Chapter 156: Two Battlefields

"Lord Orochimaru, the reinforcements sent by the village have arrived, however..."

In the war council room of Kikyojo Castle, a ninja responsible for settling front-line personnel reported to Orochimaru. Although the arrival of reinforcements was generally good news, the contingent sent by the village this time seemed remarkably useless.

Aside from Namikaze Minato, the force of one hundred and fifty reinforcements included only three Jounin and twenty Chuunin, with the remainder being entirely Genin, and the accompanying military supplies were meager.

Such strength offered little help to the front lines. Upon meeting the new reinforcements, many ninjas in the Land of Rivers camp developed a certain resentment toward the village. They were also fighting valiantly for the village, and the Sand ninjas were exceptionally difficult to deal with—the Kazekage, the One-Tail Jinchuriki, the puppeteers...

Why must those on the Land of Rivers battlefield face such a difficult predicament? Although Lord Orochimaru had led them to repel the Sand ninjas on several occasions, those victories were largely achieved by trading retreats for their lives.

Moreover, there were a few instances where Orochimaru had personally stayed behind to cover the rear; otherwise, the casualties among the Konoha ninjas currently inside Kikyojo Castle would have been even greater.

"It doesn't matter. I already have a countermeasure. In this war, the Sand ninjas are bound to lose."

Orochimaru said in a calm tone, but the expression on his face was extremely confident—a confidence capable of infecting every Jounin in the room.

Having spent a period of time with Orochimaru, they all knew that he was not a man given to idle boasting. Since he said so, it meant he had absolute certainty, and this assurance provided them with a substantial morale boost.

"Senior Orochimaru."

Namikaze Minato arrived here only after settling his students. Upon stepping into the camp tent, he bowed and greeted Orochimaru.

"Minato-kun, it's fortunate that you came. If it had been that fellow Jiraiya, I would have had a headache."

Orochimaru smiled as he spoke to Namikaze Minato, then pointed to a seat. "Sit down. I am planning to discuss the decisive battle against the Sand ninjas. When the time comes, I will need you to lead the assassination squad to strike the rear of the Sand ninjas."

Hearing Orochimaru's words, Namikaze Minato looked somewhat embarrassed, but he still retrieved a scroll from his bosom and said to Orochimaru, "Senior Orochimaru, this is the order Lord Hokage asked me to deliver to you."

"Teacher Sarutobi? Could he have some new orders..."

Orochimaru took the scroll, opened it, and after reading the commands inscribed within, let out a couple of low, hoarse chuckles. The nearby Jounin suddenly sensed that the atmosphere had turned somewhat peculiar the moment Lord Orochimaru finished reading the scroll.

"Heh, from now on, Minato-kun is the vice-commander of the Land of Rivers front. When I am absent, you shall take your orders from Minato-kun."

Namikaze Minato hastily shook his head and replied, "How could that be? I am primarily here to learn by Senior Orochimaru's side. The command decisions should rest entirely with Senior Orochimaru."

Upon hearing the appointment of Namikaze Minato, the Jounin in the room guessed some of the situation, and most of them remained silent. They had no objections to Lord Orochimaru serving as commander; both his seniority and capability had earned their recognition.

However, Namikaze Minato... was a bit too young. No one doubted his strength; having mastered the Second Hokage's Flying Thunder God Technique, he was gradually forging a reputation as the Yellow Flash. But battlefield command—this seemed to be his first time, right? Several of the Jounin present had participated in two Shinobi World Wars and possessed far more battlefield experience than Namikaze Minato.

Still, this was the Hokage's order, and they could not oppose it, so they could only express their opinions through silence.

"Very well, let us continue discussing the countermeasures against the Sand ninjas. Regarding the next decisive battle, the Sand ninjas have undoubtedly figured out our reinforcements. Even though our combat-ready ninjas exceed a thousand, there is still a gap compared to the Sand ninjas, which is also the reason for their arrogance."

Orochimaru spoke slowly, and everyone listened intently to his following words.

"However, by deploying so many ninjas onto the battlefield, the rear of the Hidden Sand Village must be extremely empty. Minato-kun, take these two summoning scrolls and my blood. Use the Summoning Technique once you reach the Hidden Sand Village, and then cooperate with three assassination squads to wreak havoc within the village..."

"Wreak havoc inside the Hidden Sand Village... Senior Orochimaru, there should still be quite a few civilians living there..."

