Assault Force Infiltration Begins

By combining the Faith Link, naked-eye observation, and the sensory feedback of the Heart Severing Realm, Yamanaka Chujiu made a psychological assessment.

He was certain that Uchiha Shisui had suffered severe psychological trauma, which had caused his Sharingan to advance to the three-tomoe stage.

This was not a good thing.

For the Uchiha clan, awakening the Sharingan too early was not the realization of superior talent, but rather a depletion of one's foundation due to an unstable state of mind.

Uchiha Shisui advancing to three-tomoe at the age of nine meant he had awakened his eyes at least two years early, just like Uchiha Itachi.

As a result, while Shisui and Itachi possessed great strength, they always exuded a sense of frailty, as if their potential had already been exhausted.

In contrast to them, Uchiha Madara did not awaken his eyes until he was fourteen, after which he grew steadily to become the strongest of the Uchiha clan.

Not just the strongest of his time, but the strongest across several generations.

Indeed, the soul carrier of Indra had a significant influence on Uchiha Madara; could one really conclude that the timing of the Sharingan's awakening was irrelevant?

Especially in the case of the next soul carrier of Indra, Sasuke, who awakened his one-tomoe Sharingan in a rage at age nine when faced with the tragedy of his entire clan being sacrificed—was his talent truly inferior?

No, it was precisely because his talent was so great that he was able to suppress the Sharingan's development, avoiding the destruction of his physical foundation and preventing his potential from being exhausted prematurely.

Uchiha Shisui lacked the assistance of Indra's soul, so his talent bloomed prematurely under intense stimulation.

This proved his talent, but it also destroyed his possibility of reaching the pinnacle in the future.

However, Yamanaka Chujiu knew that this was not absolute.

There was a certain lunatic who awakened his eyes as a two-tomoe, skipped the three-tomoe stage upon seeing his crush die, awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan by intuition, and had his body ravaged until only half remained; he proved through personal experience that as long as one had Hashirama Cells, any damage to one's foundation was of no consequence.

Now, all Yamanaka Chujiu had to do was adjust Shisui's heart, allowing him to accept his grief, digest his negative emotions, and become stronger.

Because of the existence of the Faith Link, he did not need verbal comfort; he only needed to lead by example and project a facade of strength, which would be enough.

What?

Why did Yamanaka Chujiu need to pretend?

Naturally, because he was not actually strong!

Never mind comparing himself to the Red Sun or the Shining Stars; even compared to the elite individuals he had encountered in his previous life, he appeared insufficiently strong.

No, he was far too weak!

Yamanaka Chujiu appeared very strong now, firstly because as a transmigrator, he knew the trends of history, and secondly because of the contrast provided by his fellow ninja, which highlighted the high heat of the remnants of civilization he carried.

After Orochimaru announced the details of the raid mission, he distributed the Communication Snakes requested by Yamanaka Chujiu to the ten squad leaders.

"The Kumogakure army has already pressed into the Sakura Plains; you must complete the raid mission within one day."

"Infiltrating through the Kumogakure army and striking directly at their supply transport hub is the only option!"

"Everyone must obey the orders of Special Jonin Yamanaka Chujiu. Any disobedience or hesitation will inevitably lead to discovery by the Kumogakure Ninja, and everyone will die on the enemy's front line."

Yamanaka Chujiu wore a serious expression, and under the gaze of thirty elite Konoha ninja—some filled with admiration, some with trust, and others with suspicion—he gave the order: "Move out!"

Having said that, he turned and walked away.

To everyone's surprise, Uchiha Shisui followed Yamanaka Chujiu immediately, leaving his squad leader Yashiro and teammate Tekka no choice but to follow as well.

With the most unruly Uchiha Squad being so compliant, the Ino-Shika-Cho squad did not hesitate any longer and followed suit.

