After a period of preparation, Konoha's northern offensive force now consisted not only of over a thousand border forces under Hyuga Soushu's command, but also nearly six thousand Konoha ninja led by Sakumo Hatake. This was the entire ninja force Konoha had barely scraped together after mobilizing every available ninja in the village.
Even accounting for those injured or required to remain behind for defense, Sakumo could still muster around four thousand combat-ready ninja for frontline deployment. Therefore, purely in terms of troop numbers facing Cloud's advancing army, Konoha actually held a slight advantage.
However, Sakumo didn't intend to completely annihilate Cloud's forces right at the outbreak of war. His primary goal was to paralyze Kumo's command headquarters through a lightning-fast initial assault, then deal with remaining forces afterward.
After extensive discussions with Hyuga Soushu, Orochimaru, and others, Sakumo decided to redeploy an additional one thousand reinforcement ninja to serve under Hyuga Soushu as a feint force to tie down the three battalions that Kumo had scattered across the Central Provinces. Meanwhile, Sakumo himself would lead three thousand elite ninja alongside the three Hokage disciples on a direct piercing assault deep into enemy territory targeting Kumo Ninja Force's main camp.
Relatively speaking, although Hyuga Soushu's two thousand strong Konoha force would be engaging and pinning down Kumo's three battalions deployed in the Central provinces, thanks to a major asymmetry in intelligence between both sides, Soushu remained confident he could suppress Kumo temporarily by exploiting timing differences. As for complete destruction or annihilation, this would require Sakumo's piercing force to successfully eliminate Kumo's command headquarters first, then redeploy and return to assist in encircling, intercepting, and destroying remaining enemy forces.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Later that same morning, upon receiving Hyuga Soushu's report of the attack initiation, Sakumo immediately ordered his detachment to break camp, leading the elite Jonin and three thousand elite ninja forces northward toward the Lightning Daimyo's court.
Although invading the Daimyo's domain was technically an affront to a sovereign ruler's sacred status, Sakumo had no choice in this matter - after all, who told Kumo to establish their main camp precisely within the Lightning Daimyo's personal territory?
Besides, technically speaking, so long as they didn't enter the Daimyo's inner palace grounds, this wouldn't constitute open insult toward the noble lord. Once victory achieved, Kumo would never again manage to mobilize battalion-sized forces, having their backbone thoroughly shattered. Even if Raikage possessed immense power himself, he'd still just be human—surrounded by overwhelming odds, even the strongest would eventually be overwhelmed and fall!
Moreover, Sakumo believed that as long as the Lightning Daimyo wasn't out of his mind, he wouldn't dare harbor overt resentment toward Konoha for prevailing in inter-village warfare!
Who knows, Konoha might even end up securing more than half of the task quotas from the Land of Lightning!
After all, ninja clans, who neither farmed nor produced goods, were dependent on noble houses for survival. Whether serving one daimyo or two made little difference. If task quotas were awarded entirely to Konoha, tensions between Konoha and Kumo would naturally dissipate, thus forging a new playbook for peace in the ninja world!
Though Hyuga Soushu didn't quite grasp Sakumo's and the native ninja's mentality, he expressed appropriate respect by deciding to wash away his confusion using Cloud ninjas' heads.
As Hyuga Soushu's 2,000-strong Pacification Ninja Army intensified their assaults, the Kumo ninja who had previously infiltrated the three fallen provinces in squad-sized units were swiftly eliminated. A Kumo battalion stationed in the Central Provinces of the Land of Lightning was quickly pulled into the battle.
Yet, heeding Dodai's repeated pre-battle warnings and seeing how overwhelming Hyuga Soushu's forces looked, Kumo's senior jonin adopted a cautious defensive stance. Even after Hyuga Soushu returned to the region and captured half a province, the Kumo jonin did not rush into counterattacks. Instead, they gathered together to construct defensive fortifications and sent an urgent report to the nearby headquarters requesting tactical guidance.
Whether to launch an offensive or hold the defensive line—that decision now rested with Dodai.
This tactically rigid wartime communication system gave Hyuga Soushu an opportunity to exploit the situation, especially since the Kumo ninja held a clear disadvantage in reconnaissance.
Utilizing powerful ninjutsu like the Shadow Clone Jutsu, Konoha's Pacification Ninja Army skillfully amplified their presence. Originally numbering just over two thousand soldiers, they used ninja techniques to disguise themselves as a force of four thousand. By day, they boldly brought in shadow clone decoys from the rear to expand their camp, giving the impression of having overwhelming numbers. But at night, these shadow clones or real ninja assigned to deceive the enemy silently slipped out and disappeared from the camp. The next morning, they'd reappear in large numbers on the front lines, continuing the deception. This tactic not only allowed Konoha's forces to seize the initiative on the battlefield but also kept the enemy constantly guessing about their true strength.
