Three Lines of Defense

After Uchiha Sanpo's detailed analysis, everyone nodded in agreement.

However, the war would not end for another two months, while the supplies and defensive situation at the current base were exceptionally dire.

Although Fugaku, the commander-in-chief, had confidently declared that he would solve the supply problem, everyone still felt uneasy.

The head of the Kurama Clan was the first to turn his gaze toward the young Uchiha and ask earnestly, "Young friend Sanpo, we all find your analysis well-reasoned, but the war will continue for more than two months. Do you have any good plan to help us overcome the immediate crisis?"

Kurama Unkai, Kurama Yakumo's uncle, was now thirty-six years old.

Uchiha Sanpo turned to Fugaku and asked calmly, "Clan Head, how do you intend to solve the supply problem? Surely you are not planning to return to Konoha yourself and ask the Third Hokage for supplies? And if you cannot get them, don't tell me you intend to divert clan funds and pay out of pocket to buy a batch of resources and send them here!"

Uchiha Fugaku shook his head with a helpless bitter smile. "You saw right through me. That was indeed what I had in mind!"

At those words, Uchiha Sanpo frowned deeply. He recalled a similar scene from the original story: after Uchiha Fugaku returned to the village, he brought four-year-old Uchiha Itachi to the front lines, only for them to encounter the corpses of Konoha and Iwagakure shinobi all along the way. One could imagine just how brutal the fighting had been then.

He raised his voice and said sternly, "If the Fourth Raikage declares war on Iwagakure tomorrow, then tonight and tomorrow morning will be critical. By my estimation, Iwagakure may launch a large-scale night raid tonight, hoping to crush us in one stroke before Kumogakure intervenes. If Commander-in-Chief Fugaku leaves the front lines now, not only will the base be left without a leader and its command thrown into chaos, but we will also lose an elite Kage-level combatant for nothing!"

Upon hearing that Iwagakure would launch a large-scale surprise attack tonight, everyone in the meeting room suddenly understood, and the atmosphere immediately grew tense.

Clan Head Kazami drew a sharp breath. "Exactly! Once Kumogakure declares war on Iwagakure tomorrow, Iwagakure will have no choice but to split its forces to defend the Land of Lightning. At that point, their troop advantage on our side will disappear, and the offensive and defensive positions will reverse. If I were Iwagakure's commander, I would certainly launch an all-out assault tonight while I still held the numerical advantage. If Commander-in-Chief Fugaku is not here to hold the base, the consequences will be unthinkable!"

The surrounding jonin all chimed in, "Since Iwagakure will launch a full-scale assault tonight, we must set traps at once and prepare for battle. We will make sure none of them return!"

Hearing this junior's brilliant analysis, Uchiha Yashiro grew even more impressed with him and decided to lend him another hand.

"Sanpo, do you have any ideas regarding the deployment of traps?"

Uchiha Sanpo bowed modestly and replied, "I am still inexperienced when it comes to setting traps. I should first hear the opinions of my seniors and learn from them."

His humble attitude of seeking guidance immediately won the favor of the jonin present. After all, on a battlefield of blood and fire, commanders who knew how to draw on collective wisdom and respect their elders were more convincing.

The young jonin had kept such a low profile that he instantly won the goodwill of many jonin.

The war between Konoha and Iwagakure in the Third Shinobi World War had already lasted for over a year.

Iwagakure had attacked this Konoha base camp five times before, so both sides could be said to have some experience in attacking and defending bases.

But as he listened to their proposal to bury large numbers of Explosive Tags at the valley entrance, station heavy forces on the two high grounds, and have the central force launch surprise attacks and countermeasures once the enemy was spotted, Uchiha Sanpo's brow furrowed tighter and tighter at this head-on defensive arrangement.

"Um, I have some thoughts about the defense. I wonder if I should say them?"

When Uchiha Sanpo spoke up, everyone gave him due respect, and the room temporarily fell silent.

"We only have a little over four thousand shinobi, while Iwagakure has around six thousand. The enemy's advantages are manpower and supplies, while our advantage is time. There is absolutely no need for us to clash head-on with Iwagakure. We can trade space for time. That way, our casualties will be low, while our advantage will grow greater and greater."

After hearing him out, the people in the room began discussing it.

Clan Head Kazami was quicker on the uptake than the others and spoke up. "That's right. Kumogakure will declare war on Iwagakure tomorrow and launch an attack the day after. As long as we hold out for one night, Iwagakure will certainly retreat. There is no need for us to clash head-on with them!"

Clan Head Kazami's analysis hit the heart of the matter, and the many jonin once again turned their eyes to Uchiha Sanpo.

"My suggestion is to establish three lines of defense. The first line will consist of the valley entrance and the high ground on both sides. All of them will be defended by Shadow Clones. The purpose is to delay the enemy, not kill them."

"The second line will be in front of the base. The jonin will be spread out to defend it, and the purpose will still be to delay the enemy. Therefore, once the jonin have used up their ninjutsu and shuriken, they must retreat immediately and not prolong the fight."

"After being delayed by the first and second lines, the enemy will be concentrated within the third line. The third line will be inside the base. Since there are buildings and other structures there, the terrain is relatively complex. We will concentrate the traps inside the base, use some Shadow Clones as bait, and then detonate the traps ourselves. Only then can we maximize the traps' lethality."

After hearing the deployment of the three lines of defense, everyone turned their eyes to the sand table and began discussing it.

Uchiha Yashiro stared at the sand table and tugged at his beard. "At present, we have 439 special jonin, 165 jonin, and 37 elite jonin. With these three defensive lines, we should be able to inflict roughly eight hundred to twelve hundred casualties on the enemy at a very small cost."

Hearing that they still had so many jonin-level fighters, the jonin in the command room once again gathered in groups to discuss it, their eyes gleaming with excitement.

At this point, Clan Head Kurama asked in disbelief, "Didn't we lose more than three thousand men? Why do we still have so many jonin-level fighters?"

Hearing the question, Uchiha Yashiro rubbed his sore chin and said, "We have lost 3,226 men in total. Of those, 2,515 were genin, 604 were chunin, and the casualty rate among jonin-level fighters was actually not high. So we are not lacking in high-level combat power. That is also why we have been able to hold on until now."

Clan Head Kazami narrowed his eyes and raised another concern. "This plan is highly feasible, but its drawback is that it requires the jonin to expend a great deal of chakra. Once they run low on chakra, jonin are only marginally stronger than chunin. So if the battle reaches a stalemate, it could result in the deaths of a large number of jonin."

Everyone qualified to attend the meeting in the commander-in-chief's office possessed at least jonin-level strength. Now that someone had said this plan could lead to the deaths of a large number of jonin, voices of opposition immediately arose.