"It's time for us to make our move."
In the operations room of the Rain Shadow Tower, Danzo Shimura gazed at the massive map of the ninja continent, murmuring to himself.
The Konoha ninja in the room immediately snapped to attention, awaiting orders.
As a secondary force, the Northern Route Army's leadership lineup was clearly less impressive than the main Eastern Army, but it still boasted five elite jōnin: Fugaku Uchiha, Kōtō Kimoku, Hamaki Mimura, Iwana Akame, and Dan Katō.
The Eastern Army's battle had already begun. In the midst of the chaos, Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi had issued Danzo a direct order: within three days, launch an attack to support the main Eastern force.
But in Danzo's view, the timing wasn't right for the Northern Army to deploy.
As Konoha's ANBU Chief and intelligence master, Danzo clearly had a more thorough grasp of intelligence and better understood the opponent he was about to face.
The one currently entrenched in Moon Lake New District was Rasa—no simple character. Not only had he inherited the true teachings of Magnet Release from Third Kazekage Jinghang, but his skills in military campaigns and tactical deployment were exceptional. The two had once collaborated during the "Wind-Fire Operation" to eliminate rogue Kirigakure ninja. Though Danzo had set numerous traps for Rasa, his outstanding tactical acumen had neutralized them all—particularly his defensive deployments, which were truly remarkable.
While Danzo thoroughly disliked Rasa's velvet-glove-iron-fist personality, he had to respect his abilities.
Early in the Northern Army's deployment, Danzo had ordered comprehensive intelligence gathering on Rasa, only to discover with surprise that despite his youth, this man had an incredibly rich resume. He'd served as a frontline ninja, worked on local development projects, commanded battles on the front lines, and even had experience in intelligence work. His character was steady and resolute, his methods ruthless and decisive—clearly material for great things. Even Third Kazekage Jinghang had publicly stated multiple times that Rasa was the best candidate for Fourth Kazekage.
To better understand his opponent, Danzo had dispatched large numbers of ANBU ninja to scout Moon Lake New District after occupying Amegakure, but fewer than one in ten returned—their counterintelligence work was truly thorough.
Based on available intelligence, Rasa commanded roughly seven thousand ninja—a mixed force of three thousand regulars and four thousand reserves. Just as Danzo was feeling relieved, returning ANBU scouts warned him that these so-called reserves were no weak force—their combat ability and experience matched the regulars perfectly.
Only after careful investigation did he learn that "reserves" was merely a designation. Most were "veterans" from the Second Great Ninja War. Sunagakure's military system was clear: below corps level, ninja over forty-five normally transferred to reserves, handling routine village missions. In other words, the enemy he faced might well be the same batch that had defended Moon Lake New District eight years ago!
Forty-five years old—past a ninja's prime, perhaps, but still in fighting condition. His Northern Army didn't seem to have any advantage in ninja quality.
Not only that, but he didn't seem to have much numerical advantage either.
The Northern Army had roughly ten thousand ninja. Losses from attacking Amegakure were minimal, so about ten thousand remained combat-ready. From the numbers alone, 10:7 seemed advantageous, but Amegakure still needed a garrison, and the vast desert required protection for supply lines. Last time, Jinghang had caught him off guard with supply line problems—Danzo couldn't make the same mistake twice.
But this raised another question: how many should he leave behind?
Though Amegakure was pacified, Akatsuki remnants had never been completely eliminated. The previous "Yahiko Ghost" incident hadn't caused much substantial damage, but it remained a huge threat. Danzo had once sent Fugaku Uchiha to completely eliminate Akatsuki, but they'd vanished without a trace like smoke. Now with his main force stationed in Amegakure, those few hundred couldn't stir up much trouble, but once the army left, if Akatsuki returned and rallied support, wouldn't his rear be completely lost?
After repeated calculations by his staff, at least two thousand ninja were needed to ensure Amegakure wouldn't erupt in chaos. That meant only eight thousand ninja could actually be deployed to Moon Lake New District.
And that wasn't all. According to intelligence, Rasa had concentrated all his forces on Moon Lake New District's perimeter, abandoning all frontline fortresses and outposts. This immediately tripled the battle line's length. To reach the battlefield, Danzo's forces would first have to cross half the Black Prince Desert!
The Northern Army's situation was unlike the Eastern Army's. The eastern front was only a few hundred miles from River Country—supplies were relatively convenient. Here it was a full three thousand miles, all desert. If logistics failed, it would be purely feeding Rasa free kills. At least a thousand men would need to be stationed along the route to establish supply posts and protect supply lines—otherwise this Northern Army would be water without a source, a tree without roots.
After all these calculations, his truly deployable combat strength would be 1:1 with Rasa's, and Rasa had home field advantage with convenient supplies. No matter how you looked at it, the advantage wasn't on Danzo's side.
But military orders were absolute. Hiruzen Sarutobi had already issued the advance order. If Danzo hesitated, it would give the old monkey perfect justification to deal with him. Delaying military operations? Cowering before the enemy? Any charge would be enough to cost him his head—Sarutobi wouldn't even need to send someone personally. Look! The short sword the monkey had gifted was still sitting on his office desk.
No choice but to force the deployment.
"I'm entrusting Amegakure to you. I have no other instructions—just stick to my three rules. In special times, only special methods work. In chaotic periods, only bloody suppression can stabilize the situation."
Danzo spoke expressionlessly to Fugaku Uchiha.
"I won't fail this mission."
Fugaku Uchiha replied.
"Heh."
Danzo rarely smiled.
"Though you've always served in ANBU, I know—you're Hiruzen Sarutobi's man."
This statement hit like a thunderbolt, instantly changing Fugaku Uchiha's expression. He finally opened his mouth to explain, but Danzo interrupted.
"You don't need to explain anything. Yes, I've always known. But it doesn't matter—surveillance is surveillance. I don't care. It's all for the village."
Danzo's frankness left Fugaku Uchiha momentarily at a loss.
"But I should remind you—Hiruzen Sarutobi has always been deeply wary of the Uchiha clan. Which path to take, you need to think clearly..."
The next day, Danzo left Fugaku Uchiha to lead two thousand ninja guarding Amegakure while personally leading eight thousand ninja into the desert.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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