Chapter 450: Ninja Village Mobilization and War Strategy
"Hokage-sama."
Shizune pushed open the door and hurried inside.
The moment she entered, she saw Tsunade adjusting her clothes. Shizune immediately put down the documents in her hand and rushed over to help Tsunade tidy her attire.
Tsunade looked at herself in the mirror.
She was no longer young, but because of the ninjutsu she practiced, she had maintained her appearance at the peak of her beauty.
Today, Tsunade changed out of her usual clothes.
She put on a combat uniform.
Shizune handed a Konoha forehead protector to Tsunade. Tsunade accepted it and lowered her gaze to the forehead protector in her hand, her fingers gently caressing the metal plate.
"Shizune."
Tsunade's eyes were slightly dazed.
Shizune's hand paused. She waited patiently for Tsunade to continue, but Tsunade said nothing.
Once, her ancestors had founded Konoha and fought for Konoha.
Her younger brother and her lover had died in brutal war.
Not long ago, her closest friend had also died on the battlefield. His remains had not even been brought back to Konoha.
Now, Konoha only had Jiraiya's cenotaph.
Nothing else.
And now...
She, too, was about to step onto a new battlefield in the name of the Fifth Hokage.
Tsunade silently put on the forehead protector. Then she picked up the Hokage hat placed to the side, put on her cloak, and walked out.
The large characters for "Fifth Hokage" fluttered across her back in the wind.
Shizune's eyes shone with excitement. She followed closely behind Tsunade, and together, they walked out of the Hokage Building toward the square of Konoha Ninja Village.
"How are the Sky Guards prepared?"
Tsunade asked as she walked, the Hokage hat resting on her head.
"Hokage-sama, all Sky Guards have ascended and taken position five hundred meters around the village's perimeter. Dedicated Sky Guards and security systems have been placed every fifty meters," Shikaku said softly as he quickly caught up with Tsunade's pace.
Tsunade nodded.
Ever since the Ninja World Allied Forces had nearly been wiped out by that madman Kenichi because they were gathered too densely, the current Allied Forces no longer dared to concentrate their numbers so heavily.
How to guard against aerial attacks had even become a key research topic for every Ninja Village.
The heavy casualties from last time could never be allowed to happen again.
"How is the development of ninjutsu against aerial attacks progressing?"
Tsunade thought of that devastating attack from before. Jiraiya and the injured survivors had both described its severity.
"Not very optimistic."
Shikaku shook his head.
"We have never seen that kind of attack method before, nor did we sense any chakra fluctuations. The current research direction is to deflect vertically falling weapons."
It was the first time Shikaku had ever seen such a strange attack method.
The only possible point of entry was probably the fact that this attack method required a physical object. If that object could be deflected, it might be useful.
When they reached the mobilization square, Tsunade heard the noisy sounds ahead.
She took a deep breath, straightened her clothes, and stepped forward.
Tsunade walked onto the podium.
She looked at the ninja lined up below, and her heart felt heavy.
She looked at those ninja with solemn eyes.
She looked at the people standing at the edges of the square. Some held their children. Some were pregnant, their bellies already swollen. Some were small figures, and some had aged faces.
For a moment, Tsunade suddenly did not know what to say.
These ninja were someone's husbands.
Someone's fathers.
Someone's children.
Someone's beloved.
Some were mothers of several children.
But at this moment, Konoha was about to launch a war.
For victory.
For profit.
She had to personally turn these people into soldiers and send them onto a battlefield where an unknown number of them would die.
She had to send them to their deaths.
Countless people in Konoha would lose their wives and husbands, their fathers and mothers, their children.
Yet those who sacrificed themselves would ultimately become nothing more than cold numbers on a merit roll.
Aside from their family and friends, who else would truly care?
What grand-sounding reason should she use to gloss over this war?
For the Ninja Village?
No.
This war was merely for greater profit.
It was also for Tsunade's own selfish reasons.
She could not deny that she wanted to destroy that newly born country, then kill Kenichi and avenge her teacher and Jiraiya.
Otherwise, the benefits of annexing a country would be even higher.
