Two months earlier, the Senju of the Forest had launched a surprise attack.
The Uchiha had suffered devastating losses, retreating a hundred li before they could barely regroup.
More than a hundred clansmen had died in that battle, and Madara Uchiha's last remaining younger male cousin had been stabbed through the stomach.
His guilt had briefly made him consider escaping the war.
Without telling his father or younger brother, he went to the river every day to clear his head and heal the emotional wounds the war had left behind.
There, he met a friend burdened by the same troubles.
They hit it off immediately and soon became close friends who could talk about anything. At the same time, each began to suspect the other's identity.
The major clash on the Main Battlefield immediately sent shock waves through the surrounding regions.
The Three Clans had originally planned to withdraw from the Southern Battlefield and recuperate deep within the Land of Fire. Yet something had apparently spurred them into launching frequent attacks on the Uchiha army instead.
Over twenty battles, large and small, had broken out in a single month. The fighting could not compare to the Main Battlefield, but war was equally cruel everywhere.
"Find them! You will find where those bastards are hiding!"
Rei Uchiha's roars echoed endlessly through the Commander-in-Chief's Tent.
The Three Clans operated with extreme cunning, always avoiding direct confrontations.
With the Nara Clan among them, drawing up battle plans was easy. Tactically speaking, their own side had been on the back foot all along.
Unable to surround and annihilate the enemy head-on, they were forced to fight on scattered fronts.
Yet against the seamlessly coordinated Ino-Shika-Cho, Uchiha squads of equal numbers could gain no advantage whatsoever.
Over the past month or so, the battle reports had recorded an alarming casualty ratio of 1:2.13 between the two sides.
If this continued, the gap in their capacity to wage war would rapidly shrink until it vanished. When that happened, the Southern Battlefield would be in danger.
"I want prisoners! Prisoners with high enough rank!"
"You useless bastards! If you can't capture anyone, I'll skin you alive!"
A burst of furious cursing and smashing followed. Several minutes later, a group of unit commanders fled the tent in disarray.
Capture prisoners?
Easy for him to say. Did he really think the members of the Three Clans were idiots?!
The enemy held the initiative now. If they refused to fight, working yourself into a steaming rage would accomplish nothing.
By now, even an idiot could see that the Three Clans were coordinating their actions with the Senju.
Until the main front produced a decisive result, there would never be an all-out showdown.
Well, if the Southern Army grew weak enough, the main forces of the Three Clans might actually show themselves.
But by then, there was no telling which side would be facing annihilation.
Each harboring his own thoughts, the unit commanders prepared to return to their quarters and assign missions. Before leaving, every one of them cast a glance laden with a different meaning at the figure waiting outside the tent.
The mask, resembling a demonic Asura, struck fear into anyone who saw it. Everyone knew who its wearer was.
Precisely because they knew, they could not hide their heartfelt amazement.
Nine years old. At such a young age, he had already become the brightest star on the battlefield. The boy's performance had won everyone over.
During this period, quite a few clansmen had applied to join him, hoping to make something of themselves under his command.
As expected, however, Kyosuke had rejected them all.
His three-man squad now worked in perfect harmony, with clearly defined roles and a fighting style built around striking once and withdrawing without hesitation.
Adding others recklessly would not improve their fighting strength. It would only interfere with his hunts.
He could take people in, and the time had come for Kyosuke to build the foundation of his own power base, but that would have to wait a little longer.
He had a plan in mind. If he executed it well enough, he would surely gather a large pool of useful talent.
For now, he needed to find a way to break the stalemate as quickly as possible. If things dragged on until the situation became dangerous, none of them would escape punishment from the clan.
He lifted the flap and stepped inside. The tent was already a complete wreck; anything that could be smashed had met its destruction.
Even after all that, Rei Uchiha still sat there seething.
At this moment, few people besides Kyosuke would have dared to approach him.
"Lord Rei." He remained as respectful as ever.
"Oh, little Kyosuke, you're here." Seeing his most prized subordinate arrive, the old man forced his emotions under control and managed a faint smile. "How many did you slaughter this time?"
Kyosuke shook his head without answering the question and went straight to the point. "I have an idea that should lure out an enemy commander of sufficient importance."
"Really?" Rei Uchiha's eyes lit up. Finding the enemy was his greatest headache right now.
Once they captured a sufficiently important prisoner, the army could march out and launch a full-scale encirclement, recovering all their previous losses in one stroke.
Kyosuke then explained his idea in detail.
"Absolutely not!" Rei Uchiha sprang to his feet, his eyes bloodshot as he fixed his favorite subordinate with a fierce stare. "Do you know what you're saying?"
"Use me as bait to lure the enemy into surrounding and eliminating me."
"As long as they can guarantee success, the Three Clans will definitely send someone of considerable standing."
"Guarantee success..." Rei Uchiha clenched his fists and took a deep breath before asking, "That means you'll be facing powerful enemies you have no hope of resisting."
"Yes." Kyosuke nodded, his voice utterly calm. "They'll most likely send the Perfect Ino-Shika-Cho to intercept and kill me."
The Perfect Ino-Shika-Cho referred to a lineup capable of executing their full range of tactics.
It usually consisted of three outstanding jonin.
In other words, Kyosuke would have to face a jonin-level Ino-Shika-Cho alone, and they would most likely bring quite a few helpers as well.
The army commander knew that the brat had jonin-level fighting strength under his command.
But an operation like that was far too risky.
One slight mistake, and he would lose his life.
The Nara were exceptionally cunning. They would certainly investigate carefully before making their move.
The Yamanaka Clan were all excellent sensory ninja. With them present, setting an ambush in advance would be impossible.
Three jonin, and a fully assembled Ino-Shika-Cho at that. Facing them alone, no one in the entire camp besides Rei Uchiha would dare claim an easy victory.
Could the brat already possess strength comparable to a jonin?
The army commander was deeply skeptical.
He knew that during the surprise attack on the clan back then, the brat and Madara had joined forces to kill the Ino-Shika-Cho who had infiltrated their grounds.
But could those circumstances possibly compare?
If the Yamanaka ninja had not been unexpectedly injured, if the Ino-Shika-Cho's coordination had not been disrupted, or if there had been even slightly fewer ninja willing to die for their clan grounds...
Had any one of those conditions been met, the outcome would have changed immediately.
The brat's getting too full of himself. I can't be foolish enough to go along with him.
Kyosuke was his hope for the future. Rei Uchiha could not possibly gamble with his life.
Understanding this, Kyosuke slowly raised his arm and spoke in a measured but resolute voice. "Lord Rei, please allow me to show you what gives me this confidence."
What did he mean?
Before Rei could understand, a dazzling burst of lightning suddenly appeared.
In an instant, a sound like a thousand birds crying echoed throughout the camp!
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