Hearing that, Ziyun merely nodded and gave an awkward laugh.
When it came to strategy, his uncle the Raikage really wasn't much good.
After all, the Hidden Cloud's style was to charge in and fight whenever trouble arose. What use did they have for schemes?
In the original story, the one time the Third Raikage used his brain to plot a sneak attack, Ōnoki struck back at his home base instead, and he ended up getting himself killed.
The next day, the Third Raikage personally led 1,000 Hidden Cloud ninja against 1,000 Konoha Ninja led by Hatake Sakumo.
When the two armies met, it was just as Ziyun had said the day before: every single ninja in Konoha's front line belonged to the Senju Clan.
As for how they recognized them, the Senju were all wearing clothes bearing the Senju of the Forest clan crest.
"Does everyone remember today's mission?"
"If you run into Senju Clan Members, avoid fighting them as much as possible and kill the other Konoha Ninja!"
Before the battle began, the Third Raikage repeated the order once more. All 1,000 Hidden Cloud ninja nodded in unison.
They didn't know why they were doing this, but as ninja, they had to carry out their orders.
"Kill them! Defeat Konoha!"
"Charge! Crush the Hidden Cloud!"
Soon, the two armies formally clashed.
The Senju Clan charged at the Hidden Cloud as fast as they could.
The day before, the Konoha High Command had suspected them of secretly conspiring with the Hidden Cloud!
To the proud Senju Clan, that was nothing short of an insult!
Even if every last Senju died, none of them would betray Konoha!
Encouraged by Tsunade the previous night, the Senju Clan Members had resolved to defend their clan's honor today, even if it cost them their lives!
So from the moment the battle began, the Senju Clan Members went all out, their eyes bloodshot, as if they wanted to devour the Hidden Cloud ninja.
The Senju Clan Members were undeniably gifted. Their powerful life force gave them Chakra several times greater in quality than that of ordinary ninja.
On the battlefield, that meant the same Ninjutsu had greater power and a wider range when used by a Senju than when used by an ordinary ninja.
After all, the power of a Ninjutsu was determined by the quality and quantity of Chakra.
Madara Uchiha's Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame was only a B-rank Ninjutsu, yet it could cancel out the Water Release of fifty Water Release ninja. That was how much better Chakra quality could increase a Ninjutsu's power.
Unfortunately, the Senju Clan wasn't Kumogakure's target today.
Whenever they encountered the Senju Clan, the Hidden Cloud ninja immediately avoided them and went after the Konoha Ninja behind them instead.
For this battle, the Hidden Cloud had even brought out a "Kumogakure Elite Force" that had already learned the three Ninjutsu Shave, Tekkai, and Finger Pistol.
This elite force numbered over 200, and all of them had already been Jonin. When they charged into Konoha's ranks, they were like lions and tigers among sheep, cutting down their opponents with ease in one-on-one fights.
Even when facing two opponents, they could hold their own.
This also confirmed Ziyun's theory: Taijutsu from One Piece could basically trounce any ninja below Jonin in Naruto.
Given enough time for all of the Hidden Cloud's ninja to learn the Navy Six Powers, Konoha wouldn't stand a chance even in a head-on war!
Unfortunately, too little time had passed, and too few people had learned the three Ninjutsu. Learning Ninjutsu was a lengthy process. Even a genius needed at least two or three months to learn them, and training enough to use them in actual combat took another two or three months at minimum. That made half a year.
But how many geniuses could one ninja village have?
Ordinary ninja without talent needed at least two to three years, or even longer, before they could take the battlefield.
"Hell Stab: Four-Finger Nukite!"
"Secret Technique: White Fang: Ultimate White Light Flash."
The Third Raikage took the initiative to face the Kage Level powerhouse Hatake Sakumo.
But Hatake Sakumo was no match for the Third Raikage. He was driven steadily back, suffering numerous injuries and losing plenty of blood.
The Third Raikage, meanwhile, didn't have so much as a scratch.
Without Super Kage Level strength, fighting the Third Raikage one-on-one was hardly realistic.
After all, not even the Eight-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball or Wind Release: Rasenshuriken could break through the Third Raikage's Strongest Shield.
How many ninja below Super Kage Level could use a Ninjutsu as powerful as a Tailed Beast Ball or Rasenshuriken?
A Kage Level fighter like Hatake Sakumo could only handle the likes of the Third Kazekage.
"This won't do. If we keep fighting, all 1,000 of us will be buried here. Retreat!"