Tsunade's eyes turned red.
She looked at the ninja below.
She had experienced war before, and she had served as a commander. But back then, she had not been the one to begin it. She had only been someone who received orders.
The one standing on the stage and giving commands had been the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Tsunade suddenly realized that she truly disliked being Hokage.
Because once she became Hokage, she could no longer be purely herself.
"This war..."
Tsunade took a deep breath.
She looked at the ninja and civilians below, her hands gripping the railing tightly.
—
"...is for revenge!"
A swung his fist violently and roared.
"That madman who occupied the Land of Water has an inseparable connection to the Heavenly Demon! He caused our fathers and our children to die in the village they trusted!"
A's voice was thunderous.
Killer Bee stood behind him and listened silently.
He had heard from his brother that the person who occupied the Land of Water seemed willing to cooperate with the Hidden Cloud Village. But all of that had changed after the Daimyo jointly issued that tempting bounty.
"We must avenge them!"
A shouted loudly.
The Hidden Cloud ninja below raised their weapons in excitement, releasing earth-shaking roars.
"The village is suffering. The environment here is harsh. We all grew up in this place, but acquiring new territory has always been too difficult. Now, however, we have a chance."
The Kazekage stood on the stage and looked at the ninja below, his eyes filled with tears.
"This is a fight for the village's future! We have suffered too much! For the sake of our descendants, we need more fertile land!"
The Kazekage took a deep breath, his eyes firm.
The ninja below all wore resolute expressions.
Kazekage-sama was right.
Sunagakure was too bitter.
The environment here was terrible.
Everything was terrible.
"Fight for the future!"
The Kazekage shouted.
The ninja below raised their hands high.
They would fight for the future.
"As everyone knows, ever since airships appeared, our village's natural barrier has disappeared."
Onoki floated in the air, his large nose extremely conspicuous. Below him, the Iwagakure ninja stood in silence.
"The village needs to develop. Fallen ninja need compensation. Everything requires money. Our Iwagakure needs the bounty mission jointly issued by the Daimyo."
Onoki spoke very directly, but the ninja below did not object.
In the past, Iwagakure had been able to develop peacefully because of the complex terrain around it.
Those natural barriers meant Iwagakure never had to worry too much about surprise attacks.
But now, that was no longer the case.
Airships flying in the sky did not care about steep mountain walls.
They turned Iwagakure into a sitting duck.
"Eliminate the villains occupying the Land of Water and gain the funds to free the village from its predicament! Please, everyone!"
Onoki lowered his head.
But the morale of the ninja below soared instead.
They raised their hands and shouted wildly.
—
"For Konoha!"
Looking at the ninja below, Tsunade took a deep breath.
She slowly released her grip.
The railing in her hand had already been deeply dented by her fingers.
Tsunade looked toward the distant Hokage Rock, where Hiruzen's face was carved.
"Teacher, in the end... I have become a qualified Hokage..."
Tsunade looked at the ninja below as they raised their arms and shouted. Her heart was extremely complicated, and for a moment, she did not know what else to say.
In the end, she still said those grand-sounding words to gloss over the war and inspire morale.
She did not want to do this.
She even wanted to run away, to make everyone abandon the preparations for war, return to their homes, and live their lives.
But she still said it.
Suddenly, Tsunade understood why her teacher had once said, "You'll understand when you become Hokage," when faced with her angry questions and mockery.
Tsunade looked at the excited ninja below.
She watched them shout with passion.
She watched the ordinary people with tears in their eyes, yet none of them spoke out to stop them.
Tsunade pulled down the brim of her hat, covering her face.
She endured the pain in her heart.
In the end, she still personally sent them to the battlefield.
Behind her, Koharu and Homura exchanged glances, then sighed.
Although Tsunade was powerful and renowned, she was clearly not yet a qualified politician.
The Kage of a village was often a politician first, and a ninja second.
Regardless, Konoha had completed its war mobilization.
At this moment, the four Ninja Villages of the Shinobi World had completed their mobilization.
War was about to begin.
"Does the war still have to continue?"