Next came the Hyuga Byakugan squad, the reconnaissance squad, and the genjutsu squad; it was the Fire Style and Lightning Style combat squads that reacted the slowest, following the team only at the very end.

Since the first step had not hit a snag, Orochimaru felt completely at ease. A smile that he never showed others appeared on his face as he went to attend to his own affairs.

His mission was also heavy; he had to deal with a Jinchuriki and the Fourth Raikage.

And he would have to fight for an entire day.

The Konoha defensive line, centered on the Sakura Plains, was only twenty kilometers away from the front line deployed by the Kumogakure Ninja, with ninja from both sides densely packed in between.

Just a few thousand meters away from the Sakura Plains, there was a possibility of encountering infiltrating Kumogakure Ninja.

When Yamanaka Chujiu sensed that the enemy was less than two thousand meters away, he issued an order through the Communication Snake:

"Everyone, hold a senbon in your mouth."

"You are not permitted to remove it until we have passed through the Kumogakure army's front line, or until you receive my order!"

As he spoke, he closed his eyes, carefully distinguishing the emotional feedback transmitted from the Heart Severing Realm, locking onto the enemy and allied ninja within a vast range.

He sensed the elite Konoha ninja behind him, judging their obedience from their emotions.

In the perception feedback consisting entirely of emotions, the unruly Uchiha Yashiro and Uchiha Tekka felt nothing but awkward resentment, yet they harbored no intent to resist.

The nameless Hyuga branch family ninja were calm and numb, the Ino-Shika-Cho were curious and nervous, while the other civilian ninja were filled with wariness and defiance.

Hmm, it was likely resentment toward the "air-dropped" disciple of Orochimaru, but the emotions were not severe.

Only the genjutsu squad, composed of three genjutsu ninja, displayed strong feelings of resistance.

Yamanaka Chujiu said indifferently: "Genjutsu squad, obey my orders, or return to the camp now and report to Lord Orochimaru!"

His tone was not harsh, but the instruction was extremely serious.

However, what surprised the Konoha ninja even more was that they could not understand how Yamanaka Chujiu knew that the genjutsu squad had not placed the senbon in their mouths.

In the middle of the night, such a small movement could not have been clearly detected, not even by the Sharingan or the Byakugan.

The unknown is what inspires the most fear; the three genjutsu specialists felt a chill in their hearts and immediately took out senbon to hold in their mouths.

No sooner had they finished the motion than the voice of Yamanaka Chujiu emerged from the mouth of the Communication Snake: "Everyone, move forward."

The three genjutsu specialists were startled, the last remnants of their defiance suppressed as they obediently followed the order.

Over the next half hour, Yamanaka Chujiu continuously issued commands, maneuvering the raiding force into an infiltration formation.

The Hyuga Squad acted as the vanguard, two mixed reconnaissance squads took the left and right flanks, the Ino-Shika-Cho squad held the center to shield the relatively fragile genjutsu squad, four combat squads followed behind the genjutsu specialists, and the Uchiha Squad brought up the rear.

Yamanaka Chujiu remained at the very front of the entire formation, using the Heart Severing Realm to precisely locate the positions and status of both enemy and allied ninja.

A map devoid of fog generated within his mind, where crimson light dots representing enemies either remained stationary or traced out dashed lines as they patrolled.

Yamanaka Chujiu confirmed that the Kumogakure army had deployed in an offensive formation; the ninja were relatively concentrated, and the gaps between them lacked sufficient patrols and hidden sentries.

Amidst the dense clusters of red dots and dashed lines, Yamanaka Chujiu plotted a "safe" path, leading the thirty-man raiding force to insert itself into the formation.

The Konoha ninja followed orders with bated breath, turning left and right, bypassing countless Kumogakure ninja until they reached the front line where the Kumogakure army was deployed.

Along the final defensive perimeter meant to prevent a Konoha counterattack, the Raikage had deployed a high density of hidden sentries that could not be bypassed without engaging in combat.