By the time the sky gradually brightened, Orochimaru finally returned to the Konoha camp, dragging his exhausted body.
"You ran away really fast, kid..."
Seeing Uchiha Ryun appear unharmed, Orochimaru let out a hoarse laugh.
"That was all thanks to Sensei drawing their attention for me."
Ryun chuckled, then stepped forward to treat Orochimaru's injuries using the Mystical Palm Technique.
"Thank you..."
Orochimaru took off his flak jacket, revealing the charred wound on his back. Ryun's hands glowed green as he began the healing process.
Ever since his disciple had mastered the Mystical Palm Technique, Orochimaru had stopped going to Tsunade for treatment...
"When are we attacking Ryūmon Town?"
Ryun asked as Orochimaru examined the intelligence report obtained at the cost of Hyuga Nisshō's life.
In Ryun's opinion, Ryūmon Town should be attacked as soon as possible. After the chaos they had caused tonight, the Rain-nin would surely realize Konoha's intention to assault Ryūmon Town, and Hanzō of the Salamander would undoubtedly rush reinforcements there.
"No hurry... Since we've already alerted them, let Hanzō transfer nearby troops to Ryūmon Town first..." Orochimaru replied without looking up.
Ryun frowned at first but soon relaxed. "You want to feint east and strike west, prioritizing the capture of the towns around Ryūmon Town?"
"Heh... Ryun-kun's mind is as sharp as ever." Orochimaru set down the white cloth and smiled in praise.
"Wherever they're weak, we attack. In this war between Fire and Rain, the advantage and initiative are ours. We just need to proceed steadily, step by step, and once we form a siege, they won't be able to hold Ryūmon Town anyway."
The Land of Rain was also dealing with the Land of Wind and had conflicts with samurai from the Land of Iron. The Hidden Rain Village simply couldn't muster enough forces to fight Konoha effectively. The Konoha-nin were growing more confident with each battle, and Orochimaru even felt it wouldn't be long before Hanzō would have to seek peace.
Half a day later, the Konoha camp openly gathered its combat units, making no effort to hide their offensive intentions.
That night, the forces originally intended to attack Ryūmon Town suddenly changed course and struck a neighboring town instead.
The towns around Ryūmon Town had just received orders to mobilize troops. By the time their forces departed for Ryūmon Town, their original positions were immediately assaulted by Konoha-nin, catching the Rain-nin defenders off guard and forcing them into retreat.
Konoha captured two towns in just half a day, winning with surprising ease and suffering fewer casualties than expected. It was a significant victory.
Realizing they had been tricked, the Rain-nin were furious but helpless. They dared not recklessly redeploy troops from the strategically vital Ryūmon Town, fearing Konoha might seize it and turn the tide of the war.
Ten days later.
During this time, Konoha continued to feign attacks on Ryūmon Town while secretly capturing surrounding towns and villages.
Five days later.
Konoha pretended to assault a small town, successfully luring a Rain-nin unit from Ryūmon Town into an ambush. Nearly a hundred Rain-nin were wiped out, marking another minor victory for Konoha.
That same day, capitalizing on their high morale, Konoha seized the small town they had pretended to attack.
With this, only one relatively important town remained near Ryūmon Town—Kokuu Town.
Losing Kokuu Town would cut off Ryūmon Town's land routes. Hanzō of the Salamander gritted his teeth and scraped together reinforcements to bolster Kokuu Town's defenses, temporarily stabilizing the worsening situation.
The two towns gradually became the frontlines of the war between Fire and Rain. After much deliberation and multiple probing attacks, Konoha decided to assault Kokuu Town, which had a less favorable geographical position.
After over half a month of battles, Kokuu Town finally fell to Konoha.
Following this victory, Konoha did not immediately attack Ryūmon Town. Instead, they consolidated their defenses and repelled several Rain-nin counterattacks, securing their gains over the next ten days.
Konoha's strategy was methodical, completely abandoning any notion of a quick victory. Though their intentions were obvious, the Rain-nin could find no effective countermeasures.
Another month passed in the blink of an eye.
By the time Konoha was fully prepared, the decisive battle that would determine the outcome of the war between Fire and Rain began.
At the Konoha camp, the Yūhi Clan leader, acting as supreme commander, convened a meeting of all jonin to announce the order to besiege Ryūmon Town.
Uchiha Ryun, Konoha's youngest newly promoted jonin in history, had the privilege of attending the entire strategic meeting.
He had risen from a fresh graduate genin to jonin in less than half a year. Yet despite his meteoric ascent, no one dared question the legitimacy of his promotion.
Ryun had earned his rank through battlefield achievements—his "merit" was more indisputable than any other path to promotion.
He had climbed over the corpses of his enemies. The number of low- and mid-rank ninja he had killed was at least in the triple digits, and the jonin he had slain had long surpassed double digits...
For such a warrior, even if Konoha wanted to suppress his achievements, they had to consider his feelings and the opinions of other ninja in the village, granting him the rewards he deserved.
"Orochimaru, Jiraiya, both of you know the Summoning Technique, and your summons are water-based combatants.
"You two will lead water-style specialists to block the waterways, cutting off enemy reinforcements and buying us enough time to capture Ryūmon Town."
The Yūhi commander assigned them their mission.
The giant snakes of Ryūchi Cave and the toads of Mount Myōboku were perfect for dealing with enemy ships!
"Yes!"
The two stood and acknowledged the order simultaneously.
"Based on the river's layout, Ryūmon Town's main waterway connects directly to Amegakure. You will likely encounter Hanzō of the Salamander coming downstream. You must intercept him on the river...
"Once we take Ryūmon Town and join forces with the surrounding towns, even the 'God of Shinobi' himself won't be able to turn the tide!"
At the end of the meeting, the Yūhi commander specifically kept the two back, emphasizing the mission's importance—they were the key to capturing Ryūmon Town.
"Don't worry, Commander. We guarantee the mission's success!" Jiraiya thumped his chest solemnly.
Orochimaru nodded seriously in response.
After leaving the meeting room, the Sannin called Ryun over to discuss more detailed tactics, even sharing their experiences fighting Hanzō of the Salamander with him.