Thus, Qi Shuang became a member of Ao's squad.
He was very satisfied with the arrangement made by his superiors.
After all, the other three members of the squad were not short-lived. They had all survived the Third Shinobi World War.
Being with them made him feel much more at ease than being assigned to some unknown Mist squad.
Although he had not existed in the original story and did not know whether he could benefit from these three's halo of protection, it was still much better than following a group of unknown nobodies.
As long as he did not do anything unexpected that changed the overall situation, there was an extremely high chance that he could follow behind these three and safely survive this war.
At least he would not have to follow the other nobodies and gamble on a fifty-fifty chance of life or death.
That could very well have turned him into cannon fodder on the battlefield, just like the squad he had originally been assigned to.
Although it was cruel and heartless to measure his former companions by simple odds of life and death, he had no other choice. He had not lived long enough yet.
That was how war was. People died at any moment.
Even among the jōnin-level shinobi serving as the upper echelon of each village's forces, not every one of them could guarantee surviving until the war ended.
Take Uchiha Tai, for example. He possessed the Sharingan, a Kekkei Genkai, as well as jōnin-level strength. Under normal circumstances, a shinobi of his caliber should have had a greater chance of surviving the war than a Genin, Chunin, or ordinary jōnin.
Yet he had fallen at the hands of a fledgling Genin like himself. If the people of Konoha learned what had happened, they would probably find it unbelievable.
Because that was war!
It contained far too many unknown accidents and dangers.
That night, the Intelligence Interrogation Department immediately converted the information extracted from Uchiha Tai's mind into a written report and placed it on the desk at General Headquarters.
Three shinobi over fifty sat behind the desk in the main tent.
They were all survivors of the previous Ninja World War, as well as the commanders of this war's front line.
After reading the report, one of them passed it to the companion beside him and slowly said, "I have a plan. I want to try it!"
The second man accepted the report and asked curiously as he flipped through it, "What plan?"
The third man, who had not received the report, quietly pricked up his ears, afraid he might miss a single word.
The first man took a deep breath and said softly, "Our main opponents on this battlefield are the Hyuga and Uchiha clans."
"We know that. Get to the point!" the second man urged impatiently.
He quickly skimmed through the report and passed it to the third man.
The first man did not mind and continued, "The Uchiha Clan's Sharingan is manageable. With the Mist Technique blocking their vision, their abilities will be greatly weakened."
"Furthermore, Konoha Village has devoted most of its strength to the western battlefield. The pressure on us here in the east is not as great. Logically speaking, with the strength of our single village, we should be sweeping aside the Hyuga Clan and the Uchiha Clan."
"But we've been fighting for so long, and our main forces are still stuck along this coastal front without advancing an inch. Have you ever wondered why?"
"The Hyuga Clan!" the second man answered without hesitation.
"Their Byakugan's insight is simply too strong. The Mist Technique is practically useless before them."
"They can always find the weak points in our battle lines before the fighting even begins, then concentrate their forces there and launch a sudden attack, thereby reversing the situation."
"Yes, the Byakugan!" After finishing the report, the third man sighed as well.
There were a large number of Hyuga Clan members forming the defensive line here. Large forces could not possibly sneak past their perception. Even if they wanted to take a detour and launch a surprise attack on Konoha Village, it had become nothing more than wishful thinking.
As a result, the Mist's main forces had been firmly pinned down along the coastal front and could not advance.
"I believe that if we want to change the current battlefield situation, we must first break the Hyuga Clan!" the first man said solemnly to the other two.
The second man rolled his eyes at him and mocked, "Do you think we don't know that? If it were really that simple, we would have already reached Konoha Village!"
"You'd better give us a practical strategic plan!"
The third man calmly glanced at the first man. Knowing that he must not have finished speaking, he gestured for him to continue. "Go on."
"Ahem, ahem, ahem!"
The first man coughed twice, then looked meaningfully at the two men present. "The Uchiha Clan is arrogant and conceited, and has always been at odds with Konoha."
"This time, relying on their own strength, they even set up camp independently instead of moving into Konoha's main camp."
As he spoke, he pointed to the report on the table and continued, "Now we've also obtained the defensive layout of the Uchiha's encampment from the Uchiha jōnin we just captured. Isn't this the perfect opportunity to make our move?"
Hearing this, the second man furrowed his brows in confusion. "The Uchiha Clan has formidable combat strength. Even with the layout of their camp, wiping them out would probably cost us heavy casualties!"
The first man looked at him teasingly and asked in return, "Who told you we intend to wipe out the Uchiha Clan with our full strength?"
"Huh?"
His companion's sudden question left the second man at a loss.
"Didn't you say that after obtaining the Uchiha Clan's defensive layout, we should seize the opportunity to attack them?" he asked in surprise.
Judging by common sense, obtaining the layout of the Uchiha camp and then taking advantage of the situation to attack the Uchiha Clan was completely logical.
Yet judging by his companion's expression, that was clearly not what he had meant.
The first man wagged his index finger, looking pleased with himself. "Didn't I just say it?"
"To change the current battlefield situation, we must first break the Hyuga Clan!"
"What do you intend to do?" The third man sat up straight, his expression solemn. He was very curious what kind of plan his companion had devised.
The first man smiled faintly and continued, "Under normal circumstances, directly attacking the Uchiha camp would certainly be extremely difficult. Not only would we be unable to break in quickly, but we would also come under attack from Konoha's other forces from the outside. It would be a terrible situation!"
"But today is different. We have the defensive layout of the Uchiha camp. Breaking through its defenses will not be difficult, and we can place them in mortal danger!"
"What do you think the Uchiha Clan will do at such a critical juncture?"
"Call for reinforcements!"
The second man spat out the two words without hesitation, then added, "As long as the Uchiha commander isn't an idiot, he should abandon that ridiculous pride and dignity and send an emergency distress signal to Konoha's main camp! Not an ordinary request for aid!"
"But what meaning would that have?" he asked, puzzled.
The first man said with absolute confidence, "From my observations, the current head of the Hyuga Clan's main family is in Konoha's main camp, but he never takes the field lightly."
"So when the troops from Konoha's main camp rush out to rescue the Uchiha, he definitely won't accompany them. If we send another force to launch a surprise attack on Konoha's main camp and kill—or even capture—him..."
"What do you think will happen next?"
As he spoke, he looked excitedly at his two companions.
Before you continue