c164 – Running in Both Directions
Since it was difficult for him to appear directly on the frontal battlefield without drawing attention, Uchiha Gen used the more covert transmission method of summoned messenger beasts, the same technique Orochimaru often used during the Second Shinobi War.
After returning to the Konoha field camp, he entered his tent, wrote a coded mission scroll, and slid it into the mouth of the summoned serpent, a species related to the snakes of Ryūchi Cave, before sending it silently toward the battlefield.
Once that was done, Uchiha Gen returned to the material transfer station's resting area and quickly fell asleep.
Two hours later, he awoke and mounted Zhu Rong, rushing toward the front lines. His speed was not slow using the chakra-enhanced stride he had been refining since training under the Uchiha battle doctrine.
By the time he arrived, the clash between Konoha and Kirigakure had already begun to settle, and the Mist-nin were retreating under pressure.
After briefly pretending to pursue, Uchiha Gen obeyed Orochimaru's order to halt and pulled the troops back to camp in proper formation.
Upon returning, the senior Konoha officers immediately convened a high-priority military meeting.
Orochimaru dismissed his subordinates' proposal to launch a large-scale pursuit, explaining that forcing Kirigakure too aggressively could escalate into a full-scale war similar to the one that destroyed the Uzumaki Clan less than a decade earlier. Konoha could not afford to be bogged down while other villages watched for weakness.
Thus, he laid out a slow, controlled attrition strategy a method he had once witnessed Tsunade propose during earlier border conflicts.
Uchiha Gen naturally voiced support. With the commanders and deputy commanders aligned, no other jōnin dared to push contradictory ideas.
And Orochimaru's concern was reasonable: if this confrontation exploded and even one other major village joined especially Iwagakure, still hostile after the Kannabi Front years.Konoha would again plunge into a disastrous multi-front war. No shinobi wanted to relive the horrors they had barely escaped only a few years prior.
Thus, out of both caution and fatigue with war, none of the jōnin protested Orochimaru's judgment.
By the time Konoha's meeting ended at about the tenth hour, the retreating Mist-nin were also assembling for their own emergency conference.
Inside the Kirigakure command tent, where seats were once filled during their confident advance into Uzumaki territory, more than half now sat empty. Thirteen out of twenty-two jōnin were missing.
Ten had died to Uchiha Gen's ambush, and three more had fallen during the chaotic frontal engagement.
Konoha's unexpected reinforcement detachment led by members of the Inuzuka clan and backed by Orochimaru's strategic clone technique had shattered their battlefield rhythm. Had Xiguashan Fugu Oni (Watermelon Mountain Blowfish Ghost) not ordered a rapid retreat, the casualty count would have been even more catastrophic.
A heavy gloom hung over the tent. Several jōnin sat wrapped in gauze soaked with herbal medicine, the air thick with the smell of blood and antiseptic. Not even experienced veterans like Loquat Jūzō or the young Hoshigaki Kisame could hide their unease.
They were not afraid of death they were afraid of dying for nothing.
A reinforced strike unit led by ten elite jōnin being annihilated in one operation? It was nearly unbelievable.
When Inuzuka E arrived on the battlefield earlier, he intentionally shouted the detailed names of the dead Mist-nin to break their morale. And because both sides had spent months fighting each other, basic identity information of enemy jōnin was well known; the roll call was undeniably accurate.
What made it worse was that Orochimaru on the frontline had fought as though merely "paddling" a behavior consistent with one of his shadow clones, which Kirigakure's veterans could easily sense. Thus, they were inclined to believe the Konoha announcement: the real Orochimaru had been behind them, performing the slaughter together with Uchiha Gen.
"Hah… No word from Crescent Moon's squad. Looks like they're really done for," someone exhaled.
"Our elite ranks have taken devastating losses. How are we supposed to counter Konoha's next push?"
"Anyone with proposals should speak."
At last, the Watermelon Mountain Blowfish Ghost broke the oppressive silence.
"Oh? What else can we do?" Loquat Jūzō muttered. "We can only avoid their sharp edge."
Several jōnin nodded quickly. To insist on direct confrontation now would be suicide. Konoha had also suffered jōnin casualties, but nowhere near as many; the combat disparity was now 1.5 to 1.
"Jūzō is right. Unless the village sends reinforcements, we have no other choice."
"In that case, we must avoid confrontation entirely avoid it to the very end."
"My suggestion: concentrate all remaining elite forces at the supply base. Reinforce the barrier with full-rank fūinjutsu support. Hold that point at any cost."
"The remaining units should scatter into small squads and conduct mobile guerilla tactics, avoiding unnecessary clashes. Harass their scouts, disrupt their mapping, keep them nervous."
"Teams don't return to the supply base. Carry enough soldier pills and coin; if supplies run low, purchase food in nearby towns."
"Our only mission: prevent Konoha from forcing us out of the Whirlpool Country."
"How we proceed long-term depends entirely on whether the village dispatches reinforcements…"
Despite the losses, the Watermelon Mountain Pufferfish Ghost wasn't overly panicked; after all, this plan was collectively crafted. Responsibility would be shared.
After some hesitation, the remaining eight jōnin nodded. With their current strength, defending their previously expanded territory was impossible. Concentrating their elites at the most irreplaceable position the old supply base was indeed the only viable strategy.
If the Mizukage later chose to regain territory, a foothold inside the Land of Whirlpools would still remain. If they were driven out entirely, re-landing would cost much blood.
"The meeting is over. Begin preparations immediately."
"Withdraw under cover of night. Konoha must not detect us."
"Yes!"
Kirigakure carried out its evacuation with strict secrecy. By dawn, when Konoha scouts investigated, the Mist camp had already vanished. Believing this a retreat, Konoha advanced rapidly.
But after pushing through nearly half of the Land of Whirlpools without encountering a single Mist-nin, Orochimaru and Gen both grew suspicious.
Could Kirigakure really be withdrawing from Whirlpool entirely?
After all, Konoha had deliberately held back during recent engagements. Could Kirigakure not even withstand that?
Many Konoha shinobi entertained the same hope, whispering optimistically about the war's end.
But the illusion shattered when they reached the eastern coast. There, at the edge of the sea, they found the Mist's old supply base transformed into a fortified stronghold. Backed by high cliffs and protected by rivers and the ocean, the structure was unmistakably designed to be nearly unassailable.
The Konoha shinobi sighed in disappointment.
But Orochimaru and Uchiha Gen felt a faint satisfaction. A static fortress was predictable. Predictability could be exploited.
Freshwater streams provided Mist-nin with water; sea routes replenished food. Kirigakure had entrenched its elite here, while sending lower-ranked troops to harass Konoha's flank.
At the next Konoha strategy meeting, Uchiha Gen proposed a clear approach: "Encircle without attacking. Sever their wings. Disrupt their logistics. End this cleanly."
Orochimaru praised the plan and adopted it immediately.
None of the jōnin objected. Their commander was trying to avoid needless casualties arguing against that would alienate both superiors and subordinates.
Meanwhile, Kirigakure received the Watermelon Mountain Blowfish Ghost's full report…
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