Uchiha Akaishi Tour

Chapter 315 Iwagakure's Countermeasures

In the conference room of the Iwagakure Countermeasures Force headquarters, twelve Jonin were present.

These are currently all the Jonin in the Iwagakure countermeasures unit.

Compared to the battlefields of the Land of Wind, the number of battlefields is not large, and it could even be described as somewhat meager.

However, its configuration is by no means low.

Speaking of genuine elite Jonin, there are only four people who have fought to this point: Orochimaru, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Akimichi Torifu. There are fewer than twenty people in the entire Hidden Leaf Village with the title of elite Jonin!

In addition to Akaishi, two elders of the Uchiha clan, Yang Yong and Koji Kyu, were also present, meaning that there were a total of three people who possessed the Sharingan.

In the makeshift meeting room, a long wooden table was placed—

It's made of wood, not earth, which means that Orochimaru must have used it with his "Sealing Scroll".

Moreover, many people felt that the wooden table looked familiar.

Isn't that the table from the frontline command headquarters?

Rumor has it that Orochimaru was very unhappy when he was replaced—it seems to be true, otherwise he wouldn't have even left a table for "White Fang".

Jiraiya and Tsunade both knew Orochimaru's personality. Although he was not the type to argue with people or directly express anger, he always showed his "awkwardness" in some small ways.

but----

At this moment, besides the table, there was something even more "awkward"!

The other Jonin felt even more awkward looking at the three Uchiha who were sitting in a row to Orochimaru's left. Although it hadn't been officially announced yet, they had heard some "rumors".

When everyone first heard the news, they couldn't believe it. Especially after receiving the assignment and learning that Orochimaru had become the "Commander-in-Chief of the Iwagakure Countermeasures Force," they felt even more convinced that the absurd rumors were definitely false.

However, now seeing this configuration—

Even Akimichi Torifu, theoretically the highest priority "young senior", was only placed first on the right, followed by Tsunade and Jiraiya.

The Uchiha clan not only provided "strong support," but they were also placed in such a position. In an instant, the scene before their eyes and the previous rumors seemed to confirm each other!

"Before you all came here, you should already know the situation—seeing our successive victories in the battle against the Sand Ninja, the Iwagakure village couldn't sit still and joined forces with the Rain Ninja to launch a sneak attack on our positions in the Land of Rain. The Hokage's Office also took remedial measures and established this special countermeasures unit." Orochimaru's hoarse and cold voice rang out.

-

Speaking of the Hokage Building's "better late than never" approach, Akashi always felt that Orochimaru was about to burst out laughing.

Fortunately, Orochimaru held back.

Everyone else pretended not to understand his tone.

"The Hokage's initial idea was to consolidate the battle lines in the Land of Wind and launch a full-scale counterattack against Amegakure and Iwagakure. The Land of Fire had also already declared war on the Land of Earth—but this nonsensical plan has been firmly rejected by me," Orochimaru said matter-of-factly.

That's right. At the beginning, both Konoha and the Land of Fire were going to launch a full-scale war and directly transferred their main forces here, while the Land of Wind only maintained a suppressive posture.

Needless to say, even the nobles of the Fire City understood what the "death of Nawaki" meant.

The daimyo of the Land of Fire, who originally shared the same origin as the Senju clan, reacted even more directly than Konoha in this regard—they could rightfully and openly regard "Nawaki" as a special being, not just a genin.

Therefore, the lobbying in this regard went very smoothly. The Fire City had no problems at all and quickly decided to declare a full-scale war against the Earth Country, leaving the decision of "how big" of the war to Konoha.

However, Orochimaru first accepted the position of commander-in-chief, and then listed the stupidity of this strategy!

Orochimaru's opinion was simple—

The main force must continue its strong attack on Sunagakure. Not only should it not slow down, but it should intensify its efforts, showing an attitude that even if it means greater losses, it must completely subdue the Land of Wind and Sunagakure, and even if it means scattering Sunagakure!

First, seize control of Sunagakure, completely defeat and subdue them, and then settle accounts with Iwagakure.

The task of the "Iwagakure Countermeasures Unit" is to ensure the smooth flow of their rear and supply lines.

It was still the same task as before for the supply troops, but it was much more critical and urgent, because they were no longer facing scattered soldiers and sporadic attacks, but organized and continuous assaults!

"A new front has now been established—"

As Orochimaru spoke, he summoned a long map scroll, which he then unfolded on the long table.

The map mostly covers the territory of the Land of Rain, and part of the border of the Land of Earth. A series of strongholds are marked on it, starting from Broken Cloud Pass and going all the way to the Wetland Foothills—the most important supply line, with nearly ten strongholds!

"Our minimum requirement is to hold these strongholds, but—if that's all, we'll not only have to constantly face harassment from Amegakure, Iwagakure, and even the Sand Ninja who have infiltrated and returned, but the area we need to defend is far too large—"

Orochimaru was clearly not satisfied with simply defending this isolated supply line.

"However, if we broaden our horizons and take control of this place, this place, and this place—these three locations—we can completely shut down Amegakure's counterattack and prevent Iwagakure from venturing deep into the Land of Rain with a large force!"

