"This… maybe…"
"If they're preparing military supplies… Konoha has a lot of ninja. Once a field army moves, men and horses eat through tons every day, so there's a lot to ready… I guess that's understandable…"
When Uchiha Makoto raised the topic,
Uzumaki Shinji froze, then could only stammer out a couple of halfway-decent excuses for Konoha.
Makoto merely smiled without rebuttal, quietly watching him until Shinji felt embarrassed and chuckled weakly.
From the outbreak of war to now, more than a month had passed.
Almost two.
Ninja villages are military entities built for war.
Even at Konoha's slowest, they should have assembled a force to support Akatsuki and the Uzumaki on the front.
Even if Konoha's words were true and they had been rushing to prepare materiel and aid, they could at least have scraped together a few emergency jonin squads.
As of now,
there wasn't a single shadow of Konoha reinforcements on the battlefield.
"Hmph. You're not wrong, Shinji. Konoha's aid is probably still being prepared. After all, Akatsuki and Konoha are allies. Their rescue is just a little slow. Luckily our Akatsuki still has enough muscle to win this war."
"I only hope that if the Uzumaki ever face a sudden crisis, Konoha's reaction won't be as sluggish as this time."
Makoto snorted, letting a few needling lines fall.
If Konoha could dawdle on aiding Akatsuki today, would they do the same to the Uzumaki tomorrow?
He finished speaking and focused on his ice cream. Vanilla really was delicious.
Shinji said nothing. His spoon didn't stop, but the sweetness in his mouth turned inexplicably bitter. Makoto's words had struck home.
Konoha was Akatsuki's ally, and the Uzumaki's as well.
By closeness, Makoto was Uchiha, while the Uzumaki were blood-sworn to the Senju.
It all seemed comparable.
If this was Konoha's stance toward Akatsuki today, what of the Uzumaki tomorrow?
Would they also sit like a mountain while an ally was in peril?
Chilling.
Makoto didn't linger after polishing off the bowl, leaving Shinji alone.
As commander of the Akatsuki–Uzumaki coalition, his daily duties were endless. He went to visit the wounded next,
then to organize the day's counterattacks, and to think through how to better secure Akatsuki's supply lines.
That last was paramount.
War runs on coin and grain.
And logistics is the army's lifeline.
In the original chronicles, the turning point of the Third Shinobi War was the Kannabi Bridge operation. Konoha's raid blew the bridge and severed Iwagakure's supply route. Without supply, Iwa had to retreat, giving Konoha the breath to counterattack.
Makoto therefore treated the matter with special care. In preparing this war, he had laid out three secret conventional routes and two top-secret emergency lines.
Both sides knew the stakes.
But with Cloud's logistics strained, their only option was to try to cut Akatsuki's lines. They had failed so far.
At most,
Kumogakure occasionally waylaid a shipment or two—enough to improve a raiding squad's rations for a day. Spread across the force, it was a drop in the bucket.
"Light Shadow."
The moment Makoto stepped into the medical tents, all eyes turned.
The wounded who could still move gathered around.
Their eyes held reverence.
War is the fastest forge of prestige.
The overnight annihilation of a thousand-plus ninja had earned Makoto a renown no cash handout could match.
Akatsuki still held the advantage. If they brought this war to a victorious close, Makoto would return with the momentum to make his position unshakable. No one in the village would oppose his decisions again.
"Sit, all of you."
Makoto wore a warm smile.
As Akatsuki's Light Shadow,
he made time each day, no matter how busy, to visit the wounded. A few simple words went straight to the heart.
A bargain, really.
"How are the new medical ninja? Are their techniques solid?"
"And the medicine Akatsuki purchased—how effective is it?"
"At first they were a bit green, Light Shadow, but they've adjusted… they're excellent med-nin."
"The salves are top quality. Every time I use them…"
A mid chunin who had survived three wounds answered at once.
"Good. Very good."
Nods rippled through the tent. Akatsuki's medical support had won unanimous praise. Mishandled treatment, delays, scarce medicine, a shortage of med-nin—these had long crippled ninja villages, turning wounds into maimings and death.
Cloud's nearly six hundred dead were just a tally collated from battle reports. Their post-battle deaths, cripplings, and dropouts would raise that number further.
Makoto had poured money ahead of time into a training track for med-nin, rushed a cohort through professional basics, and bought large quantities of quality medicine. That stabilized things and kept those familiar failures at bay.
"Everyone, we will win this war.
"No one harms our ninja and walks away unscathed. When this is over, every shinobi in the world will give way when they see Akatsuki. You have a strong village at your back.
