Both Sides' Battle Plans!

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Konoha Western Army Main Town, Commander's Camp.

At this time, a conference on the war of writings was being held. Shunren, as a member of the intelligence team, was also brought into the conference.

Kyosho, seated at the head of the table, first laid out a detailed tactical map drawn by the intelligence team on the table.

Kyosho tapped the mountainous area depicted on the map with his Kunai and said, "The decisive battle with the Sand Ninja will take place here!"

Shunren looked at the map and saw the three small characters "Kikyo Mountain" marked there. He couldn't help but wonder, was this the famous battle mentioned in the original text, the "Battle of Kikyo Pass"?

However, even from his memories in the original work, Shunren didn't get much information about this battle, because the original work only briefly mentioned this part of the story and didn't go into details. Shunren only knew that it was a key battle between Konoha and Sand Ninja during the Third Shinobi World War.

Sand Ninja Main Town, Commander's Camp.

Operations meeting.

Wearing simple gray-green clothes and sporting short reddish-brown hair, this handsome young man was the acting fourth Kazekage, temporarily appointed after the disappearance of the Third Kazekage. However, after leading a great victory in the battle against the Mist Ninja, he gained unanimous support within the village and officially assumed the position of Kazekage.

"The enemy's leader is the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa. He became Kazekage at such a young age; he is indeed not to be underestimated," Kyosho explained. "The Mist Ninja achieved a great victory by attacking the Sand Ninja, and we still don't know how they did it. What secret strategies or other unknown forces are supporting them?"

Everyone at the meeting was baffled by Kyosho's analysis, except for Shunren, Shunren brow was furrowed, as if he vaguely sensed something. Even if he knew nothing about military affairs, he understood that for inland ninjas like the Sand Ninja to cross the sea and defeat the Mist Ninja was simply a fantasy. And Kyosho's last words reminded Shunren of a possibility...

"The enemy's main force is undoubtedly the Uchiha, the Uchiha who are known as the strongest in Konoha!" Rasa slammed his hand heavily on the table, shouting passionately, "But! Should we be afraid?"

"No! We're not afraid at all!"

"So what if you're from the Uchiha?"

"Exactly! Didn't the Yuki Clan, one of the top clans in Mist Ninja, also lose to our Sand Ninja?"

Rasa's impassioned speech had a great inspiring effect on the Sand Ninja. The old woman to his left remained silent, lying on the table with her eyes half-closed as if she were asleep.

The woman in the backless dress, seated in the second seat, frowned deeply and opened her mouth several times as if to speak, but ultimately couldn't utter a word.

"This is the Fourth Kazekage of Sand Ninja, and a few others we need to pay special attention to in this war..." Kyosho pinned several photos to the wall one by one. "Chiyo, captain of the Sand Ninja Puppet Master Squad!"

Shunren immediately recognized the person as Chiyo from the original story. She looked younger than he remembered, and her eyes were even more fierce. He thought to himself that Granny Chiyo, now in her middle age, must be much stronger and more agile than when she was old.

"As you all know, this is none other than the recently famous Scorching Scorch Release user, Pakura!"

Shunren's eyes flickered. He knew a little about this woman; her ability was the Scorch Release Kekkei Genkai, so in short, she was a ruthless character.

"Look, everyone." Rasa stood up from his seat and manipulated the sand to form several lifelike human-shaped statues.

"Uchiha Kyosho, that man is cunning and extremely difficult to deal with. For the past year, our Sand Ninja been unable to conquer him because of him!" Rasa clapped his hands, then pointed to the old woman beside him. Despite her ignoring him and continuing to feign sleep, Rasa's smile remained unchanged.

"However, we've invited Lady Chiyo this time! As the saying goes, 'countering treachery with treachery,' and in the end, the more cunning Lady Chiyo will surely emerge victorious!" "Hey! I heard that!" The old woman, who had been feigning sleep, slowly opened her eyes, her face darkening.

"Yes, Chiyo, you're finally awake!" Rasa, ever the smooth talker, deliberately provoked Chiyo, continuing, "Also, Konoha sent two more generals as reinforcements this time. Uchiha Fugaku, captain of the Konoha Military Police Force, is a powerful figure known for his fierce eyes and ambitious nature; it's no surprise he'll be the next Uchiha Clan Head. Uchiha Yashiro is also a high-ranking member of the Uchiha."

"Clatter~" Kyosho scattered the chess pieces used for the simulation on the map, with the red side representing the Sand Ninja and the blue side representing the Konoha.

Shunren glanced at the pieces and keenly noticed that the red side had significantly more pieces than the blue side, causing him to frown again.

Just as Shunren had predicted, Kyosho's next words confirmed his suspicions.

Kyosho fiddled with the chess pieces, saying calmly, "The total strength of the Sand Ninja is 5,000, and ours is 3,000."

"5:3, we have an absolute advantage in numbers." Rasa created a small sand table on site.

"But..." Kyosho tapped the marked Kikyo Mountain on the map, "The terrain is in my hands! After a year of preparations, Kikyo Mountain's defenses have reached fortress level!"

"The enemy must have set up multiple, impenetrable defensive formations on the mountain. We shouldn't launch a direct attack, but..." Rasa manipulated sand to create models resembling ballistae.

Kyosho pointed to a hilly highland at the foot of the mountain and said, "From this position, when the war breaks out, the enemy is very likely to preemptively deploy long-range siege weapons, such as crossbows equipped with Explosive Tag. Find two squads skilled in concealed weapons, and have them take them out with Fūma Shuriken during the battle!"

"Of course, the enemy isn't stupid either; they won't let us take this high ground stronghold so easily." Rasa then placed a dozen more chess pieces around Ninjutsu ballista and said, "I'll send a unit skilled in Earth Release to defend against their heavy ranged weapons."

Kyosho pointed to a certain area on the map and ordered, "Fugaku, you lead the Fire Style squad and lie in ambush on the mountainside. No matter what happens, do not move without my order. I will personally lure the Sand Ninja puppeteer force over."

"Understood!" Fugaku obeyed the order.

"Yashiro, you've brought your own elite intelligence protection Intelligence Division, which is already patrolling the rear, in case the Sand Ninja try to flank us and attack from behind."

"Huh? I'm here to check the back door..." Yashiro seemed reluctant, but due to Kyosho's authority, he could only agree. At the same time, when he looked at Fugaku, a hint of jealousy flashed in his narrow eyes.

"Secret plan! The key to this operation is in your hands, our Sand Ninja hero Scorch Release: Pakura!" Rasa revealed a sly smile, his eyes flashing with a cold light, as if he had even deeper plans hidden behind him.

"..." Pakura frowned. She was never good at scheming and hadn't noticed Rasa's strange behavior at all. She just had a gut feeling that the mission she was carrying out this time was definitely very dangerous, just like the recent attack on the Mist Ninja. She almost lost her life at sea!

However, as a ninja and a member of the Sand Ninja, Pakura ultimately could not refuse the Kazekage's orders.

At that moment, Chiyo opened her eyes...

Both commanders-in-chief, Kyosho and Rasa, were making close preparations for battle. After a year of open and covert struggles, both sides had a general understanding of each other's style of doing things and were able to adopt a series of combat plans against each other.