Naruto: All My Targets Are Ninjutsu.

Upon seeing Yu Mikami and the others again, Kurenai Yuhi's expression showed great surprise and delight, waving from afar: "Yu! Rin and Kakashi, it's you guys! You guys are so fast, you caught up so quickly!"

Mikami Yu was about to respond

Obito, who was standing nearby, couldn't wait to ask, "Hey, why did you only call out the names of those three people? What about me? Am I even considered a person?"

"...Obito, why are you yelling at Kurenai so loudly!"

Asuma was unhappy with Obito's actions.

Kurenai Yuhi readily complied, immediately clasping her hands together and saying softly, "Ah, sorry, sorry, I forgot to include you, Obito-kun. Please don't mind..."

To be honest, Obito really is the type who responds better to gentleness than force. Seeing Kurenai's words, he became a little embarrassed and stammered, "Hmph, that's more like it."

"..."

Yu Mikami ignored Obito and only glanced at Kurenai Yuhi's group: "Kurenai, did you see Lord Orochimaru when you came out?"

"Eh, we thought Lord Orochimaru would be traveling with you, but it turns out he isn't."

Kurenai blinked: "But Lord Orochimaru is one of the Legendary Sannin after all. With his strength, we shouldn't need to worry about him, right? Maybe he's already arrived at the rendezvous point."

"Too."

Yu Mikami didn't ask any further questions.

Orochimaru's absence is actually a good thing for them.

After all, if that guy's aura is too strong, the overall atmosphere of the team will definitely be quite oppressive once he appears, and Nohara Rin and the others will feel restrained. Now, apart from Nara Shikaku, the two teams are all children around ten years old. They chatted and laughed along the way, and it was more like they were going on a spring outing than heading to the battlefield.

along the way.

Kurenai Yuhi frequently clung to Yu Mikami, asking him for advice on precautions on the battlefield.

They had already discussed these things back in Konoha. After all, the Minato team, where Mikami Yu was, was the only team among the newly promoted Chunin to have been on the battlefield and had actually made meritorious contributions. The experience and lessons learned from actual combat were invaluable.

Now, Kurenai Yuhi, wanting to make a deeper impression, once again seeks advice from Yu Mikami.

Asuma, seeing this, tried to make his presence known: "Red, I know all this stuff too! It's the same if you ask me!"

"How can they be the same?"

Kurenai Yuhi said softly, "Yu and the others have fought against the Sand Ninja and even faced the very powerful Elder Chiyo. The experience they gained is completely different from how we deal with the bandits and ronin around the village."

"Besides, the environment and climate here are quite different from those in the village. Since we're going to fight here, we need to understand these things. As the military classics say, 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated...' right, Yu-kun?"

"……Yes."

Yu Mikami's lips twitched slightly, his expression subtle.

Well, Kurenai's reasons were indeed quite legitimate, but her actions seemed to have ulterior motives, which were not hard to see through.

but……

Who could resist the sight of a beautiful girl looking at them with adoration and asking for their advice in a soft voice?

Moreover, this intelligence is indeed what they need; the more they know, the greater their chances of surviving on the battlefield—it's just something that comes to mind.

Kakashi and Obito didn't seem to mind. Kakashi remained taciturn, often engrossed in reading his little yellow book in a corner when he had nothing to do. Obito, on the other hand, would occasionally join in, supplementing Yu Mikami's narration and boasting about his own "glorious achievements."

Only Nohara Rin seemed a little resentful, but she didn't say anything and just silently helped the team prepare food.

After traveling for two days,

The group finally crossed half of the Land of Fire and entered the area where Mount Kikyo is located.

Speaking of which, this Kikyo Mountain is quite famous.

This place was once the border of the Land of Fire. At that time, the ninja villages had not yet been formed. The ninja clans and people in this area, under the command of the nobles of the Land of Fire, built a pass and fortress here as a base to defend against foreign enemies.

However, as time went by, the territories of the various countries in the ninja world changed. The border of the Land of Fire was pushed outward by tens of kilometers from its original position, all the way to the vicinity of Wildfire City. Therefore, this pass was abandoned, leaving only a few stone chambers as temporary lodgings for ninjas on missions.

In the original timeline, the final battle between Konoha and Sunagakure took place on Mount Kikyo.

Now it seems that this was mostly Orochimaru's doing.

rustle--

As Yu Mikami and his group were moving forward, they heard a strange noise coming from the bushes not far away, as if something was approaching.

Obito was the first to rush over, parting the bushes and taking a closer look with his Sharingan. He exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, what a huge snake! Dinner's sorted for tonight..."

"snake?"

Nara Shikaku seemed to remember something, and in a flash, he called out to Obito, "Wait... that's Orochimaru-sama's summoning beast!"

"Ah, why didn't you say so sooner? I had already thrown the kunai out..." Obito was speechless.

Ok.

It seems that Orochimaru had indeed arrived ahead of time.

Although Obito acted quickly and killed the white-scaled snake that came to deliver the information, following the trail the snake had left behind, Mikami Yu and his group quickly found several stone chambers not far away—the ruins left after the pass was abandoned.

Orochimaru, who was already waiting there, and two other squads were also present.

The members of those two teams were on average much older than Mikami Yu and his group, mostly over sixteen or seventeen years old.

Among them was an old man with gray hair, who looked to be over fifty years old. He was carrying a huge clay pot on his back and looked frail and weak. He looked more like a commoner going up the mountain to chop wood than a ninja.

Obito, being kind-hearted, couldn't bear to see elderly people suffer, so he quickly went to help the man carry his things: "Grandpa, you're so old, how come you're still a ninja, and even sent to such a dangerous place? Honestly, the village is so inhumane."