Seeing Konoha losing ground and unable to defeat the Third Raikage himself, Hatake Sakumo decisively led the more than 600 remaining Konoha Ninja in retreat.
In that battle, Konoha lost nearly 400 ninja, while the Hidden Cloud Village lost only a little over eighty!
With a casualty ratio of nearly five to one, Konoha had suffered a crushing defeat.
The only interesting thing was that not a single Senju had died. Only a few had suffered minor injuries.
That night, at Konoha's main camp.
The Konoha High Command was holding a meeting, led by Danzo Shimura.
Inside the camp's tent, the atmosphere was somewhat awkward, and everyone's expressions were grim.
Konoha had suffered more than 400 casualties in the battle, while the Hidden Cloud had suffered just over eighty. It was a crushing defeat. An undeniable crushing defeat!
What puzzled everyone even more was that not a single member of the Senju Clan, stationed on the very front line, had died!
The implications were terrifying to think about!
The Senju Clan had secretly conspired with the Hidden Cloud. The proof was conclusive!
"Tsunade, give me an explanation!"
"Why did more than 400 Konoha Ninja die, while not one member of your Senju Clan was killed?"
"Don't tell me every member of your clan is a Kage Level powerhouse!"
As soon as the meeting began, Danzo confronted Tsunade.
As far as he was concerned, the proof that the Senju Clan had secretly conspired with the Hidden Cloud was conclusive!
Otherwise, it was impossible for the Senju Clan to have fought an entire battle without losing a single person.
The Hidden Cloud must have spared them for the sake of their infiltrators and refrained from attacking the Senju Clan.
"Danzo Shimura, stop talking nonsense! Where's your proof? The Senju Clan would never betray Konoha and secretly conspire with the Hidden Cloud!"
Tsunade lost her temper too. She slammed a Monstrous Strength Fist into the conference table, smashing it apart and cracking the ground beneath it.
"Hmph, what more proof do you need?"
"More than 400 Konoha Ninja were killed or injured in one battle. Your Senju Clan was at the very front and should have suffered the heaviest casualties, yet not a single one of you died! You tell me, how do you explain that?"
Danzo's voice was no less forceful than Tsunade's.
The other members of the Konoha High Command present, including Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Hatake Sakumo, who was wrapped in numerous bandages, all looked grim.
On the one hand, they didn't want to believe the Senju Clan would betray Konoha and secretly conspire with the Hidden Cloud.
On the other hand, the ironclad facts lay before them.
Not one member of the Senju Clan had died in this battle.
If it wasn't because they had secretly conspired with the Hidden Cloud and gotten the Hidden Cloud to spare them, there really was no other explanation.
Could every member of the Senju Clan really be a Kage Level powerhouse, as Danzo had suggested?
That was clearly even less likely.
"Damn it! Damn it!!"
Tsunade was furious. She unleashed her superhuman strength in a wild fit, destroying the camp's tent.
Faced with those facts, even Tsunade began to wonder whether a Senju really had been secretly conspiring with the Hidden Cloud behind her back.
Otherwise, no matter how gifted the Senju Clan Members were, it was impossible for every one of them to survive.
"Just you wait. I'll get to the bottom of this."
Tsunade stared at Danzo with bloodshot eyes. If looks could kill, she would have carved him into a thousand pieces by now.
"Heh, I'll wait."
Faced with Tsunade's murderous glare, Danzo sneered without looking away.
He felt this was one of the few times he was acting uprightly. Someone in the Senju Clan really was secretly conspiring with the Hidden Cloud, so there was no need to fear Tsunade.
"Sis, what's wrong? Are you in a bad mood?"
Back at the Senju Clan's camp, Senju Nawaki noticed that Tsunade looked a little pale and asked her with concern.
"Nawaki, help me gather the Senju Clan Members. I have something to ask them," Tsunade said.
"Okay."
Nawaki nodded and immediately went to tell the Senju Clan Members to assemble.
Although Tsunade was still young, she held a distinguished position as Hashirama Senju's own granddaughter.
The Senju Clan Members therefore respected Tsunade greatly, and even their older elders were willing to follow her instructions.
A few minutes later, around forty Senju Clan Members stood in orderly formation before Tsunade.
"Sigh..."
Looking at the group of just a few dozen people before her, Tsunade sighed.
She still remembered that when her grandfather was alive and she was little, the Senju Clan had been the largest clan in the Shinobi World.