As he forced his twenty operational squads into battle, Hyuga Soushu intentionally—or perhaps unintentionally—failed to appoint a commander for this northern campaign against the Kumo infiltration force.
As a natural consequence, the squad leaders first gathered together for a brief exchange before naturally dividing the battlefield among themselves based on personal relationships, as arranged by Chief of Staff Keshi Nara, following established protocol.
"One step back today means an inch lost tomorrow—and long-term like this, how can we sleep at night?"
Sarutobi Kōhei, the Jonin in charge of the 7th Squad, kept muttering nonstop into Keshi Nara's ear even after the order for full-speed advance had already been issued.
"Otherwise, what else do you want me to do? Kill him directly?"
Keshi Nara shot a glance full of exasperation at the privileged Jonin—another brat from a prestigious ninja clan—bitterly retorting, "Do you really think he's just some insignificant young member of the Hyuga Branch House? That's absolutely absurd!"
"Don't forget, the Coalition of Ninja Clans doesn't include us at all!"
The last sentence seemed practically squeezed through Keshi's teeth—soft-spoken but brimming with intense anxiety.
That's exactly why Keshi kept falling back—and showing signs of fear.
Whether considering family background or personal strength, no matter how unwelcome Soushu was within the Hyuga Clan, Keshi—himself cast aside and half-exiled due to unpopularity—had simply no room to directly challenge Hyuga Soushu.
Especially after witnessing how swiftly and ruthlessly Takahiro Uchiha executed a brutal purge on the intelligence network Keshi had once reluctantly handed over, Keshi had been left utterly shaken.
Which sane person would kill off nearly all original intelligence officers and informants just to eliminate a traitor?
Yet it must be said that after Takahiro Uchiha swung the executioner's blade, the intelligence system of the Ninja Force had completely slipped out of Keshi Nara's secret control, fully seized by Takahiro Uchiha.
Nara Kiyoshi, who originally had some inexplicable minor intentions, became even more flustered by this situation, fearing that once his small schemes and arrangements were exposed, he would end up like those intelligence agents—committing suicide with ten senbon needles embedded in his back.
"Once this war is over, I'm applying to return to Konoha—and I'm bringing my men with me!"
Suddenly blurting this out, Sarutobi Kōhei continued sprinting furiously ahead.
Of course, most importantly, he intended to take along all the money he'd accumulated during years guarding the Northern Border. In truth, his 7th Squad was the very foundation through which he controlled that wealth.
And he had already decided that upon returning to Konoha, he would promptly apply to join the Guardian Ninjas unit especially formed by Konoha for the Daimyo, finally breaking free from this ever-sinking swamp called Konoha.
"Let's talk after this battle."
Keshi Nara sighed helplessly.
At that moment, Keshi found himself considering retreat too—though not without hesitation.
"Enemy attack!"
Just as the Konoha Ninja Forces emerged onto the horizon of the Land of Rice Fields, the Kumo scout posted on the high ground cried out like a rooster with its throat cut!
"Prepare for battle!"
The Kumo commander, who had remained somewhat doubtful about Konoha's northern campaign, no longer had time to gather more intel.
With the sharp eyesight typical of ninja, the sheer size of Konoha's advancing army was clearly visible on the horizon. Even some sharp-eyed shinobi could use secret jutsu to make out the ferocious expressions—full of killing intent—on the Konoha ninja's faces at this moment.
Especially the Kumo commander himself, who instantly recognized Keshi Nara—the man he'd had countless under-the-table dealings with in the past.
"You backstabbing traitor!"
The Kumo commander nearly crushed his steel teeth into dust!
The reason he had dispatched over 600 of his more than 800 ninja under his command on external missions, leaving fewer than 200 behind at the temporary camp, was because he had secretly received Keshi Nara's assurance:
"That Hyuga brat still lacks the courage to join the battlefield, and should any special circumstances arise, I'll definitely give you advance warning!"
When he had secretly traveled to the Konoha border to meet with Keshi Nara, the spiky-haired Nara thumped his chest and declared: "Your most important task right now is to quickly clear out all missions in the Land of Rice Fields and other buffer states, then make proper records—we'll take a 70-30 split."
And precisely because of their long-standing brotherhood and mutual benefit, the Kumo commander had believed Keshi Nara. After all these years, every Kumo border commander before him had done business with the local powerbroker Keshi Nara—and never ran into any trouble!
So why has everything changed now?
Watching the Konoha forces drawing closer, the Kumo commander's rage kept building.