"So live and go home to see it. Your merits and scars will let you bask in Akatsuki's glory."
Makoto spoke off the cuff, painting their postwar life: status elevated across the ninja world, none daring to provoke Akatsuki.
Many forces thought the war bizarre. All this for two chunin?
Unbelievable.
Any rational Kage or leader would not have made such an extravagant decision.
They could only pin it on Makoto—fiercely protective, ready to avenge without regard for cost or reason. Best not to provoke an Uchiha. Best not to provoke Akatsuki.
Beyond that high ground,
combatants would receive cash. Kills tallied, wounds compensated—Akatsuki had strict tables for all of it.
In short,
the Light Shadow's
generosity spoke for itself.
Greatness spoke for itself.
"Loyalty!"
Makoto left the medical tents to a wave of thundered cries. He smiled, even humming under his breath.
Back in his command tent, he sifted through reports. Runners came and went with orders.
Then—
"Meow."
A cat's cry.
Makoto beckoned. The ninja cat sprang onto his desk. He stroked it until it purred, pulled catnip from a drawer, and finally untied the sealed scroll from its collar.
Uchiha Setsuna had written again. Since receiving Makoto's secret letter, he had set the clan to broadcasting Akatsuki's victories through Konoha and applied pressure on Senju Tobirama in the clan's name to assemble an army and aid their ally.
Even so, though Konoha's forces were supposedly ready, they had yet to depart. Setsuna, furious, marched to the Hokage's office to demand answers.
"Senju Tobirama, Akatsuki is our ally. Our ally was attacked by Cloud and forced to fight back. Konoha should dispatch troops immediately. Why have we not moved?"
Righteous words.
But Konoha was still run by the Senju faction.
Tobirama's official answer:
"Preparations are insufficient. The time is not right.
"I was appointed supreme commander by the Hokage, not you. Konoha's safety and the peace of the shinobi world rest on my shoulders. We depart when I say we depart."
He would not budge. Setsuna ran to Madara to vent. Madara set out to have a heart-to-heart with Tobirama, and found Senju Hashirama behind the desk. After much back-and-forth, there was still no sign of a march.
"Senju Tobirama… evil old ghost."
"He's up to no good."
Makoto read the first half and was unsurprised. Setsuna cursed Tobirama as a power-abusing fiend hiding behind Hashirama's tiger skin. Why didn't Lord Madara just remove him behind Hashirama's back.
All as expected.
If Konoha had rushed aid at once, Makoto would've been shocked.
But Tobirama serving as commander did put Makoto on guard. The man clearly had a plan—very likely to swoop in and pluck the fruit at a critical moment.
"Konoha has the weight to do it… the capital to sit on the mountain and watch tigers fight."
Makoto sighed.
He would meet it as it came.
Only the strong can afford strategic patience. With Senju Hashirama alone, Konoha had enough. No village would dare poke them now.
But—
Akatsuki could not.
Makoto needed a founding war. Prestige built with money was hollow compared to that forged in victory.
He would use this win to cement authority at home, purge opposition, boost the economy, pull in noble investment, and project strength abroad to raise Akatsuki's status.
He would also tighten bonds with the Uzumaki. Nothing binds like sharing a trench and hurling explosive tags together.
The war had to be fought sooner or later. Sooner was better.
At least now there was a backstop.
If things spun out of control,
either Hashirama or Madara could step out and end it. If both died, calling off a war midstream would be far harder.
He smoothed his thoughts and read on. The latter half of the letter made him smile.
Akatsuki's and Makoto's reputations in Konoha were soaring. After Setsuna got stonewalled on aid, he pivoted, using Uchiha influence to spread Makoto's deeds.
Katsuma in Akatsuki had already received Makoto's instructions.
Without direct contact, they worked in perfect tandem.
Enthusiastic "Konoha villagers" even began to spin jokes.
"When an ally advances, sit like a mountain. When an ally breaks, 'redeploy' like the wind. When the tide favors you, invade like fire. When the situation's unclear, be as slow as the forest."
"Akatsuki sought justice for the fallen of Konoha and Akatsuki. That is benevolence, a first win over Konoha's sluggish response.
"Akatsuki tried compensation talks before war. That is righteousness, a second win over Konoha's silence.
"Akatsuki slew a thousand Cloud ninja in one battle. That is courage, a third win over Konoha's cold gaze."
"The Light Shadow leads a village that embodies benevolence, righteousness, and courage. In this affair, Akatsuki has beaten Konoha three times."
"As for Konoha's response to date… no comment. Judge for yourselves. Perhaps only when led by Uchiha can a village show such mettle. As for the Senju…"
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