These two points are not key defensive positions, but rather key offensive positions.

If Amegakure takes these two key points of attack, it will be difficult for them to leave Mount Sumeru. In other words, they may face Konoha crossing the Blood Bridge and directly attacking Mount Sumeru at any time, which will naturally restrict their actions.

As for the third place—

It was right on the border between the Land of Earth and the Land of Grass!

Hanzo has long aimed to dominate the ninja world, which naturally leads to frequent conflicts with the Land of Earth, and these conflicts are also reflected on the border.

The current border line, which has been fought back and forth between the two sides, is certainly not suitable for either side to attack; otherwise, a war would have broken out long ago.

If Iwagakure wants to intervene in the battlefield of the Land of Rain, it either needs to resupply from Mount Shiyu or—it needs to take this route. The easiest route to cut off is the Kannabi Bridge, which Orochimaru pointed out!

Because this is true for both Amegakure and Iwagakure, Kannabi Bridge is theoretically located within the territory of the Land of Grass.

However, in reality, as soon as war breaks out, the Grass Ninja dare not approach this place at all.

Hanzo had previously captured this place during his expedition to the Land of Iron, but it was later recaptured by Iwagakure, who cut off their retreat, forcing them to withdraw.

Now, if Iwagakure wants to intervene in the battlefield of the Land of Rain, the most important thing is still this route.

After all, neither Onoki nor Hanzo would feel comfortable using Mount Shiyu as a supply line.

"Commander Orochimaru, let's put aside Kannabi Bridge for now—this place at Mount Shiyu is going to be difficult, isn't it? Our current combat strength—" Sarutobi Ryo of the Sarutobi clan couldn't help but speak up at this moment.

Orochimaru had been speaking sarcastically, and Sarutobi Ryo had been holding back, but now he couldn't help but engage Orochimaru. He was simultaneously trying to stop the Hokage from sending more troops to their side, while fighting very aggressively.

"Jonin Sarutobi, don't worry. I'll personally take charge of things at Mount Shiyu!" Orochimaru said matter-of-factly.

"As for Kannabi Bridge, I plan to hand it over to Jonin Akimichi." Orochimaru said, looking at Akimichi Torifu.

Akimichi Torifu's round face looked more weathered than it had been two years ago, and he now appeared to be much older than Orochimaru and the others.

Upon hearing this, Akimichi Torifu nodded his round head.

Sarutobi Ryo: ————

Seeing this, Sarutobi Ryo twitched his lips but didn't say anything more, however—

"Our Orochimaru's plan to take these three locations may seem risky, but it's actually to minimize future risks and reduce our defensive territory. Can't you see that?"

"Tsk tsk, seeing that an attack is going to be risky, they really have no foresight."

Akaishi:————

Yang Yong and Gong Zhijiu made no attempt to hide their sarcasm and started mocking each other directly.

"You—" Sarutobi Ryo was annoyed at the sight.

"Ahem, Jonin Sarutobi is mature and prudent, so let's not talk about anything else now." Akaishi, being a kind-hearted person, stepped in to break up the fight.

After Sarutobi Ryo's mouth was gagged, he glared at Yang Yong and Gong Zhijiu with even more displeasure, but both of them had a sneer that said, "If you're not convinced, we'll have a one-on-one fight later."

Sarutobi Ryo had already suspected it—

Orochimaru's main focus on a strong attack on Sunagakure—could there be any considerations related to the Uchiha clan?

After all, not long ago, Uchiha Kensuke proposed the concept of "secondary entrustment" at the Jonin Conference, which is to let Sunagakure "outsource" Konoha's work.

Although Kensuke acted as if "the Uchiha clan will never enjoy such a good thing alone" and "I'm doing this all for Konoha," since Konoha is providing a guarantee of credibility and post-mission verification, the Security Department will definitely be the biggest beneficiary.

Even if a special department is to be set up to verify the status of "outsourced" tasks, personnel will definitely have to be transferred from the Security Department, since this is their area of ​​expertise!

Of course, Kensuke's suggestion does sound beneficial to Konoha, especially when Konoha can't handle too many missions.

If peace negotiations proceeded according to the previous pattern, Konoha would only receive a limited share of missions—hence, many Jonin were very tempted.

But it is precisely because of this that Hiruzen Sarutobi is even more conflicted. If it is detrimental to Konoha, then there is no need to consider it. But—now it is beneficial to Konoha, but it is also too beneficial to the Uchiha!

If it were Danzo, there would be no need to even consider him; if it were beneficial to the Uchiha clan, he could be ruled out.

Just as the Hokage-ryu were struggling with their decision, a shocking incident occurred in the Land of Rain. The Hokage-ryu took the opportunity to shift their main force, which may well have been a deliberate attempt to go with the flow.

If we make peace with Sunagakure now, we probably won't get the "outsourcing" agreement; we can only try to grab some mission slots.

Just then, Orochimaru, who had just declared his intention to marry into the Uchiha clan, strongly advocated continuing the assault on Sunagakure and making sure to subdue them.

Let alone Sarutobi Ryo, who was not familiar with Orochimaru, even Sarutobi Hiruzen would inevitably have some doubts!