"Lord Suikazan, the latest batch of supplies and shinobi has arrived on time. The jonin responsible for leading the team is Rei Kaguya, whom Lord Third recently promoted. The important combat force accompanying him is Mei Terumi of the Terumi clan, who inherited two Kekkei Genkai…"
Within Kirigakure's frontline stronghold in the southeastern territory of the Land of Fire, a shinobi responsible for gathering intelligence entered the command room and reported the latest information on their side to Fuguki Suikazan, whose enormous body resembled a mountain of flesh.
"Reinforcements have arrived? I understand… Go and lead the newcomers around to familiarize themselves with the work they'll soon take over. The Land of Fire should also be close to deciding who will command their resistance against us."
"Yes."
After the chunin who reported the intelligence responded, he quickly withdrew.
Only Fuguki Suikazan, who was in charge of managing the entire intelligence system, and Juzo Biwa, who also belonged to the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and was responsible for assault missions on this section of the front, remained in the room.
"Oh? The one who came to support us is that Kaguya brat who's been in the limelight lately…"
Juzo Biwa, carrying the heavy Kubikiribocho on his back, looked at Fuguki Suikazan as he turned around.
On his face, twisted by several vicious scars, appeared a chilling smile.
"Lord Third favors him quite a bit. Not only did he promote him directly from Anbu to jonin, he even sent him straight to the front line to participate in battle…"
"Does he plan to use this war as a chance to completely spread that brat's reputation?"
"He probably intends to create a signboard who can stand side by side with Konoha's Yellow Flash."
Fuguki Suikazan walked to his desk and looked at the crisscrossing battle lines on top of it, speaking without much emotion.
"Because Kirigakure has not intervened in war for too long, it is necessary, while spreading the flames of war across the shinobi world once again, to create a new signboard outside of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, whose fame has already lasted many years. That way, we can display the fact that Kirigakure's strength is being continuously inherited."
"Our current enemy, Konoha, did the same. During the Second Shinobi World War, they introduced powerful successors like the Sannin and the White Fang, enough to make other nations feel fear. And in this Shinobi World War, they produced Minato Namikaze, the Yellow Flash, who almost defeated Iwagakure through his strength alone…"
"Oho~ Minato Namikaze, huh?"
A playful smile appeared on Juzo Biwa's face. He looked at an intelligence scroll beside Fuguki Suikazan's hand and said with a strange laugh.
"Speaking of which, the most important and persuasive achievement that allowed that Kaguya brat to skip the special jonin stage and become a full jonin in one leap came from that Minato Namikaze, didn't it?"
"Yes. That was also one of the important reasons that prompted Lord Third to make this decision."
Fuguki Suikazan circled a Konoha stronghold on the map that had resisted their attacks for a long time, his gaze cold.
"We are currently at war with Konoha. If our new star is a powerful figure who can suppress the new star Konoha takes pride in, then all of Konoha's momentum will be suppressed by us. The brighter the name Rei Kaguya shines, the weaker Konoha's will to resist will become…"
"That is what happens to people who rise in chaotic times through achievements and strength. Once someone surpasses them, the reputation they accumulated before becomes nothing more than a stepping stone that allows the victor to stand even higher, just like the other shinobi who fell to them before."
"However, before we devote all our strength to building momentum for his rise, we still need to personally witness whether he truly has those qualifications…"
Juzo Biwa looked at the Konoha stronghold Fuguki Suikazan had circled on the map. His brow lifted, and he spoke in a somewhat surprised tone.
"This is the touchstone you prepared for him, Fuguki?"
"That stronghold is not easy to attack. At least four Konoha jonin are stationed there, along with a large number of chunin and genin…"
"But the terrain around the stronghold leaves no room for schemes and tricks. The only way to determine victory is a frontal assault. For a member of the Kaguya clan, isn't that the situation most suited to their tastes?"
Fuguki Suikazan let out a cold laugh, his gaze chilling.
"People of the Kaguya clan only need to obediently follow orders and wreak havoc to their hearts' content on the battlefield we designate for them…"
"What Lord Third needs is a sharp blade that can make Konoha's shinobi feel fear, not a hero who can gather enough prestige in war to threaten his position."
Listening to Fuguki Suikazan's merciless tool-like evaluation, Juzo Biwa's eyes narrowed, and he sighed almost imperceptibly.
