Sand Hidden Village Joins the Battle

The young man gave a faint smile, then said calmly, "Lord Kazekage, declaring war on both the Land of Earth and the Land of Water is definitely a thankless task. Especially the Land of Water—their territory is a considerable distance from ours. Even if we win, we simply cannot invade their lands."

"The Land of Earth previously clashed head-on with the Third Raikage and suffered heavy losses as a result. They likely won't make any moves against our country for now."

"As for the Land of Lightning, although the Third Raikage is dead, his son is still a Kage-level powerhouse. The actual decline in the Land of Lightning's hard power isn't all that significant."

"Furthermore, the biggest difference between our village and others right now lies in our strategic weapon: the Jinchuriki!"

"The Land of Earth has the Four-Tails and Five-Tails, the Land of Lightning has the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails, the Land of Water has the Three-Tails and Six-Tails, and the Land of Fire has the Nine-Tails!"

"We only have the One-Tail, and our One-Tail can't even be sent to the battlefield!"

"A ninja who can control a Tailed Beast is far more destructive on the battlefield than a Kage-level fighter..."

"So what you're saying is still boosting others' morale and deflating our own?"

"Iwagakure used ten thousand ninjas to drag the Third Raikage to his death, so we can naturally use a human wave tactic to drown our enemies!" The scar-faced man's expression showed impatience as he interrupted the young man's explanation.

"Of course, if you're afraid of dying, you can just hide in the village!" the scar-faced man taunted.

"Nobuhiro! Don't rush—let Souya finish speaking!" the Kazekage said in a deep voice, his tone carrying an undeniable authority.

"Yes, Lord Kazekage!" Ishizaki Nobuhiro replied solemnly. Clearly, as a ninja who had fought on the battlefield and nearly lost his life, he still looked down on even the rising genius, though he held great respect for the Kazekage.

Souya gave a slight nod to the Kazekage, then continued calmly, "The timing is about right now. Using a human wave tactic to eliminate other countries' top combat power—even if it succeeds—brings no real benefit to our country!"

"What we need is tangible territorial resources!"

"Negotiations with the Land of Fire have made no progress so far because they're only stalling for time. Their frontline pressure has eased considerably compared to before, so this negotiation will definitely fall apart completely soon."

"The timing is right now. A silent bird makes a striking cry."

"My suggestion is to mobilize our forces and take the Land of Birds, the Land of Stone, and the Land of Rivers in one fell swoop!"

"After taking them, have the logistics units move in quickly and build defensive fortifications to prevent counterattacks from the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth."

"Treat the civilians well, pacify them... and those who resist—kill without mercy!" Souya's tone remained steady, but when he said "kill without mercy," an unintentional, startling aura seeped from him.

The ninjas present exchanged glances. Some clearly couldn't understand Souya's suggestion.

"The Land of Rivers and the Land of Birds are one thing, but what's the use of the Land of Stone? That land is nothing but piles of rubble—there's very little arable soil! We should set our sights on the Land of Fire!"

"Any piece of territory we bite off from the Land of Fire would be incredibly fertile!" Ishizaki Nobuhiro grumbled, his face full of confusion and disdain.

In his view, this kind of suggestion wasn't worth mentioning.

But Souya ignored Ishizaki Nobuhiro's mockery. After speaking, he simply stood there on his own.

The office fell into a momentary silence.

After a while, the Kazekage finally asked, "Souya, why not attack the Land of Fire?"

"Lord Kazekage, forgive my bluntness—even if the Land of Fire is fighting on three fronts and we launch a surprise attack, we still wouldn't be their match!" Souya faced the Kazekage and replied.

"..."

"This brat..."

"How dare he say something like that..."

As soon as Souya said this, the office erupted in uproar.

The jonin murmured among themselves. Clearly, the tendency to be bad at something but obsessed with it was one of humanity's deep-rooted flaws.

In their minds, if they were going to wage war, they should naturally attack the Land of Fire, which had the most advantageous geography.

"Cough!"

The Kazekage gave a light cough and swept his gaze across the room. The chaotic discussions instantly died down.

"Souya is right. Don't think that just because we've developed over the past few years, we can match the Land of Fire. Konoha's forbidden techniques and Kekkei Genkai are endless. Not to mention others, just the Uchiha and Hyuga clans—after mastering their Kekkei Genkai abilities, their strength far surpasses ninjas of the same rank."

"And then there's that female ninja from the Uzumaki Clan. Rumors in the Ninja World have long said she can control the power of the Nine-Tails!"

"Not to mention the Yellow Flash, who has stolen the spotlight in this war. Human wave tactics and multi-front warfare mean nothing against his Space-Time Ninjutsu."

"If we can't counter his Space-Time Ninjutsu, sheer numbers alone won't let us fight him—instead, we'll be picked off one by one."

"Even Kumogakure, which fears nothing, has already issued orders to abandon missions immediately upon encountering the Yellow Flash!" The Third Kazekage's tone was filled with caution and helplessness.

"Therefore, I believe Souya's suggestion is entirely feasible! Avoid direct conflict with the Land of Fire, first annex the smaller nations, strengthen our power, and then bide our time for the right moment!"

"Do any of you have objections?" The Kazekage stood up directly and slammed his right hand hard onto the map of the Ninja World. The point of impact happened to land right on the Land of Rivers.

"No!" the assembled ninjas shouted in unison.

"Good! Then let's draft the specific battle plan next!"

After a thorough and detailed discussion meeting ended, the scar-faced man walked down the street with another middle-aged man. A hint of confusion on his face, he asked his companion, "Hey! Tell me, why didn't Lord Kazekage attack the Land of Rain while he was at it?"

His companion had a round, honest-looking face and chuckled, "I don't know either! Nobuhiro, why do you care so much... Anyway, whatever Lord Kazekage says, we just do it!"

"Do you think that brat is impressive too?" Nobuhiro shot him a sidelong glance.

"You mean Souya? Of course he's impressive. He and Sasori are the ones in our village who've completed the most S-rank missions!"

"Although we didn't participate in this war before, we basically know all the intelligence about it, because a lot of that information was brought back by Souya!"

"Strictly speaking, he was one of the first ninjas from our village to get involved in this war!" The middle-aged man scratched his cheek, a look of admiration appearing on his face.

Ishizaki Nobuhiro fell into thought after hearing this.

"That kid... is he really a genius?" he wondered silently.

"Come on, restock on ninja tools and rations. We're setting out for the Land of Stone tomorrow!"

"This time, we've got to make Sunagakure's name resound throughout the Ninja World!" his companion urged.