Kenichi rubbed his temples, a headache gradually building.
He looked at the intelligence in his hand, which Kabuto had sent. The content was simple.
A, the Raikage of the Hidden Cloud Village, had already issued a war mobilization.
The other party seemed to have no intention of concealing it. He had directly announced the mobilization.
Kabuto had attached a note to the intelligence.
The Hidden Cloud ninja had already departed, and it was unknown when they would arrive in the Land of Water.
It seemed that his previous use of atomic bombs to attack the Ninja World Allied Forces had not completely deterred them.
However, Kenichi also knew that trying to use the same method to eliminate a large portion of the Allied Forces this time would likely fail.
Those people would definitely be prepared.
"Kenichi-sama, aside from the ninja squads necessary to maintain domestic security, we have already gathered most of the other ninja squads," Shiori said from the side.
Kenichi nodded.
There were still some Hidden Mist ninja within the country who had not been apprehended, but Kenichi could no longer spare the attention to deal with them for now.
If he could not deal with the Ninja Allied Forces, then what good would maintaining domestic security be, no matter how stable it was?
However, he had still left some ninja behind to maintain public order.
With the implementation of his new tax policies and other reforms, the people of the country now supported him more as their leader. Those still fantasizing about restoring the Land of Water were only a minority.
People, after all, could see who treated them well.
Why would they support a parasite who enjoyed the so-called First Right instead of supporting a ruler who treated them well?
"Do I need to make a move?"
The Deva Path of Pain asked while sitting beside Kenichi.
As he spoke, he glanced at the other person in the meeting room.
Orochimaru.
"Yes, but not here."
Kenichi closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples.
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow when he heard this, then stuck out his tongue and licked his lips.
Could it be that his student intended to...
"War cannot happen in our country. That would not be in our interest."
Kenichi stood up and looked at the map of the Land of Water spread across the table.
The Land of Water was an island chain nation with many small islands, but its total land area was too small. It lacked strategic depth.
Moreover, if the war reached the mainland, it would deal a fatal blow to domestic stability and development.
That would not be in the Land of Water interest.
Why had the United States risen so rapidly during the war in his previous life?
Because the flames of World War II had not burned its mainland.
Although Pearl Harbor had been attacked, the final battlefield was Japan, not the United States itself. That minimized the threat to the United States domestic economy and other foundations.
Combined with the United States frantic business of supplying war materials, it became rich and successfully advanced its technology, eventually becoming the number one superpower.
Although Kenichi did not know much about military strategy, he knew some history.
And that was enough.
"We need to take the initiative and force the Ninja Allied Forces to fight us in the Land of Fire."
Kenichi pressed his finger against the Land of Fire on the map.
Instead of letting the war burn his own land, it would be better to proactively bring the war to the Land of Fire.
That would have the least impact on the Land of Water.
"But how do you plan to force them to fight you in the Land of Fire?"
Orochimaru asked with interest.
"This time, the mission issued by the four Daimyo was given to the four Ninja Villages. If you choose the Land of Fire, Konoha will certainly fight you. But what about the other Ninja Villages? They might simply raid your main base and then occupy the Land of Water."
"Then we exchange."
A cold glint flashed in Kenichi's eyes.
"We attack the Land of Fire with our full force. At the same time, we split our forces to attack the other three Ninja Villages and massacre their villagers."
This was war.
Not playing house.
"Attack where they cannot hurry to defend. Strike where they must save."
Kenichi sneered.
No decisive battle?
Then wait for him to slaughter their main bases.
Although ninja were ninja, they were still human.
Their bonds were in their villages.
Would they truly disregard everything just to occupy the Land of Water?
How could that be possible?
Between their main base and a new territory, anyone would know which to choose.
Unless those ninja were all heartless, unfeeling machines who insisted on occupying the Land of Water while completely ignoring their own villagers.
However, Kenichi did not think such a thing would happen.
"Attack where they cannot hurry to defend. Strike where they must save?"
Orochimaru licked his lips, faintly excited.
"Interesting. Truly interesting."
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]