Conspiracy (Part 1)

And so, Qi Shuang became a member of Ao's squad.

He was quite satisfied with the arrangement from above.

This was because the other three members of the squad were not short-lived individuals; they were all survivors of the Third Shinobi World War.

Being with them made him feel more secure than being assigned to some unknown Kirigakure squad.

Although he didn't exist in the original story, and he didn't know if he could gain protection from the aura of these three, it was still much better than being with other nameless individuals.

As long as he didn't do anything unexpected that would change the overall situation, the possibility of him safely surviving this war by following behind these three was extremely high.

He wouldn't have to gamble on a fifty-fifty chance of survival like the other nameless individuals.

Because, that could very well lead to becoming cannon fodder on the battlefield, just like the squad he was previously in.

Although it was cruel and heartless to measure his former comrades by simple odds of survival, he couldn't help it; he hadn't lived enough yet.

War was like that; people died at any moment.

Even Jonin-level ninja, the top combatants of each village, couldn't guarantee they would survive until the end of the war.

Take Uchiha Tai, for example. With the Kekkei Genkai of the Sharingan, plus Jonin-level strength, by all logic, ninja of this caliber should have a higher chance of surviving the war than Genin, Chunin, and ordinary Jonin.

But he ended up falling to this rookie Genin. If the people of Konoha learned of the battle situation at the time, they would probably find it incredible.

Because, this was war!

It contained too many unknown accidents and dangers.

That night, the Intelligence Interrogation Department immediately converted the information obtained from Uchiha Tai's mind into written material and placed it on the General Headquarters' desk.

Inside the large tent, three ninja in their fifties sat behind a desk.

They were all survivors of the last Shinobi World War and were also the commanders of the current front-line war.

One of them read the document, passed it to his companion next to him, and said slowly, "I have a plan I want to try!"

The other person took the document, flipped through it, and asked curiously, "What plan?"

The third person, who hadn't received the document, also quietly pricked up his ears, afraid of missing a single word.

The first person took a deep breath and said softly, "Our main opponents on this battlefield are the Hyuga clan and the Uchiha clan."

"We know that, get to the point!" the second person urged impatiently.

He quickly finished reading the document and passed it to the third person.

The first person didn't mind and continued, "The Sharingan of the Uchiha clan is manageable; with the 'Mist Technique,' their abilities will be greatly weakened."

"Furthermore, Konoha's main focus is on the western battlefield, so the pressure on our eastern battlefield isn't that great. Logically speaking, with our village's strength, we should be crushing the Hyuga and Uchiha clans."

"However, we've been fighting for so long, and our main forces are still bogged down on this coastal front line, unable to advance. Have you ever wondered why?"

The second person replied without hesitation, "It's the Hyuga clan!"

"Their Byakugan's perception is too powerful; the 'Mist Technique' is useless in front of them."

"They always find our weak points before battles and launch heavy assaults, thus reversing the situation."

"Yes, the Byakugan!" After reading the document, the third person also sighed.

There was a large defensive line formed by the Hyuga clan here. It was impossible for large troop movements to escape their perception. Even if they wanted to take a detour to raid Konoha, it became a pipe dream.

Therefore, Kirigakure's main forces were tightly pinned to the coastal front line, unable to advance.

"I believe that to change the current battlefield situation, we must first break the Hyuga clan!" the first person said solemnly to the other two.

The second person rolled his eyes and mocked, "Do you think we don't know that? If it were that simple, we would have already reached Konoha!"

"Tell us a concrete strategic plan!"

The third person glanced at the first person calmly, knowing he still had more to say, and gestured, "Continue."

"Cough, cough, cough!"

The first person coughed twice and looked meaningfully at the two present, saying, "The Uchiha clan is arrogant and conceited, and has always been at odds with Konoha."

"For this expedition, they relied on their own strength and set up camp separately, not residing in Konoha's main camp."

As he spoke, he pointed to the document on the table and continued, "Now, we've also obtained the defense map of the Uchiha encampment from the Uchiha Jonin we just captured. Isn't this a perfect opportunity to strike?"

Upon hearing this, the second person frowned, surprised, "The Uchiha clan's combat power is considerable. Even if we get their camp defense map, annihilating them completely would likely result in heavy casualties!"

The first person looked at him playfully and retorted, "Who told you we're going to completely annihilate the Uchiha clan?"

"Huh?"

His companion's sudden question stumped the second person.

"Didn't you say that since we have the Uchiha clan's defense map, we should take this opportunity to strike?" he asked in surprise.

From common sense, if they obtained the Uchiha's camp defense map and then took the opportunity to attack the Uchiha clan, it was completely logical.

But judging by his companion's expression, it wasn't what he thought at all.

The first person wagged his index finger and said triumphantly, "Didn't I just say it?"

"To change the current battlefield situation, we must first break the Hyuga clan!"

"What do you want to do?" The third person sat up straight, his expression solemn. He was very curious about what kind of plan this companion had devised.

The first person smiled slightly and continued, "If it were usual times, attacking the Uchiha camp directly would definitely be very difficult. Not only would we not be able to break through in a short time, but we would also be attacked from the outside by other Konoha units, which would be terrible!"

"But today is different. We have the defense map of the Uchiha camp. It won't be difficult to break through the Uchiha camp's defenses and plunge them into a crisis of annihilation!"

"Tell me, what will the Uchiha clan do at this precarious moment?"

"Send for reinforcements!"

The second person uttered two words without hesitation, adding, "As long as the Uchiha family's commander isn't an idiot, they should cast aside their ridiculous pride and self-esteem and send an emergency distress signal to the Konoha main camp! Not a regular distress signal!"

"But, what's the point of you doing this?" he asked, confused.

The first person said with great confidence, "According to my observations, the current head of the Hyuga Main Family is within the Konoha main camp, but he never easily takes to the battlefield."

"Therefore, when the Konoha main camp's forces rush out to rescue the Uchiha, he definitely won't be deployed with them. If we send another group to launch a surprise attack on the Konoha main camp and kill or even capture him!"

"Tell me, what will happen next?"

As he spoke, he looked at his two companions with great excitement.