The way Orochimaru looked at Kotarou was burning with desire. He wanted that technique too. Unfortunately, he did not possess the Kekkei Genkai Jiton (Magnet Release). Otherwise, that skill would have been a divine gift for him.
Seeing Orochimaru staring so intently at Kotarou, Tsunade couldn't help letting out a cold snort, then stepped in front of Kotarou.
"What, Orochimaru, are you trying to steal my man?"
Orochimaru's eyes widened at the scene, and he gave a wry smile. He glanced sideways at Jiraiya, only to see Jiraiya scratching his head, utterly oblivious.
Orochimaru was speechless. Jiraiya really was an idiot. Forget it, no point thinking about him for now. He turned back to Tsunade.
"Of course not. I'm only interested in Kotarou-kun's detection-type ninjutsu. Besides, Mito-sama picked him as your personal aide. Why would I try to steal him?"
"Hmph, you'd better not."
In Tsunade's heart, Kotarou was an absolute treasure: dual Kekkei Genkai, excellent in battle, not greedy for credit, always thinking on her behalf. He was practically the perfect support the heavens had hand-delivered to her.
Kotarou scratched his head. At this point, saying anything felt wrong, and staying silent felt wrong too.
Then Tsunade grabbed Kotarou by the arm, dragged him over to the main seat in the office, and pushed him down into it.
Orochimaru: "!!!"
Jiraiya: "!!!"
Nawaki: "!!!"
Kotarou: "!!!!"
Was this really a seat he could sit in?
This was the seat of the overall commander. If they won this battle, most of the credit would normally be attributed to whoever sat here.
Kotarou tried to stand up at once, but Tsunade brought her monstrous strength to bear. Kotarou's face flushed red, and he couldn't move an inch.
"Tsunade-sama, didn't we agree before? I'm only assisting you on this campaign. I don't want any credit!"
Kotarou blurted out.
"What we said before was before. Now is now.
Just now, Jiraiya suggested the three of us fight a decisive battle against Hanzo of the Salamander. I agree that it's a workable idea. But if we do that, the question of who commands the army becomes a problem."
Tsunade smiled as she spoke.
Orochimaru had already figured out the crux of it and chuckled. "Exactly. At a time like this, we need a commander skilled in leading troops, someone who can direct the army to crush the other ninja of the Land of Rain."
"Yeah, exactly. Kotarou, Tsunade says you command troops like a genius. That means no one is more suitable than you to lead them!"
Jiraiya laughed loudly.
Kotarou froze for a moment, then frowned.
"Tsunade, who did you say came up with the idea of a duel with Hanzo of the Salamander?"
He actually forgot to struggle, and turned his gaze toward Jiraiya, eyes filled with a strange look.
Orochimaru's eyes gleamed. Could this kid be…
Jiraiya blinked. What was wrong with that plan?
They were the ones shouldering the heaviest burden here!
Tsunade's beautiful eyes flicked between Jiraiya and Kotarou.
Kotarou patted Tsunade's arm. Tsunade withdrew the hand that had been pinning him down. Kotarou leaned forward, propped his elbows on the table, and steepled his fingers under his chin.
"Why do we need to duel him?"
Jiraiya scratched his head.
"Because intel says that aside from Hanzo of the Salamander, the rest of the Land of Rain's ninja are basically a rabble, so…"
"So the three of you want to pin down their main force, while the army goes to clean up the other ninja, inflicting heavy losses on them?"
Kotarou's tone went cold.
Orochimaru fell silent, thinking. He had already felt something was off earlier, but he hadn't managed to pinpoint what. Judging by Kotarou-kun's expression, however, it seemed there was a much better way.
Tsunade listened carefully to Kotarou's words, her eyes fixed on his back, saying nothing.
"Jiraiya-sama, what do you think Hanzo is aiming for?
He wants to expand his territory, to show other nations his strength and his methods. If you three fight him and lose, Konoha loses prestige. If you win, it still works in his favor: he fought one against three. No matter the outcome, it only helps build up his reputation. So why should we fight him on his terms?"
Kotarou's voice was low and steady.
"Then if we don't fight him, how do we end this war?"
Jiraiya frowned. He thought his plan was already the best one.
Kotarou suddenly met Jiraiya's gaze directly.
"Jiraiya-sama, even if we follow your plan and win, don't forget that we're not the only village inside the Land of Rain right now."
"Iwa and Suna are both watching us. If we throw ourselves into battle, win, and then those two swoop in to reap the benefit, heavily maim our remaining forces, maybe even wipe us out… would you say we've won?
Or would you say we've lost?"
Kotarou's fingers tapped a steady rhythm on the tabletop.
Jiraiya fell silent.
Orochimaru's eyes lit up. That was it. They weren't the only ones in the Land of Rain. If things went that way, some other village could easily steal the advantage. No, given what they knew about Onoki, he would definitely make a move.
Orochimaru now looked at Kotarou with undisguised admiration.
At that moment, Tsunade spoke up at just the right time.
"Kotarou-kun, then how should we fight this war?"
Kotarou looked down at the map. On the west and south, the Land of Rain bordered the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind, and on the east, it bordered the Land of Fire. In that case…
"Tomorrow, we march and attack the capital of the Land of Rain. Tsunade-sama will take the Senju units and surround the eastern gate of the city. Jiraiya-sama, you'll lead a force to surround the southern gate. Orochimaru-sama, you'll take a force to surround the northern gate."
"Every day, we adopt a scorched-earth stance, sealing everything tight and cutting off all nearby supply routes. If they sortie, we pull back. When they retreat, we surround them again."
Kotarou's eyes gleamed as he spoke.
"What about the western gate?" Jiraiya asked.
Orochimaru gave Jiraiya a very odd look, as if he were seeing him for the first time.
"What does the western gate have to do with us? That side faces the Land of Earth. As long as we've surrounded these three gates, it's enough.
When the Land of Rain is finally pushed to desperation and forced to break out through the western gate, the one who's going to suffer heavy losses will be Onoki."
Orochimaru smiled.
Tsunade nodded.
"On top of that, doing things this way lets us preserve the army's strength to the greatest extent, while still achieving our objectives."
Kotarou nodded in agreement.
"War isn't just a contest of how strong the ninja are, or how elite the troops are. It's also a contest of resources, national power, weapons, and every kind of supply."
"If we cut off their food for two months, they'll have only two options: surrender, or try to break out through the western gate. At that point, they're cornered beasts. Even for the Land of Earth, dealing with a group of starving, desperate men won't be easy."
After laying everything out, Kotarou leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, thinking.
Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade all stared at Kotarou, which made a chill run down his spine. He opened his eyes and looked at the three of them.
"Hey, what are you all staring at me for? At least say something. Is this strategy workable or not?"
Orochimaru laughed. "It's workable. Of course it's workable. I'm just very curious, Kotarou-kun: with strategy at this level, under which master did you study?"
Tsunade nodded as well.
"That's right. Kotarou-kun's command strategy is truly impressive. You've forcefully turned what should have been a battle of manpower into a battle of resources that favors us."
Jiraiya was utterly convinced now.
"Kotarou-kun, Jiraiya fully admits defeat in this one!"
Kotarou froze again.
Crap. He had just overplayed it. As far as he remembered, this kind of strategy had never appeared in the Naruto world before.
Damn it.
So much for keeping a low profile.
(End of Chapter)
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