wasn't that urgent anymore.
"You're right. I misjudged the situation. As expected of an intelligence expert."
"I've learned something today."
At this point, Shikaku was already the heir to the Nara Clan head, attending the meeting in place of the current head—his status was clear.
The others also nodded toward Kazuyama in acknowledgment.
"So, what do you think we should do next?"
"Should we launch an offensive against Iwa and Kirigakure, or stay on the defensive?"
Another big question was thrown at him, and Kazuyama felt like a thousand wild horses were stampeding through his mind.
Why are they asking me?!
At the head of the table, Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled as he stroked his beard, his eyes fixed warmly on Kazuyama.
He was growing more and more satisfied—this was indeed his proud great-disciple...
"Our current combat strength is sufficient to deal with the attacks from Iwagakure and Kirigakure."
"Recall Jiraiya and Orochimaru immediately, and have everyone prepare for battle, focusing on Iwagakure first."
"But Shikaku is right. In order to end the war sooner, the Kannabi Bridge must be cut off."
"However, this mission is very difficult, so let's analyze the situation first before selecting the people for the mission."
Everyone present nodded again and began to analyze the situation.
Kazuyama was instantly relieved. Don't ask him anymore, you're going to wear him out.
Who would want to let him off the hook?
"That's easy for you to say, but it's extremely difficult to obtain information during a battle."
"Since Kazuyama is an intelligence expert, he should be the one to gather information."
"We need to investigate the combat strength ratio of Iwa and the locations of the Jinchūriki as soon as possible."
Kazuyama's eyes were fixed on Danzō. If his eyes could turn into knives, he was sure that Danzō would already be riddled with holes.
But who was Danzō? He was the most thick-skinned person in Konoha.
Danzō seemed oblivious to the fierce gaze and said with a straight face,
"This is a matter of life and death for the village. As a ninja of Konoha, you wouldn't want to back down, would you?"
Kazuyama sneered,
"Danzō, that sounds good, but why don't you go gather intelligence yourself?"
Danzō's expression didn't change at all as he said,
"What? You, Kazuyama, are a recognized intelligence expert. The war needs you, and you want to shirk your responsibility?"
At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke up,
"Danzō, we can't make a hasty decision. Kazuyama just gave us a lot of useful advice on the battle situation. If we send him out to gather intelligence, it will be detrimental to our plans at the rear."
Danzō wanted to argue, but Hiruzen waved his hand:
"It's decided. We'll find someone else to gather intelligence."
"After all, even though the war has started, we still have plenty of time."
"Ōnoki wouldn't dare to rush into the Land of Fire, and besides, we still have troops stationed at the border."
"It's entirely possible to delay their advance."
...
Under the Hokage's arrangements, Kazuyama remained safely in the village. After all, he had told his Hokage that he wanted to stay in the village for a while.
He was tired, he was young, and he needed rest!
He had just gotten married! He needed a long time to rest!
Let the other young people go to war!
By the time night fell, the meeting and the competition were over.
The team competition ended with Yugito as the winner.
Back home, Ebisami was treating Ebisu's wounds, who was grimacing in pain.
Pakura was telling Kazuyama about the battle.
The combination of Rin and Obito was no match for Yugito, whose fighting spirit, speed, and reflexes were too strong.
Even Pakura had to admit this.
Kazuyama just smiled at this.
"It's okay, we came second in the team competition, and Rin and Obito performed well enough to become Chūnin. No one will say they're not qualified."
"As for Yugito, every village has its geniuses. Weren't you the genius of Sunagakure back in the day?"
"I guess Yugito will also come in first in tomorrow's individual competition."