This strategic deception technique originated from the historically famous "campfire reduction method"—a trick Hyuga Soushu knew well from his past life, which he now cleverly reversed and innovatively applied.
The Kumo battalion hastily assembled to block Hyuga Soushu's Pacification Ninja Army reacted immediately by urgently calling for assistance from two other battalions, urging them to hurry forward for reinforcement. After all, Konoha's military camp grew larger every day—if you simply counted the tents, it seemed as though over 4,000 Konoha ninja had gathered directly in front of them!
Wanting no margin for error, Kumo's senior jonin called for reinforcements and urgently requested further tactical guidance from Dodai at the nearby headquarters, hoping for additional ninja forces—at least enough in number to match Konoha's apparent strength.
Meanwhile, as two other Kumo battalions moved toward Hyuga Soushu's forces, Dodai—stationed at the central headquarters—immediately deployed another battalion to the front lines so that the frontline forces could maintain balance against Konoha's advancing Pacification Ninja Army.
At the same time, he issued strict orders forbidding any unauthorized actions by the frontline jonin, emphasizing that unless Konoha launched the first attack, Kumo must not provoke conflict prematurely. He insisted the frontline should remain in its current standoff posture, buying ample time for him and the Third Raikage back in the village to discuss a proper counter-strategy.
While the Nearby Headquarters dispatched a battalion of one thousand ninja heading southward, Sakumo Hatake led four thousand Konoha Ninja Forces on a massive detour from the southeastern region of the Land of Lightning, directly bypassing the eastern territories and swiftly approaching the doorstep of the capital area!
The movement of a four-thousand-strong Konoha Ninja Force was naturally too large to keep completely secret. When Sakumo Hatake's forces marched through the Eastern Provinces, the news quickly reached Dodai's ears. Upon hearing this intelligence, a wave of panic crashed over Dodai. He knew all too well—Konoha's four thousand strong force already threatening the Central Provinces, now joined by another four thousand on the eastern flank? This wasn't just an offensive—it was a full-scale extermination campaign.
Dodai originally intended to recall the recently dispatched reinforcement battalion, but then urgent battle reports arrived from the frontlines. The so-called "four thousand Konoha Ninja Forces" led by Hyuga Soushu had already begun their pre-assault bombardment, continuously launching explosive kunai attacks against the defensive fortifications of Kumo's three main battalions. The three frontline battalion commanders worried about insufficient forces to resist Konoha's assault. Therefore, they jointly sent requests to Dodai for reinforcements, hoping to obtain two thousand additional ninja.
However, Dodai now faced a dire predicament. In total, only slightly over six thousand ninja had been sent southward from Kumo, with its most elite three battalions already deployed at the frontline, and a fourth still en route. Right now, the mere two thousand remaining under his command would still need to deal with the ferocious Konoha ninja commanded by Sakumo Hatake. Under these circumstances, how could he possibly dispatch any forces to support the frontlines?
If not for the approaching Reinforcement Ninja Force bound for the Central Provinces' city, Dodai might even have considered ordering their immediate return to confront the current crisis.
But the rapid pace of changing events had left no room for Dodai to maneuver or respond effectively.
Especially after Sakumo Hatake's ninja forces entered the territory surrounding the Daimyo's court, everything had already been decided.
On the tenth of June, during the thirty-ninth year of Konoha's reign, Sakumo Hatake led his Konoha Ninja Forces on a rapid thousand-mile march and unexpectedly surrounded the Kumo Ninja Force headquarters located near the capital region of the Land of Lightning. At the same time, he assigned four hundred elite ninja to take firm control of the four gates of the Daimyo's castle in the Land of Lightning, undoubtedly placing the country's Daimyo himself under his control.
[Chakra (energy network within the body)]-amplified, Sakumo Hatake's voice thundered across the Kumo camp, resonating with undeniable authority. His final ultimatum loomed over the Kumo ninja like a blade poised above their necks.
Choose—fight or surrender! There will be no second warning!
Sakumo hadn't launched an immediate assault. The long-distance march had drained his forces to the point of total exhaustion. Now wasn't the best time to fight. Therefore, Sakumo decided to allow some time for negotiations, giving the Kumo ninja a chance to consider their options while allowing the Konoha ninja to rest briefly and recover strength.
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