Shingen Expands the Forces / Uchiha Shingen's Suspicions

"The idea of developing Kekkei Mōra," Uchiha Shingen said, "Along with research data on Tailed Beast Chakra, do you want it?"

"You want to study the secrets of the Sage of Six Paths?" Orochimaru asked.

Others might not know what research directions these things pointed to, but Orochimaru knew exactly what they meant.

Ultimately, his goal is to unravel the secrets of all Ninjutsu in order to obtain the truth.

To unravel the secrets of all Ninjutsu, one cannot bypass the Sage of Six Paths, who created the Chakra era.

Strictly speaking, although their ultimate goals differed, Orochimaru and Uchiha Shingen were indeed companions on this path.

"I already have a lot of leads." Uchiha Shingen looked at Orochimaru. "Orochimaru, although you have a lot of flaws, you're a professional when it comes to research, and we have the same goal."

"I like hearing that," Orochimaru nodded. "But what does that have to do with me sending people to help you fight the Cloud Ninja?"

"Don't you keep your lab clean?" Uchiha Shingen retorted. "How can you concentrate on your research if you don't clean up all the insects?"

"I see..." Orochimaru turned to look in the direction of Sound Village. "Tell me your strategy."

"After handing over the people to you, I'll meet with the Cloud Ninja first. I need to see if there really are that Cloud Ninja in South Gate City. I think it's highly unlikely."

"The Cloud Ninja is indeed not the Cloud Ninja of the past anymore." Orochimaru nodded. "My intelligence shows that the Kumogakure recruited a group of rogue missing-nin from the Kirigakure a long time ago and taught them new fighting techniques. You've been putting them through a lot of trouble these past few years, and you've been using Susanoo."

"I'll take South Gate City first. By then, will your people be ready? And your village, even if it's just an act, we still need to make it look serious."

"No problem," Orochimaru said confidently. "However, as compensation, you have to help me build a batch of laboratories. During the war, the black market was overpriced and the quality of the goods was not good. Rasa's channels were also very tightly controlled."

"That's fine, no problem," Uchiha Shingen said. "The clan has a special fund for this, so we can allocate funds."

"As expected, talking to you, Shingen, is the most comfortable." Orochimaru's eyes narrowed.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't a pose or a wink; it's just that I'm smiling so much my eyes are squinting.

Orochimaru reached out and shook hands with Uchiha Shingen.

This is a symbol of friendship between partners.

It's also a friendly clash between the Snake Style Substitution Technique and the Flying Thunder God Seal.

"Looks like we'll be partners from now on. It'll be a pleasure working together."

"Sure, but isn't it a bit insincere to use Ninjutsu when you shake hands?"

"Oh, not at all. This is also proof of being a partner. Not just anyone is qualified to be your partner, is it?"

The two looked at each other for a long time, then both showed friendly smiles.

They let go of each other's hands, parted ways, and went their separate ways without lingering.

Chapter Six: Shingen Expands His Army

In the sixty-third year of Leaf Village, Hidden Leaf Village set a new record.

It ignited a Ninja World war with a Joint Chunin Exams.

In the latter half of that year, Uchiha Shingen, who had assumed the position of commander-in-chief of the Leaf Village Northern War Zone, began his first legion-level military operation under his own command.

Uchiha Shingen reorganized all of Leaf Village's military forces in the Land of Hot Water, leaving two thousand men to garrison the Leaf Village -controlled area centered on Hidden Hot Water Village, and mobilized the remaining three thousand men before marching west.

Accompanying the army were the noble caravans of the states of Frost and Thunder.

In addition, there are foreign ninja squads that are hired by Leaf Village.

These ninja organizations, which had already made a fortune in Leaf Village, couldn't keep up appearances in front of Uchiha Shingen. After a meeting between Uchiha Shingen and their leader, they all obediently sent people.

Uchiha Shingen discovered that Leaf Village had a persistent bad habit: it was unwilling to use foreign ninjas on a large scale to fight for it.

If there aren't enough people, fill the gaps with our own young people.

It wasn't because they were stingy and unwilling to spend money, but rather because they felt that foreign ninjas lacked professional ethics and couldn't take missions as seriously as their own.

In response, Uchiha Shingen could only say that those junior ninjas who had just graduated from school and were transferred from the logistics line were not very reliable. Many times, they couldn't even understand their superiors' orders properly.

The scariest part is that some of them are not only incompetent but also believe they are right.

When you question him, he talks about the Will of Fire, which is completely irrelevant.

Therefore, why waste your own lives on things that can be solved with money? The cost of training people is too high. It would be more practical to raise the admission standards of the Ninja Academy.

