In the setting sun, Uchiha Madara shifted his gaze from Hikari to Fugaku, a wealth of meaning in his eyes.
"Let the fire burn a little hotter. That will make it easier for us to act.
"Besides, the next step of my plan requires luring that little monkey Tobirama trained out of Konoha. With Kumogakure beaten this badly, it will be difficult to draw him out without Kirigakure.
"When the time comes, you will need to visit Konoha again while its internal defenses are depleted. Only if the plan succeeds can I entrust everything to you without worry, Fugaku."
"I understand, Madara."
Uchiha Fugaku withdrew his appraising gaze from Uchiha Hikari and nodded to Madara.
Although he did not know what Hikari's abilities were, he knew that her becoming the strongest weapon in the clan's history, and being sealed and suppressed by the combined forces of the Senju and Sarutobi, must have had something to do with her Mangekyo abilities.
With such a powerful ally at his side, he had a little more confidence in Madara.
The scene shifted back to the Land of Frost.
To further threaten Kumogakure's defensive line, Orochimaru had specifically ordered the army to relocate to the border between the Land of Frost and the Land of Hot Water, building a new camp there to maintain pressure on Kumogakure.
They had not advanced deeper because the Land of Frost consisted of open plains, with no defensible terrain. Without an overwhelming advantage in numbers, pushing farther was inadvisable.
Unless something unexpected happened that allowed them to further break Kumogakure's forces, maintaining the current maximum pressure was already the limit of what they could achieve.
"The experience point gains will probably keep shrinking."
Uchiha Gen nestled in the hot spring, enjoying the warmth of the water and reluctant