One week later
"I was wrong. I was really wrong!"
"Why did I have to act on my own? Why did I have to sell the futures I was holding..."
"No!!!"
"Why is this happening..."
"..."
Kakuzu vented alone in the forest, leaving devastation all around him. Large stretches of trees had been burned down by Fire Release, and the air was thick with the smell of char.
After selling his futures, Kakuzu had not stayed happy for long before sinking into despair. The price of pig iron had not crashed like he imagined. Instead, it had kept rising all the way.
It was no longer exploding upward like before, but even climbing one or two tenths every day was enough to make Kakuzu's chest hurt so badly he could barely breathe.
For Kakuzu, money he could have earned but failed to earn hurt worse than death.
"I can't just give up like this. I have to carve out a piece of the futures market for myself!"
Kakuzu thought back to the leeks in the trading hall these past few days, the ones who had made a killing. Every single one of them had looked at him as if he were an idiot.
If they had not been afraid of his strength, they probably would have mocked him to his face.
Humiliation lingered in Kakuzu's heart. Why could all those leeks make money while he couldn't?
Back then, he had even tried to assassinate the First Hokage and survived. Any ninja knew how strong the First Hokage had been. The weight of surviving an assassination attempt against him was obvious.
A one-of-a-kind feat in the ninja world.
Failure had never been shameful.
Fear of failure was.
Once Kakuzu thought it through, he charged back into the futures market. With his supposedly brilliant brain plus Haru's leek manual, he actually did manage to keep making money.
Of course, there was no real technique involved. He had simply caught a bull market. The waves of rises, pullbacks, and slight dips in the middle were all being carefully controlled by Nara Shikaru.
Shikaru had an absurdly high IQ, and with Konoha's information advantage, controlling the market was like a fish taking to water. His rate of progress shocked even Haru.
Shikaru had clearly been born for this kind of work.
After seeing his ability, Haru finally felt comfortable handing the entire futures plan over to him. At first, Haru had still been able to keep hold of the overall rhythm.
But later, once the scale opened up, it was no longer something Haru could control personally. As an Uchiha, he was still better at cutting people down.
The peaceful days had not lasted long.
The war Haru least wanted had finally begun.
Iwagakure launched its surprise attack against Konoha's position according to the original plan. For a time, Konoha's army fell back in apparent defeat, retreating dozens of miles. Of course, all of that had been staged.
This time, Konoha had to deal with two fronts at once, maybe even three. Even though Kumogakure had signed a peace treaty, Haru still did not trust those people. Their thinking was strange. At any moment, they might give him an unpleasant surprise.
To ease the financial burden, Haru decided to shorten the front. Konoha had the advantage in intelligence and had already uncovered the enemy's battle plan in advance. That advantage had to be used.
The strength of Konoha's intelligence division had gone far beyond what Haru expected. On that point, he really did have to thank Tobirama. Heaven only knew how Tobirama had managed to plant so many spies inside Iwagakure.
Lure the enemy deeper in and stretch out their supply line.
Once Iwagakure saw hope of wiping out Konoha, there was no way Mu would pass up that opportunity.
Konoha War Council Chamber
"Everything has been carried out according to plan. Tomita has already successfully completed the blocking mission and welded the Iwagakure forces in place here."
Haru pointed at a forested region on the map. Tomita had built defensive fortifications there and anchored himself firmly in place. The elite of Konoha's defensive line had gathered there as well, using favorable terrain to hammer Iwagakure head-on.
Iwagakure, which had been advancing smoothly all the way and seemed about ready to reach Konoha itself, had suddenly experienced what it meant for arrogant troops to invite defeat. They simply could not push forward anymore. It was almost as if all those earlier victories had only been the enemy deliberately letting them advance.
Which, in fact, was exactly the case.
Now the drawbacks of that earlier easy advance had appeared. Their supply lines had become too long, and the daily expense reports were making Mu so agitated he probably wanted to claw his bandages apart.
Explosive tags, kunai, shuriken, soldier pills...
Medical treatment, medicine purchases...
All kinds of reports flowed before Mu like water.
Haru had already decided to bleed Mu out here. At worst, he could sell off a little of the futures position. That would only mean making somewhat less money. With the front stretched that long, Iwagakure's consumption had already climbed to two or three times Konoha's, and the gap was still widening.