Before the Third Shinobi World War, various ninja organizations had not yet emerged, so Leaf Village's actions before that were understandable.

However, during the Third Shinobi World War, such ninja organizations continued to emerge. Although many were destroyed in the war, even more new ones appeared. At that point, saying that you should use your own people was truly making things difficult for yourself.

To put it bluntly, he was just too arrogant.

We can't condemn the entire industry just because of the Akatsuki. There's no other mercenary organization in the Ninja World with such a unique way of thinking.

From an industry perspective, most ninja organizations have excellent reputations and high professional standards, and they are truly willing to die if you pay them enough.

Trading their lives for money is a matter of course in their eyes. Their strength may Jonin villages, but they are dedicated to their work and make a living this way.

Besides, what kind of client are you if you don't go all out with the money you've spent?

Currently, Uchiha Shingen is the supreme commander of the Northern Theater Command; whatever he says goes.

When Uchiha Shingen ordered the troops to set off, the number of ninjas in this allied army had naturally increased to five thousand.

But this was not all of Uchiha Shingen's mercenary army.

After the Leaf Village ninja army set out, their primary target was not South Gate City, which was controlled by the Cloud Ninja, but Sound Village).

If the Cloud Ninja Army dares to take advantage of this opportunity to attack Yugakure, then Uchiha Shingen will be laughing his head off.

Uchiha Shingen selected the elite troops from the two major clans to form a vanguard force of several hundred men, and they entered the Land of Rice Fields on the same day.

Uchiha Shingen's reasoning was simple and straightforward: the Sound Village, as an ally of Leaf Village, was disrespectful and harbored ulterior motives by not cooperating with Leaf Village's military operations.

The vanguard force, composed of the core members of the Uchiha Clan and Hyuga Clans, was incredibly efficient. Upon entering the Land of Rice Fields, the symbolic defensive force of Sound Village was utterly routed. Subsequently, the ninjas of both clans stormed into Sound Village and ruthlessly burned the village to the ground.

The group of the Uchiha Clan were overjoyed; it wasn't easy for them to set fires so freely under normal circumstances.

The hooligans of Leaf Village arrived full of excitement; whether they leave with the same enthusiasm depends on the performance of the Sound Village.

The nominal leader of Sound Village appeared just in time to witness the burning Sound Village, perfectly showcasing a brilliant performance of "we're just a small village, we can't afford to mess with the big shots."

Those who can become elites in ninja clans like the Uchiha Clan and Hyuga Clan are not stupid.

Even if they were a little slow in daily life, their sense of smell on the battlefield was excellent. So these ninjas, who were sent by Uchiha Shingen to burn down the clan's residence, immediately noticed something fishy.

But no one said anything. Everyone thought it was Shingen and made no mistake, so they naturally switched into actor mode.

The script was a bit rough.

However, with Orochimaru and Uchiha Shingen endorsing the show and more than a dozen Jonin participating, it's still quite convincing.

When the Leaf Village army, escorting the noble caravan, reached the border of the Land of Rice Fields, three thousand Sound Ninja were already waiting at the border. The temporary actors, who had worked hard, also returned to their posts, going back to being killers.

After taking stock of their forces, under the orders of Uchiha Shingen, this ninja army, which had swelled to eight thousand men, began its northward journey, escorting the noble caravan.

This time, the attack will go straight to South Gate City.

The three war zones may not be able to coordinate with each other, but since the great war has not yet officially started, they can still maintain a fixed frequency of communication. According to the latest battle report received by Uchiha Shingen, none of the three war zones have yet fired the first shot.

The Western Theater is the largest. Leaf Village and Sand Village are still working together, while Rain Village and Kusagakure are still observing. Iwagakure has not yet made a move, but is only gathering troops on the border. The troops of the three major ninja villages have not yet officially chosen a battlefield.

However, the special operations teams from the three sides have already begun fighting on the lands of Rain, Grass, and Stone.

The Sand Ninja seemed particularly energetic.

As always, Senju Hashirama first tried to appease Iwagakure with diplomacy before resorting to force, but he received no response after sending the letter.

As for my first playthrough... I'm probably hoarding Impure World Reincarnation Talismans.

After all, in my first playthrough, I had this problem of not being Impure World Reincarnation to fight comfortably without using the Edo Tensei.

Nowadays, people seem to think that the first playthrough was an obsessive-compulsive patient who hoarded high-quality Impure World Reincarnation Reanimation Jutsu), but Uchiha Shingen really doesn't know how the story got like this.

Rumors can kill people.

