Objectively speaking, compared with the Uchiha Clan, the Hyuga Clan—who had always longed to compete and prove superiority—had practically nothing going for them besides their so-called noble elegance.
Of course, members of the Hyuga Main House might still proudly claim their clan's unity. But as for Branch House ninja, whose lives and emotions were tightly bound under the Main House's control? That kind of unity was impossible.
Especially when comparing their extremely limited combat tactics, the ninja of the Uchiha Clan were full of clever tricks and endless secret techniques.
This time, once again achieving major success in intelligence reconnaissance, were the Ninja animal companions—the Uchiha Clan's hereditary contracting partners!
These Ninja animal companions possessed not only high intellect but also superb stealth and disguise abilities. They were the most capable allies for Uchiha ninjas, enabling Takahiro Uchiha's intelligence operations to remain consistently successful. In fact, his intel-gathering speed even surpassed that of Konoha's Intelligence Division and Root Division in certain cases.
Unlike the Byakugan-wielding Hyuga ninja who needed to physically approach within a certain distance for surveillance, these disguised Ninja animal companions were nearly indistinguishable from ordinary stray cats found everywhere. Their tone and behavior were flawlessly mimicked, utterly convincing.
Moreover, Shinobi cats could infiltrate areas by mingling into groups of regular stray cats, using normal felines as natural cover. Thus, by using other cats to clear dangerous paths ahead, they significantly reduced infiltration risks.
This time, one of Takahiro Uchiha's prized Ninja Cat Four Kings—Jinshi Huang—was sent deep behind enemy lines on a mission to gather intelligence near the Lightning Daimyo's court.
However, for Ninja animal companions themselves, the feuds, honors, and reputations of ninja held no meaning. Plus, to protect the secrecy surrounding Ninja animal companions' existence and roles, all reports sent to Sakumo Hatake never mentioned the Ninja animal companions at all; instead, an entirely fictional intelligence network was fabricated in their place.
"If the intelligence is accurate, we should immediately dispatch our Elite Ninja Force to engage them in battle right away!"
After receiving the report sent by Hyuga Soushu's messenger, Sakumo Hatake quickly skimmed through the document, and this thought immediately crossed his mind.
Yet on the surface, he calmly tucked away the seemingly ordinary letter and envelope, then casually exchanged a few words with the Hyuga ninja serving as the courier, asking about Hyuga Soushu's recent activities and health condition, creating the illusion that Soushu's message was merely a friendly personal correspondence.
The reason was simple—Hyuga Soushu's report painted such a disastrous picture of current affairs in Kumo that Sakumo had no choice but to proceed with utmost caution.
According to intelligence obtained by the Ninja Cat Clan's infiltration into Kumo's southern expeditionary forces' main camp, more than two-thirds of the 6,000 ninja currently marching south are genin. They also seriously lack medications, Medical Ninja support, and other essential supplies for sustaining combat operations. Even basic military equipment like Explosive Tags, Kunai, and Shuriken are extremely scarce. Except for three carefully chosen regiments deployed to impress, the rest stationed at the main base are mostly poorly trained recruits.
That might have been acceptable under normal circumstances. Even if Kumo were severely weakened at this moment, it is still one of the Five Great Ninja Villages—an entity with deep-rooted strength not easily defeated or destroyed.
Even more concerning, during their intelligence-gathering activities inside the Kumo main camp, the Ninja Cat Clan intercepted secret communications among Jonin officers that revealed alarming information: Mist appeared to be making moves in the northwest region of Land of Lightning!
Most critically, the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist—the elite special forces of Hidden Mist—had been spotted along the coastal areas in the northwest of the Land of Lightning!
Even when Mist previously infiltrated the former territory of Whirlpool Country along the eastern coast of Land of Fire, they hadn't deployed such high-level strength!
Therefore, after defeating the rampaging Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, and despite lingering injuries from that battle, the Third Raikage had no choice but to adopt a strategy of deception—to create a false appearance of strength capable of intimidating Konoha's forces, hoping to first drive off any threats from Mist before turning his attention southward for a decisive confrontation against Konoha.
After all, geographically speaking, there were practically no natural defenses in the northwest coastal regions of the Land of Lightning. If Mist managed to land successfully and establish a forward base there, they would be able to advance swiftly and unimpeded straight into Raimei Canyon—the heartland of Hidden Cloud Village itself!
This was no laughing matter!
Just as Hidden Cloud prepared to face this looming threat from Mist, eighteen urgent decrees were issued from the Daimyo and courtiers of the Land of Lightning, arriving straight at Raimei Canyon. The tone was more forceful than ever before, pressuring Hidden Cloud to immediately mobilize its ninja forces for war. At that critical moment, the only viable option left for the Third Raikage was to resort to deception.
