The interception mission

At Orochimaru's question, the black-robed Jonin rose to his feet.

"Everything is ready. Once the operation begins, several key figures from Sunagakure within the Land of Rain will be targeted for assassination."

That was Orochimaru's plan, simple and brutal.

As long as Root assassinated one or two important members of Sunagakure, its command structure on the battlefield in the Land of Rain would briefly fall into chaos.

By the time they recovered, Konoha would have completed its retaliation against the Rock Ninja, without having to worry about anyone taking advantage of the opening to attack the Main Camp.

The key to the operation was the assassination of those figures from Sunagakure.

Orochimaru had considerable faith in Root. If the Anbu Ninja carried out the mission, there might be problems, but Root was different.

They were a group who valued their missions more than their lives. What couldn't lunatics like that accomplish?

After confirming that everything was ready, Orochimaru immediately gave the order.

"Everyone, go make your preparations. The operation begins tomorrow night at eight."

"Yes!"

The dozen or so Jonin in the tent answered in unison.

The following evening arrived.

A large force of ninja raced through the light drizzle.

Yechen was among them. He swept his gaze around, estimating that there were roughly a thousand people.

It seemed that, aside from the essential personnel at the Main Camp, Orochimaru had deployed every ninja available to him. That alone showed just how massive this operation was.

Yechen had only received notice of the mission that evening. Their objective was to attack a Rock Ninja outpost.

An operation of this scale couldn't possibly be as simple as attacking an ordinary outpost.

Based on his analysis of the intelligence he had gathered, this outpost was anything but ordinary. It was Iwagakure's largest supply distribution center on the battlefield in the Land of Rain.

If they captured it, the Rock Ninja wouldn't dare launch any major operations for nearly half a year.

Only then did Yechen understand Orochimaru's aim.

The earlier full-scale offensive, with its mutually destructive tactics, had been groundwork for this operation all along. It had forced Iwagakure to send more troops to the front, leaving its rear exposed.

That had given them the opportunity for this surprise attack.

It was an open stratagem. Even if Iwagakure sensed something, it couldn't stand by and do nothing. Otherwise, Orochimaru could launch a second surprise offensive, turning the feint into a genuine assault and pushing the entire battle line into the Rock Ninja's rear.

That would put them in an even worse position.

Thus, Iwagakure had no choice but to send reinforcements to the front to make up for its shortage of fighting strength.

After probing their response and confirming that they had taken the bait, Orochimaru had quietly pulled the frontline troops back, creating a temporary numerical advantage.

That was what gave Orochimaru the confidence to launch this attack.

"Tsk, every move really does lead into the next."

Yechen sighed inwardly. The plan was sound, but how many people had paid for it with their lives?

Aoki Midorino, Nakagawa Ichirō, Abe Rō... They had all been Konoha Ninja, yet in the end, they were nothing more than pawns on the battlefield.

It was tragic and lamentable. For now, Yechen could do nothing, despite his desire to help. He wasn't strong enough to change the course of the war.

According to the plan, they would split into four units once they reached the vicinity of the outpost. Two would intercept enemy reinforcements, while the other two would attack the outpost from the left and right.

They had no choice but to deploy their forces this way. Although they had kept the operation tightly under wraps beforehand, the enemy couldn't possibly fail to notice such a large movement now.

By the time they arrived, Iwagakure's reinforcements would surely already be on the way.

To ensure the mission's success, they had to detach just under half their forces to intercept those reinforcements.

More than ten hours later.

Dawn broke the next day.

Yechen's unit made camp in a stretch of wooded mountains near the outpost.

Suddenly, a system notification sounded.

"Ding! A new mission has been generated. Konoha is preparing a surprise attack on Iwagakure's supply outpost. Iwagakure's command has dispatched elite troops to reinforce it. This is a war of blood and fire, and a life-or-death struggle that the host is about to face.

Mission objective: intercept the returning reinforcements until the mission is complete, then withdraw safely.

Rewards: Evolution Points +1000, Spirit-Transforming Fruit +20."

An hour later, after finishing their rest, Yechen and Ito Miyuki joined a unit of roughly three hundred and headed for the first interception point.

It was a river valley corridor, flanked by mountain ranges, with a long river running through its center and fairly broad stretches of sand along both banks.

This route connected to the Rock Ninja's Main Camp and was also the shortest road to the outpost.

If the Rock Ninja's Main Camp sent reinforcements, they would most likely pass through here.

Their mission was to intercept the enemy here and buy time for the other units.

As Iwagakure's largest outpost in the Land of Rain, it was certain to have a sizable garrison with formidable fighting strength, as well as the advantage of defending its own ground.

Even with more troops than the Rock Ninja, their forces couldn't possibly overrun the enemy camp in a short time.

Thus, this interception mission would be another difficult battle.

"Miyuki, don't stray too far from me once the fighting starts."

At that thought, Yechen grew a little worried about Miyuki.

They were the only two left from Team 7. Last time, he hadn't been there. This time, he couldn't let anything happen to Miyuki too, or he would truly be left all alone.