From a young age, receiving the best education, yet growing up to become a street delinquent—such a result would be unacceptable to anyone. It was a direct slap in the face for Hiruzen Sarutobi. After Tsunade's interruption, the matter was simply dropped. Some issues even the Third Hokage couldn't directly intervene to solve.
All the teacher could do was try to enlighten the students and prevent them from developing a sense of envy towards others. As for other measures, there wasn't much anyone could do. Not even the Hokage could order someone to not take on a student or prohibit them from training their disciple. Especially not Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had also enjoyed a privileged education since childhood—it wasn't his place to restrict such opportunities.
Ultimately, the matter ended inconclusively, with only Tsunade grumbling, "Sensei, Asuma has some serious issues. No matter how busy you are, you should make time to care about his upbringing."
The Third Hokage's old face flushed with embarrassment, and while puffing on his pipe, he vowed, "I will talk to Asuma. The boy has indeed been overly indulgent lately."
Being dealt this metaphorical blow while in the office and losing face, the Third Hokage decided to clock out early that day and headed home to have a heart-to-heart with his son.
That very night, Asuma experienced his father's loving attention—in the form of a good scolding.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru and Danzo would never have imagined that Takuya had already assigned Minato to start investigating their secret underground research facility. The facility couldn't be too far from the village—with enough effort, they would eventually locate it. Takuya didn't believe for a moment that a younger, less experienced Kakashi could find it in the original timeline, but someone like Minato, with his Flying Thunder God Technique, couldn't.
As long as they discovered the trail of the white serpents, they could be sure that the location they were searching for was nearby.
The war wouldn't stop just because of a few unexpected turns. Once the war drew to a close, the Sand Village forces withdrew back to the Land of Wind, returning to their village. With Chiyo's backing, Rasa quickly rose to become the village's Fourth Kazekage in the shortest time possible.
The relatively brief war had completely doused Sand Village's fighting spirit—even Rasa himself had lost his former edge. Worse still, he had just taken office but already had to leave village affairs behind, and even before he could stabilize his own position, he was forced to venture into the desert in search of precious minerals.
Even though the Leaf Village had waived the war reparations for the Sand Village, they still owed significant debts—debts that Rasa, as Kazekage, had to repay. With the village's financial troubles, Rasa found himself following in the footsteps of the Third Kazekage, becoming a "professional miner."
Thankfully, Rasa had learned well from the Third Kazekage's endeavors, and becoming a skilled miner was only a matter of time.
While Rasa busied himself with mining, Chiyo led a thousand-strong unit to the Land of Fire to aid the Leaf Village against the Mist Village. The Third Hokage had his own considerations, but these actions left Orochimaru caught in an awkward situation.
The reinforcements did not enter the Leaf Village but were instead escorted across the Land of Fire directly to the frontlines by a squad of Anbu sent by the Third Hokage. The reinforcements had arrived, and now Orochimaru faced the headache of where to position these troops.
The most troubling aspect was that Chiyo herself was leading the reinforcements, and she wasn't someone that Orochimaru could easily manipulate.
"This war with the Mist Village looks like it's going to be hard to win," Chiyo muttered as soon as she arrived at the coastal camp. After gaining a general understanding of the current situation, she was able to analyze the state of the war.
The battle was chaotic, with the Mist Village acting like rabid dogs, mindlessly wearing down the Leaf forces. There was no strategy involved, no coherent battle plan—just endless waves of attacks.
Has the Third Mizukage lost his mind? Chiyo wondered. Who fights a war like this?
Her doubts didn't last long as Orochimaru sent someone to invite her to the command post for a strategic meeting.
Since she had brought the Sand Village's elite troops to aid the Leaf, Chiyo had no intention of causing trouble. However, as soon as she entered the command post, she felt that something was off.
Aside from Orochimaru and Jiraiya, there were only a handful of jonin in attendance. The number of participants seemed especially small.
"Please, have a seat," Orochimaru invited, and Chiyo took her seat opposite Jiraiya.
Without waiting for Orochimaru to speak, Jiraiya took the initiative to explain, "I apologize if this seems unimpressive, but the situation on the battlefield is rather chaotic. The Mist Village's combat strategy is very peculiar, forcing us to send out many of our available shinobi to engage. Hence, only a few could attend this meeting."
Chiyo nodded, showing her understanding. Although she had just arrived and hadn't gathered much information yet, she decided to offer her insight.
"The war between the Leaf and the Mist is indeed a mess. The battlefield stretches across the entire coastline, with no discernible structure."
"Exactly as you said, the war has devolved into chaos," Orochimaru said with a smile, picking up the conversation. "This is all because of the Mist Village's tactics—we of the Leaf were forced into this mess."
"Please, have a look," Orochimaru continued, spreading out a recent map on the table. Chiyo was stunned as she saw the numerous red circles representing enemy positions drawn all over the map.
This is complete chaos.
Even someone as seasoned as Chiyo couldn't help but marvel. "Has the situation been this disorganized for the entire time?" she asked.
She had seen chaotic battlefields before, but this level of disarray was a first. For a moment, Chiyo didn't even know how to strategize. With the Mist Village's unpredictable tactics, any plan would be pointless since the Mist forces simply wouldn't engage.
"Things have been like this ever since the Third Mizukage personally came to the frontlines," Orochimaru lamented. He missed Yagura—when Yagura was in command, there were tactics and counter-tactics, clever maneuvers, and genuine strategic contests.
But after the Third Mizukage took charge? There was nothing—no strategies, just endless waves of attacks. It was as if the Mist forces were determined to grind them down through sheer brute force.
Orochimaru gestured towards the map, continuing, "We attempted to sever the Mist's supply lines, making transportation difficult for them. Even if they have numerous warships, logistics remain a challenge, and we've destroyed a significant amount of their supplies. Still, the Mist hasn't changed their approach."
"It's almost as if…" Chiyo began.
"They are dead set on taking this all the way," Orochimaru finished her thought.
Chiyo was reluctant to accept it, but it was the reality, and Orochimaru nodded in frustration.
"So, about our Sand Village shinobi…" Chiyo cautiously inquired.
Orochimaru spread his hands wide, "They'll have to be deployed just like our forces—positioned throughout the various battle zones."
It was impossible to keep the reinforcements at the camp—not only was there a risk of intelligence leaks, but if the Sand Village betrayed them and teamed up with the Mist, it would spell disaster for Orochimaru.
Deploying them all in one place wasn't feasible either. Since all options were problematic, Orochimaru decided not to overthink it. He left the decision to Chiyo: "Our deployment is as it is. Our own forces are fighting scattered and uncoordinated. Your reinforcements from the Sand Village will face the same."
See if you can work with that.
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Next Bonus: 400
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