But now they could neither advance nor retreat. After fighting this far, were they supposed to slink back home?
Even if Mu could accept that, the people under him definitely could not. They were all waiting to kill Konoha and earn military merit.
So it had turned into another war of attrition.
The ninja squads of both sides moved through forests and hills, destroying each other's defensive strongholds, carrying out assassinations, ambushes, and poisonings. No method was off-limits.
These battle-hardened ninja were now locked in brutal fighting. Not long after the war began, it was already showing signs of reaching a white-hot stage. Next to some unremarkable rock, a jonin could die silently and go unnoticed forever. Nobody wanted to see that kind of thing happen.
Haru could only feel helpless.
But this was war.
And the enemies Konoha faced this time were not easy opponents.
"How are things on the Kirigakure side?"
Haru turned to ask about Kirigakure. That was the true center of gravity in this war and would determine how everything unfolded.
"Kirigakure's warships have already been repaired and set sail three days ago. By now, they should already have landed. Specific intelligence will need to wait until tomorrow."
Mito picked up the report and relayed it to Haru. Even though the two of them had clashed many times, with a great enemy in front of them, both had chosen to set aside their earlier unhappiness.
"I see."
"Keep a close eye on Kirigakure's movements. Report any news immediately."
A Shoreline Somewhere in the Land of Fire
"What's the latest information from the Iwagakure side?"
The moment Gengetsu set foot on land, he impatiently asked for news on Iwagakure. Lately, his days had not been pleasant.
Konoha's ninja, working together with the Uzumaki clan, had been constantly launching small-scale harassment attacks against his fleet. It was always the same trick, attack the ships, not the people.
They used nothing but shadow clones.
Keeping up that kind of shadow-clone warfare for so long would have exhausted any normal ninja long ago, but the Uzumaki clan were not ordinary ninja. Huge chakra reserves and monstrous vitality were racial traits for them. It disgusted Gengetsu to no end.
He could not help worrying about logistics. If this kept going, Kirigakure might not be able to outlast Konoha at all.
Better to go hit Iwagakure instead.
"Iwagakure pushed deep in and now can't advance or retreat..."
"..."
Gengetsu took the report and read through the recent course of the fighting between Iwagakure and Konoha. Watching from outside the situation, he immediately saw through Konoha's strategy.
Lure the enemy in, stretch the line, and then grind Iwagakure to death in a war of attrition.
Any ninja who had actually seen war knew that an attrition war tested endurance above all else. Fighting at all times, with comrades who had fought beside you just days earlier now dropping dead beside you without warning.
To be honest, Haru did not want to fight this way either. But he did not have Six Paths-level power, and his Mangekyo Sharingan was not eternal. The more he used it, the blinder he would become.
Gengetsu thought of the newest disgusting tactic from the Uzumaki clan. If Kirigakure and Konoha really went to war now, then Kirigakure would inevitably be dragged into the same kind of attrition. Their logistical line would be harassed nonstop by the Uzumaki clan, and they would end up in the same position as Iwagakure.
Could Konoha itself withstand the attrition of fighting on two fronts?
Gengetsu did not know.
But Gengetsu did know one thing. His own Kirigakure would absolutely be badly weakened, while Konoha's true heavy hitters had not even entered the field yet. If Kirigakure fought Konoha to the bitter end, then only the Sage of Six Paths could say what the final result would be.
The more he thought about it, the more determined he became to crush Iwagakure instead. Since they had already mobilized, they had to get some kind of result from this campaign. Konoha was a hard target. Iwagakure was the softer persimmon.
Gengetsu could not help feeling excited. When he led Kirigakure's army in a giant loop and struck Iwagakure from behind, Mu's face would probably be priceless.
A pity, really. Mu was wrapped up like a mummy, with even his face covered. Gengetsu probably would not get to see that expression.
"Move. Konoha is too strong. Iwagakure is already being bled by Konoha. We strike Iwagakure!"
Gengetsu decisively gave the order and turned the spearhead straight toward Iwagakure's rear.
Kirigakure's strange advance direction left the Konoha frontline ninja utterly baffled.
That direction is wrong.
Why are you heading toward Iwagakure?
The very next day, Haru received intelligence on Kirigakure's movement and immediately called a war meeting with visible excitement. Others might not understand what Kirigakure was doing, but Haru did.
