"The show's about to begin!"
Shihōin Naraku stood before the map, tapped the main battlefield's location with a finger, and smiled.
Shikaku Nara nodded gravely. He thought so too.
"Kakashi's about to face some serious trouble. We need to get this information to him as soon as possible."
"Well, it actually shouldn't be too much of a problem. With Lord Fourth and Naruto there, plus the ten thousand or so ninja under Kakashi's command, they shouldn't suffer a crushing defeat in the short term."
"No, it shouldn't come to that." Naraku didn't think Kakashi could lose that quickly either. "Besides... fitting over sixty thousand White Zetsu onto a battlefield that size won't be easy."
"The battle will still depend on how well the person behind the scenes commands them. The more troops there are, the harder they are to command."
"But now that the main battlefield has been established, I'll head to the front to fight when the time is right."
Naraku looked around the busy meeting room. Ninja from every department were working together in an orderly fashion, carrying out their various tasks.
"Once I leave, headquarters will be in your hands, Shikaku."
"Understood."
Shikaku looked solemn. They had already agreed on this, so he wasn't surprised.
As Supreme Commander of the Allied Shinobi Forces, Shihōin Naraku normally needed to remain at headquarters, exercising overall control to keep the war orderly and prevent it from spiraling out of control.
But as the strongest person in the Shinobi World at present, keeping someone with his combat strength at headquarters without having him act would also be rather wasteful.
So everyone had readily reached a consensus. Given his position, Shihōin Naraku couldn't act lightly. Only when the war reached its most critical point could he personally head to the front and