"So what exactly was the situation on the front lines?
Had Kirigakure's forces exceeded his expectations, prompting him to send you back for reinforcements?
Or was everything within his control, with him currently engaging Kirigakure in guerrilla warfare at his leisure?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen stroked the beard on his chin and made his guesses with confidence. In his view, there were only those two possibilities.
Uchiha Mai could not possibly lose to Kirigakure. He absolutely had the strength to hold back Kirigakure's entire force by himself.
And he could never be killed by Kirigakure either. Even Ōnoki could not keep him there, so what made Yagura think he could?
What was this called? This was called devising strategies from afar and securing victory a thousand miles away!
"It wasn't a request for reinforcements."
Kakashi shook his head and truthfully reported, "The director's strength far exceeded all of our expectations.
The battle had also gone far more smoothly than anyone expected... Of Kirigakure's force of more than four thousand men, half were killed by the director in a single clash..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyelids twitched.
Once a force suffered a casualty rate of fifty percent, it could be concluded without question that the force had been defeated.
For a long time afterward, its morale and organization would be affected. It would be no different from being crippled.
Kirigakure had been crushed in a single battle!
Sarutobi Hiruzen had once fantasized about such an astonishing achievement. He had never expected it could actually be accomplished.
Could the Mangekyō Sharingan truly be nearly invincible at its peak, just as the records stated?
"Among the more than two thousand Kirigakure ninja killed were nearly twenty Jonin. Several Jonin from the Shikotsumyaku and Ice Release clans were also among them."
The hand Sarutobi Hiruzen used to stroke