They had shifted their sights to Iwagakure.
In the end, Haru's war plan had worked. The world line of the ninja world was still moving in its original direction.
Deny Kirigakure and Iwagakure the chance to engage in a decisive head-on clash.
Drag them into attrition instead.
Keep bleeding all three villages until the last drop.
Iwagakure's string of victories had led them deep into the Land of Fire. By the time they realized what was happening, Konoha had already locked them in place.
As long as Gengetsu was not stupid, he would avoid falling into the same trap. But at this point, he also could not simply turn around and go home. If he did not want this operation to end with nothing to show for it, then attacking north into Iwagakure was his only real option.
War Council Chamber
Mito stared at the map and the reports, unable to understand it no matter how much she thought. She simply could not grasp Gengetsu's strategic objective.
"Kirigakure's direction of attack is far too strange. It completely diverges from our defensive line."
"Do we need to continue adjusting our battle plan to block Kirigakure?"
Mito was uncertain. Based on Kirigakure's path of advance, the original defensive plan would need major adjustments, and the current line had far too many weak points that Kirigakure could easily break through.
"No need. Let Kirigakure pass."
"Just make a show of resistance. Kirigakure's target is Iwagakure."
Haru spoke with certainty, issuing the order.
Konoha's battle plans normally required the senior leadership to discuss and decide them together. Each plan was usually subject to a vote, and only the one that won majority approval would be implemented. That was one of Konoha's internal rules. Everyone voted together, and if the operation failed, then everyone shared the blame.
Of course, the Hokage could choose not to follow that custom.
But if the battle plan failed, then the Hokage alone had to bear the consequences. Even Tobirama had rarely used that authority. War was dangerous, and the failure of a single campaign could severely damage the Hokage's prestige.
"Absurd. The intelligence still hasn't been fully clarified. How can you decide on a battle plan so casually?"
Mito objected sharply. This was happening again.
The same way it had with the futures plan before.
Several times, Mito had opposed that plan too, only to be physically carried out by Haru. In the end, Haru had even listed the futures plan as a separate project and placed it entirely in Takuma and Nara Shikaru's hands, forbidding anyone else from interfering.
He was treating Konoha's survival like a toy.
Haru had drawn out 10 billion ryo for that plan in one stroke, a full third of Konoha's last round of funding.
Exactly how much money had already been spent on that cursed scheme now, no one knew except Shikaru, Takuma, and Haru.
"Mito, the burden of Konoha's survival rests on me, not you."
"Haru, you will regret this!"
"Enough, Mito. I am the Hokage!"
Haru threw a look at the Anbu beside him. The Anbu, already practiced in the routine, lifted Mito up and escorted her out of the war room.
This had happened more than once already. They were used to it.
Once again, Haru acted alone, exercising the authority of the Hokage over the rest of Konoha's senior leadership. Naturally, the plan passed once again.
As Haru's orders were carried out, Kirigakure's army advanced almost without obstruction. Konoha's defenders only made a token show of resistance, throwing a few shuriken when they met and then immediately falling back.
Originally, Gengetsu had expected that reaching Iwagakure's flank would cost him something. He never expected it to go this smoothly.
Gengetsu was not stupid. He could see that Konoha was deliberately letting them through.
This time, Iwagakure would have no wings to escape with.
Iwagakure did not have as much oil to squeeze as Konoha, but taking a bite out of them would still fill the stomach.
At the same time
The battle inside the futures hall was even fiercer than before.
The intensity was no weaker than a ninja war.
The difference was that ninja wars burned flesh and blood, while futures wars burned money.
For over a month, White Fang had appeared from time to time under Shikaru's instructions, guiding public sentiment. Every time he showed up, he predicted another upward move just before the next rise.
Then, at times, Shikaru would deliberately smash the market a little, giving White Fang a chance to show his face again by predicting a drop in advance.
From time to time, the leeks were tossed a little sweetness.
All so they could be harvested more cleanly in the end.
Soon afterward, Shikaru received intelligence from Haru and learned that the final harvest was about to begin.
Mu and Gengetsu would ultimately kill each other, and the First Great Ninja War was nearly over. Haru had already informed him of the outcome in advance.
Shikaru had no idea how Hokage-sama could predict the future, but since Hokage-sama had given the order, then it was time for him to move.
(End of Chapter)
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