"You've betrayed us!"
With a loud shout, the Kumo commander swept his arm forward. The well-trained but not panicking Kumo ninja simultaneously activated cluster ninja tool launchers, firing a barrage of ninja tools toward the approaching Konoha forces that nearly blocked out the sky.
[Earth Release: Earth Wall]
Despite being in a surprise attack formation, the Konoha ninja forces continued advancing at full speed. Under their squad leaders' commands, they split into left and right wings, flanking around the Kumo temporary camp. At the same time, dozens of earth-release specialists who had already been prepared stepped forward from the ranks, simultaneously unleashing earth release techniques to summon towering earthen walls.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!!!"
The torrential rain of ninja tools bound with explosive tags exploded against the earthen walls, creating violent detonations that sent rolling clouds of thick smoke billowing everywhere.
"This..."
The Kumo commander immediately sensed something was wrong.
According to normal reasoning, even if the thrown weapons were bundled with explosive tags, they shouldn't have achieved such an effect!
Maintaining an advancing formation while being hit by such dense attacks with explosive-tagged tools shouldn't be stoppable by just simple high earth walls!
In theory, based on the open intelligence reports he possessed, the Konoha forces should have many secret techniques capable of achieving air clearance interception!
Something's off—watch your backs!
Although he couldn't immediately decipher the Konoha Ninja Forces' strategy, the Kumo commander reflexively issued a warning!
His subordinates were baffled.
One sentence wasn't enough for them to grasp what they needed to do.
But there was no time for the Kumo commander to adjust their formation, because the Konoha ninjas who had split into wings for a flank attack had already completed their encirclement. They began counterattacking the camp with thrown ninja tools!
"Stand your ground!"
The Kumo commander immediately discarded all thoughts racing through his mind and started directing his men to defend the camp: "Launch signal flares! Release the ninja hawks too!"
"Hai!"
His personal jonin immediately pulled signal flares from their pouches and fired them skyward, while the ninja hawks were summoned from their summoning scrolls. Messages were hastily tied to the birds' legs before releasing them into flight!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
However, at the exact same moment, sudden explosions erupted from within the Kumo camp!
The main command tent, where classified documents were kept, erupted in flames from the explosion!
And the signal flares just launched into the sky, along with the recently released ninja hawks, were all shot down by kunai slicing through the smoke!
"This is..."
The Kumo commander sucked in a sharp breath!
Then, even more Konoha ninjas surged from the smoke of the explosion, bursting deep into the Kumo camp and sending it into disarray!
[Earth Release - Subterranean Navigation Jutsu]
The Kumo commander understood immediately.
But it was both too late and too late!
In short, Keshi Nara's plan implemented a "blooming from the center" tactic on both strategic and tactical levels.
Strategically speaking, on the Northern Border front, Keshi Nara had gathered the eight most elite operational squads out of twenty for a direct assault to eliminate the temporary Kumo infiltration unit camp; the remaining twelve squads were dispersed to hunt down and kill Kumo ninjas scattered across various locations.
Although after Hyuga Soushu's reassignments, these twenty operational squads totaled only about thirteen hundred personnel, the eight squads Keshi Nara assembled included over seven hundred ninjas—truly the most elite forces among the Konoha ninja participating in this battle.
Seven hundred Konoha ninjas against less than two hundred Kumo ninjas, plus the fact that the Kumo temporary camp was filled with a group of non-combatant support personnel, meant this battle had essentially been decided the moment the surprise attack began and Kumo remained unaware.
On the tactical level, Keshi Nara also made careful arrangements.
Namely, the main force would execute pincer attacks from both left and right wings, while elite ninjas would directly tunnel underground using Earth Release techniques to infiltrate the enemy camp, immediately destroying all intelligence material while simultaneously implementing the central bloom tactic in coordination with wing units to completely decapitate Kumo's command structure in one fell swoop!
Especially the Kumo commander—he had to be the first to die, and his body had to be destroyed on the spot!
Otherwise, Keshi Nara wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully knowing all the backroom dealings he'd once made with this man!
[Shadow Imitation Technique]
As a Jonin from the Nara Clan, although Keshi Nara had failed to form the traditional Ino–Shika–Cho trio with the Yamanaka and Akimichi Clans due to his young age and talent limitations, his mastery of the Shadow Imitation Technique, sharpened in countless battles, was uniquely refined.
