Chapter 146
2-in-1-chapter
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"Dodai, make the preparations."
A said suddenly.
Preparations? For what? Dodai felt a sinking unease in his chest. Both the Third and the Fourth Raikage, father and son, possessed overwhelming charisma that drew the village's finest shinobi to serve them. Yet they also shared the same flaw—reckless willfulness. From time to time, both had made decisions that gave their subordinates endless headaches.
"Lord Raikage, are you planning to launch a direct assault on the Kusatsu Mountains right now?"
It was to be expected of the Raikage's most trusted aide. Without waiting for A to explain, Dodai had already guessed the answer.
"The time is too tight. The intelligence that Yugito brought back hasn't been sorted, and we still don't know the exact layout of Konoha's defenses. If we rush into an attack like this, we'll take heavy losses…"
"Dodai, both you and Yugito already said that Konoha will not make a stand at the Kusatsu Mountains. In that case, we don't need detailed intelligence. As for losses—Yugito, this time you'll go all out. If the Konoha shinobi retreat, let them retreat. As long as we seize the Kusatsu Mountains, that will be enough."
In only a few words, A had made his decision.
Dodai was left speechless, his mouth opening and closing before he finally gave a bitter smile and nodded. "Then please give me one hour. I'll draft an operation plan and gather personnel for deployment… Sigh, Lord Raikage, this is nothing like the plan we agreed on earlier!"
"Plans are never set in stone. Dodai, caution is good, but don't let it chain you down." A turned toward Yugito. "Yugito, do you have any problems? Can you deploy? If you're too exhausted, then Bee will take your place."
"Lord Raikage, please rest assured. I will complete the mission."
Yugito answered without hesitation.
Dodai sighed inwardly in resignation.
Things had reached this point. All he could do was prepare as much as possible.
When he left the Raikage's temporary office, Yugito silently followed at his back. They continued until they reached the steps of the entry hall. Dodai stopped, and Yugito also halted. Dodai looked at her with a trace of puzzlement. "Yugito, is there something you want to say?"
"Senior Dodai."
Yugito hesitated before asking, "Is the rumor true—that Uchiha Rēn captured the Fourth Mizukage alive?"
"I don't know either."
Dodai waved his hand. "That report came from our agents planted in Konoha, but it was labeled unconfirmed. Not long ago, during the battle with Konoha shinobi, we extracted similar information from the minds of a few high-ranking captives. Still, it lacked enough detail to verify."
"But I feel like you already believe the information is true, Senior Dodai," Yugito said with certainty.
Dodai paused for a moment, then gave a wry smile. "That's your intuition speaking?"
"Yes."
"…Rather than hoping that a rumor turns out to be false, it is better to make more preparations. Such matters are not dangerous if they prove untrue, but if they prove true, the consequences could be fatal. After all, we are talking about the Uchiha." Dodai fixed his gaze on her and gave a serious warning. "Yugito, since you've raised the matter, let me say a few words more. To perfectly wield the power of the Two-Tails is indeed formidable, but the true strength of a tailed beast lies in its vast destructive capacity and killing potential.
"Do not overestimate the power of a tailed beast. They are not invincible. If they were, the great villages would never have had Jinchūriki at all. Don't grow careless on this mission. Even if we haven't yet received intelligence of elite Uchiha arriving at the front lines, it's best to stay cautious."
"The Uchiha? Are they really that strong?"
Yugito's expression still carried some doubt, even defiance.
"Not every Uchiha is strong. But when the Uchiha truly display their strength…" Dodai cut himself off at that point. He had never seen it with his own eyes, but he had heard the Second Raikage say that in the eyes of the Uchiha, a tailed beast was nothing more than an oversized, moving puppet.
But he said no more of it.
One warning was enough. Dodai knew well that repeating such things too much could backfire, provoking the rebelliousness of youth rather than caution.
Hopefully, this rumor would prove to be nothing more than a rumor.
After Dodai finished speaking, he turned and left. As the strategist of Kumogakure, his official position was aide to the Raikage. Unlike Konoha's former Hokage's advisor, who never stopped scheming to seize power, Tsuchidai was a true aide. Serving under two successive Raikage, he used his intellect and political skill to help them maintain firm control over the village.
His duties kept him constantly occupied. If it had not been for Yugito's special status as a jinchūriki, he would not have spared the time to linger. He needed to inspect and tally the military supplies. The Raikage was preparing for an all-out offensive, and every minute had to be stretched to its fullest. Even shadow clones could not be used freely, as the accumulated fatigue might crush him.
His figure soon disappeared from sight. Yugito remained standing on the steps outside the hall for a long while, murmuring to herself, "I did not expect even Matatabi to say the same. Is the Uchiha clan truly so fearsome?" Although she spoke the words aloud, she still took to heart the warnings from both Dodai and the Two-Tails within her.
