Uchiha Ren ignored the agitated Dodai and instead carefully analyzed the current situation.
There was no need to guess who was behind the Fourth Raikage leading two thousand Kumogakure shinobi into the Land of Fire.
It had to be Shimura Danzō.
Within Konoha, there was no one else bold enough to do something like this.
Ren had to admit that Danzō's move was extremely clever.
Not only had he escalated the situation dramatically, providing himself with a perfect excuse for secretly cooperating with Kumogakure, but he had also created an opportunity to gain fame and political capital.
Before this, Konoha might have tried to avoid war with Kumogakure.
But once the Fourth Raikage personally led troops into the Land of Fire, Konoha had no choice but to fight.
After all, if the enemy marched straight into their territory and Konoha did nothing, the village's prestige and standing in the shinobi world would collapse overnight.
It would also be impossible to explain such inaction to Konoha's citizens or to the Fire Daimyō.
Therefore, no matter what happened, Konoha had to win the coming battle.
And once that victory was achieved, the man who had orchestrated the situation with such "brilliant strategy"—
Shimura Danzō—
would naturally become the greatest contributor to the war effort, gaining even more leverage in his bid to become the Fourth Hokage.
As for the matter of the assassination attempt on the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi…
Without concrete evidence, Hiruzen had no way to punish Danzō.
Tenzo, who had been branded with Danzō's Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, could not testify against him.
In fact, Hiruzen had only escaped danger thanks to Tenzo's Wood Release technique.
Danzō could easily claim that he had sent Tenzo in advance precisely to rescue Hiruzen at the critical moment.
If anything, Hiruzen might even end up thanking him.
"…Danzō really played this move beautifully."
Ren sighed.
Then he glanced at Dodai.
He had originally intended to drive a wedge between Kumogakure and Danzō, giving Danzō more enemies in the shinobi world.
But now it seemed he had accidentally helped Danzō instead.
The more Kumogakure hated Danzō…
…the cleaner Danzō appeared in this entire affair.
"Ren , what should we do next?"
Uchiha Fugaku had also heard the intelligence reported by Tobi, and the situation felt extremely dangerous.
He spoke with a serious expression.
Their side had just over two hundred combat-ready shinobi.
Against the incoming two thousand Kumogakure shinobi, they had almost no chance of resistance.
And the people present were the elite of the Uchiha clan.
If they were all lost here, the Uchiha would suffer devastating damage.
Yet simply withdrawing wasn't ideal either.
If the Uchiha retreated while the enemy had already invaded the Land of Fire, others might accuse them of abandoning the battlefield, giving their enemies within Konoha more ammunition for political attacks.
"Don't panic," Ren said calmly.
"Remember—this intelligence was gathered by us."
"The village has never issued us any orders."
"So we can simply pretend we know nothing and return to the village."
"Capturing these Kumogakure shinobi and the Eight-Tails jinchūriki is already a tremendous achievement for the Uchiha clan."
Fugaku paused.
Then he relaxed slightly.
Ren was right.
Since their unit had never received official orders, the initiative remained entirely in their hands.
What they chose to do was their own decision.
At that moment, Tobi's body stiffened slightly.
After a moment, he returned to normal.
Ren knew that White Zetsu had a unique method of transmitting intelligence over long distances through the earth and trees.
Tobi's reaction likely meant he had received new information.
"What happened?" Ren asked.
Tobi grinned mischievously.
"Konoha is in serious trouble."
"It looks like the Fourth Raikage realized something was wrong."
"He's changed the direction of his army."
"At the same time, the border forces of Sunagakure and Iwagakure have begun mobilizing."
"They're gathering troops."
"A map," Ren said immediately.
A nearby Uchiha handed him a military map, which Ren spread open in front of Tobi.
"What route is the Kumogakure army taking?"
"And where are Suna and Iwa mobilizing their forces?"
Tobi pointed to several locations.
"The Kumogakure army turned here… then moved in this direction."
"Sunagakure and Iwagakure are mobilizing troops here and here."
Ren studied the map carefully.
After cross-referencing the locations Tobi indicated, his gaze slowly locked onto a single point inside the Land of Fire.
His expression turned serious.
"Kikyō Mountain."
"What?!"
Fugaku was startled and immediately looked at the same location.
Kikyō Mountain was located deep within the Land of Fire, northwest of Konoha.
It was roughly equidistant from several major frontlines:
the Takigakure border defense linethe Kusagakure border defense linethe Amegakure warfrontthe Kawagakure front
Because of this, Konoha used Kikyō Mountain as a logistics transfer hub, transporting supplies to multiple battlefronts.
It also served as the final defensive barrier protecting Konoha's northwest approach.
Once Kikyō Mountain fell, the terrain beyond became relatively open.
A shinobi army marching at full speed could reach the outskirts of Konoha within a single day.
Precisely because of its importance, Konoha had built a heavily fortified stronghold at Kikyō Mountain.
If the frontlines collapsed, retreating forces could regroup there with reinforcements from Konoha and make a last stand.
However, because Kikyō Mountain lay within the Land of Fire, rather than on the first defensive line, it normally only had a small garrison.
Just enough to maintain its operations.
If Kumogakure captured Kikyō Mountain and cut off the retreat of Konoha's border forces, while Sunagakure and Iwagakure simultaneously attacked those forces—
Then Konoha's army would be surrounded with no defensible position.
And Konoha itself would fall into grave danger.
"A is smarter than I expected," Ren said slowly.
"He must have already contacted Iwagakure and Sunagakure in advance."
"When he couldn't confirm contact with Dodai's group, he immediately activated the backup plan."
Ren had already pieced together most of the Raikage's strategy.
Fugaku spoke with determination.
"Ren , we don't have a choice now."
"We have to fight."
"Kikyō Mountain cannot fall."
When the nest is destroyed, no egg remains intact.
At this moment, Fugaku no longer cared whether the Uchiha clan might suffer heavy losses.
There was only one thing on his mind.
They had to reach Kikyō Mountain before Kumogakure did.
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