Uchiha Xiao helped the three of them to their feet, then thought for a moment. "We have roughly 1,600 troops. Ōnoki has 1,000 soldiers at the North Gate, while Chiyo has 500 at the South Gate."
"With our current strength, we can't handle this situation. Ōnoki and Chiyo are both genuine Kage Level fighters. We'd be at a disadvantage against either of them."
"Lady Tsunade, Lord Orochimaru, and Lord Jiraiya can combine their strength to deal with one Kage Level fighter, but the other two aren't fools. The moment they see us locked in a stalemate, they'll attack."
As Uchiha Xiao analyzed the situation, the three of them couldn't help nodding. Tsunade and the others were close to Kage Level in strength, but they were still classified as jōnin.
Chiyo was middle-aged, and Ōnoki was young. How could the Sannin possibly win if they faced them? He was already being generous when he said the three of them could deal with one Kage Level fighter. By "deal with," he meant hold them off, not defeat them.
"So the key to this war lies at the South Gate." Uchiha Xiao's eyes lit up, and the three of them nodded.
"So you mean we should attack the South Gate?" Jiraiya couldn't help asking. He was furious with that old hag, Chiyo. They'd been this close to taking Yuji, but then she'd launched a surprise attack. Now Yuji had hope again!
Orochimaru laughed. His good friend had lost by no means unfairly. Tsunade, meanwhile, offered no comment and put on a thoughtful expression, figuring that way she wouldn't look too stupid.
Uchiha Xiao shook his head. "If you were Salamander Hanzo, would you lead your troops against Chiyo's 500, Ōnoki's 1,000, or our 1,600?"
"Chiyo, of course!" Jiraiya answered without a moment's thought. At least he knew that much.
"It's not just because of troop strength. We're at odds with Iwa right now, so neither side dares make a rash move. That means Salamander Hanzo will attack the South Gate," Uchiha Xiao explained.
"But how do we deal with Iwa? If we fight them, we'll suffer heavy losses before long!" Tsunade asked. Orochimaru was watching Uchiha Xiao, too, waiting to hear his solution.
Uchiha Xiao stretched and smiled. "Set the tiger against the wolf."
"Set the tiger against the wolf?" Tsunade murmured, momentarily puzzled. Orochimaru's eyes, however, lit up as if he'd understood. "Could you mean Kumogakure, Xiao?"
Uchiha Xiao nodded. "That's right. The Tsuchikage has shown up in the Land of Rain, which means Iwagakure has no powerful fighter guarding it right now."
"Knowing Third Raikage A's temperament, he won't sit still once he hears that." Uchiha Xiao grinned.
It was hard to say whether Kumogakure and Iwagakure were simply destined to clash, but they always ended up fighting each other during major wars. So, once Kumogakure learned that Iwagakure had no Kage there to defend it, their bandit-like nature would compel them to launch a surprise attack. And then...
Orochimaru smiled as well. "What a fine plan—setting the tiger against the wolf. Commander, your strategic brilliance is truly unmatched. I'm impressed." He was already thinking that once this war ended, he would have to get to know Uchiha Xiao better.
Tsunade and Jiraiya exchanged a glance that seemed to say, "Are we the only two who didn't understand?"
But Tsunade quickly looked back at Uchiha Xiao. There was something captivating about this man when he was plotting strategy!
Uchiha Xiao didn't notice. Instead, he turned to Jiraiya. "Lord Jiraiya, your intelligence network must be pretty strong, right?"
In the original story, Jiraiya had been Konoha's source of information from outside the village. He always seemed to know about events as soon as they happened.
Jiraiya nodded. "I do have plenty of subordinates traveling around collecting material. If you want to call that an intelligence network, I suppose it is."
As far as he was concerned, these people were like-minded friends who helped him collect material. He had never thought of them as gathering and passing along intelligence.
Uchiha Xiao smiled. "If you sent your people into action, how long would it take to get the information to Kumogakure?"
"Half a day at most!" Jiraiya thumped his chest. He had plenty of faith in his friends.
"Good. Lord Jiraiya, please send the message immediately. Just write that Tsuchikage Ōnoki has appeared in the Land of Rain. Don't add anything else." Uchiha Xiao smiled faintly.
"Understood!" Jiraiya immediately went to take care of it.
Uchiha Xiao smiled to himself. As long as this worked, Yuji would be his!
Orochimaru smiled, too. "Congratulations on taking Yuji, Commander!"
"Congratulations should go to Lady Tsunade. This was all her idea. I'm just a trusted aide." Uchiha Xiao shook his head.
Orochimaru paused, then thought of Uchiha Xiao's name and let out a sigh. Those old geezers were still far too wary of the Uchiha.
Tsunade frowned, though she understood the reason. The meeting before the battle ended in silence, and then they all went off to attend to their own duties.
The next day, at Kumogakure.
A held a Kunai. A glint flashed in his eyes, and he burst into laughter. He then summoned the higher-ups, and they reached a decision: "Muster 3,000 troops and march on Iwagakure!"
The Land of Rain battlefield
At the South Gate, Chiyo and Hanzo had already engaged. Chiyo wielded the Puppet Technique, and the Chikamatsu Ten Puppets displayed their relentless attacks and impenetrable defenses to the fullest.
Salamander Hanzo roared and slammed his right hand against the ground. His summon, Ibuse, appeared, swallowed thirty or forty Sunagakure ninja, then charged at Chiyo. Afterward, Hanzo released purple poison that spread across the battlefield!
"Everyone, take your antidote pills!" Chiyo shouted. Sunagakure's poison master Chiyo knew a great deal about poisons, so her antidote pills could temporarily protect them from Salamander Hanzo's toxins.
Salamander Hanzo drew two samurai swords and charged at Chiyo. She quickly controlled the Chikamatsu Ten Puppets to block him. For a time, the two fought to a standstill.
At the East and North Gates, both sides remained still, watching each other's movements. Just then, Konoha's scouts spotted someone coming from the direction of Iwagakure in the north, heading straight for Ōnoki's camp.
They reported the news to Uchiha Xiao, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya. Uchiha Xiao's lips curled into a smile. "Keep watching!"
The people of Kumogakure are quick! A's a straightforward fellow!
At the North Gate, in Ōnoki's camp.
Ōnoki trembled with rage as he cursed, "Those bastards, those stinking foot soldiers! They've ruined my plans! Damn them!"
His guard, Akatsuchi, stepped forward. "My lord, what should we do now?"
Ōnoki's expression darkened. "What should we do? Hmph. We return at once to defend the village. I hear Third Raikage A can stand against a Tailed Beast. Since none of the nations have deployed their Jinchūriki, that means he's practically invincible."
"If I don't go back, Iwagakure will suffer terrible losses. Damn it, how did the news spread so quickly? Was it Konoha, or the Rain Ninja..." Ōnoki shook his head. Now wasn't the time to think about that.
"Pass down my order: the rear becomes the vanguard. Move back at full speed!" Ōnoki gave the command, then used the Light-Weight Rock Technique and stood on a boulder, hurrying back to the village as fast as he could.
On the way, he looked back at Yuji with lingering reluctance and let out a sigh.