Future and Present

Early in the morning, Uchiha Iori clutched his chest as he slowly crawled out of bed, a look of pain etched across his face.

As his soul power continued to strengthen, the sensations of his deaths within the Hall of Heroes became increasingly vivid; simultaneously, the rewards he reaped from those battles grew far more substantial.

Feeling his ever-increasing ocular power and chakra, Iori nodded in satisfaction.

Time to review the situation, Iori pondered to himself. The war has begun, and I must prepare for what is to come.

There is no need to worry about Kumogakure or Kirigakure. Although Kumogakure has had constant friction with Konoha, after Minato repelled the A-B combination, there was no large-scale war between the two.

It won't be until Hinata Hyuga's birthday that they attempt to scheme for the Byakugan.

Kirigakure will likely soon dispatch the Seven Ninja Swordsmen to raid Konoha, only for Might Duy to take them all on, killing four on the spot while the remaining three flee in disgrace.

Next comes the death of Rin Nohara. Controlled by Madara Uchiha, the Kiri-nin will seal the Three-Tails Isobu inside her, attempting to destroy Konoha through the beast.

In the end, Kakashi will kill Rin Nohara, and after Obito slaughters the Kiri-nin Anbu present, the war will reach its conclusion.

Uchiha Iori's expression turned somber as he analyzed the situation with a cool head.

I likely won't have the opportunity to intervene in the matter of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.

But I can plan for Obito's situation depending on how things develop.

In the most extreme scenario, I could attempt to kill Obito to prevent him from destroying Konoha and interfering with my plans.

I have no way to change the two campaigns involving Iwagakure and Sunagakure, so I can only join them and see if there is a way to profit.

The Battle of Kannabi Bridge against Iwagakure and the Battle of Mount Kikyo against Sunagakure are the priorities.

Only by earning enough merit in these two battles will I have a chance to glimpse the possibility of becoming an aide to the Fourth Hokage or even the Fifth Hokage.

Because of Alaya's mission, I must make myself indispensable. To do that, I must either become the strongest or the ruler, and the two are not mutually exclusive.

I will become the new leader who unifies the ninja world and completely destroys the system of one village per country.

I will sweep the daimyo and nobles into the trash heap, treat ninjas as the key to promoting productivity, and complete the reform and evolution of the ninja world.

And becoming Hokage is the best shortcut.

It is too late for the Fourth's position, and it is hard to compete with Minato, so I can only consider the Fifth Hokage.

Just as he was lost in his thoughts, the door curtain was suddenly pulled aside, and the figure of Uzuki Kaori appeared before him.

"Iori, Nobuhiko-sensei is calling for you to attend a meeting as well." Uzuki Kaori broke Iori's train of thought.

In yesterday's battle, Uchiha Iori's strength had already been recognized by Gekko Nobuhiko, Minato Namikaze, and the others.

It was wartime, so the approval process for Jonin was relatively relaxed, and as an Uchiha ninja possessing the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, Iori's promotion seemed to be just around the corner.

For now, they were simply letting him participate in decision-making ahead of time.

Uchiha Iori snapped back to reality and nodded.

"Alright, I'm going now." He quickly tidied his appearance and headed toward the command center tent.

"Everyone, the situation is as it stands."

Inside the tent, the atmosphere was tense and heavy.

Minato Namikaze stood in the center, speaking with a grave expression: "Everyone, the situation is as it stands."

"There are about three hundred Iwa-nin stationed in the Land of Grass. The reinforcements departing from the village are led by my teacher, Jiraiya, and consist of seven hundred men."

"But it will take at least three days for them to arrive. Before then, we must hold the border line."

Konoha was currently fighting on multiple fronts: Orochimaru was guarding against Sunagakure, Jiraiya was guarding against Kumogakure, and the Hyuga and Uchiha clans were guarding against Kirigakure, leaving their manpower stretched thin.

Now that war had broken out with Iwagakure, they could only pull Jiraiya and a portion of his troops over, while dispatching the Ino-Shika-Cho trio to guard against the Kumo-nin.

"So it is Jiraiya-sama leading the team? That's great. With Jiraiya-sama in command, we will surely achieve victory."

Upon hearing that Jiraiya was leading the team, Akimichi Doto's face broke into a look of relief.

It was not his first time fighting under Jiraiya, and he had absolute faith in the man's strength.

Inuzuka Gaku, however, said with deep concern: "But the difficulty now is that we must hold for three days. Our current troop ratio is about 1:7; the disadvantage is simply too great."

"If the enemy's formation is very dense, I can handle it, but if they attack in a scattered manner, it will be difficult for me to cover everything."

Minato Namikaze's brows furrowed slightly, his tone carrying a hint of hesitation.

He was a user of the Flying Thunder God, a ninja who could be called the most mobile in the ninja world; as long as he wanted to run, basically no one could stop him.

His only shortcomings were a lack of large-scale attacks and insufficient single-target destructive power. Based on his god-like speed, he basically had no time to weave hand signs and could only rely on kunai to kill enemies.

Precisely because of this, he had been developing the seal-less jutsu Rasengan over the past few years to make up for his lack of destructive power.

"What if they bypass us and head directly into the heart of the Land of Fire?"

Uchiha Iori asked with some confusion.

Given the speed and destructive power of ninjas, outposts were mainly for transmitting information and served no purpose as fortresses; even if they bypassed them, shouldn't it be fine?

Minato Namikaze shook his head and said: "You are a ninja, too; you understand the destructive power we possess. Unless they kill us or drive us away, the Iwa-nin will not dare to push the front line forward."

"Once we break into smaller units and lurk behind enemy lines to destroy supplies and raid vital routes, they will find themselves in a dilemma."

"Without the support of food, medicine, military rations, and kunai, it is difficult for a ninja to maintain their combat effectiveness."

"To minimize non-combat casualties, ninja units usually retreat to maintain morale and combat effectiveness once their supplies are cut off."

Minato Namikaze's explanation brought a sudden realization to Uchiha Iori.

He finally understood why the Rock Ninjas were forced to retreat after the Battle of Kannabi Bridge.

In the past, when he learned about the plot, he always viewed it from the perspective of the powerhouses, so naturally, he didn't grasp the importance of logistics.

Since his reincarnation, he had only taken on short-term missions, so he never had to worry about supply lines.

Although there is a huge difference between a war of superhumans and a war of ordinary people, they are still interconnected in many ways, Uchiha Iori thought to himself.

It's a pity that I can't claim to be well-versed in military strategy.

When I played war games in my past life, I basically just boxed them up and A-moved; the sacred F2A connected us all.

Otherwise, I could have pretended to be an expert and shown off some micro-management using ancient Chinese military tactics, but now I can only watch the masters at work.

Minato Namikaze finished arranging the defensive strategy.

He turned to Iori and said, "I can handle the Rock Ninja's forces, but someone must hold back their Jonin."

"Iori, can you take on a Jonin? Don't force yourself; I still have ways to compensate for that gap in combat power."

"Don't underestimate the Uchiha, Lord Minato."

Uchiha Iori laughed upon hearing this.

"I am a Three-Tomoe ninja of the Uchiha clan; how could I be inferior to those dirt rats from the Rock in a one-on-one fight?"

Making a name for myself in the ninja world and accumulating merit and prestige starts with this battle, he thought silently to himself.

Upon hearing this, a warm smile appeared on Minato Namikaze's face, and he replied with a grin, "Then I'll leave it to you. Once I've dealt with the Rock Ninja army, I will come to assist you."