Namikaze Minato did not wish to oppose Orochimaru's decision right upon his arrival, but that was genuinely what he felt in his heart. If a shinobi war were to drag civilians into it... the fallout would be far too vile.

The hand with which Orochimaru extended the scroll did not pull back; instead, he repeated, "Minato-kun, this is an order."

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru."

Namikaze Minato replied. Following a brief sigh in his heart, he accepted the order. Although he was unwilling to involve civilians, without him, someone else would still accomplish this mission—just not with his level of convenience.

"As for the rest of you, as previously discussed, Ryugawa, pass the Summoning Technique on to the newly arrived reinforcement troops. The support for the next decisive battle will be left to them."

The Jounin named Ryugawa asked for confirmation once more, "Lord Orochimaru, how many ninjas are required?"

Orochimaru stated, "To be safe, divide six ninjas to one summoning scroll, requiring at least one hundred and eighty people in total. Pull out the Chuunin squads, and make up the shortfall with Genin."

So many, and they required six Genin.

Having heard this demand, the Jounin in the room began calculating in their hearts. That meant at least thirty summoning beasts, and requiring six Genin to simultaneously perform the Summoning Technique all at once—was Lord Orochimaru planning to summon those giant summoning snakes to serve as helpers?

They had all witnessed Lord Orochimaru's summoning snakes; ordinary Genin, unless equipped with explosive tags, were completely helpless against them, and very few Chuunin could handle serpents of such colossal size.

"I understand, Lord Orochimaru."

Ryugawa responded with inner joy. With such a batch of assistants, they would have absolutely no need to fear the Sand ninjas' overwhelming numbers, at least on the main battlefield.

"As for the One-Tail Jinchuriki and the Third Kazekage, you need not concern yourselves with them. Suzaku-kun, your squad will be responsible for old lady Chiyo; just stall her."

Orochimaru continued his arrangements. With Nara Suzaku's tactical acumen and the intelligence regarding Chiyo's puppet techniques, stalling her would not be difficult.

Having assigned a series of tasks, Orochimaru dismissed them to get to work. Ryugawa's instruction in the Summoning Technique and Namikaze Minato's lurking assassination squad both required advance preparation.

Only after everyone had departed did Orochimaru's eyes slowly transform into three tomoe, after which the three tomoe connected, turning into four interconnected ring-shaped tomoe.

"Not yet. A bunch of Sand ninjas does not warrant using these eyes... Sage Mode will suffice."

Orochimaru thought to himself. He was not someone who loved to show off. Once he became Hokage, he naturally would not fear anything, but for now, it was best not to invite unnecessary complications, otherwise his 'good teacher' possessed quite a few methods.

This war had to be resolved flawlessly; the Hidden Sand Village would serve as the stepping stone for his rise to fame.

...

On the Land of Hot Water battlefield, upon receiving the notice for the operational meeting, Kushina immediately headed toward the council tent.

"Lady Tsunade."

Kushina was the third to arrive. She was currently dressed in standard shinobi attire, her long red hair tied into a single ponytail, her face as fair as a lotus emerging from the water—she was precisely in the most beautiful age of her life.

"Take a seat first. I will announce a matter once everyone is here."

Tsunade's expression was also relatively relaxed. Facing the Hidden Cloud Village during this period had placed her under considerable pressure. Confronting that monster, the Third Raikage, she could not even use Katsuyu to help other comrades heal during the clashes; she had to devote herself entirely to cooperating with Roshu and deadlocking against the Third Raikage.

Even so, the achievements they had secured were already astounding. After all, the Third Raikage was renowned in the Hidden Cloud Village as a ninja whose abilities could rival the Eight-Tails. In fact, if the Hidden Cloud and Hidden Rain were not so far apart, many Cloud ninjas would have believed that the true Demigod of the Shinobi World ought to be their Lord Third Raikage.

Yet now, the Third Raikage was being held at bay by Tsunade and Roshu. Sometimes, the siblings' coordination was so seamless that they could even drive the Third Raikage into deeply desperate straits.

By now, the formidable reputation of the Senju siblings was gradually eclipsing Tsunade's own title of the Sannin. If the joint force of Roshu and Tsunade had beaten the Hidden Rain Village's Hanzo, then their alliance would have truly transformed them into another 'God of Shinobi'—after all, the only ones capable of defeating a demigod were the true Gods of Shinobi.

