Content
"What are the main strategies and tactics we use during wars?" Fujin asked as he and Renjiro followed the army.
Renjiro replied, "I was thinking of just letting you see them and form your conclusions. However, Shikaku's words and the army composition change some things…"
He glanced at Hoka's division as he explained, "Traditionally, we would have several specialist units move ahead of our army when we marched to war. The Hyuga ninjas would surround our armies and keep an eye on several kilometers around us. Along with them would be the Inuzuka ninjas and their companions. Their noses can pick up any scents the enemy leaves behind, which are important in spotting traps and figuring out the movements of our enemies.
The Yamanaka ninjas would follow behind them. They excel at traditional sensing. However, their chakra fields can be sensed by the enemies. So, they activate it only if the Hyuga or Inuzuka ninjas ask them to do so. What they do more is use their secret technique to transfer their minds into wild birds to keep an eye on the skies.
Several Sealmasters move with the Yamanaka clan ninjas as well to spot any traps set for us using seals. Generally, we assign the Sealmasters belonging to these 4 clans to this group so they don't fall short on other aspects.
Following the Yamanaka ninjas and Sealmasters would be the Aburame ninjas. While they don't have any of the skills the three clans I just mentioned have, the bugs they control make them more useful than the three clans combined. I don't need to explain their use to you, do I?"
Fujin shook his head. He was well aware of the Aburame clan's prowess. He wasn't surprised by the way the other clans were used either. In fact, it was very obvious. What he wanted to know more was what would happen later. He asked, "So, what do you do when you finally spot the enemy?"
Renjiro answered, "It depends on what we encounter. If it's the scouting units of the enemy army or any small groups, then these four clan ninjas eliminate them without any assistance.
If we face their vanguard, the Inuzuka, Hyuga and Yamanaka clan ninjas would step behind and let the Aburame clan launch a sneak attack. They send a small amount of poisonous bugs to kill as many of our enemies as they can before the enemy realizes the threat.
Once they realized the threat, the specialist units would act as the vanguard and confront, or rather, contain the enemy. The main army following them would split into two and attack the enemy from their flanks, completely crushing them.
Before the enemy's main forces even realize, their vanguard and smaller units. When they finally realize it, their morale would hit rock bottom while ours would be at its peak. The army would continue with the same momentum and even crush the enemy army, forcing them to disperse and retreat."
Fujin looked suspiciously at Renjiro. While the strategy was undoubtedly good, it couldn't be that successful. Otherwise, Konoha would have eliminated the enemy countries long ago.
Renjiro noticed Fujin's gaze and chuckled, "Well, at least that was the intention. This formation was created by Lord Second and he used it successfully to cause heavy losses to all other Great Villages. At the start of the First Great War, Konoha was nearly invincible despite being considerably outnumbered due to this tactic.
Unfortunately, the other villages took note of this tactic and changed their approach. Traditionally, ninjas always engaged in guerilla warfare. Confrontations of large forces would happen very rarely. Only large and powerful clans like the Senju and Uchiha could do it.
However, Lord Second's tactics forced a change. While facing Konoha, the enemy villages rarely disperse their armies. They all move together and even the units that operate at a distance stay within the range of their sensors. In addition, several seals were developed to hide from the Byakugan and eliminate their scent, reducing the effectiveness of our specialist units.
So, this tactic wasn't that successful later on, but it was quite good and was even used during the last Great Ninja War. I suppose it shows how good Lord Second was at strategizing. Even though it has been several decades and our enemies have created several workarounds, no one has created a plan to crush this formation... It's a shame that the downfall of this tactic would be caused by the decreasing numbers of the ninjas in these clans…"
Renjiro sighed. He glanced at Fujin and continued, "The tactics will need to change if the future armies will have three times as many civilian ninjas as the clan ninjas."
Fujin agreed, "Yeah. We could still use the specialist units for what Lord Second did. However, we can no longer treat them as the vanguard. While the Aburame clan ninjas harass the enemy with bugs, the specialist units would move out of the way and allow the main army to confront the enemy. As for the specialist units…"
Fujin entered into deep thought wondering what they should do. After all, just staying out of the battle or joining the main army seemed like a waste. Renjiro didn't disturb Fujin and wondered, 'It'll be interesting to see his choice. Though he is intelligent, leading armies is a whole different game…'
After a few minutes, Fujin said, "There are two ways we could go about it… The first is switching roles. Previously, the Specialist units would confront the enemy while the main army went for the flanks. Of course, the low numbers would mean we can't go after both flanks.
So, the Specialist units would target just one flank and leave the other open. Once the enemy army crumbles and begins retreating, the main army's rear could move to chase and eliminate them.
However, there are some flaws in this tactic… Just attacking from one flank would give more space for the enemy to retreat slightly and regroup. Though effective, it won't be decisive. Even if we win, the casualties we inflict wouldn't force the enemy to stop the war. In addition, the number of Hyuga, Aburame, Inuzuka and Yamanaka ninjas in each division is very low. Even if we send the Nara and Akimichi clan ninjas to increase their numbers, it'll still be a distraction at best…"
Renjiro nodded and said, "That is natural. We can just hope that the Ino-Shika-Cho combination overwhelms them. There is another risk to this strategy. If the enemy forces decide to confront the attack on the flank instead of stopping our main army, it will reduce the number of our clan ninjas even more rapidly. It'll make our future battles far more difficult."
While Fujin wasn't too concerned about maintaining the number of clan ninjas, Renjiro was. Even though the proportion of clan ninjas declined, nearly half the ninjas inside the village were still from the clans. What Shikaku was worried about would only happen after the clans took another big hit. Renjiro hoped that things wouldn't deteriorate to that extent.
Fujin nodded. Renjiro asked, "What's the second method?"
Fujin smiled and said, "Strengthen the main army somehow. When our main army attacks, it should be a crushing attack and the enemy forces should be decimated.
Of course, killing all, or even half, of their ninjas is unrealistic. I'm not talking about their lives. Instead, it is their morale. Our attack has to be so crushing that even their leaders lose confidence and order a retreat. Once they do, the specialist units could turn into assassination units and pick off as many of their scattered units as they can before the enemy regroups or escapes into a safe place.
Assuming we kill at least 15% of their ninjas quickly to break their morale and plant terror in their hearts and kill another 35% as they retreat disorderly, we could eliminate half of their forces with relative ease."
Renjiro was surprised. He thought for a bit before replying, "Interesting… I hadn't thought of this. However, how would you strengthen the army to crush the enemy's morale so thoroughly?"
With a thoughtful expression, Fujin answered, "I have no idea."
Fujin's reply caught Renjiro completely off guard. He almost missed his step and nearly fell. Fortunately, he got hold of himself in the nick of time and glared at Fujin while thinking, 'This brat! I almost fell! I was expecting a new and unique idea. Why did he put up a thoughtful expression to say this?'
Fujin shrugged and explained, "You still haven't explained how the main army operates, what combinations they use and other details. A new and all-encompassing combination jutsu is an obvious idea, but I can't comment much on it until I see our current methods in action. Anyway, let Shikaku-san think about it. He's the best at strategy."
Renjiro continued glaring and replied, "We can't leave everything to him. Several good ideas come on the battlefield. You should watch the training exercises and see if something comes to your mind."
Fujin chuckled. The army traveled for a few hours, covering several hundred kilometers until they reached close to the Fire Capital and camped a dozen kilometers away. This would be the place where the military exercises would finally begin! According to Shikaku's original plan, they would stay here for a week. However, things rarely go according to plan.