The Third Elder, who was in charge of manpower, and the First Elder, the South Commander-in-Chief, exchanged a glance.
The two men nodded and said separately, "I can only provide a Mixed Large Unit here, but we certainly won't be the first combat personnel to enter the battlefield. So, after the battle begins, we will enter from the South, slightly towards the east."
"I suggest you take this route as well. That way, I'll instruct them to eliminate any threats along this route when they pass by!"
"I believe the location where the army is crossing is safe enough, but you must move quickly, as the transit time here will take more than five hours."
"Then perhaps Sarutobi's men will arrive here soon!"
The First Elder drew a line with his finger outside of Konoha.
There is a major obstacle here, a route usually used by caravans, and also the most convenient route for evacuating people.
The Ninja could all walk in a straight line, but for Logistics, he was willing to spend an extra ten minutes arranging for Ninja to go around from here and clear away the debris!
"I can arrange nine Large Unit of men, but these are all new recruits. You need to organize the elders of the clan to lead them!" The Third Elder raised his somewhat heavy eyelids and gave his numbers.
They were all willing to arrange the personnel according to the minimum number proposed by the Fourth Elder.
Because those families are the homes of many Ninja, how can they fight if Ninja safety isn't ensured?
However, due to the war with Sarutobi and the Uchiha, they could only make arrangements according to the bare minimum requirements for now!
Upon hearing the two agree, the Fourth Elder straightened up and nodded without making any further requests.
As for the route the First Elder mentioned, he began to calculate it in his mind.
The original route would have been more secretive, but the way the war was conducted has changed.
So, for the sake of speed and safety, he also needs to consider whether it would be better to change the route!
The Fourth Elder, who was in charge of evacuation and Logistics in the Senju Plan, kept silent, but the Sixth Elder, who was in charge of the war, spoke up next.
He turned his head to look at the Third Elder beside him and the First Elder opposite him, and said in a deep voice, "Not a single person can be transferred out of the village, and the same goes for the ten Large Unit of Uka Senju outside the village."
"You must lead your teams to the battlefield within five minutes of the battle starting!"
"Impossible!" First Elder Sawagen Senju his hand and voiced his opinion. "We can stay put in the village, and we can also get to the battlefield in five minutes."
"But Uka Senju's ten Large Unit must be assigned to our new commanders!"
Of the ten Large Unit under Uka Senju's command, one was entirely composed of the main force of the Shinobi Clan, while the other nine were teams about to complete their life-or-death training.
With these ten Large Unit, the troops on the South Battlefield no longer need to be split up.
What the Senju Alliance lacks most right now is a Shinobi Clan member who can lead a team.
In early 1931, the second batch of more than 10,000 people secretly transferred away all the Senju under his jurisdiction!
The troops on the South Battlefield have only recently regained their previous fighting strength after more than 3,000 new recruits and the departure of the Senju.
Because of the war, the Third Elder has to train more than 10,000 new recruits who have graduated early!
If Uka Senju were to relinquish control of his troops, how could his forces on the South Battlefield possibly maintain their fighting strength?
Does this mean we have to rely entirely on newcomers to deliver the gifts?
Wouldn't that lead to the death of the Ninja leading the team?
Clearing his throat, the Third Elder interjected, "The third batch, plus those from other batches who can graduate early, will total nearly 20,000. I will draw all the personnel from the base to lead these teams."
"But you also know that there aren't many Hidden Senju; I can only take out about five thousand on my side!"
"As for the remaining ten thousand or so, you'll need to find someone to lead those teams."
When there were only a few people, it didn't seem like a big deal, but starting with the second group, Senju began to understand the disadvantages of having too many people.
That means the Senju is truly lacking in capable leaders!
The four thousand or so produced annually by the discovered base, in addition to the obvious ones, are manageable with the help of the allied people!
But those tens of thousands of people who remain unknown to others will have to bear the consequences of having so many people Senju by themselves!
However, there are quite a few people with Senju, so they can still manage to survive in the first year.
The plan for the second year was for veterans to mentor newcomers, which would reduce the pressure on the Senju team.
But nearly half of the veterans haven't completed their training yet, because new recruits are about to emerge for the war!
This is a huge problem for the manpower of the Senju!
"No matter what you say, to ensure the village's fighting strength, Uka Senju's ten Large Unit cannot be disbanded."
