Preparations on Both Sides

PS: May our motherland forever prosper and flourish! And happy National Day to all my fellow readers!

The meeting lasted less than ten minutes.

There was almost no unnecessary small talk.

After reporting all the intelligence from this operation and handing over Toroi's corpse, Shōji bowed and took his leave from the main camp. Nara Suzaku watched his departing figure, a faint glint flashing through his eyes.

"Someone!"

"Yes, Lord Suzaku!"

There was no need for hesitation. Having made his decision almost instantly, Suzaku took out a sealed scroll and wrote down the intelligence he needed to report. He then immediately summoned members of the Sealing Corps. After layering the scroll with Konohagakure's specialized sealing formulae, he called in an elite squad specifically tasked with delivering information.

After stressing a few crucial instructions and handing the squad both the sealing scroll containing Toroi's corpse and the sealed scroll he had just written, they immediately set off. Leaving the Hot Springs Mountain Outpost, they headed south toward the Land of Fire and returned to their village.

Almost at the same time that Suzaku ordered Konoha's group to head south toward the Land of Fire, Dodai, who had been stationed at Kumogakure's Southern Fortress in the farther northern region for half a year, received a report from the Kumo Ninja who had retreated back.

When he learned that the encirclement force he had dispatched had been utterly defeated, with only one person escaping while everyone else—including Toroi, the Magnet Release Ninja—had died in battle, Dodai's expression turned as ugly as it could possibly be.

The blue-haired Kumo Ninja who had come to deliver the report felt deeply uneasy when he saw the grim expression on his advisor's face. He feared Dodai might vent his anger on him. Fortunately, after taking a deep breath, Dodai lightly waved him away. The blue-haired Kumo Ninja immediately withdrew from Dodai's office as though he had been granted a pardon.

Dodai had no mind to spare for the thoughts of his Chūnin subordinate. At this moment, his mind was filled with the name "Uchiha Shōji." Before the plan had been put into action, Dodai had considered several possibilities, but he had never expected things to unfold like this. If a high-ranking Konoha spy planted in their village had discovered their plan and set up a counter-ambush that wiped out the entire force, Dodai could have accepted that.

But according to the intelligence gathered by the scouts, it was highly likely that Uchiha Shōji had wiped out his elite subordinates all by himself. Although there was indeed some chance that Konoha had deliberately fabricated the impression and that Uchiha Shōji was not truly so powerful, cautious by nature, Dodai would rather consider the matter from the worst-case scenario.

The reason for this ambush plan in the first place was that, over the past half year, the threat posed by Uchiha Shōji had become far too great. Along the Land of Hot Springs front, Konoha had more than a hundred Jōnin stationed there. Seven or eight of them were Jōnin from the Uchiha Clan, yet clearly, none of them could inflict the same level of casualties and destruction upon the Kumo Ninja as Shōji.

The Original Work had not made clear just how intense the clashes between Konoha and Kumogakure had become during this period. But judging by the later plot, no matter how fierce they had been, they should have remained within controllable limits. Otherwise, the other Three Great Shinobi Villages, as well as ninja villages from smaller countries such as the Kusa Ninja and Taki Ninja, could not possibly have stood by idly.

But the situation in this life was completely different from the Original Work.

Setting aside whether the Uchiha Clan's participation in the war had changed.

At the very least, there had definitely been no ruthless figure like "Uchiha Shōji" in the Original Work.

Based on that point alone, in the past half year, despite this not being a full-scale war, the Kumo Ninja had already paid a rather grievous price. Some people in Kumogakure were beginning to consider ending the conflict. If this continued, they did not know whether Konoha would collapse, but Kumogakure definitely would not be able to hold on. The strength they had lost during the Third Shinobi World War had yet to be fully restored.

However, like every Raikage before him, Fourth Raikage A was stubborn by nature and would never easily admit defeat. Those people did not dare to speak up carelessly. But as Kumogakure's chief advisor, Dodai could both see the difficult position his village was in and vaguely sense Fourth Raikage A's desire to retreat, yet reluctance to do so—the feeling of something too tasteless to keep but too precious to discard.

Thus, based on this.

Dodai had advised Fourth Raikage A to devise a plan to eliminate Uchiha Shōji. As long as they could successfully kill Uchiha Shōji, they could reverse the currently flagging morale at the front in one stroke. With their side holding the advantage, they could take the initiative to make concessions—this would be Kumogakure's own unique form of "magnanimous victory"!

It would not make anyone else in the shinobi world think that Kumogakure had been defeated and forced to withdraw.

Even if they did not gain much in tangible benefits, at least they would suffer no loss of face.

As long as they could preserve their village's dignity and Lord Raikage's honor, everything else would be easy to handle. They would not even need to send anyone to negotiate with Konoha. Dodai firmly believed that, based on Konoha's usual habits, as long as his side made a slight concession first, Konoha would surely respond in kind. That had been Dodai's plan.

Yet plans could never keep up with change.

Or, more accurately, things had far exceeded Dodai's expectations.

The ambush plan had actually failed, and it had failed utterly. The deaths of three elite Jōnin, including Toroi, along with more than ten Elite Chūnin, were a rather devastating loss.

Even if we do not want to, we probably cannot keep this up. The Iwagakure Ninja are also showing signs of making a move. I must persuade Lord Raikage.

After pondering for a short while, Dodai silently sighed and made his decision.

Just like Suzaku.

He made his decision swiftly.

Then, after writing a confidential letter and encrypting it, he arranged for a ninja hawk from the fortress to deliver it back.

The war had reached this point.

There was no longer any meaning in continuing. He had previously wanted to preserve some face, but now they had to place greater importance on practical matters. Dodai believed that Lord Raikage would understand that.

As for Konoha?

Heh!

Dodai had never worried about them. If Konoha had the courage to launch a pursuit, that would instead be exactly the situation Kumogakure wanted to see. It would be the perfect opportunity to incite the Iwagakure Ninja and Sunagakure Ninja. In the end, throughout this medium-scale clash.

The initiative had always been in Kumogakure's hands.