Splitting the Army into Two Paths

After voicing his thoughts, Nawaki immediately dispatched a thousand Shinobi Army troops to quietly infiltrate a small fishing village not far from the coast. The village was tiny, with no more than a few thousand residents at most, and there was a strong chance that no ninja were stationed there at all. It simply was not worth mobilizing the entire 250,000-strong Shinobi Army; sending a thousand ninja was already excessive!

As expected, when the remote fishing village suddenly encountered more than a thousand unfamiliar ninja, it quickly surrendered under the old village chief's leadership. Although the people of the Land of Lightning were known for their fierce temperament, no one stepped forward to resist for the sake of their families and friends.

Ten minutes later, the small fishing village had been completely taken over by Konoha's Shinobi Army. Once the Anbu sent to scout the land confirmed that there were no ambushes nearby, Nawaki finally gave the order to land.

Only 200,000 ninja came ashore. The remaining 50,000 stayed aboard the fleet, as Nawaki had other tasks for them.

Even before setting out, Nawaki had already devised the full plan for this surprise assault and prepared several different contingencies.

The current situation was the best possible outcome. The fleet had already bypassed the eastern defensive line, while Kumogakure remained completely unaware. The entire Land of Lightning now lay exposed before Konoha's Shinobi Army, allowing them to strike wherever they pleased. Since they were going to fight, they had to teach the Land of Lightning a painful lesson. Only by hitting hard enough could they make the enemy submit and admit defeat.

In order to cripple the Cloud Ninja and secure the greatest possible gains, Nawaki decided to go a step further than his original plan of gradually expanding outward from