No matter what, whether it was Dodai or Matatabi, what they had said was for her own good, and this Yugito understood well.
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Unlike the Kumogakure shinobi stationed comfortably in the towns of the Land of Hot Water, Konoha's shinobi were truly roughing it in the mountain forests, exposed to the wind and rain. They had not enjoyed even a trace of the hot springs which these lands were known for. Instead, they were driven like chickens, chased and harried all along the way by the Cloud shinobi.
"Are we truly going to abandon the Kusatsu Mountains? They are the final natural line of defense in the Land of Hot Water."
In the central command tent of the camp, an intense argument had broken out.
"If we do not abandon them, are we to cling stubbornly to them instead? Did you not see the intelligence about the Two-Tails jinchūriki moving in the area? To think we can rely on mountain terrain to stop a tailed beast is nothing but wooing our demise."
"And after giving up the Kusatsu Mountains, will we not then be forced to retreat from the Hot River Plain as well? Do you mean to fall back all the way to Konoha's gates? Without these mountains beneath our feet, the terrain to the south is nothing but open plains and forests. At the pace of the Cloud's advance, how are we supposed to defend there?"
Two factions shouted back and forth, neither willing to yield.
At the head of the tent sat Hyūga Hiashi. Beneath his wide robes, much of his body was wrapped in bandages. His battle against the Fourth Raikage had ended in a bitter defeat, leaving him injured and costing the lives of six loyal branch family retainers who had always followed him faithfully.
The weight of that failure left him without the strength to restrain the two groups quarreling in his command tent.
"Enough. Be silent."
The icy rebuke cut through the air like a gust of cold wind.
The tent fell silent at once. A few hot-headed shinobi, necks stiff, looked ready to argue back, but their comrades quickly restrained them, signaling for silence as they recognized the speaker.
It was Aburame Shibi.
Seated at Hiashi's right hand, Shibi was known for being taciturn. In past meetings, he had sat as silent as a clay idol, speaking only to acknowledge orders. To hear him raise his voice in anger was unprecedented.
That alone was enough to cow the room. It was like the quiet man who never lost his temper—when he finally did, the effect was terrifying.
"Hiashi, a decision must be made."
Shibi ignored the ones who had been arguing and spoke directly to the supreme commander, Hyūga Hiashi.
"Shibi, what is your opinion?"
Hiashi, his thoughts in disarray, sought his counsel.
"My opinion is to retreat. This is not yet the time to clash head-on with the Cloud. We should wait until the Uchiha clan head arrives. That will be the moment to strike back. For now, there is no need to waste our forces." Shibi spoke expressionlessly, delivering his view.
At his words, some in the tent brightened, while others darkened with dismay. But none voiced objection, daunted by the weight carried by the Aburame clan leader. All eyes turned to Hyūga Hiashi. Shibi had only given advice—the final decision was Hiashi's to make.
Under the pressure of their gaze, Hiashi forced down his frustration and weariness, focused his mind, and considered carefully. Then—
"We retreat."
He made the decision, though in his heart he sighed bitterly: the Hyūga were still no match for the Uchiha.
At this point, even those who opposed understood that withdrawal was inevitable. The Kusatsu Mountains would be abandoned.
"But… are we to retreat just like this? Without even fighting a battle, simply give up the Kusatsu Mountains? What if the Cloud shinobi pursue us? Are we to meet them in the plains instead?" The protest came from the commander of the northeastern border defenses, a man in his forties, his face dark with anger. He was firmly against abandoning the mountains.
More precisely, he opposed the policy of constant retreat. In his eyes, every advantage of the Land of Hot Water should be used to delay and harass the Cloud's advance, not to rely on reinforcements whose arrival was uncertain.
"Leave the Hot Water shinobi behind to cover the retreat," Hiashi said in a low voice.
His words stunned the tent. To leave the Hot Water shinobi as the rearguard was to send them to their deaths.
The war between Konoha and the Cloud was never theirs alone. The shinobi of Hot Water and Frost, the vassals of each great nation, were expected to be the first sacrifices. At present, most of the Hot Water shinobi forces were under Hiashi's command.
"This way… the Hot Water shinobi may not obey orders."
Someone whispered the thought.
"If they refuse command, execute them on the spot. Have you forgotten such a basic order of war? Do you need me to recite the military regulations here again?" Hiashi forced down his turmoil and showed the resolute, uncompromising decisiveness of a commander.
No one objected further.
Everyone in the tent was a shinobi of Konoha. None would shed tears for the Hot Water shinobi. A ninja's mission came before even a comrade's life; the lives of vassal allies carried even less weight. The Land of Hot Water and its forces had always been Konoha's shield. Now, that shield was simply being put to its use.
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