Once everyone had gathered, Tsunade announced the orders from the village. Bearing both the Third Hokage's seal and the Feudal Lord's seal, the directive commanded the absolute authority of the two supreme leaders of the Land of Fire and the Hidden Leaf Village.

Reject all demands from the Hidden Cloud Village, and drive all invading Cloud ninjas entirely out of the country's borders.

The Land of Hot Water battlefield received the heaviest support from the Hidden Leaf Village, boasting a force of over seventeen hundred people, alongside mighty ninjas capable of tipping the scales of a war, such as Tsunade, Roshu, and Kushina.

Moreover, there was another scroll intended for Tsunade's eyes alone. It detailed how Danzo had contacted helpers from the Hidden Grass and Hidden Waterfall villages, securing at least one hundred foreign reinforcement ninjas to come to their aid. Although the numbers were not massive, ninjas hailing from two separate hidden villages carried a different significance.

Added to that were material supplies; Konoha's valuation of the Land of Hot Water battlefield far surpassed that of the other two fronts.

"Next, the ninjas of the Hyuga clan will be dispersed into various squads. We are going to teach the Cloud ninjas a severe lesson. And Kushina, those magic potions of yours..."

Halfway through her sentence, Tsunade turned her head to look at Kushina, hoping to extract some good items from her.

As for the others inside the council tent, they all kept their eyes fixed on the bridge of their noses, looking elsewhere. They knew Kushina possessed a type of magic potion whose efficacy was ten times greater than ordinary pharmaceuticals—having one was practically equivalent to having a medical ninja stationed by one's side.

Therefore, when Tsunade pressed Kushina for items, they naturally hoped Lord Tsunade would succeed, as they might just get a share of the spoils.

"Lady Tsunade, I don't have many left either..." Kushina said with an unwilling expression. Those were given to her by the boss right before he left; she hadn't been willing to use them much over the past two years, only to be blackmailed out of half of them by Tsunade the moment she hit the battlefield.

Tsunade chuckled lightly and said, "He has already returned to Konoha. If we run out, we can just ask him for more. If all else fails, I'll tell him I owe it to him and go find him myself..."

"The boss is back?"

Upon hearing this, Kushina's eyes lit up, and a sudden impulse to return to the village welled up in her heart. However, she knew that was entirely unrealistic right now; the front lines simply could not do without her, so she had no choice but to suppress the thought.

Tsunade affirmed with certainty, "He is already back. Furthermore, the Feudal Lord issued this decree precisely to vent his frustration."

"Whoever made those brainless fellows in the Hidden Cloud Village propose such demands entirely deserved this!"

Hearing about Karn, Kushina said with a beaming smile. After a moment of thought, she retrieved a ninja tool pouch and began rummaging through it. Before leaving, Karn had cast a solidified spatial expansion charm on Kushina's ninja tool pouch, making it the only pouch in the entire shinobi world capable of holding an entire house.

She then fished out over fifty bottles of healing magic potions from the pouch and said with a hint of heartache, "That's all of them. Not a single bottle is left."

"I thank you on behalf of the ninjas on the front lines, Kushina. If we manage to repel the Cloud ninjas next, your contribution will be the greatest!"

Tsunade laughingly instructed someone to collect the healing magic potions, preparing to distribute them shortly.

Beside her, Roshu chuckled inwardly. Having lived with Kushina for so long, both he and his sister had long since figured out her temperament. Whether it was chocolate, cakes, magic potions, or anything else, Kushina was invariably wrapped around his sister's finger.

With the matter of the potions settled, Tsunade's expression turned much more serious. "As for the two Jinchuriki of the Hidden Cloud Village..."

"Rest assured, they will definitely not win this time. I have already accumulated a massive amount of Nine-Tails chakra!"

Kushina declared with absolute confidence. Following the method Karn had taught her, although she hadn't managed to convince Kurama to trust her, that information had successfully caused Kurama to rein in his hostility toward Kushina.

At the very least, he wouldn't stir up trouble inside her body, and when Kushina entered the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, Kurama would not absorb Kushina's chakra.

Moreover, Kushina had also switched Kurama to a new sealing space. Without the constraints of the Adamantine Sealing Chains, Kurama was granted a vast sealing space.

The Nine-Tails' chakra could also be borrowed, though Kushina would always return it afterward. Furthermore, this time she had borrowed a significant amount of chakra from the Nine-Tails, which would surely allow her to defeat the Eight-Tails and Two-Tails Jinchuriki of Cloud.