Even Eating Byōganmaru With Plain Water—The Daimyo's Logistics Cannot Compare to the Akatsuki Ninja, and It's Truly Despairing
The Land of Lightning—
Kumogakure Battlefield.
A deafening "Rumble!" echoed through the dense forest as the ground shook beneath the weight of another wave of explosions.
"Damn it!"
"This stronghold again—so many Exploding Tags!"
"How many Exploding Tags did the Akatsuki Ninja bury this time? Around this single stronghold alone, there must be at least three hundred!"
"Why is there no one here? Did they evacuate beforehand?!"
A chain of explosive blasts resounded like thunder rolling across the battlefield. Flames burst from the soil, hurling dirt and broken branches into the air. More than twenty elite Kumogakure Jonin dashed through the trees, narrowly avoiding the explosions. Their flak jackets were covered in dust and burn marks, but their bodies remained intact.
Fortunately, these were veteran Jonin—seasoned warriors who had survived countless life-and-death battles and crawled out of mountains of corpses. Though the Akatsuki Ninja's excessive Exploding Tag ambushes made their lives miserable, they had already adapted. Before advancing, they had prepared defensive measures specifically for Exploding Tag bombardments. Thanks to that, there were no casualties this time.
After finally confirming their safety, the tense atmosphere loosened.
The Jonin began cursing the Akatsuki Ninja's despicable tactics, venting their frustration with a mixture of irritation and relief. No matter how much they complained, one fact gave them comfort:
They were still alive.
Only the First Raikage, leading the team, showed no sign of relief. His face grew darker with each passing second.
Ninja warfare had always relied on deception—feints, traps, assassination, and surprise attacks. Monstrous powerhouses like Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, who could fight head-on like natural disasters, were extremely rare. In a war between ordinary Ninja, intelligence control and ambush tactics were everything.
This stronghold was once a temporary refuge for over a hundred injured Akatsuki Ninja. Uchiha Makoto himself often visited this stronghold alone.
If they encountered Uchiha Makoto here…
The First Raikage believed the war might end on the spot—either in Kumogakure's victory or their complete annihilation.
That was exactly why he had personally led elite forces here.
He had even dispatched teams across the battlefield to search for Uchiha Makoto's hidden bases and residences. A single, perfectly executed surprise attack could end a war he desperately wished had never begun.
Decapitation strikes were timeless.
And he had spent weeks preparing to obtain intelligence on this stronghold.
If he could destroy over a hundred of the Akatsuki's injured Ninja in one go, it would be a major victory—exactly the morale-boosting triumph Kumogakure desperately needed.
Yet after all the explosives, all the traps, and all their efforts…
They found nothing.
The Akatsuki had cleared the place clean.
"Alert squad—set up temporary perimeter defense. Reconnaissance squad—search the stronghold thoroughly. See if you can find any leftover supplies or intelligence. The rest of you, find a place to rest."
"Yes, Raikage-sama!"
The sun had grown harsher with each hour. The scorching heat pressed down on the battlefield like an invisible furnace. The Jonin, exhausted after several hours of marching, eagerly scattered toward the nearest patches of shade.
Even the First Raikage—despite being consumed with frustration—felt the heat weighing on him. He found a shaded spot beneath a large tree, intending to rest briefly and restore some stamina.
But just as he closed his eyes—
"Eating Byōganmaru with plain water, even a Daimyo is not as good as our…"
A half-sung, half-chanted voice rang out across the clearing.
Every head turned toward the sound.
A Jonin sat casually under another tree, munching on Byōganmaru while drinking plain water to wash it down. His expression was completely unbothered as he continued singing what had recently become known as Kumogakure's front-line "Clan Happiness Song."
"What leisure you have… Aren't you afraid the Daimyo will wipe out your entire clan?"
"What's there to fear? We live day to day…"
Several other Jonin, also eating Byōganmaru with plain water, laughed and joined in on the teasing.
Because of their rapid march, all of them—including the First Raikage—had been relying on Byōganmaru as their meal substitute. It wasn't that anyone enjoyed the taste. But in wartime, convenience mattered more than flavor.
Even so, these remarks criticizing the Daimyo were bold, bordering on rebellion.
The First Raikage's already dark expression sank even further.
But after a moment, he forcefully swallowed his reprimand.
He knew what his men were going through.
The front-line pressure, the constant fighting, the lack of food—his men were exhausted in every sense. If they weren't even allowed to complain a little, their morale would collapse. If he punished them for such comments, there might be a mutiny.
He sighed inwardly.
His subordinates were not wrong.
All of this suffering was ultimately his responsibility.
If only he had made more cautious decisions…
If only he had prevented the war from spiraling out of control…
Perhaps Kumogakure wouldn't have ended up in this miserable state.
As he contemplated his past decisions, a sudden burst of cheering erupted from a distance.
The reconnaissance squad had returned.
"Raikage-sama! We found something!"
The First Raikage immediately got up. Though they had found no intelligence—the injured Akatsuki Ninja had either taken all documents with them or burned the rest—there was something else.
A hidden basement.
A fully preserved underground cold storage filled with supplies.
"Akatsuki Ninja steaks!"
"Is this… chocolate?"
"Oh my god—ice cream?! So much ice cream?!!"
The excited shouts drew every resting Jonin to their feet. The moment they saw the cold storage, smiles broke across their dust-covered faces.