"Then I'll be the one to deliver this mission to him… I'm a little interested in that brat who's about to become famous across the shinobi world."
"Suit yourself, Juzo."
The tall man carrying Kubikiribocho nodded, then left the command room with footsteps that made no sound at all.
…
Meanwhile, after circling the stronghold once, Rei returned to the temporary quarters assigned to him.
He found a chair for both himself and Mei to sit down, then looked at Mei, whose brows were slightly furrowed, and asked casually.
"After walking around, what do you think, Mei Terumi?"
"What aspect are you referring to?"
"Anything. As long as you think it's worth mentioning, we can talk about it."
Mei leaned against the wall, quietly filtering out the noise caused by the handover of large numbers of personnel outside the camp.
After closing her eyes and thinking for a while, she slowly spoke.
"There are very few seriously injured people in the stronghold. But even though they only need to treat light injuries, the number of medical-nin is still far too insufficient…"
"That's probably because the ones with particularly severe injuries were quietly executed when they were recovered from the battlefield."
Rei sighed and shook his head.
"When Lord Second was still around, he did not mind learning from Konoha and borrowing many policies and systems that are still in use today. But valuing medical-nin was something Tsunade-hime of the Sannin only proposed during the previous Shinobi World War."
"And at that time, the stubborn and closed-minded Third had already taken power… Not only did he fail to learn from Konoha's policy that could greatly improve a shinobi's survival rate on the battlefield, he instead established an even more extreme ninja academy graduation exam, almost completely strangling the birth of medical-nin in Kirigakure."
"The effect of this problem isn't that great during times of peace. But once we enter a state of war, our shortage of medical-nin will cause large numbers of injured people to die because they cannot receive treatment."
"As for Konoha, because they trained large numbers of medical-nin, not only can they greatly improve the survival rate of their wounded, they can also allow shinobi with lighter injuries to return to the battlefield faster."
"Right now, because the village still has many shinobi waiting to be thrown into the war, even if the casualty rate on the front line is far higher than Konoha's, we can still maintain a certain numerical advantage."
"But once the war enters a stalemate, we will very quickly lose too many wounded who could originally have been saved and become the side with fewer people instead."
"Is there no way to change this situation?"
Although Mei had already heard Rei's outrageous claim that Kirigakure had no chance of winning the war, it was only after she truly stepped onto the battlefield and saw the enormous flaws hidden beneath Kirigakure's surface advantage that she finally understood why Rei had made such a judgment before the war even began.
On top of that, there was the impeccable deduction that Kushina Uzumaki was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
With all these factors added together, Mei trusted Rei's personal ability more and more. Naturally, she also began to develop some… unrealistic fantasies about him.
For example, at this very moment, she imagined Rei taking out some special secret medicine that could alleviate Kirigakure's situation of being forced to abandon large numbers of wounded due to insufficient medical-nin.
Rei really wanted to harden his heart and say no.
But looking at Mei's eyes, which carried trust, longing, and unrealistic pleading, he fell silent for a while.
In the end, he still took out two specially made paper-wrapped Biscuits from his robes and placed them in Mei's hands.
"What is this?" Mei looked at the oddly shaped Biscuits in her hands and cast an inquiring gaze toward Rei.
"A secret medicine I tried making after improving my family's secret wound medicine formula…"
"Because there are still some issues with the ratios that haven't been solved, the output is very low. But the effect is pretty good. Even someone on the verge of death can last a while longer after eating one. If their chakra is exhausted, they can also squeeze out a little more with it."
Rei paused, then sighed and said, "These two Biscuits are for you to use in an emergency. How exactly you use them is up to you. But no matter what, don't spread the news that I made these. Understand?"
"…Rei."
"Hm?"
"You really are someone very suited to becoming a Kage."
"Even if you praise me, I won't give you an unlimited supply."
"Yes, yes~"
Outside the room, Juzo Biwa, who had originally planned to knock and enter to pass along the order, stopped his already raised hand.
With a somewhat playful expression, he silently turned and left.
"Rei Kaguya… I originally thought you were a very traditional descendant of the Kaguya clan. I didn't expect you to be such an interesting guy."
"If I spread what I just heard, you would definitely die, right?"
"But… why should I spread it?"
"A demon blade that has already formed thoughts of killing its master may not be a bad thing for the current Kirigakure…"