Hyuga Soushu had no interest in that so-called "precious local peace." In his eyes, if the entire Northern Border Defense Force's area remained peaceful, then he might as well have made this trip for nothing.
After all, the gear and techniques that made up his strength could only be bought or upgraded with coins and experience earned by killing enemies in war!
To Hyuga Soushu, peace was absolute nonsense!
Even if those Kumo bastards from the Land of Lightning weren't stirring up trouble in the border buffer states, Soushu would've stirred up a conflict just to push the Ninja Force northward. This way, everything just fell into place and saved him some work.
After transferring authority over intelligence operations to Uchiha Toshimichi, one reason was keeping important departments under his control, while another was simply for convenience in deploying those former members of the Policing Department's Special Operations Unit. Those Uchiha ninja had once served directly under Uchiha Toshimichi, so Soushu couldn't easily issue direct orders bypassing him. However, after assigning Uchiha Toshimichi this additional critical role within the Ninja Force, those remaining in the Personal Squad could naturally and legitimately be placed under Mahiru Uchiha's command.
After all, for a jonin like Hyuga Soushu with shallow foundations, letting women run things behind the scenes was already the best move for now.
Immediately following the conclusion of the first Central War Tent meeting, Soushu quickly rolled out a wave of personnel changes.
Firstly, he entrusted logistics matters to a Branch House jonin named Wadon Hyuga, and transferred five chunin squads originally belonging to the Sakumo Hatake-commanded unit on the western front line back to Soushu's previous squad structure, placing them all under Wadon's command.
Though these clan members and former subordinates weren't exactly strong fighters, they were among the few Soushu could actually trust.
After reclaiming key powers concerning supply distribution, Soushu appointed Yamanaka Toshimichi as quartermaster general responsible for inventory management and specific distribution of military supplies, and then assigned Mitotou Kousuke to serve as assistant aide-de-camp. The latter nominally became second-in-command under Keshi Nara while overseeing official battle record-keeping functions.
As for the newly-formed Special Task Force drawn from various units, Soushu regarded them as second only to the Personal Squad in terms of strategic importance.
Though inevitably facing potential issues ranging from superficial unity to actual disloyalty regarding interpersonal relationships, long-term emotional bonds, and sense of belonging among elite squads forcibly reassigned through semi-compulsory orders, Soushu remained completely indifferent.
Furthermore, with Uchiha Takahiro now stationed externally as intelligence director for the Ninja Force, Soushu still had eleven other officers to assign.
What he required wasn't more than a force of ninja soldiers capable of obeying orders and maintaining discipline when needed—for leading charges or filling frontline duties, there were already established operational units and reserve forces available.
Thus, although Soushu hadn't directly shaken up existing factional powers within the Ninja Force, every jonin officer down to clerical ninja handling administrative tasks within headquarters had unmistakably felt the chilling impact coming directly and thoroughly from Soushu.
Yet when facing Hyuga Soushu, who had successfully ignited his initial campaigns as the new commander, not a single soul within the Ninja Force was willing to openly challenge him.
After all, Soushu enjoyed the backing of both the Hyuga and Uchiha noble clans, as well as the Martial Faction. The officers still stationed overseas in the Land of Fire weren't foolish enough to provoke the wrath of powerful ninja clans by becoming expendable sacrifices.
On April 1st, Year 39 of Konoha, after two months of retraining the Special Task Force, Soushu ordered twenty operational battalions into the Land of Rice Fields without consulting the Hokage Tower, ignoring the subtle persuasion from Nara Keshi and others warning against provoking border conflicts.
In fact, during his very first Central War Tent meeting after taking command, Soushu had indeed emphasized the need to eliminate Kumo's influence. Combined with his directive for each battalion to hand over three squads, every battalion leader believed that Commander Soushu intended to take personal command, launching a bold strike against Kumo's vanguard forces to establish his authority!
Especially since over the past two months, besides stationing his men in key positions within the Ninja Force, Soushu hadn't reviewed financial records or dispatched additional intelligence personnel outside the camp. Instead, he spent his days rigorously training the begrudgingly loyal Special Task Force, further convincing battalion leaders that Soushu would personally lead from the frontlines — meaning they wouldn't be needed for actual combat anytime soon.
So it made perfect sense for these battalion commanders to kick back and keep partying like they did before Soushu ever arrived. While constantly deploying subordinates on missions, they also skimmed off the mission rewards meant for both the Ninja Headquarters and the village.
In private, Nara Keshi even suggested whether they should give Soushu a small cut, but most outright rejected the idea. After all, the commander knew nothing about this scheme. Even Koryo Jonin, now promoted to Jonin Unit Councilor, didn't suspect these activities going on under his very nose. There was absolutely no reason to gouge anyone dry!
Besides, the senior Jonins participating in the reward division had already compromised at the military conference by obediently transferring three elite squads from their commands to Commander Soushu. What else could he possibly want?
"Kill me if you must, but I'll never give up my share!"
During secret talks, Fourth Battalion Commander Kuroi Takeki voiced the strongest resistance and won loud approval from the other senior Jonins.
Thus, the plot to bribe Soushu into collusion quietly faded away.
But they had all forgotten one crucial fact — there were ten Byakugan users in the Ninja Force headquarters now, including Soushu himself!
Moreover, due to their long-term overseas assignments, these senior Jonins had become mentally rigid, losing their proper vigilance toward the Byakugan users from the Hyuga Clan. They actually held secret meetings inside the Ninja Force headquarters, setting up nothing more than basic sound-dampening barriers to hide their chakra surges!
This was a blatant mockery of the Hyuga ninjas!
As expected, a ninja of the Hyuga clan captured every word of the meeting using lip-reading and promptly reported it to Hyuga Soushu.
Thus,
"I don't want excuses! I don't want to hear about losses! I want the Land of Rice Fields!"
After giving the battle order amid stunned silence, Hyuga Soushu declared his demand in the firmest tone: "Let the war begin! Burn everything until we reach the Land of Lightning!"
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