Kuro Town, temporary camp for the retreating ninjas of Konoha's Eastern Front.
"Mist ninjas suddenly launched an attack?" Nara Suzaku furrowed his brows as he looked at the intelligence in his hand.
Within the camp, several people exchanged puzzled glances, clearly confused.
"The war has already ended; what could the Mist ninjas possibly want to do at this time? Could there have been some unforeseen circumstances?"
They had already reached their home turf, and if something unexpected occurred now, they would have to grab their kunai and return to the battlefield. The army's resentment would be understandable.
Nara Suzaku did not respond; with the information in hand, he could not determine the opponent's motives.
"What did Shisui Jonin say? Are we being asked to provide reinforcements?"
As soon as these words were spoken, several jonin fell silent. If they were to send reinforcements now, wouldn't that place them in the same position as the Uchiha?
"Shisui Jonin's letter stated that the Hidden Mist Village dispatched an elite force, consisting of nearly a hundred bloodline ninjas, and there might be many more ninjas hidden among them."
Over a hundred bloodline ninjas!
Everyone was shocked. It is well-known that the strength of a bloodline ninja is almost several times, even dozens of times that of a ninja of the same rank, making them far beyond the capabilities of ordinary civilian ninjas.
"The Mist ninjas have approached the front line camp but were temporarily repelled. Now they need reinforcements and medical ninjas."
"If the Mist ninjas continue to increase their forces, they might have to abandon their defensive line and retreat."
Medical ninjas.
Utatane Kaori, who had been quietly listening from the side, suddenly changed her expression and looked up, noticing the others' gazes subtly shifting toward her.
"The war has already ended; how could there still be so many ninja troops from the Hidden Mist? Uchiha Shisui must be fabricating military intelligence!"
This statement made sense, and everyone hoped that Uchiha Shisui was lying about the situation. However, they also knew that the likelihood of that was extremely slim.
Nara Suzaku ignored Utatane Kaori's outburst and, after a moment of contemplation, made a decision.
"The army will halt its advance. Each department will withdraw ninjas to form fifteen small teams, and three additional teams of medical ninjas will be assembled as reinforcements. Utatane Rikito will lead the teams and set off immediately to reinforce the front line!"
"Commander Nara!"
Utatane Kaori's expression changed, and her face immediately fell. Utatane Rikito was her nephew and only a Chunin. Given the uncertain situation, if anything went wrong, how would she explain it to her clan?
"Carry out the order!"
"Yes."
Everyone in the tent looked on with cold indifference. They were eager to return home and did not want to take the lead in providing reinforcements.
Nara Suzaku felt a headache coming on as he looked at the numerous words like 'possibly,' 'should,' and 'if' that appeared in the letter. From his standpoint, if the letter had not come from Uchiha Shisui, he would never have so decisively dispatched reinforcements.
Uchiha Shisui had specifically inquired in the letter whether they should retreat due to insufficient troops.
He had directly thrown the problem onto Nara Suzaku's shoulders. If he didn't respond and something went wrong at the front line, the trouble would fall on him.
Moreover, this matter could not be concealed; he had to make a response immediately.
However, just because he didn't take action didn't mean no one else would.
After returning to the tent, Utatane Kaori immediately called for Utatane Rikito. Once she conveyed Nara's orders, she earnestly advised him, "This trip to the front line is fraught with danger. You must remember Tsunade-sama's medical ninja guidelines. Don't rush to the front, and be careful and cautious along the way while checking for dangers."
Though Utatane Rikito was not yet seventeen, he was steady and clear about the family's stance. "Since this is a support mission, we should move quickly. We are already close to Konoha, where there is usually little danger. If we deliberately delay, won't they notice?"
"What does that matter? In the world of ninjas, there can be no room for complacency. Have they forgotten how Tsunade-sama's brother died?"
"Moreover, the Uchiha family is the most prestigious clan in Konoha; they won't retreat so easily. Medical ninjas are the most important, so you must not get into any trouble."
"Understood, Aunt. I'll go prepare right away."
"Go on, and be careful on the way!"
At the same time, after a day and night of repeated reconnaissance, Shisui finally confirmed that Hidden Mist Village had no reinforcements in the Land of Whirlpools apart from those bloodline ninjas.
After receiving this news, the two in the tent fell silent for a long time.
"Sensei, should I write another letter to inform Commander Nara about the situation here?"
Having confirmed that the enemy had no follow-up forces, he believed that reinforcements were no longer necessary.
"No need. Repeated military orders damage authority, and acting this way will worsen his opinion of you."
Shisui nodded, but then thought that even if it worsened his opinion, it didn't seem to matter much; after all, he was already standing in opposition to the Uchiha.
Sima Yi noticed his thoughts and, with a sharp gaze, reminded him, "As the ancients said, those who gain the hearts of the people can become emperors; those who gain the emperor's heart can become lords; those who gain the lords' hearts can only be ministers."
Shisui stood frozen, his eyes darting around as he desperately tried to decipher the meaning behind the words.
Seeing this, Sima Yi sighed, "Those who gain the villagers' hearts can become Hokage; those who gain the Hokage's heart can become assistants; and those who gain the assistants' hearts can only be chiefs. Do you understand this explanation?"
Whew—
This he understood!
"Sensei means that if the villagers of Konoha support me, I can become Hokage. Therefore, I need to gain the support of more people?"
"Correct. Winning people's hearts is the best strategy. This principle will be the foundation of all our plans moving forward, so you must always remember it."
"But the Nara clan has always supported the Hokage. Even if we try to befriend them, they won't help us, right?"
"Hahaha, not at all, not at all!" Sima Yi laughed heartily, shaking his head as he picked up a book and began to read, not elaborating further.
Seeing this, Shisui had no choice but to give up on pressing for more information, deciding instead to ponder on it himself at night.
"Since the Mist Ninjas are no longer a concern, should we do nothing next?"
Sima Yi, without lifting his head, replied softly, "Monitor the movements of the reinforcements and the Mist Ninjas. They won't be coming so soon; we just need to wait for the right moment."
"I understand, sensei."
Hearing that the reinforcements wouldn't arrive soon, Shisui couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding, deep in thought.
Sure enough, for three consecutive days, reports from the reconnaissance ninjas he had sent out indicated that the reinforcements were only marching about sixty miles a day, and there was a tendency for that speed to decrease.
It's worth noting that the reinforcements consisted of only a few small teams, not a large-scale march. This pace was even less than half of what a normal ninja could cover on the road.
At this rate, the reinforcements would need at least five more days to arrive.
Meanwhile, the Mist Ninjas showed no signs of stopping, continuously launching attacks day and night, most of which were intercepted by traps.
Gradually, the remaining Mist Ninjas also sensed that something was amiss. Without their reconnaissance ninjas, they found themselves too passive many times, which led them to gather around Ao for support.
At this point, the original hundred bloodline ninjas had dwindled to fewer than fifty!
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