Uchiha's personal opinion

"Let's prepare to evacuate. It's time to go back and reunite with Sakumo-kun..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu ordered, "Also, release the ninja hawks to inform Sakumo-kun of the battle situation here!"

"Yes, sir!"

Hinata Takazawa immediately bowed, accepted the order, and withdrew.

……

Meanwhile, in the southern region of the Land of Fire, Sakumo Hatake and Orochimaru had just finished yet another fruitless offensive.

Yagura Karatachi not only possessed formidable personal combat skills, but his command abilities in the ninja army were also exceptional.

Although both Sakumo Hatake and Orochimaru are renowned powerhouses in the ninja world, they still couldn't gain the upper hand against Yagura Karatachi, who had transformed into a tailed beast.

The repeated offensives of the Konoha ninja army not only failed to repel the Kirigakure ninja army, but also resulted in heavy casualties on their own side.

Back at the camp, Sakumo Hatake and Orochimaru continued to rack their brains and devise strategies.

"I wonder how De Guangjun's raid behind enemy lines is going..."

Inside the central command tent, after planning some tactics on the map, Hatake Sakumo threw down his pen and sighed.

The numerous attacks launched over several days were forced to be abandoned by Yagura's unreasonable Tailed Beast Ball attacks, leaving the two of them at a loss for what to do.

When he couldn't think of a strategy, Hatake Sakumo especially missed Uchiha Tokumitsu, who could overcome skill with brute force.

At least if Uchiha Tokumitsu were here, he could confidently hand over the ninja army and go to the battlefield to carry out the extermination missions himself, instead of sitting idly in the command center as he is now.

Sakumo Hatake glanced again at Orochimaru, who was still intently focused on tactical planning on the map.

Orochimaru was indeed exceptionally strong, but Sakumo Hatake was not comfortable entrusting his ninja army to him.

In particular, the Uchiha clan members form the main fighting force of the mobile units.

Orochimaru's command on the battlefield was too cold and ruthless.

To him, the lives of his fellow village ninjas were just boring numbers, the price to be paid to achieve a certain tactical objective. Hatake Sakumo had never seen Orochimaru's face show any emotion at hearing of the heavy casualties suffered by his comrades.

"It is indeed a cold-blooded venomous snake with no heat..."

Although he felt it was wrong to label others, Sakumo Hatake couldn't help but mutter to himself.

“Sakumo-kun…”

Orochimaru also stopped writing. "You have a lot of confidence in Tokumitsu-kun, huh?"

"confidence?"

Sakumo Hatake was taken aback by what he heard.

"Didn't you just mean that you thought Deguang-kun could successfully complete the raid behind enemy lines and quickly return to regroup?"

Orochimaru wore a cold smile.

“That’s true…” Sakumo Hatake thought for a moment about what he had said and nodded in agreement with Orochimaru’s judgment.

"De Guang-kun may be young, but he is indeed a trustworthy partner."

"Kaleidoscope Sharingan..."

Orochimaru suddenly spoke, his gaze fixed intently on Sakumo Hatake.

"Senior Sakumo, could you describe the power of these legendary bloodline limit eyes?"

When Orochimaru needed something from Sakumo Hatake, he changed his address from the equal "kun" to the respectful "senpai".

“A destructive power like that of a demon or god, an unparalleled natural disaster…” Hatake Sakumo pondered for a moment, then replied, “However, Tokumitsu-kun may be too young, and he is not as powerful as Madara Uchiha in the records so far, which inspires despair.”

"Lord Hashirama's Wood Release pacified the chaotic world, and Madara Uchiha's Susanoo subdued the four great ninja villages..."

Orochimaru also dropped the pencil in his hand, leaned back in his chair, and stared intently at the top of the tent, seemingly lost in thought.

"My lords!"

A communications ninja ran breathlessly to the entrance of the central command tent and shouted.

"Come in!"

Orochimaru, who was lying in a "snake-like" posture, suddenly straightened up and ordered the communication ninja to come in.

"Sakumo-sama, Orochimaru-sama!"

After the communications ninja entered the tent, he immediately presented a document with both hands, saying, "It's a secret letter from Lord Tokugawa!"

"Secret message?"

Orochimaru's interest was immediately piqued. "Bring it here so I can take a look."

The communications ninja slightly raised his head, glancing at Sakumo Hatake out of the corner of his eye.

Sakumo Hatake nodded slightly in agreement.

"Please, Lord Orochimaru, make your judgment..."

The communications ninja immediately handed the document to Orochimaru.

"Lord Sakumo is indeed skilled at managing his subordinates..."

Orochimaru exclaimed as he opened the envelope.

