Chapter 193: The War Begins!

Chapter 193: Chapter 185 The War Begins!

Chapter 185: War Begins!

That night, after making thorough preparations, Orochimaru took a bottle of specially prepared Military Rations Pills prepared by Uchiha Gen and headed toward the Rashomon Canyon.

Although there were minor setbacks, Orochimaru ultimately succeeded in contracting the fourth Rashomon.

However, this trip took a heavy toll on Orochimaru.

Although the degree of his Snake Body Modification was high, it was after all not as useful as Uchiha Gen’s Uzumaki constitution, nor did he have high-level Medical Ninjutsu like Yin Healing Wound Destruction that could activate Yang Release, so walking through it definitely wasn’t as effortless for him as it was for Uchiha Gen.

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Although it wasn’t as bad as last time when Uchiha Gen needed several days of recuperation, with the assistance of Medical Ninjutsu to regulate his body, he still needed a day or two to recover.

As expected, the camp’s affairs were once again handled by Uchiha Gen and Nara Shikahira.

Having had the experience of working together once before, their cooperation was smooth and handy once again. After dividing the labor, everyone stuck to their respective duties, methodically pushing all affairs forward just as planned.

By the time Orochimaru appeared again, the moment to close the net had arrived.

“Bi the Jonin leading a force of a thousand stationed here is enough to cut off the communication between the Kumogakure base and Asuka Fortress for more than a day when the war begins, intercepting their reinforcements.”

“Their strength in other aspects has also been weakened or suppressed by us. Now, all their remaining forces have shrunk into Asuka Fortress, maintaining only the most basic reconnaissance and patrols in the surrounding area.”

“This day will be our best opportunity in the near future to take Asuka Fortress. Otherwise, the current situation will continue to drag on: it will be difficult to guide a change in the battlefield’s pattern again in the short term.”

“According to the plan, we will continue to maintain intelligence detection and suppression against Kumogakure, while simultaneously selecting a portion of elites, all consisting of elite Ninjas skilled in concealment and lurking to form a vanguard team.”

“Tonight, Elder Danzo, the Root spy you planted in Kumogakure will coordinate with us from the inside and outside, creating a commotion in other directions to distract Kumogakure’s attention, while we will take the opportunity to sneak into the fortress based on the deployment map of Asuka Fortress he provided.”

“The main army will set out shortly, gathering in advance in a valley thirty kilometers outside Asuka Fortress. A barrier blocking perception has already been set up there in advance, and as soon as the vanguard team’s communication signal is transmitted, they can set off immediately.”

“If we remain hidden without being discovered, the vanguard team can seize the opportunity to open the fortress gates and create chaos. The difficulty of our breakthrough into the fortress will be greatly reduced. If this plan succeeds, half of our mission for this time will already be accomplished.”

At dusk, under the dim, yellowing glow of the setting sun, Nara Shikahira wore a calm expression as he explained to Danzo, who had arrived at the camp leading his subordinates.

“If it fails, they will have to hold out in isolation until the main army arrives to have a chance of survival. Therefore, the selected members must be the elite of the elites. We do have some related talents here, but compared to the Root, which specializes in this field——”

Nara Shikahira turned his gaze toward Danzo with a trace of hesitation.

Danzo’s Root specialized in intelligence reconnaissance, spy planting, and covert assassination, and there were no shortage of experts skilled in these areas.

However, at this time, the contradiction in Danzo’s personality began to manifest again.

He couldn’t bear to see the elites under his command suffer losses.

When it came to loyalty to Konoha, Danzo was unquestionable; his loyalty was enough to make him willingly offer up his life. Yet, he valued himself too heavily, believing that his life could only be spent after gaining sufficient value—for instance, by first becoming the Hokage, and then dying a roaring death in a deeply meaningful battle.

Just like his teacher Tobirama Senju, who had a profound influence on him, he wanted to make a sacrifice sufficient to change the future in the capacity of a Hokage.

Danzo could also allow casualties among his subordinates, even complete annihilation. Even though it would pain him, as long as the value of their deaths met Danzo’s expectations, he would not hesitate in the slightest.

As for Danzo’s psychological state, after analyzing it together with Uchiha Gen last time, Orochimaru had also grasped a bit of it. Looking at the pondering Danzo, he smiled and said: “Elder Danzo, the credit of the Root is your credit. Not to mention that if we take Asuka Fortress this time, the primary credit will also be yours. As for the actual weight of this primary credit and whether it can convince others, it all depends on how you act.”

Orochimaru’s words finally moved Danzo.

It was beneficial to Konoha and advantageous to himself, and the Root elites under his command were indeed good at this kind of work, giving him a high chance of success.

“This old man has his own sense of propriety. For Konoha, the Ninjas of the Root will not fear danger. Furthermore, the person coordinating the intelligence is also a Root Ninja of mine; it will be much more appropriate for me to arrange the candidates.”

“Orochimaru, tell me everything I need to know, and I will make the arrangements!”

Danzo raised his head, his cold and sharp eyes filled with absolute confidence.

He had always considered himself extraordinary, and in his professional field, having received the true teachings of Tobirama Senju, he was indeed not weak.

Not long after, Danzo selected two four-person squads and appeared before Uchiha Gen and the others.

There were two Root Jonins, and the rest were all Special Jonins, every single one of them being an expert whose specialties were closely tied to lurking, disguise, and infiltration.

As for Orochimaru’s subordinates, only four people were sent.

Among them were two who had previously cooperated with Uchiha Gen: Baihan moonlight and Xiaokui Yamanaka. The moonlight Clan’s Transparent Release had a good effect in concealment, while the Yamanaka Clan’s sensory abilities and remote control of the Mind Body Switch Technique could also play an excellent role at times like this.

As for the remaining two, Uchiha Gen only had a nodding acquaintance with the Jonin leading them, and didn’t really know the other person.

But since they were chosen by Orochimaru, there was definitely no problem with their abilities.

And reality did not disappoint Uchiha Gen and everyone else from Konoha.

That night, at midnight.

Uchiha Gen was fully armed, wearing a high-collared blue shirt under a green Konoha Shinobi vest. At his waist hung a Ninja tool pouch and a Sengoku Ninja Sword, and an additional wakizashi protruded from his lower back.

This was the one given to him last time when they tried to trick him into joining the Root.

During this recent period, Uchiha Gen had entrusted a clansman to send it to the Ninja Cat Clan, spending some money to repair the hilt, re-polish the blade, and oil and maintain it, finally restoring it to its appearance from thirty years ago.

In terms of quality, this blade was quite inferior to the Sengoku Ninja Sword, which was of blue quality and ranked among the top Ninja tools in the Shinobi World. However, its texture was still considered top-notch. In case his weapon was lost or his blade was restricted, it could still serve as a reliable backup weapon.

What was different from before was that he now had an extra pair of bracers made with an inner layer of leather and an outer layer of lightweight steel.