Keshi Nara emerged from the tunnel formed by his Earth Release Ninjutsu and instantly located the presence of the Kumo commander. Through his secret jutsu, he manipulated his shadow to twist and extend, transforming into a thin black line that slithered forward beneath smoke and rocky crevices, directly aiming toward the Kumo commander who was directing counterattacks against the Kumo ninja.
Although the Kumo commander was well aware of this Konoha opponent's signature technique, at this moment, due to their considerable distance apart—still beyond what his intelligence had indicated as the maximum operational range of the Nara shadow techniques—he wasn't particularly worried about being attacked. Additionally, under direct sunlight, Keshi Nara naturally cast his own shadow from his position, further allaying the Kumo commander's concerns.
Moreover, the Kumo commander intended to properly organize his subordinates' battle formations before personally confronting Keshi Nara, the betrayer.
However,
While issuing orders as usual, the Kumo commander suddenly felt his body stiffen, instantly knowing something had gone terribly wrong!
With great effort, he glanced sideways toward the ground, and his heart sank completely!
A thin black line connected to the soles of his feet, and the sensation of losing bodily control originated precisely from there.
"It's the Shadow Imitation Technique!"
A cold dread surged through the Kumo commander.
Being controlled by a Nara shadow jutsu from such an extraordinary distance could only mean one thing—Keshi Nara had previously been deliberately concealing his true strength to deceive him!
Consequently, the Kumo commander became even more convinced than ever before that this betrayal and ambush were part of a meticulously planned operation by Konoha itself!
[Fire Release Inferno Blast!]
Using Sarutobi Kōhei's fire technique as the signal, elite members of the Konoha Ninja Forces burst forth from hidden tunnels, unloading their pre-prepared ninjutsu mercilessly upon the gathered Kumo ninja!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Accompanied by successive explosions within the Kumo camp, Konoha forces that had completed encirclement maneuvers from both left and right wings stormed into the encampment, engaging the disoriented Kumo ninja in a bloody melee!
Although the Kumo commander's condition was swiftly noticed by his close aides—who promptly assisted in breaking free—the damage had already been done, just as he had feared earlier. It was too late… far too late…
A wave of jutsu scoured the battlefield like cleansing fire, devastating the Kumo camp's merchants who had not yet entered battle, sending them sprawling in chaos. Combined with the overwhelming numerical advantage—more than double the enemy's strength—the Kumo ninja were doomed to be defeated.
Keshi Nara also did not allow momentary success to distract him from his prior resolve: to kill the Kumo commander and destroy his body entirely!
Under his leadership, eight squad leader-level jonin, each assigned to command units, unleashed their ultimate secret techniques as they advanced on the Kumo commander for the final strike.
"Everything's gone!"
He had barely broken free when Konoha's encircling forces overran the camp entirely. Combined with the endless stream of Konoha ninja emerging from subterranean passages, the Kumo ninja—who were already at an absolute disadvantage—stood no chance under this pincer attack from both inside and outside.
"I shouldn't have locked up the messenger ninja."
The Kumo commander said to those beside him.
His aides had no words to say.
Stabilizing morale wasn't wrong; handling unexpected situations cautiously wasn't wrong either.
It was a reluctant necessity for Kumo to form a corrupt alliance with Konoha ninjas in pursuit of territorial expansion and financial gain—and that wasn't wrong either.
So then, the mistake lies with Konoha!
The mistake lies with this entire Ninja World!
"Kill!"
The Kumo commander stomped and Body-Flickered forward, launching a countercharge toward the direction where Keshi Nara was coming!
At this point, the Kumo camp had already fallen into complete chaos—there was no need for command anymore. What the Kumo commander wanted most was to pour out every last ounce of strength: Every enemy you take down makes it even; two and we come out ahead!
[Shadow Sewing Technique: Round Shadow]!
Yet just as he Body-Flickered upward, his body still suspended midair suddenly stiffened again!
Then he crashed heavily onto the ground!
Right below him, perfectly aligned, was exactly the shadow of a stone being covered by his leaping form!
[Shadow Strangulation Jutsu]!
Successfully anticipating his opponent's anticipation, Keshi Nara immediately activated the Secret Jutsu, manipulating his shadow from below to tightly clasp around the Kumo commander's neck, choking the breath from his lungs!
But before his subordinates could attempt any rescue,
accompanied by jutsu attacks unleashed by eight Jonin-level shinobi, the momentarily captured Kumo commander and his entourage were all instantly consumed within a blazing inferno!
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
Keshi Nara roared fiercely, "Eradicate them all! Spare not a single soul!"
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>