In the Eastern Theater Command, the Hidden Mist Village and the Leaf Village have begun to routinely intersect with each other, and the big boss will have a lot of fun.

After all, he was Leaf Village's most skilled infiltration ninja during his lifetime.

It seems I'll have to handle the first tough battle myself.

Eight thousand ninja soldiers marched north along the border of the mountainous region.

As they approached South Gate City, the atmosphere in the noble caravan began to become less leisurely.

Although there is no conflict of interest between nobles and ninjas, just as ninjas may find nobles too troublesome when carrying out missions, nobles are actually quite afraid that if ninjas get into a fight, they might take them out as well.

As everyone knows, the five great ninja villages have started the Ninja War.

If possible, they would certainly like to stay in Hidden Leaf Village and wait for the ninjas to finish their battle, but reality doesn't allow it. They all have their own territories, and it's common for the Ninja World War to last for several years. Not returning home for several years is obviously not an option, so going back as soon as possible is the safest option.

Uchiha Shingen was a man of principle. He made a point of comforting these nobles, assuring their representatives that he would safely escort them to South Gate City. He also instructed them not to linger in South Gate City and to set off home promptly, as Leaf Village was now at war with Cloud Village and could not afford to delay.

He specifically emphasized this point, and the noble representatives nodded in agreement.

Several days later, the Leaf Village ninja army arrived at the gates of South Gate City.

Chapter Seven: Uchiha Shingen's Suspicion

The reconstructed South Gate City still stands nestled against the mountains and overlooks the sea.

But it has been strengthened on the original basis.

The city wall extends out into the sea, allowing it to directly intercept ships.

Upon seeing the city, the nobles breathed a sigh of relief.

What is the relationship between Cloud Village and Leaf Village? The nobles of the Land of Lightning and the Land of Fire are similar, as are their vassal states.

However, no matter which country's nobles they are from, the ninjas from regular ninja villages will not make things difficult for them. After all... it's like how, in the eyes of the nobles of the Land of Fire, the Kumogakure is just a village that happens to be located within the territory of their rival.

The Land of Fire has also hired people from the Kumogakure for some special missions, and the Raikage has also had dealings with the Hokage. Let's keep things separate.

If we consider each ninja village as a company on Blue Star, this relationship becomes much easier to understand.

The slogans of the ninja village are quite similar to those on Blue Star, such as "We want to grow bigger and stronger and enter the world's top 500."

I've never seen anyone truly planning to wipe out anyone—it's a classic losing proposition. With so many ninja organizations, if one behemoth falls, the cluster effect will immediately take hold, creating new ones.

It's better to play against old rivals.

Basically, after a Ninja World war, when the enemy is brought to their doorstep, the outcome is pretty much decided.

Of course, there are exceptions.

For example, Third Shinobi World War, the Cloud Village launched a surprise attack on the Sand Village. The Cloud Ninja army crossed mountains and rivers to rush into the desert in an attempt to seize some goods, which enraged the entire Sunagakure, which was already embroiled in internal strife.

I'm so broke, and you still want to rob me?

They absolutely refused to let them take it, and forcibly pushed the Cloud Ninja Army out.

Later, when Sand Village and Cloud Village joined forces to attack Leaf Village lost its numerical advantage, and its worst moment was when Sand Village pushed it to Kikyo Pass.

Kikyo Pass is quite close to Hidden Leaf Village, Kikyo Castle was one of the testing grounds for the Chunin Ninja Exams in the original timeline.

However, the commander-in-chief of the war zone on Leaf Village's side at that time was Orochimaru. He was a typical obsessive-compulsive, and he refused to retreat. He even confronted Sand Village face-to-face with a poison exchange.

Sand Village releases poison, at least they can cure it themselves.

Orochimaru directly commissioned the snakes of Ryūchi Cave to release poison, but even Orochimaru those snakes would release.

But such cases are rare. Normally, after the fight is over, they hold hands and go home to eat hot pot.

Uchiha Shingen has been ninja for a long time.

Is destroying a ninja village pointless? If you're looking at it from the perspective of eliminating an opponent, then yes, that's certainly true.

But he'd be happy to wipe out Cloud Village.

Iwagakure is too far away; even if they wipe out the main force, it won't end up in their hands.

There's no reason why Sand Village would jump so fast.

Hidden Mist Village is too close and too enclosed, making it too costly.

After considering all options, Cloud Village is the most suitable!

Not too close, not too far, with clear benefits. As long as the battlefield is well controlled, the pressure of unrest won't reach Leaf Village. It's a very comfortable situation.

The Konoha Ninja arrived at night.