He also noticed the little movement the communications ninja had just made.

Upon reading the letter, Orochimaru clicked his tongue in disapproval.

"what happened?"

Sakumo Hatake noticed Orochimaru's unusual behavior.

“Tokuko-kun has already burned Kirigakure’s supply base and ship docking place…” Orochimaru couldn’t help but laugh out loud, his long tongue licking his lips like a venomous snake. “So Kirigakure set up its base on the Tajima Peninsula in the Land of Iron… No wonder we haven’t been able to get any information about Kirigakure.”

Orochimaru then handed the letter to Sakumo Hatake, who was itching to read it.

"They also burned a batch of Kirigakure's supply ships... It seems that even if Yagura Karatachi wanted to fight again, he wouldn't be able to sustain it!"

Sakumo Hatake laughed out loud; this was truly good news!

The resources required for ninja warfare are extremely high.

Putting aside the ninjas' terrifying appetites, even the recyclable ninja tools and consumables such as secret medicines and explosive tags consume an exceptionally large amount of resources.

The logistics base was completely burned down, and Yagura Karatachi could not sustain the operation for long by relying solely on the supplies stored in the camp.

"However, there is another fleet that has directly changed course and come this way..."

"I'll go arrange the intelligence personnel first!" Orochimaru said, standing up. "At the very least, we need to determine the landing point for this batch of Kirigakure reinforcements!"

Despite holding the intelligence department in his hands, he hadn't accomplished anything, and even crucial intelligence like enemy reinforcements had to be obtained through other people's battle reports. Orochimaru was starting to lose face.

"No rush... Kirigakure's landing this time will probably not be concealed..."

After stroking his chin thoughtfully for a moment, Hatake Sakumo said, "With the base at the rear destroyed, the Kirigakure ninja are probably in a state of panic. If reinforcements arrive, Kirigakure might use them to boost morale..."

Orochimaru was stunned.

"However, it is still possible to send intelligence agents to infiltrate Wuyin to confirm the identity of the reinforcements."

Sakumo Hatake then added.

Orochimaru nodded and sat down.

He then summoned the head of the intelligence department and gave him some instructions.

"How about we launch a counterattack tonight?"

Orochimaru suggested, somewhat impatiently.

"...Large-scale operations are a bit difficult, but deploying elite squads to carry out harassment and encirclement missions is still feasible."

After thinking for a moment, Hatake Sakumo said, "In this way, we can both disrupt Kirigakure's rest and delay their retreat, killing two birds with one stone!"

Orochimaru thought about it and agreed to this mature and cautious fighting style.

……

Meanwhile, in the Kirigakure Second Army camp, Yagura Karatachi was looking at the battle report in his hand with a livid face.

The group of Kirigakure Jonin, heads bowed, dared not utter a sound.

But the destruction of the base on the Malay Peninsula was not just a matter of supply disruption.

Apart from a few transport ships that traveled between the two locations and were spared, the Second Kirigakure Army had no more ships left.

But what worries Yagura the most is that the Third Mizukage is about to arrive in the Land of Fire with the fleet...

As for the specifics of the Mizukage's purpose, Yagura Karatachi was unclear.

After the Atakebune used for transporting supplies was burned in the port of Tajima Peninsula, Yagura Karatachi did not know the exact amount of ninja troops and supplies that the Third Mizukage could bring.

The only certainty is that the Second Kirigakure Army could no longer afford to fight a war of attrition until the Third Mizukage arrived at the front lines and took command personally.

“Uchiha Tokumitsu…”

With a livid face, Yagura Kojiki passed the letter to his subordinate below him, then closed his eyes and fell into deep thought.

There's not much point in continuing this battle.

Even if the Third Mizukage led them to defeat the ninja army commanded by Sakumo Hatake and Orochimaru, they would not receive much reward.

In short, this battle was a huge loss.

"Actually... after the defeat of Suigetsu Fuguki's First Army, they should have withdrawn in time..."

A Jonin from Kirigakure below whispered, "This is a war that yields no benefit, and the ninjas under my command are already full of complaints."

"Are you going to become a rogue ninja?!"

Another hot-tempered Kirigakure Jonin stood up and rebuked, "You become a coward like a tailed beast after encountering setbacks? You should know shame!"

Immediately, the central command tent turned into a marketplace, with the various high-ranking ninjas splitting into several factions and hurling insults at each other.

Knock knock knock knock!

Yagura tapped the table a few times, and the previously noisy central command tent immediately fell silent.

"...Now that the Mizukage has arrived, we should also ask him for tactical guidance when facing difficulties."

Yagura looked down at the map, feeling as if his heart was bleeding.