Chapter 12 Promotion to Special Jonin
A very classic ninjutsu, the Shadow Clone Technique!
However, it's not the one that creates clones of itself.
What Souji wants is the Shadow Clone Technique for using ninja tools!
Besides the shuriken shadow clone technique, there is also a kunai shadow clone technique.
However, because it consumes a lot of chakra and its power and practicality are only average, it is very unpopular and very few people practice this technique.
It was indeed not very appealing to other ninjas; apart from a very few who specialized in ninjutsu research, almost no one was interested.
However, for Souji, this technique was simply the strongest ninjutsu in the entire ninja world!
Even with his physique and the Mochizuki-ryu technique, the number of kunai he can throw at once is still quite limited, and there are also issues with the interval between throws and the amount he can carry.
However, once you learn the Kunai Shadow Clone Technique, you only need to form a few hand seals and release chakra to instantly turn one kunai into hundreds of kunai!
Whether it's quickly eliminating a large number of enemies or instantly increasing the attack density against a single powerful foe, this is a technique that can be described as perfect!
...
They arrived at the operations headquarters located in the center of the Konoha camp.
The Souji explained his purpose, and the guarding ninja let him pass.
In the main hall of the operations headquarters, a war conference was being held. Led by Sarutobi Shinnosuke, more than a dozen powerful ninjas with imposing presence were gathered around a table displaying a large map, exchanging their opinions.
Originally, Souji thought he would have to wait on the sidelines, since he was just a lowly Chunin and it wasn't his place to participate in the strategy meeting.
However, when Shinji saw him, he simply waved and gestured for Souji to come over.
Upon seeing this, the others immediately stopped talking.
Shinnosuke, with the same serious expression he had shown before, addressed Souji in a deep voice:
"Mochizuki Souji, I have heard about your performance.
You killed more than twenty Chunin and Genin, captured a Chunin from a prestigious Sunagakure clan, and even defeated three Special Jonin who attacked you. Your strength is quite impressive, and your achievements are sufficient.
As acting commander, I hereby appoint you as a Special Jonin!"
"This is a special promotion during the war, but once the war is over, the formal procedures can be completed upon returning to Konoha."
"Yes! I am very grateful!" the Souji-in-chief quickly thanked him.
"No need to thank me, this is something you earned through your strength and achievements."
Shinnosuke continued, "Now that you've been promoted to Special Jonin, you're qualified to participate in the meeting. We're discussing strategies for attacking Sunagakure.
You can listen in and learn more, and you can also share your thoughts with everyone."
"yes!"
The Souji agreed and stood by the table to listen to the discussion.
At the same time, he felt a sense of pride. He had been promoted to Special Jonin and gained the qualification to participate in the War Council.
Now he had finally joined the ranks of the upper echelons!
However, Shinnosuke, who should have been in a support role, presided over the battle meeting... It seems Orochimaru really doesn't give these Jonin any face at all, and still doesn't want to pay any attention to them.
Orochimaru has a strange and arrogant personality. He doesn't even bother to look at anyone except the top-tier figures. Although he is indeed a Kage-level powerhouse, he is certainly not a good leader.
"Now that new people have joined, I'll say it again: I advocate taking advantage of the current weakness of the Sand Village's high command and launching a strong attack!"
"The tailed beast jinchūriki is weak, the bloodline limit ninja using Scorch Release is injured, and five elite Jonin have died. There couldn't be a better time!"
"As I just mentioned, the Sand Village's high command is weak, but they still have as many as four thousand Chunin and Genin, while we only have less than three thousand. More importantly... Lord Orochimaru is not cooperating with us!"
When Orochimaru was mentioned, the expressions of the high-ranking officials changed slightly.
Although they are all at least Special Jonin, and many of them are even official Jonin who are eligible to vote for the new Hokage, it's not like they wouldn't dare to talk about Orochimaru's faults.
However, the reputation of the Three Sannin was still very high, and the people couldn't hide their fear on their faces.
Mentioning Orochimaru's Jonin, he looked at Shinnosuke and said:
"Lord Sarutobi, is it really impossible to try communicating with Lord Orochimaru again?"
"Lord Orochimaru made it very clear that the timing of his attack is up to him. Everyone should know Lord Orochimaru's temperament. No matter how many times I go, the result is the same."
"well..."
The person who asked the question sighed somewhat helplessly and continued:
"As long as Lord Orochimaru doesn't cooperate with us, I will oppose a direct attack! Pakura with her Scorching Release is alright, but a Tailed Beast Jinchuriki is someone we simply cannot handle. Moreover, we are at a slight disadvantage in terms of troop strength, so there is no possibility of winning by sheer numbers."
"Then what do you suggest we do? Just let the opportunity slip away?"
"Missing an opportunity is always better than making a pointless sacrifice."
Starting with these two, others also voiced their opinions.
However, broadly speaking, there are two factions: one that will support it, and one that will not.
Shinnosuke gave Souji some information, and as Souji read it and listened to everyone's discussion, he roughly understood that the Sunagakure assassination attempt on Orochimaru had failed, resulting in heavy losses and weakened high-level combat power.
Many people wanted to take advantage of his illness and launch a strong attack on Sunagakure to completely defeat him.
However, Orochimaru still ignored the crucial Kage-level fighters at this point.
"I will decide for myself when to make a move."
This is Orochimaru's response to Shinnosuke's request for help.
Without Orochimaru's intervention, no one can deal with the Sand Village's tailed beast, Shukaku.
Unlike Gaara, who was not very able to unleash the power of Shukaku and almost lost even to the dying Kimimaro.
The current Jinchūriki, Bunpuku, has been close to Shukaku for many years and has been genuinely recognized by Shukaku. Although Bunpuku's aging body can hardly withstand Shukaku's enormous power, his compatibility with Shukaku is far superior to that of Gaara.
He is a perfect Jinchūriki who can truly unleash the power of the Tailed Beast.
Even Orochimaru and his Manda were forced to retreat, which shows their power; for others, going up against them would be suicide.
Although victory can also be achieved through sheer numbers, inflicting sufficiently heavy casualties on ordinary Chunin and Genin in Sunagakure can also lead to victory in this war.
However, on the front lines in the Land of Rivers, the total number of Sunagakure troops was four thousand, while that of Konoha was two thousand eight hundred.
Originally, Konoha had far more ninjas than Sunagakure.
However, the Land of Fire was located in the middle of the other four great nations and needed to retain troops to defend against other major powers.
As a result, Konoha's forces were at a disadvantage on both the battlefields of the Land of Rain and the Land of Rivers.
Although the individual ninjas of Konoha are of higher quality than those of Sunagakure, they are outnumbered and have little chance of winning in a battle of troop strength.
However, everyone wanted to defeat Sunagakure as soon as possible and then go to support the Land of Rain front, so many people were unwilling to miss the current great opportunity to attack.
After much debate, Shinnosuke finally proposed a compromise.
"Based on everyone's opinions, I think we should temporarily adopt a pressure tactic. We should switch from defense to offense and conduct small-scale attacks on Sunagakure in a guerrilla-like manner to avoid large-scale battles, with the goal of gradually eroding Sunagakure's fighting strength. What do you all think?"
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Sorry for late..
End of this chapter..