"They will be the first in the village to engage in battle; they are of great use and have specific plans."
"How to lead these ten thousand new recruits into battle is your responsibility to arrange!"
In response to the First Elder's refusal and the Third Elder's attempt to shift the blame, the Sixth Elder remained firm and calmly replied!
"Bang!"
The First Elder slammed his hand on the table, his voice changing as he angrily shouted, "If you don't dismantle Uka's team, are you going to dismantle the main force of the South?"
How can we play if we dismantle our main team?
"How you fight is your business as the South Commander-in-Chief, but Uka's team cannot be dismantled!" The Sixth Elder was not bothered by the other side's attitude and still refused to back down.
"You..."
"Alright, alright, stop arguing." The Fifth Elder stood up and stepped between the two.
Pressing down the First Elder's hand, his rough voice rang out, "Brother, stop arguing. I'll send a Large Unit from the East South. If we're short enough, we'll send some from each side; we'll surely have enough."
The remaining four people present looked at the Fifth Elder with puzzled expressions upon hearing this.
Has... the old cannonball changed its personality?
Ignoring the gazes of his fellow clansmen, the Fifth Elder stopped the First Elder and then looked at the Sixth Elder and Third Elder with a smile, saying, "Our mission in the Southeast is to hold off the enemy. Losing one main Large Unit is no big deal."
"And for a main force Large Unit, even if we take the widest possible estimate, one squad should be able to take on a Middle Unit of new recruits, right?"
"Then if I contribute one of my main force Large Unit, it will be equivalent to the support structure of eleven Large Unit!"
"Just say what you want to do, stop talking nonsense!" The First Elder, who had been stopped, interrupted impatiently.
He simply refused to believe that the fifth son would change his ways!
After decades of getting to know each other, who doesn't know the other?
If there were no benefit or purpose behind it, would the Fifth Prince be so willing to give up the only all- Shinobi Clan Large Unit in the southeast?
Hehe~!
Even after the First Elder pointed it out, the Fifth Elder showed no sign of anger.
He put on his signature honest smile and said, "Then I won't say it politely!"
Seeing that all four nodded, the Fifth Elder coughed lightly and said, "The Southeast has lost a major Large Unit, which is a great loss for the Southeast."
"Therefore, I need you to supplement me with ten new recruit Large Unit and five Large Unit that were formed last year!"
"You have to understand that I'm facing Sarutobi and the people of Kumogakure, which means I'm missing one of my main forces..."
The First Elder's face darkened halfway through the conversation, and he interrupted, "Enough, shut up!"
"You think you can just give back fifteen Large Unit by giving up one main force team? You're really arrogant, Fifth Brother!"
"According to your calculations, a main team can only support eleven rookie Large Unit at most. You're taking away ten more in one go?"
"And you'll have to give me another five of the Large Unit that were formed last year?"
"Don't you have any shame at all?"
Upon hearing this, the Fifth Elder retorted without the slightest blush, "Hey, hey, don't talk nonsense!"
"You all know the situation in the southeast. Those five units that were formed into Large Unit last year were originally meant to be sent to me as reinforcements."
"Do you really think you can withstand the main external forces of the Land of Clouds and Sarutobi with the forces you currently possess?"
After speaking confidently to the group, he noticed that the four of them were somewhat evasive in their eyes.
This... His expression changed, his eyes widened as he stared intently at the group, and he roared, "You really didn't consider sending me reinforcements?"
"Why is the village important, but the southeast should die?"
Hearing this, and glancing at the others who had shared similar thoughts, the Sixth Elder, at a signal, quickly spoke up, "What do you mean 'desperate'? What nonsense are you spouting all day?"
Shouldn't this battle have a primary and secondary focus?
" Lady Toka has made the arrangements. You are to retreat to the southeast. Do you even know what the word 'retreat' means?"
"Concentrate your forces to win the battle within the village, and reinforcements will be sent immediately. What nonsense are you spouting?"
They just wanted to be absolutely certain. As long as this operation could wipe out the village, the external problems would be easily solved!
Of course, as a price to pay, the East South and Ihyo Castle are destined to sacrifice most of their manpower.
Upon hearing this, the Fifth Elder pointed at the Sixth Elder and cursed, "You son of a bitch, I understand that there are primary and secondary roles on the battlefield!"
