Pre-War Meeting

Orochimaru paid no heed to the regulations and directly allowed Minato's Team to join the tactical planning.

After seeing off Hatake Sakumo, he summoned several former frontline jonin, including an Anbu captain...

Sarutobi Shinnosuke, the Third Hokage's eldest son.

Orochimaru was the commander-in-chief on the front lines, while Shinnosuke held a role similar to that of a military overseer. Major decisions could not bypass him.

He was not wearing a mask during the meeting. He was a young man who somewhat resembled the Third Hokage in his youth.

After explaining the general situation, Orochimaru began outlining his plan.

"Sunagakure has dispatched a large number of ninja to harass the Land of Fire's borders. Driving them out one by one is too passive."

"I intend to concentrate our forces and launch a direct counteroffensive against the Land of Wind, forcing them to return to defend their homeland!"

After a moment of silence, the Nara Jonin said gravely, "That would indeed force Sunagakure out of the Land of Fire's borders, but Lord Orochimaru..."

"If we do that, our border defenses will be stretched thin. Iwagakure will not pass up such an opportunity."

Among the Five Great Nations, setting aside the smaller countries, the Land of Fire lay at the center.

Every Shinobi World War was practically the Land of Fire fighting the other four by default.

If only the Land of Wind invaded, the Land of Fire would not be worried at all. With Konoha's strength, they could grind the enemy into the dirt over and over again.

The western front where Orochimaru and the others were stationed faced not only Sunagakure, but also Iwagakure of the neighboring Land of Earth.

If that old man Ōnoki discovered that a large number of Konoha ninja had invaded the Land of Wind, he would definitely have Iwagakure's ninja seize the chance to raid the Land of Fire.

Orochimaru looked at Minato. "I recall that Minato-kun encountered Iwagakure's Jinchuriki before. How strong were they?"

Unless it was a major campaign, the Kage of each village generally did not appear on the front lines. Protecting their villages was their highest priority.

Thus, the strongest conventional military power was the Jinchuriki.

After considering it for a moment, Minato replied, "Very strong. More importantly... they possess large-scale attack capabilities. Numbers do not mean much against them."

The strongest aspect of Tailed Beast Jinchuriki was their ability to fire Tailed Beast Balls, the equivalent of cannons in the age of cold weapons.

Top-tier powerhouses might treat Tailed Beasts like pets, but ordinary ninja—even a perfect solo fighter like Hatake Sakumo—could not handle one.

As far as anyone knew, only sealing techniques could effectively restrain Tailed Beasts.

The Mangekyō Sharingan could do so as well, of course, but few people knew that.

Orochimaru nodded. "According to the intelligence I have gathered, Ōnoki has stationed large forces along the Earth-Lightning border, while committing few troops to the western front."

"Of course, it is not because he thinks the Land of Lightning is stronger than the Land of Fire. There is only one possible reason for this... the Jinchuriki have been stationed along the Earth-Fire border all along!"

As soon as those words were spoken, the expressions of several people in the meeting changed, and they grew uneasy.

Fear of Tailed Beasts had already sunk deep into the hearts of most ninja.

"Minato-kun, can you handle one Jinchuriki now?"

Minato did not rush to make any promises. After thinking carefully, he said, "Holding one off would not be a problem. But they usually move together, don't they?"

The Land of Earth's Tailed Beasts were the Four-Tails and Five-Tails. When Minato and Jiraiya encountered them last time, they had been together.

That was the normal arrangement. What elite force fought alone instead of teaming up?

Orochimaru looked at Kagami Uchiha. "I trust that Kagami-kun should be able to hold one off as well."

"I will leave behind some ninja to deal with Iwagakure's ordinary forces. The two Jinchuriki will be left to you two."

Before Kagami Uchiha could respond, an angry roar rang out.

"What kind of joke is this?!"

Sarutobi Shinnosuke slammed his hand on the table and glared furiously at Orochimaru.

"Orochimaru, what the hell are you thinking, sending a child to face a Jinchuriki?!"

Sarutobi Shinnosuke normally did not participate in tactical discussions and merely sat quietly as an observer.

But Orochimaru's words this time were too outrageous. He was so angry that he even dropped the honorifics.

Deeply influenced by his father's Will of Fire, he had already been dissatisfied with children like Kagami and Kakashi joining the battlefield.

In his eyes, Uchiha children were still children.

He had already submitted several reports requesting that the two be recalled, but Hiruzen Sarutobi had not responded.

"Shinnosuke, Kagami is no ordinary child..." Orochimaru said calmly.

"He killed a Scorch Release Ninja in his very first battle. Even you would have found that difficult to accomplish, wouldn't you?"

Sarutobi Shinnosuke remained unmoved and said firmly, "No matter what, I will not agree to such a deployment. I will ask the Hokage to recall Kagami and Kakashi."

He turned toward the two, genuine concern in his eyes. "We are not all dead yet. This war does not require children like you to risk your lives!"

"Asuma often talks about you. I know you are geniuses far beyond ordinary children, but the cruelty of war is something you cannot understand... Go back, all right?"

Even Minato was somewhat shaken by those words, unsure whether he should let his two junior disciples return to the village.

If it were not for the Uchiha Clan, Kagami Uchiha would not have wanted to take part in the war either.

He understood deeply the cruelty of war and the value of peace.

Better to be a dog in peaceful times than a man in troubled ones...

But he understood even more clearly that peace could not be achieved through compromise. Only through resistance could true peace be won!

You are a good person, but I do not need your kindness.

Kagami Uchiha spoke calmly.

"Thank you for your concern, Sarutobi Jonin. I am already a ninja, and I will obey Lord Orochimaru's orders."

His gaze shifted to Orochimaru.

"The greater one's ability, the greater one's responsibility. The village is facing a difficult situation now. I hope to arrange for some Uchiha ninja to join the battlefield. That should not be a problem, right?"

War was a catalyst for the Sharingan, and Konoha's upper ranks knew that well.

So unless absolutely necessary, they only wanted to keep the Uchiha confined within the village and prevent that demonic blade from being stained with blood.

Their judgment was correct—or rather, the Second Hokage's judgment was correct.

After the Uchiha had no choice but to join the war in its later stages, it catalyzed Fugaku's Mangekyō Sharingan. Shisui and Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan were also influenced by this war.

Not to mention Kamui, regarded as the strongest Mangekyō Sharingan.

Orochimaru did not know the conditions for the Sharingan's awakening, but he keenly sensed that Kagami Uchiha was nowhere near as righteous as he appeared. He definitely had some secret.

What did that matter?

Orochimaru did not care about Konoha's upper ranks' schemes. He only wanted to see just how far Kagami Uchiha could go.

"I will report to the Hokage and have Uchiha ninja sent as reinforcements."

He gave Kagami Uchiha a meaningful look.

"Later, Kagami-kun can give me a list. No one understands better than you which Uchiha are more suited to the battlefield."

The two silently reached an agreement. Orochimaru would help him bring in people, and he would help Orochimaru hold the rear.

Even if he could not hold it, it did not matter. Konoha was currently at its peak, with more jonin than at any point in its history.

Even the most pessimistic person could not have imagined that this war would last ten years and drag mighty Konoha into a quagmire.

Rather, it was Minato Namikaze's death and the Three Legendary Sannin's departure that nearly caused Konoha to collapse, leading to the later incident where Hizashi sacrificed his life.

Orochimaru dared to gamble like this because he had the resources to spare.