Naruto's civilian cannon fodder starts with the three-body technique

Chapter 286 Weighing the pros and cons
The oasis where Daming Prefecture is located is far larger than the Jinquan Oasis. In addition to numerous fortresses, it surprisingly possesses sturdy city walls, which are constructed from special materials reinforced with talismans.

The city walls were lined with well-armored samurai and ninja guards, standing guard every three steps and sentry every five steps. Even more alarming were the heavy crossbows that shimmered with chakra light and defensive barriers that were set up at intervals along the walls, forming a dense network of long-range firepower and a vigilant barrier.

The outskirts of the oasis were no longer sparse patrols, but outposts and checkpoints composed of elite samurai units and clearly well-trained ninja squads. In the air, there were also tamed flying ninja beasts circling and keeping watch.

The entire defense system was rigorous and orderly, with layers upon layers, and almost no obvious flaws or weaknesses.

"Isn't this concentration of troops a bit excessive?"

Hatake Sagumo's sharp gaze swept over the distant fortifications, his face filled with caution. "It seems they have huddled all the available defensive forces in the Daimyo Prefecture. Instead of dividing their forces, they have concentrated their strength."

A glint flashed in Umino Sasuke's eyes as he couldn't help but guess, "This Daimyo of the Land of Wind is quite extraordinary. He's either a complete coward, or an exceptionally intelligent person who has already figured out our strategic intentions."

If he's a fool, then it's probably because the liberation of the oases was too big of a move, and this foolish daimyo was terrified. That's why he recklessly concentrated all his forces around his own side, only seeking self-preservation and completely abandoning the security of the outer oases and supply lines. If that's the case, then it's easy to deal with. As long as we delay for a while and continue to liberate a large number of oases, the daimyo's prefecture will not be able to maintain this situation for long, and internal problems will definitely arise.

If the daimyo of the Land of Wind is a hidden sixth brother, then he should have already seen through their strategic intentions. That's why he did the opposite, abandoning the outer oasis strongholds that were difficult to defend fully, concentrating his forces to the extreme, and building an impregnable fortress in the daimyo's capital. He used absolute troop density and defensive strength to offset their ability to launch mobile attacks, thus forcing them to either give up or have to bite off this tough nut to crack!

Hatake Sagumo nodded: "If it's the latter, then we're in trouble."

The original plan was a relatively easy strategy: liberate the oasis, create chaos, divide forces to lure the enemy, and then take advantage of their weakness. However, the plan has failed due to the enemy's cunning turtle-shell defense.

Umino Sasuke stroked his chin, pondering the matter. It wasn't that, as Hatake Saikumo had said, they couldn't conquer this heavily fortified daimyo's mansion, but rather whether it was worth it.

With the number of puppets he currently controls, although limited by the strength of his mental power, he can only release about fifty shadow clones in a row, which is not comparable to Sasori's Hundred Puppet Manipulation, but far surpasses the Chikamatsu Ten. After killing Ebizo and the Sand Iron Couple, he obtained a large number of elite Jonin-level or higher puppets. In addition, with the mecha puppets and the Ruri Mechanical Princess, his overall combat power may not be weaker than Sasori's Hundred Puppet Manipulation.

If quantity is insufficient, quality will make up for it.

Like the Red Sand Scorpion, it's not impossible for one person to destroy a country.

Shadow clones form a puppet army, while the main body deals with ninjas below the Kage level. Jonin are dealt with using the Flying Thunder God Technique, and with the Silent Killing Technique, a super-powerful skill for crushing weaklings, the killing efficiency can even surpass that of Sasori of the Red Sand.

Unfortunately, while a Shadow-level puppeteer's combat strength may be average among those of the same level, they have an innate advantage in clearing out small fry.

If we were to launch a full-scale attack on the daimyo prefecture, with the addition of Hatake Sagumo, a master of siege warfare, taking down the daimyo prefecture would not be difficult at all.

Daimyo's mansion is not Sunagakure after all. Even if there are hidden strongmen, they can be restrained by Hatake Sagumo. As for those small fry, once they enter the alleyway battle against a Kage-level puppeteer, it's only a matter of time before they are wiped out.

By the time Aunt Chiyo receives the news and comes to her aid, the Daimyo Prefecture will probably have already been captured.

Looking at the heavily guarded Daimyo's mansion, Hatake Sagumo's eyes gleamed with fighting spirit: "Sasuke, with your puppet army and Flying Thunder God Technique, combined with my swordsmanship and your Face-Changing Technique, let's infiltrate and capture the Daimyo of the Land of Wind. Then, let Byakuya lead us to break out and bring the Daimyo of the Land of Wind back to the Land of Fire. We should have at least a 50% chance of success. Although the risk is great, it's absolutely worth the gamble."

Upon hearing this tactical plan, Sasuke Umino's gaze sharpened, his mind racing at full speed, his intuition telling him that doing so was extremely dangerous.

The danger did not come from the present-day Daming Prefecture, but from the rear.

After careful consideration, he immediately understood the key points and rejected Hatake Sagumo's tactical plan.

After conquering the Daimyo's residence in the Land of Wind, with his puppet army and the combined assault capabilities of Hatake Sagumo, he was 99% confident he could capture the Daimyo of the Land of Wind and bring him back to the Land of Fire.