Originally, this plan had proceeded quite smoothly. After all, the sheer number of 6,000 ninja marching forth sounded intimidating enough on its own. Likewise, Hyuga Soushu—who was vastly outnumbered—chose not to recklessly engage, immediately withdrawing instead to avoid direct conflict.
Still, Dodai—the commander leading Kumo's southern expedition—never expected that the Uchiha Clan's ninja cat possessed such formidable camouflage abilities. To his astonishment, it had boldly sneaked right into the heart of Kumo's camp under an apparent guise of innocence and unearthed every single detail about Kumo's true weakness.
After a long night of contemplation, Sakumo Hatake made his decision. Acting in his capacity as Jonin Unit Leader, he sent an official report back to the village, formally inviting Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi to personally lead his forces in what would become an epic, all-out showdown with Hidden Cloud!
However, taking Soushu's warning into account, Sakumo chose to tell the truth—just not the complete truth. His confidential message back to the village detailed Kumo's current situation accurately, yet deliberately omitted mentioning how exactly such crucial intelligence had been acquired.
Of course, Sakumo Hatake didn't really expect Hiruzen Sarutobi, known as the Professor, to agree to such a seemingly reckless proposal. After all, Kumo's strength was universally recognized. The village headquarters were extremely important, and Konoha's ninja clans had always been difficult to manage. If the Third Hokage rashly left the village for battle, catastrophe could follow—like a king marching into war and never returning, or succumbing to illness from exposure during a harsh campaign.
Therefore, Sakumo Hatake soon received a reply from the Hokage Tower, exactly as he expected:
"Engaging in war between ninja villages must be handled with caution. Do not rashly speak of decisive battles. Strategic planning must be thorough and comprehensive."
The implied meaning behind that message was clear: the Third Hokage would not personally lead forces against Kumo.
Soon afterward, Sakumo Hatake directly ordered his ninja force to begin gathering supplies, canceled all scheduled ninja leaves and rotations, and sent a second secret letter to the village, stating that with the Raikage stationed at the main base and the Southern Kumo Forces occupied elsewhere, this was the best opportunity for a decisive confrontation.
But later that afternoon, another reply arrived from Konoha, reaching Sakumo Hatake's hands.
In the letter, the Third Hokage once again emphasized the principle of cautious military operations and prioritizing intelligence gathering, ordering Sakumo Hatake not to act rashly until confirming the Third Raikage wouldn't secretly leave the village to join battle.
What the Third Hokage and the two elder advisors involved in decision-making didn't know was that the Uchiha Clan's ninja animal companions had already completely uncovered the truth about Kumo's Southern Forces!
Since that was the case, Sakumo Hatake naturally took the opportunity to invoke the saying, "A general in the field must sometimes act without waiting for orders from above," and began deploying troops to confront Kumo's six thousand strong ninja forces head-on!
Before learning the true situation regarding Kumo, Sakumo Hatake had remained cautious precisely because he lacked confidence fighting both the Third Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki. But now, upon hearing that the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki had gone berserk and was being restrained—thus unable to fight anytime soon—and that the Third Raikage himself was tied down at the village by intrusive Hidden Mist ninja probing around, plus Hyuga Soushu's intelligence report even listed the names of all Kumo Jonin participating in the upcoming campaign in detail—if even under these circumstances Sakumo Hatake still hesitated to risk everything in one bold move, then he wouldn't deserve the title of White Fang, the terror of the ninja world!
Thus, though the Konoha ninja stationed at Hakone Castle found their commander's orders somewhat puzzling, they could only follow them obediently.
Sakumo Hatake didn't bother explaining unnecessarily to them either. He made it clear: Understand the orders, and obey. Don't understand them? Obedience comes first — comprehension will follow through action. Although this kind of demand was uncharacteristic of Sakumo Hatake's usual manner, the ninja had no choice but to set aside their curiosity and unease and prepare for war with discipline.
At the same time, Hyuga Soushu also issued mobilization orders, recalling all border defense forces stationed at the prefectural base back northward, establishing defenses across various districts north of Hakone Castle, and enthusiastically beginning construction of defensive fortifications.
They went through all that trouble just to make it look like a tense standoff, so Kumo would focus their attention on the frontline deployments. At the same time, this arrangement better concealed activities behind the scenes. Even if Kumo's spies or scouts noticed strange activity from Konoha in Hakone Prefecture city, they'd think it was just about building defenses.
"Konoha must also be urgently mobilizing their ninja forces!"
In the main Kumo camp located in the Kina region near Lightning Daimyo's court, Commander Dodai reached this conclusion after reviewing recent intelligence reports.
