Master of Micro-management, Orochimaru

The ninja of the Sealing Squad roared in anger, "How dare Kumogakure strike so deep into the Land of Fire? What gives them the gall?"

Yamanaka Chujiu, disguised as Orochimaru, let out a hissing laugh: "It seems the sacrifice of the Fourth Hokage has left the Fourth Raikage with no more restraints."

"Then we shall let him know that even without the Fourth Hokage, Konoha remains the strongest hidden village in the ninja world."

"Because Konoha still has me, Orochimaru!"

"Follow me!"

The ninja trailing behind Yamanaka Chujiu quickened their pace at these words.

As the group entered the central Konoha camp, the morale of the Konoha ninja surged at the sight of Orochimaru, and cheers erupted one after another.

"Victory to Lord Orochimaru!"

"Victory to Konoha!"

Though the Konoha ninja were invigorated by the presence of their undefeated commander, the balance of power between the two sides would not shift overnight.

Upon confirming the death of the Fourth Hokage, the Fourth Raikage had immediately mobilized a massive army to invade the Land of Hot Water, piercing through the borders of the Land of Fire with terrifying speed.

In the mere twelve days between the start of the war and Yamanaka Chujiu's arrival at the front, six major battles had broken out, leaving Konoha with heavy losses and a remaining force of only 4,500 ninja.

By mobilizing reinforcements, hiring rogue ninja, and coercing the Grass ninja, Kumogakure had bolstered their total strength to 8,000.

Even without counting the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, they had already established absolute superiority on the battlefield.

Every Konoha ninja who came to report could not help but plead with Yamanaka Chujiu at the end: "Lord Orochimaru, please, you must defeat the Fourth Raikage."

In the end, even Yamanaka Chujiu chuckled, mimicking Orochimaru's classic laugh: "Heh-heh-heh... the Kumogakure army's offensive is quite fierce, isn't it? It's scared the wits out of all of you, heh-heh-heh."

"Are you still Konoha ninja?"

"Is this still the Konoha that suppresses the other four great hidden villages?"

"However, you are right."

"The Kumogakure army is powerful, and Konoha's reinforcements have been sent to the eastern front. The only reinforcements I, Orochimaru, have brought are these ten ninja."

Orochimaru sneered, "Since that is the reality, I will not fight them head-on. We are retreating."

Yamanaka Chujiu, relying on the Great Snake Skin disguise, perfectly replicated Orochimaru's physique, aura, and chakra; even Anko Mitarashi, who had traveled with him the entire way, had not noticed a single thing amiss.

The other Konoha ninja were even less likely to suspect him, treating Yamanaka Chujiu with the respect due to Orochimaru, yet the tactics he proposed caused an immediate uproar.

"Retreat?"

"How can we retreat?"

"He's right, we cannot retreat a single step! Lord Orochimaru!"

"We must defend the Land of Fire! We must defend Konoha!"

Yamanaka Chujiu turned a deaf ear to the protests of the Konoha ninja, his gaze locked firmly onto the map.

Kumogakure had invaded while the Fourth Hokage was mourned, betting on Konoha's fractured morale and the assumption that they were vulnerable.

The Fourth Raikage was a reckless gambler, but he had won his bet; the Kumogakure army had easily cut through the Land of Hot Water and even pushed into the Land of Fire.

Moreover, Konoha was truly leaderless; with the Fourth Hokage dead and the Third Hokage hesitant, there was no unified command on the entire northern front.

The Fourth Raikage could fight however he pleased, pushing Konoha's defensive line to its absolute limit, now less than two thousand meters from the camp where Yamanaka Chujiu stood.

The Konoha ninja reacted intensely, not just out of frustration, but because the Kumogakure army was already bearing down upon them.

Retreating in the face of the enemy is the most dangerous situation in warfare; even if the commander makes no mistakes, a simple accident can turn a retreat into a rout, eventually leading to total defeat.

The Konoha ninja saw only the possibility of failure, but Yamanaka Chujiu saw the seeds of victory.

The Fourth Raikage had been too successful, to the point that he had overlooked the fact that his own war preparations were insufficient.

According to intelligence gathered by Konoha ninja, the Kumogakure army was short on food, weapons, and medical supplies, currently relying on spoils from their previous victories and the looting of the Land of Hot Water to bridge the gap.

More scarce than supplies were the vehicles, livestock, and personnel needed to transport them.

As the Kumogakure army pushed deeper into the Land of Fire, their supply lines had stretched thin; the force currently at their doorstep was already weakened by shortages, and if stretched any further, their strength would plummet.

Yamanaka Chujiu's fingertip slid across the map, his mind rapidly calculating distances and time.

All the data mapped out in his mind as two curves, representing the strength of Konoha and Kumogakure respectively.

As the projected battlefield moved closer toward Konoha, the two curves rapidly converged.

When the battlefield reached a village called Sakura Plains, the two curves in Yamanaka Chujiu's mind intersected.

He tapped that location and, in the raspy voice and cold tone characteristic of Orochimaru, addressed the clamoring Konoha ninja: "Have you finished bickering?"

"If you're done, shut your mouths and listen to my orders!"

What to do if they weren't done? Yamanaka Chujiu didn't say, and the Konoha ninja dared not ask; they all obediently clamped their mouths shut, their bodies standing rigid.

Such was the prestige of Orochimaru among the ninja of Konoha.

Once he made a decision and issued an order, no Konoha ninja would question it, and they would execute it without hesitation.

For the first time in his two lives combined, Yamanaka Chujiu held supreme power, his orders deciding the life and death of 4,500 Konoha ninja.

Tension was inevitable.

He instinctively wanted to lick his lips, but the tongue he extended instead licked his cheek, even moistening his eyeball.

Damn it, if I keep up this act for too long, am I going to turn into a disgusting long-worm myself?

Yamanaka Chujiu was both nervous and exhilarated; the sensory range of his Heart Severing Realm had reached a radius of four thousand meters, allowing his spirit to distinguish every single ninja within that area.

The position of every Konoha squad, the movements of every Kumogakure enemy, and every notable powerhouse were all clearly presented within his mind.

It was just like entering a cheat code in a real-time strategy game, clearing the fog of war from the map.

Beyond the eight-thousand-meter diameter circle, the Root ninjas he had converted into living puppets acted as relay signal stations, lighting up circular areas of over a thousand meters each within the mist.

Although he could not sense specific ninjas, it was enough to monitor the overall movements of the Kumogakure army.

What was this? This was omniscience!

Omniscience was omnipotence!

With such an overwhelming advantage, how could Yamanaka Chujiu not feel his confidence surge?

And that was not all!

The fine threads of Yamanaka Chujiu's consciousness had already spread across the entire battlefield, gently coiling around every Konoha and Kumogakure ninja, ready to exert subtle psychological suggestions at any moment.

Hehehe, this—this is the real cheat!

Suppressing the urge to chuckle, Yamanaka Chujiu issued orders in a methodical manner.

His commands were filled with a style that left others "confused," as he not only issued them directly to every Konoha squad but even specified the attack angles for their ninjutsu, the direction and speed of their retreats after attacking, and the exact location where they should receive their next set of orders.

The Konoha ninjas were inexplicably shocked, unable to comprehend such detailed instructions.

This is not the Lord Orochimaru we are familiar with!