But what if they captured the daimyo of the Land of Wind?
The fact that just two people, single-handedly, breached the power center of a heavily guarded major power would inevitably cause a huge uproar in the ninja world.

If they were to actually do this, how would the Fire Country Daimyo view it? He would most likely only see that the Konoha ninja possessed the power to overthrow his rule, and that they were already on the path to doing so. This suspicion and fear would not be diminished by their great achievements; on the contrary, it would only make them more dreadful. Once the Fire Country Daimyo investigated, the Konoha higher-ups might not protect the two of them, and might even collude with the Fire Country Daimyo to suppress them. The best-case scenario would be that they would obediently become tools and weapons; the worst-case scenario would be that they would commit suicide like the future Konoha White Fang, or simply become rogue ninjas. As for living a cowardly and miserable life, that was never an option for a ninja.

As for the merit of capturing the Daimyo of the Land of Wind, among the Konoha leadership, only the hawkish Shimura Danzo would be happy to see this happen. Even if it were Shimura Danzo, after receiving the benefits, he might not necessarily protect the two of them. Eliminating the rival for Hokage would be a more likely outcome.

Therefore, it seems that capturing the Daimyo of the Land of Wind single-handedly is possible, provided one possesses the absolute power to suppress the ninja world like Madara Uchiha. Otherwise, such an act would be tantamount to digging a hole for oneself and burying oneself in the process.

Sasuke Umino suppressed his chaotic thoughts, shook his head, and said with a serious expression, "Senior Sasuke, capturing the Daimyo of the Land of Wind and forcibly breaking out is too risky, with only a 50% success rate. It doesn't seem safe enough."

"Oh?" Hatake Sagumo was quite surprised. He had thought that with the courage and strength that Umino Sasuke had shown, he would definitely support this tactical plan. However, considering that Umino Sasuke was a commander of a ninja army and had achieved many impressive victories, he was resourceful and wise. It was reasonable for him to be cautious.

"Sasuke, are you worried that the Daimyo of the Land of Wind has hidden power? Or that Chiyo might return to provide support at any time?"

“We have both! More importantly, we haven’t yet figured out the true background of this daimyo from the Land of Wind.”

Then, a glint of light flashed in Umino Sasuke's eyes, and he had already prepared his explanation. So he began to analyze logically, "Think about it carefully. Faced with our action to liberate the oasis, this daimyo of the Land of Wind's response was rather excessive. He hoarded all his forces in the daimyo's mansion and abandoned all the surrounding oasis outposts. Isn't that unusual? Either this guy is a complete, utterly terrified idiot, or..."

He's an extremely clever and well-hidden sixth brother!

If he already knew our intentions—that we were deliberately adopting this turtle-shell posture, concentrating all our power and waiting for us to run into it—he must have something to rely on to do so. Perhaps he's hiding some trap or a ninja master specifically designed to counter our methods.”

Hearing this reasoned analysis, Hatake Sagumo's gaze swept over the layers of defensive fortifications and the ninja beasts circling in the air once more, and he slowly nodded: "What you said makes a lot of sense. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. We really know too little about this Daimyo of the Land of Wind. His unusual strategy of retreating is indeed strange. If it is really a trap, the consequences of walking into it are unpredictable."

“Therefore, I suggest!” Sasuke Umino was delighted, and a smile crept onto his lips as he proposed an adjustment plan: “Let’s liberate some large oases that we haven’t yet visited, especially those oasis outposts located on the supply line to the Sunagakure front.”

In this way, we can continuously strike the logistics supply lines of the Sand Village front, weaken their war potential, and create a decisive opportunity for our main force.

At the same time, it can also force this mysterious daimyo to react. If he is really a fool, he will only continue to cower, and after a large number of oases are liberated, chaos will break out inside them sooner or later, and the fortress will fall apart without being attacked. If he is a smart man, seeing the Land of Wind in chaos and getting worse and worse, he cannot continue to remain indifferent.

As long as he takes action, whether it's deploying troops or anything else, he will inevitably reveal his weaknesses and flaws, allowing us to see through his true intentions.

Then, we will be more confident in deciding whether to attack or defend, to fight or retreat.

Hearing this thorough analysis, Hatake Sagumo praised Unno Sasuke, saying that he truly lived up to his reputation as a ninja army commander known for his strategic thinking, and was indeed thoughtful and resourceful.

This tactical plan is entirely based on tactical considerations, is reasonable and avoids unknown risks, and can effectively advance the completion of the mission.

Hatake Sagumo readily agreed, saying, "Alright! Let's do it your way. Rather than risking a direct assault on a turtle shell whose strength we don't know, let's first clip its wings, cut off its supply lines, force it to reveal its true colors, and then we can continue our old ways and liberate the various oases of the Land of Wind!"

"Smart move!"

Sasuke Unno gave a thumbs up, but inwardly he was sweating. He had finally managed to fool them. All that talk of being resourceful was just a matter of weighing the pros and cons. He hoped that the daimyo of the Land of Wind was a real idiot.

However, the daimyo of the Land of Wind, who has been able to suppress Sunagakure for so many years, is probably not a fool. He is most likely a well-hidden sixth brother.

Even if he's a smart person, at least he can be used to suppress those guys from Sunagakure.

(End of this chapter)