Please, Give Me Your Orders!

Yamanaka Chujiu had no objections to the people Orochimaru had chosen for the raid.

The Uchiha Squad in particular could not only make up for potential gaps in his Heart Severing Realm to a great extent, but also offer a wealth of tactical options.

His only concern was that the Uchiha might refuse to follow his orders, leading to mistakes in the command.

But when he saw the actual roster, Yamanaka Chujiu stopped worrying altogether.

The Uchiha Squad was led by Uchiha Yashiro, with Uchiha Tekka and Uchiha Shisui as its members.

As long as Shisui was there, he had a way to communicate with them. There would be no misunderstandings that could cause problems during the infiltration.

The problem was, the Third Hokage had sent the entire Uchiha clan to the Eastern Front, deliberately pitting them against Kirigakure Ninja who excelled at Water Release.

And Yamanaka Chujiu remembered that Shisui had earned the name "Body Flicker Shisui" while fighting the Kirigakure Ninja.

Why had he suddenly come to the Northern Front?

The next moment, Yamanaka Chujiu looked at Orochimaru. "Teacher, did you arrange for the Uchiha to come?"

Orochimaru smiled smugly. "Shimura Danzō is an idiot, and Teacher Sarutobi is muddleheaded. How could we waste such useful fighters by keeping them all against the Kirigakure Ninja?"

"Unfortunately, I can only borrow them for a short time. Once this battle is over, they'll have to return to the Eastern Front."

Yamanaka Chujiu gave him a thumbs-up. "That's already impressive."

Orochimaru looked even more pleased. It felt so good to have a student who understood just how powerful he was!

Tsunade couldn't understand him at all—but she had no need to. Whatever she wanted, the Third Hokage had to give her immediately.

Jiraiya couldn't understand him either. When it came to this one-track-minded fool, Orochimaru didn't even know how to explain himself.

Nawaki... Sigh. That hot-blooded idiot really should have been Jiraiya's student.

Anko? Better not.

The intellectual rapport and spiritual kinship made Orochimaru all the more satisfied with Yamanaka Chujiu.

He waved a hand. "Come on. I'll introduce you properly and give you some resources to get started."

Yamanaka Chujiu thanked him. "Thank you, Teacher."

Orochimaru scoffed. "No need to thank me. Once you start giving orders, they'll all be captivated by you. The only thing I can do is help you get started."

"Once you win this battle, you'll be able to take over command of the army for me."

Yamanaka Chujiu smiled. "That's impossible unless you become the Fifth Hokage."

Orochimaru: "Oh? Oh—oh ho ho ho ho! Teacher Sarutobi..."

"Then you'll have to wait. My teacher hasn't been restored to power yet. At the earliest, it'll be two years before I can become the Fifth Hokage."

Yamanaka Chujiu: "That's already sooner than I expected. You don't need to rush so much."

Orochimaru: "I have to rush. If I don't become the Fifth Hokage, when will you become the Sixth Hokage?"

"If you don't become the Sixth Hokage, how am I supposed to set aside all my worries and focus on researching ninjutsu and science?"

And so, the two master and student settled the future succession of the Hokage. They paid no mind whatsoever to the Third Hokage, who currently held all the power.

This was the Shinobi World. True power was rooted in strength!

The Third Hokage did wield great authority and enjoy tremendous prestige, but he had no record of personally defeating enemies.

Perhaps the turmoil in Konoha after the Second Hokage's sudden death in the Land of Lightning had left Hiruzen Sarutobi with too deep a lesson?

Whatever the reason, the ones who had made brilliant names for themselves in the war were Hatake Sakumo, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Namikaze Minato, and others. They had all fought their way to glory on the battlefield.

Meanwhile, the Third Hokage, who remained in Konoha, had contributed to the war no more than an ordinary jonin.

His greatest value was that he was in no danger of dying on the front lines, sparing Konoha the risk of a sudden collapse.

When Hiruzen Sarutobi let Shimura Danzō persecute Hatake Sakumo and Orochimaru unchecked, he had effectively thrown away both men's records.

When Namikaze Minato died, his brilliant record was sealed away on the Memorial Stone.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's record had been wiped clean. The foundation of his authority was gone, leaving only the shell of old habits.

Now that Orochimaru was willing to fight with everything he had for the Fifth Hokage's position for Yamanaka Chujiu's sake, the Third Hokage's fall was only a matter of when—and how.

Before he had personally commanded a battle, Yamanaka Chujiu had mistakenly believed that central command was the heart of war. He had worried that doing well would only strengthen the Third Hokage's authority.

But after several days of hands-on experience and gaining access to the full picture, he realized he had been wrong. His past-life experience had misled him.

Konoha itself offered too little support to the front lines, moved too slowly, and lacked strength.

No wonder Uchiha Shisui had resisted from the bottom of his heart when Yamanaka Chujiu told him Hiruzen Sarutobi had to take responsibility for everything that happened to Konoha.

Yamanaka Chujiu shook his head with a bitter smile. So he had been wrong, and Shisui had been right!

Would that kid think it awkward when they met again in a bit...?

Bah!

He wasn't wrong!

The one who was wrong was that ignorant old fossil, Hiruzen Sarutobi!

Once his teacher Orochimaru took power, he would set things right and show the entire Shinobi World what total war really meant!

What it meant for victory or defeat to be decided off the battlefield before Konoha's army even set out—and for the ninja to simply walk onto the battlefield and claim the fruits of their victory!

As Yamanaka Chujiu thought this, his confidence returned, and a smile spread across his face.

Uchiha Shisui was feeling rather uneasy. On his first day on the Eastern Front, he had clashed with the Kirigakure Ninja.

The Uchiha had prepared to face Water Release, but they had not prepared to face Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique.

When the chakra-infused mist blocked the Sharingan's vision, the young Uchiha panicked and made fatal mistakes in their confusion.

Uchiha Shisui's two teammates, brothers Uchiha Hiroyuki and Uchiha Hiroji, were killed by the Kirigakure Ninja in that first battle.

Hiroji, the younger brother, had not died on the spot. But after the Kirigakure Ninja cut him in half at the waist with a greatsword, there was no hope of saving him.

In the agony of despair, knowing he was doomed, he begged Uchiha Shisui to end his suffering.

Uchiha Shisui never told anyone what had happened. He had even sealed away part of his memory of it.

Afterward, he was temporarily withdrawn from the front lines as a wounded shinobi who had lost his squad.

When Orochimaru's orders arrived, Uchiha Shisui thought of Yamanaka Chujiu on the Northern Front and volunteered. That was how he ended up there.

But he hadn't expected to see Yamanaka Chujiu again so soon.

Yamanaka Chujiu was surprised by how much Uchiha Shisui had changed. In less than ten days, the boy's entire emotional state had transformed.

He was like a steel cable stretched to its absolute limit, ready to snap at any moment.

Yamanaka Chujiu didn't ask Shisui what had happened. Instead, he said gently, "From now on, you're under my command."

Uchiha Shisui nodded firmly. "Senior Chujiu, please, give me your orders!"