Uchiha's personal opinion

"Do the Two-Tailed Beasts have to do the same?"

Seeing that Uchiha Tokumitsu did not answer, Shichimaru asked again.

Although Uchiha Tokumitsu did not turn back, he shook his head slightly.

"Please give me one more day!"

"Nanao Shigeaki requested."

"...The last day."

Uchiha Tokumitsu turned around, examined the sealing vessel, and then spoke.

Chapter 499 Amidst the Flames of War

"Imperial City, Marine Headquarters, and Enies Lobby together form a triangular sea area with a huge vortex in the middle. The outer edge of the vortex is a fast-track channel used by the World Government agencies. With the help of the vortex, the three agencies can quickly support each other!"

Hanzo the Salamander, who led his troops to the advance command post, listened attentively to the battlefield explanation given by Ichiraku Uzumaki, the chief of staff of the advance army. The wonderful and self-consistent marine environment of the pirate world broadened Hanzo's horizons.

"It's truly a masterpiece of nature..."

Even Hanzo the Salamander couldn't help but marvel at this amazing marine environment: "Marineford, Enies Lobby, Impel Down, and there are fast shipping lanes between the three places... This strategic pivot loop built on eddies is truly ingenious!"

"Furthermore, according to publicly available intelligence, Impel Down is not a prison based on a natural island, but a man-made prison with its lower levels extending directly into the sea!"

Uzumaki Ichiraku said seriously, "Although our ships' combat power far surpasses that of the pseudo-government navy in this world, the construction and structure of Impel Down also show that their technology is unique, so we must not underestimate them!"

"That's absolutely true..."

Uchiha Rumbu, who was standing to the side, nodded with great satisfaction.

"As we set out for this battle, right at the Gate of the World, His Majesty held my hand and gave me these words of advice..."

Hanzo the Salamander said slowly, "Strategically, we can underestimate the enemy, but tactically, we must take them very seriously!"

The group of Jonin immediately became solemn.

"This is, after all, a world, a world with a complete system..."

Hanzo the Salamander tapped the sea map gently and said quietly, "As pioneers, even though we know that certain periods are indeed difficult, we have no choice but to do it."

The Jonin all nodded in agreement.

The benefits that the pirate world has brought to the ninja world are immense.

It's not just the endless supply of sea fish, not just the salted fish that everyone in the ninja world can eat, not just the ores mined in the deserted islands and the special alloys formed by smelting metals in the ninja world, not just the renewed expansion of ninja power in the era of unification—more importantly, these ninjas who suddenly entered a peaceful era, even those who didn't know what to do after joining the army, found a way out again.

The process of rising from genin to jonin is a narrow and increasingly difficult one. In this process, not only personal strength and luck are required, but also a strong background. Especially in the dynastic era when jonins generally held positions as councilors, being recognized as a jonin was not only an affirmation of strength, but also a shortcut to directly gaining power and becoming part of the ruling class.

While war is cruel, it is also the fastest way for ninjas to advance in rank and the best way to shift internal conflicts outward.

Therefore, although many ninjas had some war-weariness, most others were happy to hear about war.

"At the imperial council, His Majesty granted me seven thousand standing troops..."

Hanzo the Salamander sighed again, "Then I felt it wasn't enough, so I went to the Emperor to plead for reinforcements. So His Majesty temporarily transferred three regiments from the Fourth Army, making a total of 10,000 troops!"

"Moreover, all five of the most advanced battleships, all equipped with main guns, are under my command. In addition, there are twelve ironclads and thirty cruisers. The navy has almost mobilized its entire fleet!"

"Therefore, in this battle, only victory is allowed, and defeat is not an option!"

'boom! '

Hanzo the Salamander casually tossed a kunai and nailed it to the location of Impel Down on the map, coldly stating, "Impel Down must be attacked! And it must be taken!"

"The next question is, how do we fight!"

The staff immediately began preparing tactical simulations.

"The headquarters will select 1,200 ninja soldiers to join a regiment assigned by Hanzo, and they will form a fleet aboard the headquarters' ironclad warships and troop transport ships to launch an attack towards the East China Sea!"

Uchiha Shiina stood up and said, "At the same time, in order to maximize our momentum, headquarters will sweep through the port cities of various member states in the East Blue region, and attempt to conduct in-depth landing operations in suitable cities, capturing the capitals of three to five kingdoms!"

What's the point?

Uchiha Rumbu asked.

"First, looting!"

Uchiha Shiina stated without hesitation, "Secondly, headquarters will launch an offensive before Hanzo takes command, and will maximize the momentum of the pirate groups currently under our control in order to attract the attention of the World Government Navy!"

"Even the Navy Headquarters has a limited number of ships; moreover, after luring them to the East China Sea, even if they eventually discover our true strategic objectives, they will not be able to bypass the usual shipping lanes to provide support in a short period of time!"

"If that's the case, then Commander Shiina needs to be extremely cautious in this battle..."