"The clan chief said to retreat, but even a retreat requires people to defend it. Given the current formations of those two sides, even if we retreat, the people in the East South will suffer heavy losses!"
"If the clan's strength is insufficient, that's fine. We have nothing to say about contributing to the Clan, and we don't mind sacrificing for the Clan's prosperity."
"But what kind of strength does the Clan lack right now? We're the attackers, not the defenders."
"You bunch of bastards are way too careless when it comes to being absolutely certain!"
"I refuse to believe that the village is short of ten new recruit Large Unit!"
"..."
Inside the room, a fierce argument erupted due to the Fifth Elder's dissatisfaction with the unanimous opinions of these individuals.
The First Elder and the Third Elder were dragged off the stage one after another. Even the Fourth Elder, who was clearly not involved, was scolded by the Fifth Elder for being heartless and only knowing how to watch the show!
After a long while, the five people, exhausted from their noise, gradually stopped and sat back down at the Low Table in the secret underground room.
" Uka Senju's main team cannot be dismantled, but the other nine teams can be dismantled."
"But after the split, you need to provide Uka with nine new Large Unit, and secretly add five more Large Unit formed last year!"
Setting down his teacup, the Sixth Elder revealed his bottom line to the group.
After carefully reviewing the manpower situation, he realized he couldn't proceed according to his previous plan!
The war is the most important thing now, so he has no choice but to compromise and ask for something else!
"OK!"
"Can."
"Good!"
The other four people gave their answers.
"We'll stick to what we just said: the main team will go southeast, but the rookie team will have at least four members. Last year, we formed three new teams!" the Fifth Elder said with a dark face.
"I'll give you five to the rookie squads and three to the new unit formations." After some thought, the First Elder agreed to the deal, but added his conditions, "I'll give more to the rookie squads, but I won't give them the command framework; you'll have to build that yourself. The new unit formation frameworks remain unchanged!"
The Third Elder has proposed far too many new recruits this time.
Although these kids are stronger than the Ninja Academy, most of them are still Genin.
Especially since these people haven't had real combat experience, as long as they don't have the framework of a seasoned Ninja, giving them a few more would actually make things easier for them!
Hearing that the Fifth Elder would receive more, he was about to smile.
The First Elder's next words made his face darken even more!
But... after thinking about it, he could only nod in agreement with a dark expression!
Seeing that the Fifth Elder had finished dealing with the matter, the First Elder turned his gaze to the other side and said, " Uka has nine Large Unit, the Fifth Elder has one main force battalion, I will send two more Middle Unit to the southwest, two more Middle Unit to the south, and I will give you another Large Unit to the South center. That's all the manpower we have."
"I'll give you the list later. Arrange for people to assign them as soon as possible, and then issue the orders to move them."
Hearing the numbers mentioned on the other end, the Third Elder considered it for a moment and nodded, saying, "Alright, I will make arrangements in advance so that they can go to the corresponding locations to lead their teams according to the lockdown time."
His job was extremely difficult, or rather, very challenging!
According to the information given by the clan chief, the battle will most likely begin tonight or early tomorrow morning.
In other words, he needs to assign the locations of some team leaders based on the number of people in the secret base.
The combination of these two points allowed these people to meet as quickly as possible after sealing off Konoha, and to have a brief window of opportunity for communication!
Then comes getting these people to launch the attack according to the plan, which... has to be said to be a very time-consuming and mentally taxing task!
Seeing that the two had confirmed, the Sixth Elder took out a new map from his Ninja Tool Pouch, spread it out on the Low Table, and said to the group, "This is the blockade map we set up last time. Take a look and see if there are any problems. If there are no problems, the corresponding teams will arrive at their positions according to the time and begin the blockade!"
Upon hearing this, the four leaned forward and carefully examined the black dots that resembled stars surrounding Konoha.
"These can be placed a bit over here. I've held off the southeast, so the number of blockades can be reduced!" The Fifth Elder said, picking up a red paintbrush and making a few dots on the map.
After visiting another red-penned location, the First Elder made several revisions. "The number of trial teams besieging Sarutobi Village could be increased; let's try to wipe them out in one go!"
"There are two large bases here. We can send the new recruits and new squads to deal with them!" The Third Elder said to the group, pointing to several locations on the map.
"..."
After some discussion, the five of them took another map and redrew the confirmed blockade positions!
The map was copied into five copies, and each copy was stored away.