More Tricks, Longer-Lasting Intelligence Advantage

"Hmm, Tsume Inuzuka of the Inuzuka Clan and her Kuromaru killed two jonin. Truly impressive. Since the village was founded, she should be the first in her clan not to choose a puppy to grow alongside her, but instead to choose an adult hound that had lost its partner."

Hatake Sakumo nodded to himself. Konoha possessed far too many rich inheritances and an abundance of talent. There would always be seemingly ordinary ninja who suddenly revealed a special trick, catching the enemy off guard and inflicting additional losses.

The Third Hokage loved young people like this most. Young people who surprised others caused unexpected additional losses for the enemy. Looking at it the other way around, didn't that mean Konoha had used the same resources to consume more of the enemy's resources? Didn't that mean Konoha had won another small victory?

If they won a few more times, wouldn't their overall advantage gradually accumulate like this? Konoha had the strongest foundation, after all. It liked—and feared least—a war of attrition.

"Combat between ninja is first and foremost a battle of intelligence. Using entirely new methods against the enemy has already given us the upper hand in intelligence."

Hatake Sakumo looked at these younger ninja with great satisfaction. Then, he saw another intelligence report.

"Dead Soul Technique? Someone actually developed this ninjutsu so deeply? And achieved such astonishing results. Kaedeji... a genin in a medical squad who had directly killed three enemies and indirectly helped his comrades kill five more?"

Hatake Sakumo did not think the report was exaggerated. The observers specifically responsible for recording battles on The Front Lines absolutely could not make mistakes in tallying military merits. No village dared to be careless in establishing its merit system; they had to be rigorous beyond measure.

The Medical Corps had only been established recently, yet already talent that caught the eye had emerged. At the genin, or even chunin, level, Kaedeji's special skill was Enough To make him stand out.

"There will certainly be more talented people rising through Tsunade's ranks. Hopefully, someone will become the next Minato Namikaze."

Hatake Sakumo sighed instinctively, though he knew it was merely a meaningless hope.

If they truly compared them, all the young people who had revealed their special tricks combined still could not match Minato Namikaze, who was already thirteen years old.

The reason was simple. Minato Namikaze had mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique left behind by the Second Hokage, becoming the second person in Konoha's history to skillfully wield Space-Time Ninjutsu.

It was said that not long after entering the battlefield against Iwagakure, Minato Namikaze had already made a tremendous name for himself. At thirteen, he had assassinated several jonin, sent back valuable intelligence, and provided enormous strategic and tactical assistance to Konoha.

It was too astonishing. Even Hatake Sakumo was shaken by the talent and wisdom Minato Namikaze had displayed.

His talent was plain for all to see, while his potential seemed bottomless. More importantly, he was difficult to kill. Even if he suffered defeat, Minato Namikaze could instantly flee using the Flying Thunder God Technique.

He was already like this at thirteen. What would he become in another two years?

Before Minato Namikaze, no matter how much someone called themselves a genius, they would surely feel inferior.

"Lord Sakumo, there's movement at the enemy headquarters. Chiyo has led the puppet corps onto the battlefield!" a ninja entered and reported.

"They've finally come. If this consumption continues, Sunagakure simply can't endure it. They were the first to lose patience."

Hatake Sakumo abruptly rose to his feet and led his personal guard straight into the battlefield as well.

The top experts on both sides had already entered the fray.

Chiyo's heart was in the greatest turmoil. If she had any choice, she would never have done this.

"Konoha truly produces talent in abundance. Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara left this village far too much wealth," Ebizo sighed.

They could not outlast them. They absolutely could not outlast them. Even if Chiyo had cultivated potent poisons, they had only inflicted greater losses on Konoha—but Sunagakure still could not outlast them!

If they launched an all-out decisive battle, Sunagakure had no certainty of victory. They could only periodically launch large-scale assaults and see whether an opportunity might arise.

Hatake Sakumo was simply too overwhelming, and his killing power against Puppet Masters was far Too Much. He had forced Chiyo's puppet corps into helplessness.

"Stop sighing! You're bolstering the enemy's morale! No matter how strong Konoha is, it is still our mortal enemy!" Chiyo shouted angrily, leading a group of Puppet Masters rapidly into the battlefield and swiftly reaping the lives of Konoha Ninja.

This was also a tactic: appear suddenly, kill off a portion of Konoha's living forces, then swiftly withdraw, gradually weakening Konoha.

But unfortunately, their opponent was Konoha's White Fang. This tactic could not possibly work repeatedly. What was more, Konoha's White Fang could use the same method against Sunagakure Ninja.

No matter how they fought, Konoha only needed to respond in kind. Even if Konoha suffered more casualties and greater resource losses, Sunagakure would always be the side that could not endure a war of attrition. This left Chiyo with a belly full of rage.

"So what if Konoha has more geniuses? Whether it's White Fang, the Sannin, Dan Katō, or that Minato Namikaze, once one of them is killed, there will be one fewer forever! If my son and daughter-in-law were still alive... Sunagakure would have its own geniuses. Once my grandson grows up, he will only be stronger than these people!"

Taking advantage of the brief interval before Hatake Sakumo arrived, Chiyo immediately unfurled a Summoning Scroll, summoned several puppets, and sent them lunging toward the Konoha Ninja.

The Third Kazekage had taken Bunpuku, the One-Tails Jinchuriki, to fight Iwagakure. She could only join forces with her younger brother Ebizo to face Konoha's attack. Fortunately, the special toxins she had cultivated had given Sunagakure a considerable advantage. Otherwise, the situation would only have been more difficult, and their losses even greater.

At that moment, Kaedeji was mixed in with the crowd, feeling a terrible headache coming on.

"There are too many people. I can't casually use dead Konoha Ninja on the ground for combat, which further limits what I can do. I don't have much Chakra left, either."

Kaedeji felt that he was still better suited to squad-based combat, the kind where he did not need to worry about his teammates. That would allow him to bring out his strength more effectively.

More importantly, he felt it was necessary to develop new Corpse Release Techniques. He had to continuously expand his Means.

If he kept using the same traceable tactics, the more battles he fought, the more intelligence would leak. The more the enemy could devise targeted tactics, the more dangerous Kaedeji's situation would become.

Only by constantly improving and continuously updating his ninjutsu arsenal, ensuring that any new intelligence the enemy acquired was always outdated, could Kaedeji feel at ease.

"For preserving my life without consuming too much Chakra, there's that special Substitution Technique I've been devising in my mind. There shouldn't be any problems with the training process I simulated in my head. Next, I need to train it in reality."

Kaedeji's thoughts were interrupted. Cries of alarm and screams rang out ahead, followed by chaos as people were knocked sprawling and severed limbs flew through the air.

He raised his head and saw a puppet dressed in white charge before him, swinging a massive axe down at his face!