Hanzo the Salamander nodded at first, but then shook his head.

"From the Navy's wanted posters, combined with recent rumors circulating among pirate groups around the world, we can see something very interesting..."

Instead of answering directly, Uchiha Shiina pulled a document from his pocket and spread it on the table, saying, "Those rogue ninja from Kirigakure destroyed their naval warships with just the main guns of their ironclad battleships, while Kirigakure's losses mainly came from close combat..."

"So your opinion is..."

Hanzo the Salamander turned the proclamation toward himself and raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Maximize our firepower advantage and send them to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish, once they are out of the range of their strongest water-based combat capabilities!"

Uchiha Shiina said firmly.

"Not engaging in close combat?"

Hanzo, the salamander, frowned.

"The headquarters will try to avoid close combat contact with the navy."

Uchiha Shiina replied.

After all, he only brought 2,200 ninjas with him this time, which couldn't withstand a war of attrition.

"So, how should the specific tactics be arranged?"

Uchiha Rumbu interrupted again, asking a question.

"When the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy camps, we harass; we attack until they must defend, and then we encircle and annihilate them when the opportunity arises!"

"Uchiha Shiina said."

"Very good!"

Hanzo the Salamander nodded as well.

Based on the analysis of existing battle reports, the physical strength of the strong in this world, whether they are so-called Devil Fruit users or practitioners of Haki, far surpasses that of ninjas.

However, ninjas were not without their merits. They not only had a technological advantage that was overwhelming, but also a huge advantage in tactical skills.

What Uchiha Shiina needs to do now is to maximize the ninjas' advantage in tactical understanding.

"The tactics for the advance force are settled. Next up is the First Army Corps..."

"Hanzo the Salamander," he said.

Immediately, in addition to the regiment assigned to the vanguard, the other nine regimental commanders stepped forward and surrounded the nautical chart.

"The core of this battle lies in the ultimate mobilization and the strategy of besieging a point to intercept reinforcements!"

Hanzo the Salamander pulled out the kunai pinned to Impel Down and said, "In terms of numbers, although we have nine thousand ninja troops, we may not actually have an absolute advantage in numbers."

"Furthermore, we have no way of knowing what's inside Impel Down."

Ichiraku Uzumaki added.

"That's right!"

Hanzo the Salamander nodded with even greater satisfaction. "Therefore, based on His Majesty's instructions and the intelligence we have, I plan to divide this battle into three phases!"

"The first phase is to send the fleet directly into the calm zone to lure the garrisoned navy into engaging us in naval combat!"

"After sinking all enemy ships with firepower superiority, continue to bombard the Propulsion City with heavy artillery, destroying the enemy's coastal defense firepower while inflicting effective casualties."

The regimental commander and the Jonin in charge all nodded in agreement.

"But that's not enough. Our core lies in the second phase..."

Hanzo the Salamander flicked the kunai spinning in his hand, which landed perfectly in the fast lane between Enies Lobby and Impel Down: "What we need to do is to snipe from all sides and besiege the enemy's reinforcements!"

"In the second phase, after destroying the Impel Down garrison fleet, the ironclad ships will continue to besiege and bombard the city, while the battleships with all main guns and the Wolf-class submarines will move to the battlefield to intercept reinforcements!"

"But considering the enemy's sophisticated communication methods..."

"It is said that large Den Den Mushi can transmit images to other places."

Ichiraku Uzumaki added.

"That's right!"

Hanzo the Salamander nodded: "Therefore, the fleet bombarding Impel Down must use illusion magic to create the illusion that all participating ships from headquarters are continuously bombarding it!"

"Or, in the first phase of the battle with the garrison navy... we shouldn't send all the warships out."

A regimental commander raised his hand and spoke.

He was then met with angry glares from all the captains.

"Even a lion must go all out to hunt a rabbit..."

Hanzo the Salamander casually brushed the suggestion aside.

Everyone wants to gain enough merit on the battlefield, and if this balance cannot be maintained, the ninja army will run into problems sooner or later.

Moreover, although Hanzo of the Salamander was an ally during the Shogunate period and a renowned 'demigod', he actually had little contact with these ninja army commanders or even the captains of various ships, let alone any prestige. Therefore, in order to treat everyone fairly, he still needed to make some more effort.

"Moreover, the more ships we send into battle, the more naval forces we can attract..."

Uchiha Rumbu added, "In this way, the damage to the enemy's manpower will naturally be greater."

"However, it is said that the Calm Belt, especially Impel Down, is home to many legendary Sea King-level sea monsters..."

Uzumaki Ichiraku hesitated for a moment, then added, "Although we've never encountered these large sea creatures before, we should still be careful. What if Impel Down can control these sea monsters..."

"Yakura-kun..."

Hanzo looked around but couldn't find Yagura, and was a little surprised: there was no reason for him to be left behind!

We all boarded the ship together when we set off!

"I'm here……"