At the Konoha camp on the southern shore of the Lake of Tranquility, Shimizu's firm voice suddenly rang out from inside one of the tents:
"That's not true!"
Such a resolute denial only earned him a chorus of knowing looks and drawn-out murmurs.
"Ohhh~"
Everyone understood.
Satomi, finding herself unable to argue back, simply closed her mouth altogether.
"I'm telling you, don't get so worked up over baseless rumors," Shimizu said helplessly. These brats were getting out of hand—actually daring to gang up and tease him like this.
"What are you all going on about?" Amane, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up in a loud, questioning tone.
The sheer force of his presence instantly quieted the crowd.
Now this—this was a true brother-in-arms. Someone who would stand up for the facts, for the truth, at a critical moment.
At that instant, Amane seemed almost radiant, as if bathed in some noble light.
Then he spoke, righteous and unyielding:
"Regardless of what the truth is… even if they are in a relationship, what's it to you? Why are you all getting so excited?"
…Shimizu felt an overwhelming urge to hit him.
What terrible judgment he'd had, thinking Amane was about to help him.
Who would've thought he'd stab him straight in the back without the slightest hesitation?
"And besides," Amane continued solemnly, "with Shimizu's current strength and status… how could he possibly be unworthy of the Hyūga clan?"
Then he even turned toward Satomi and added, "Don't you think so, little miss from the Hyūga family?"
No. This had gone far enough.
If he let Amane keep talking, there'd be no coming back from this.
Shimizu hurriedly cut in, trying to save himself. "Alright, enough messing around. We've got serious matters to discuss!"
At last, the atmosphere in the tent returned to normal, and the gossip was finally put to rest—for now.
Exhausting…
It felt like the more he tried to explain, the worse it sounded.
Before long, Shimizu laid out all the intelligence he had gathered so far for the squad leaders present and proposed the idea of setting an ambush for Iwagakure.
One of the captains suddenly spoke up. "I agree that we should set a trap to ambush Iwa… but since they managed to cross the Lake of Tranquility using the Hiding in Mist Technique, isn't it possible they'll continue using it in the coming battle?"
The "Hiding in Mist Technique" could obscure vision—and even perception—across a wide area. Against it, ordinary sensory ninja were useless, and even bloodline abilities like the Sharingan and Byakugan were severely hindered.
After all, the fog itself was composed of chakra, which interfered with the ability of those dōjutsu to track enemies by sensing chakra flow.
If Iwagakure continued to employ this technique in the battle ahead, then Konoha's side would effectively be fighting blind.
Their enemy was Iwagakure—not Kirigakure. They hadn't prepared to face tactics like this.
It was a valid concern.
If things really played out that way… this would be a very difficult fight.
"The likelihood is low," Fugaku analyzed calmly. "We've fought Kirigakure many times, and even we struggle to counter their Hiding in Mist Technique."
"I've never heard of Iwagakure achieving great success using it. I doubt they can accurately locate their enemies within that dense fog."
"For now, that capability likely belongs only to Kirigakure…"
Another Uchiha shinobi added, "Finding enemies in that chakra-filled fog usually relies on sound."
"Without long-term, specialized training, it's impossible to do effectively."
But someone immediately countered, "If Iwagakure can already use the Hiding in Mist Technique, how can you be sure they haven't trained for it as well?"
Shimizu carefully imagined how the battle might unfold, then slowly shook his head.
"If we factor that possibility in… then the camps won't hold at all."
First, a wave of explosions targeting key structures. Then relentless harassment. And finally, their main force launching an assault under the cover of the Hiding in Mist Technique…
Shimizu could already imagine the outcome—after a relentless chain of explosions and harassment, Konoha's forces would be battered into complete disarray.
"We abandon the northern defensive line," he decided at last, his tone firm as he settled on a flanking strategy. "We give up the camps as well and withdraw across the board."
He turned immediately to Amane. "Amane, fill the camp with traps and explosive tags. We'll wait for Iwa to walk right into it."
"Meanwhile, we redeploy our main force further south. But this movement must remain hidden from Iwagakure's scouts—we need them to believe we're still stationed in the camp."
"If they continue advancing south…" Shimizu paused briefly, then continued, "we'll set up another ambush if an opportunity presents itself. See if we can catch them off guard a second time."
He laid out his plan steadily, though even he knew there was no perfect solution. Successfully deceiving Iwa's reconnaissance once was already difficult—doing it twice in a short span of time would be exponentially harder.
After all, their opponent was Iwagakure, one of the Five Great Nations. To treat them as fools would be the greatest insult to oneself.
"And if all else fails," he added, "we keep retreating south and request reinforcements from Konoha."
"In short, I'm not willing to fight a battle we're not confident in."
With that, Shimizu fell silent, waiting for the others to respond.
"If Iwagakure realizes the camp is a trap, won't they just retreat north instead?" one of the captains asked. "Would they really risk continuing south when they know it's a setup?"
"That depends on their numbers," Fugaku replied evenly. "If they outnumber us by several times, they won't fear us."
"From the squad I encountered today, their attitude was quite arrogant—like they were completely confident."
"I doubt their forces are small."
"Besides, this area should be considered strategically vital. Otherwise, Konoha's higher-ups wouldn't have specifically assigned you to defend it."
Shimizu understood that well. It was precisely because of its importance that he had been forced to split his forces between two positions.
And that had only made their already limited strength even thinner.
But if Konoha's leadership knew how critical this place was… why send only a single regiment to hold it?
That was placing far too much faith in him.
"That's why the Uchiha are here as well," Fugaku added, his tone confident. "I've brought a full unit of Uchiha clan members. Each of them is highly capable."
So Fugaku had voluntarily come to the front lines, hoping to earn merit for Konoha… or perhaps to claim some glory of his own.
Still, even with them, the total force barely reached four hundred. And they were expected to defend such a vast strategic region.
What exactly was the Third Hokage thinking?
Before departure, there hadn't been any special instructions either…
Was he expected to figure it out on his own?
Could this be some kind of test?
Shimizu searched his memory again, recalling the senior who had assigned him here. There hadn't been anything unusual at the time.
For months, this place had seen no fighting at all—so much so that he and his comrades had almost thought they were on some kind of extended leave.
But now, it was clear that had never been the case.
Beneath the surface, in the unseen darkness, currents had been shifting all along.
With such a thin force guarding such a critical point… was Konoha deliberately trying to lure Iwagakure into a trap?
Bait?
The Uchiha…?
In that instant, a chilling possibility took shape in Shimizu's mind.
No—there was no way the Third Hokage would deliberately set him up to fail.
There was no need for that.
A living Shimizu was far more valuable to Konoha than a dead one.