"My lord, what leads you to believe so?"
One of his subordinate Jonin immediately played along.
"Since the start of hostilities between our villages, this is the first time the southern barbarians from Konoha have built defenses!" Dodai proudly explained. "This will surely turn the tide in our war with Konoha!"
"How so?"
Clearly, this Kumo ninja was eager to learn.
Dodai didn't mind whether his subordinates truly understood such basic concepts. In a particularly good mood today, he patiently elaborated: "After suffering this setback, Konoha's offensive momentum has certainly weakened. Like a worn-out kunai that can't even pierce a regular ninja vest anymore, once they shift from attacking to building fortifications, it means they've lost the courage to continue their assault."
"I see! No wonder you're Dodai-sama!"
The Kumo ninja immediately pretended to grasp the concept.
"Dodai-sama brilliantly manipulates Konoha as though you're pulling all the strings right from under their noses!"
"Truly the wise general everyone recognizes!"
"With Dodai-sama personally leading the charge, those insignificant Konoha southerners are naturally nothing to worry about!"
In no time, a chorus of praise filled the tent, making Dodai feel totally in command.
"However, Lord Daimyo has been urging us to recover the other three cities. Shouldn't we..."
Unfortunately, one clueless Kumo ninja still dared to speak up at this moment.
Immediately, the tent fell into deathly silence.
That was a forbidden topic!
The very reason Dodai had carefully dispatched his three most capable battalions to reclaim lost territories while actively avoiding direct confrontation with Konoha was because he clearly understood the weakness of his headquarters and the ferocity of Konoha forces.
Unlike those overconfident young Kumo ninja, Dodai had experienced the First Great Ninja War firsthand and fully understood how Konoha ninja performed during wartime.
Although for morale purposes Kumo continually claimed great victories during the First Great Ninja War—including repeated defeats of Konoha forces—and even secretly cast suspicious aspersions on Tobirama Senju, the second Hokage who perished in the rebel forces of Kinkaku and Ginkaku's hands;
They still acknowledged that during the First Great Ninja War, despite Kumo facing a multi-front Konoha, they hadn't really gained any advantages—Battles may be manipulated, but battle lines never lie.
Furthermore, the current invading Konoha forces showed exactly the same boldness and decisiveness as they had during the First Great Ninja War, leaving Dodai no choice but to proceed cautiously.
As for the daimyo and courtiers' urgent demands for immediate action, Dodai treated them like passing wind.
"The main force hasn't finished replenishing supplies yet. Talking about battle at this point would be reckless and irrational."
Dodai was preparing to smoothly steer the conversation away from this sensitive topic.
"The daimyo is already extremely anxious."
The Kumo jonin who had just spoken was in charge of communication between Kumo and various nobles at the daimyo's court. He himself was under immense pressure: "Lord Dodai, the daimyo sent twelve military orders yesterday demanding immediate action from our main force. I've managed to suppress them so far."
"I know he's anxious!"
Dodai also began showing signs of impatience.
Everyone present in this tent was a Kumo jonin. Who among them didn't understand the true state of those six thousand ninja troops?
Under these circumstances, launching an offensive now wouldn't risk exposing our weakness and lead to complete defeat?
"Fine, I'll write back to the daimyo myself! Let him calm down first!"
After reconsidering, Dodai decided not to make things harder for this liaison officer caught between a rock and a hard place.
Just then, however, a loud commotion broke out outside Kumo's camp.
"What's going on!"
Dodai's expression changed immediately!
Ninja discipline was ironclad—especially in camp. Unauthorized movement and noise were strictly forbidden. This sudden disturbance felt like a slap straight to his face, no different from someone openly accusing him of failing as a commander.
"Sirs! The Daimyo has arrived!"
At that moment, a Kumo chunin rushed in with shocking news.
"What!"
Dodai and all the jonin inside the tent were instantly stunned: "How come we weren't informed beforehand? Has his identity been confirmed? Could it be an impersonator? What about the advance deployment of protective forces? Why wasn't I told? What if he gets assassinated?"
"He came secretly with the supply convoy meant to boost troop morale. Only escorting guardian ninjas and six officials are present. His identity has already been verified without error. The Daimyo is now entering the camp gates along with the convoy."
Dodai fired off one question after another but received only one answer that nearly made him collapse.
"I..."
A thousand camels seemed to gallop through Dodai's mind. A few beautifully worded curses nearly escaped his lips, but he managed to stop himself at the last moment.
The other Kumo jonin inside the tent could only exchange bewildered glances.
Since when did the daimyo suddenly become so brave?
"Now I'm really left hanging out to dry."
After a brief pause, Dodai sighed while holding his forehead.
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