Upon entering the command post, Orochimaru sat at the head seat, and Nara Shikaku immediately assumed his role as an assistant. He obediently stood by Orochimaru's side, handing over the prepared documents to the trio.
While Takuya, Minato, and Nawaki were going through the documents and intel, Orochimaru leisurely started brewing tea, looking as though he planned to enjoy a couple of cups.
This war wasn't going to be easy.
As he read through the reports, Minato frowned. Kirigakure was too cunning, never engaging Konoha head-on, instead resorting to constant ambushes. Since they held the initiative, Kirigakure could dictate the pace of battle, while Konoha was left passively responding.
"Sensei, we're really on the back foot here," Nawaki said, feeling the weight of the situation.
Takuya quietly read, withholding any comments for now.
After finishing the tea, Orochimaru poured a cup for everyone, and Shikaku pushed the cups towards the trio.
"Yes, we are indeed at a disadvantage. The Land of Water is an island nation, while we are not. This means that Konoha lacks sufficient naval vessels, putting us on the back foot whenever a war comes to the sea," Orochimaru said slowly, sipping his tea with a slight smile. There wasn't the faintest hint of anxiety on his face.
After putting down the documents, Takuya spoke up, having figured out Orochimaru's plan: "You want to break Kirigakure's chain of islands, right?"
Kirigakure had constructed military facilities across many small islands, precisely to prevent Konoha from using them as stepping stones for an invasion. No matter who held the initiative, if Konoha launched a direct attack on Kirigakure, Yagura would be forced to abandon his advantage and return to defend. At that point, Kirigakure would lose the upper hand.
Other than ambushing and disrupting the rear lines, they would no longer have any major advantages. Instead, they'd need to worry about defending against Konoha's full assault.
"Exactly," Orochimaru nodded, confirming Takuya's guess. "I need a force capable of being the spearhead, breaking through Kirigakure's chain of islands, capturing some of them, and pushing ever closer to Kirigakure—forcing them into a head-on battle."
"This spearhead needs enough strength. If they're too weak or average, even if they do break through, they'll just find themselves in a crisis, unable to force a direct confrontation."
Classic Orochimaru—when he moved, it was always big and bold.
Takuya couldn't help but admire his daring approach.
Orochimaru smiled. "Your squad, Takuya, will be this spearhead. I believe you can complete this mission. Of course, Jiraiya will be supporting you, along with around twenty additional Jonin."
As a spearhead, the force needed to be powerful, yet not too large. The spearhead would break the enemy's line, while the larger forces followed, pressing the advance step by step.
It was an extremely dangerous mission for the spearhead—one wrong move could lead to encirclement and complete annihilation. That's why Orochimaru had held off on making a move until Takuya's squad arrived.
He trusted Takuya wouldn't let him down, and he also wanted to see just how strong Takuya had become.
It had been several years, and Orochimaru didn't believe Takuya had stayed stagnant all that time—even if the little white fox had not made any recent appearances.
"Sounds like a challenging mission," Takuya said, raising an eyebrow, his interest piqued.
This mission sounded like a lot of fun—it was going to be intense.
The commander on Kirigakure's side was that short Yagura. Once they broke through the chain of islands, Yagura would surely be furious. Takuya wondered if, when things got desperate, Kirigakure would unleash the Three-Tails.
"Go rest for now. Tomorrow morning, head to the Whirlpool Country camp. The other participants in this mission will join you there," Orochimaru instructed, gesturing for Shikaku to arrange accommodations for the trio. He even thoughtfully had food supplies prepared for them, as well as plenty of firewood in their tent for Takuya to cook with.
"I never thought we'd get to enjoy special privileges like this," Nawaki said.
Orochimaru had arranged everything for them, leaving the trio without a care in the world. Even Shikaku gave them a peculiar look—a mix of envy and bemusement.
Nearly three thousand Konoha shinobi were involved in the war effort, and if one counted those handling logistics, the number exceeded three thousand. None of them had received special treatment—even Orochimaru himself kept things as simple as possible. The only exception was Takuya's squad.
"What's wrong?" Takuya said, patting Minato's shoulder. "Don't tell me you don't want this kind of treatment? Would you rather huddle in a tent, gnawing on dry rations and eating tasteless camp food?"
"Or maybe you didn't get enough of that during the River Country campaign?"
"..."
Minato's smile froze slightly, and he quickly jumped up. "I'll go start the fire and boil some water."
That miserable feeling—Minato didn't want to experience that again. Sure, it might feel wrong to enjoy special privileges, but who in their right mind would choose hardship over comfort when given the chance?
Besides, it was just having a small private meal—it wasn't like they were doing anything unforgivable.
Once the meal was ready, Orochimaru arrived, Shikaku in tow—clearly there to mooch off their dinner.
Shikaku, who had been grumbling earlier, ate with great enthusiasm, showing he was all talk and no backbone.
It was odd—most members of the Nara clan were highly intelligent, yet their emotional intelligence when it came to everyday life was quite lacking. Especially when it came to being henpecked husbands—it seemed to be a family trait.
It almost seemed like no matter how gentle a woman was before marriage, if she married into the Nara clan, her temperament would become as fiery as a chili pepper.
Takuya figured that a lot of it came down to being forced into that role. He was sure that any woman, no matter how patient, would snap if she spent hours preparing a meal only to have her family ignore it for hours. If there was a valid reason, it was one thing—but when they had no excuse and still delayed for hours, that took a special kind of stubbornness.
Once in their thinking mode, the Nara clan members could become world-class procrastinators.
"I have some things to attend to, so I'll leave you all to rest. Shikaku, make sure to wash the dishes before coming back."
After eating and drinking his fill, Orochimaru promptly stood up and left.
Shikaku, who was about to follow, froze in place, his expression turning sour as he stared at the pile of dishes. Washing them seemed like such a hassle.
Why did Orochimaru have to make him do this?
"How did you end up friends with this guy?" Nawaki asked, draping an arm around Minato's shoulders as they watched Shikaku reluctantly scrubbing dishes. "I think the Nara clan members are pretty amusing."
"They really are," Minato laughed awkwardly.
How he and Shikaku became friends was still a mystery even to Minato. Perhaps it was… birds of a feather?
No, more like kindred spirits.
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Next Bonus: 500 Power Stones. When restarting I will give you two chapters╰ (´꒳`) ╯
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(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read up to chapter 340+ at patreon,com/ Emik01. ಥ‿ಥ
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