For warriors who had been eating Byōganmaru and water for days, this was heaven descending.
War was always a battle of money, supplies, and logistics.
Akatsuki Ninja had prepared for months.
Kumogakure had been thrown into war with no time to gather large amounts of funding or resources. Their first and second defensive lines—built at massive cost—had been destroyed. All supplies stored within them had been seized by the Akatsuki Ninja. Hidden Cloud's logistics were under immense pressure.
If this continued…
They really might end up relying on Byōganmaru and water for every meal.
Just thinking about it gave the First Raikage a headache.
After all, Byōganmaru wasn't designed for taste. It was purely for emergency Chakra and stamina recovery. It kept a Ninja alive, nothing more. Morale? Comfort? Happiness? Those concepts were irrelevant to Byōganmaru.
But seeing his men so excited, he temporarily forgot his worries and walked toward the cold storage with the others.
The basement was expensive to build—thick walls, reinforced seals, and a cooling system powered by advanced fūinjutsu. The Akatsuki Ninja had clearly invested a fortune.
Their retreating forces probably hadn't destroyed it because they believed Kumogakure would never find it.
Unfortunately for them, the reconnaissance squad was too competent.
The First Raikage stepped down into the cold storage—and his temporary good mood evaporated instantly.
"Damn it… the Akatsuki Ninja are too extravagant."
"Steak, ice cream, chocolate… they live better than noble lords."
The Raikage's jaw tightened.
Exploding Tags already made Akatsuki overwhelming.
But their logistics… Their logistics were terrifying.
Akatsuki Ninja Village wasn't just better funded—they were far better funded.
If this continued…
Kumogakure had no future.
The accompanying Jonin, however, thought of none of this.
All they saw was:
Real food. Delicious food. Cold food.
Fire Release users quickly lit fires, pots were set on makeshift stone racks, and the steaks were tossed in. Aromas began spreading almost instantly.
Jonin munched on chocolate bars, savoring the sweetness. For a moment, the battlefield felt like a festival.
"Damn Akatsuki Ninja… if it weren't for their money, we would've beaten them already!"
"Where do they even get this many Exploding Tags?!"
"They're practically pampered nobles!"
The First Raikage listened to their complaints while eating a spoonful of ice cream—imagining that each bite was Uchiha Makoto's face.
Unfortunately for him, the ice cream was delicious.
After eating their fill, the Raikage prepared to return to their stronghold.
But then—
"Raikage-sama! Urgent news!"
A communications squad Jonin sprinted over. His contracted summoning animal spit out a sealed scroll.
The First Raikage's expression darkened before he even opened it.
"Konoha… mobilized troops?"
A trace of fear flickered in his eyes.
Public opinion from the Ninja World criticizing Hidden Cloud—that could be ignored.
Logistical pressure—painful, but survivable.
Eating Byōganmaru three times a day—miserable, but doable.
Even losing battles to Akatsuki—he could still grit his teeth and endure.
But if Konoha joined the war now…
Kumogakure would break.
They were barely managing to resist one Akatsuki Ninja Village. If Konoha added pressure, surrender would be the only outcome.
But surrender?
Impossible.
Not because of pride.
But because Hidden Cloud's first war since its founding could not end in surrender. Otherwise, they would lose all prestige in the Ninja World. They would be mocked, dismissed, and oppressed by every village.
And what about the fallen Kumogakure Ninja?
He hadn't even avenged them yet.
"No matter what—
We cannot surrender!"
"If that's how it is…
We can only take a risk."
---
Meanwhile—
At the Akatsuki Ninja stronghold,
Uchiha Makoto sat at his desk, flipping through several intelligence reports.
"So… Senju Tobirama finally can't hold back and is mobilizing troops?"
"I thought you'd wait until the end to interfere."
He chuckled to himself.
The seeds he had casually planted earlier—spreading "Victory Learning," stirring up public unrest, instigating protests at Konoha's Hokage Building—had all created cracks within Konoha.
Although Tobirama had suppressed everything by force, the effects would continue. The Akatsuki Ninja Village would have endless opportunities to exploit those tensions in the future.
For now, Makoto simply didn't have the time to continue stirring Konoha's internal chaos.
As for Konoha's troop mobilization—
He felt both satisfaction and annoyance.
If Konoha joined the war, the conflict could end quickly. Akatsuki Ninja Village had the upper hand, but even they couldn't afford a long, endless war of attrition.
Too many losses would interfere with his later plans.
However—
Senju Tobirama was the commander.
That alone made his blood pressure rise.
After all this hard work, after all these battles…
Would Tobirama swoop in and take part of the victory?
With Senju Hashirama covering for him, Tobirama's luck was too good.
"When soldiers come, generals will block; when water comes, earth will dam."
Uchiha Makoto sighed.
Later—
When Senju Hashirama finally died…
There would be time to "teach" Tobirama properly.
His laboratory desperately needed a research workhorse like him.
If he refused to work?
Just whip him.
Call Uchiha Izuna too.
Make him supervise Tobirama personally.
Makoto smiled with satisfaction.
Compared to Hidden Cloud Village, his worries were minor.
Akatsuki would win—either overwhelmingly or moderately.
A win was a win.
But Kumogakure…
They were far more anxious.
And anxiety leads to recklessness.
Recklessness leads to mistakes.
And mistakes…
Would give him the chance to end this war quickly.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)