"Hehe, thank you very much."

The old man who took the blame chuckled and said, "Don't let my age fool you, Kosuke. I'm still quite healthy and want to serve the village for another decade or so. As for you kids, you look like you just graduated from the Ninja Academy. Aren't you afraid to go to the battlefield so soon?"

"Kosuke?"

Mikami Yu, who was not far away, raised an eyebrow.

No wonder he felt the old man's face looked familiar; it turned out to be Maruyama Kosuke, the eternal genin from the original work.

This person can be considered a veteran of Konoha, roughly the same generation as Hiruzen Sarutobi. He originally followed Tobirama Senju on missions, but due to a decision-making error that caused the death of his comrade, he refused to be promoted and remained a genin for decades, while his true strength had already reached the jonin level.

He was even personally taught "Water Dragon Bullet" and "Water Wall" by Tobirama Senju, making him one of the few people who could use a simplified version of Water Release.

If Mikami Yu hadn't obtained the scroll of "Tobirama Version Water Formation Wall" from Tsunade, he could have considered learning a trick from her to fill in his Water Release reserves.

So it seems,

Among their four teams, three or four possessed Jonin-level combat power, and with Orochimaru, a Kage-level ninja, their overall combat strength was quite formidable. They truly deserved the title of "small elite force."

"Lord Orochimaru."

Nara Shikaku cleared his throat and asked, "As you can see, all the teams have arrived. Is there any special arrangement for us to meet here?"

"hehe."

Orochimaru let out his signature sinister laugh, his gaze sweeping over Nara Shikaku and landing on the group of newly promoted Chunin behind him. Then, in a hoarse voice, he said, "I plan to set up an ambush here to snipe at Sunagakure. What do you think?"

"...?"

The people around were slightly taken aback.

Obito scratched his head, unusually using his brain for a moment: "Um... if we're going to ambush them, shouldn't it be near Jiraiya-sama's Wildfire Castle? This place seems quite far from the border of the Land of Fire, doesn't it?"

"really."

Asma nodded.

Only Nara Shikaku frowned slightly, seemingly lost in thought.

And then there's Mikami Yu, who almost instantly guessed the truth.

—To be precise, when Mikami Yu learned that the rendezvous point was Mount Kikyo, he had already guessed Orochimaru's intentions by combining them with the border map of the Land of Fire. Now, it's just that his guess has been confirmed.

the other side.

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes slightly, his snake-like pupils slowly sweeping across the bewildered or thoughtful faces of the people around him, finally settling on a certain white-haired boy: "It seems that our 'genius' Special Jonin has already made a judgment. Right, Yu-kun?"

"...I do have some ideas, but I'm not quite sure yet."

As Mikami Yu spoke...

All eyes turned to them, with Nohara Rin and Yuhi Kurenai's gazes being the most fervent.

"If I'm not mistaken, Lord Orochimaru is probably trying to lure the enemy in deep, right?"

Mikami Yu let out a soft breath and slowly said, "Sunagakure has been preparing for this battle for a long time. They even transferred the northern border garrison originally used to guard against Iwagakure. They have gone all out. Under these circumstances, if we can win a head-on confrontation at the border, it will definitely be a Pyrrhic victory."

"Compared to Sunagakure, our advantages are a shorter battle line, better logistical support, and sufficient strategic depth. Under these circumstances, we can consider luring Sunagakure in, using the terrain of Kikyo Mountain to encircle them and wipe them out in one fell swoop..."

"That should be right, Lord Orochimaru?"

A brief silence.

Then, Orochimaru slightly curled the corners of his mouth, and a hint of approval appeared on his pale, almost transparent face: "As expected of Yu-kun, you are indeed quick-witted."

“The Sand Village’s fighting style has always been aggressive, and they are particularly bad at fighting when they have the upper hand. Moreover, their main purpose in starting wars is to divert internal conflicts and to plunder resources and people. If they are confident that they have broken through Konoha’s defenses, they will inevitably become arrogant, and arrogant troops are bound to be defeated!”

"At that time, we only need to wait for them to tire themselves out, tighten this 'pocket' after they enter the Kikyō Mountain area, cut off the Sunagakure's supply lines, and prevent them from supporting each other from both ends. Then we can concentrate our superior forces to annihilate their manpower."

"If this battle succeeds, Sunagakure will lose at least several hundred ninjas, all of whom are elites in their prime. In that case, they will be powerless to recover for the next ten years and will have no choice but to surrender to Konoha!"

"This is my vision: the first battle will be the decisive battle, and the fate of the world will be decided in one battle!"

Orochimaru suddenly waved his hand, and his cold voice echoed in the stone chamber, carrying a chilling aura of killing intent.

This plan caused the surrounding ninjas to show expressions of astonishment.

Nara Shikaku, Kakashi, and the others were surprised by the audacity of Orochimaru's plan, and began to consider its feasibility and rationality.

Kurenai Yuhi and Rin Nohara were astonished that Yu Mikami could figure out Orochimaru's thoughts in such a short time. His cunning and intelligence were truly amazing and captivating. No wonder he was the man who had won their hearts.

As for Obito...

He barely understood any of it; these military strategy concepts were too difficult for him, the wise second son. He was currently scratching his head, trying to figure out what the phrase "an arrogant army is bound to be defeated" meant.

"that……"

Nara Shikaku finally chose his words carefully and slowly spoke: "Lord Orochimaru, isn't your plan a bit too radical?"

"A feigned retreat is risky. If the defeat is too easy, Sunagakure won't fall for it; but if the defeat is too severe, Konoha might suffer even greater losses. Furthermore, whether Sunagakure can reach Kikyo Mountain as planned is also subject to chance; what if..."

"Oh."

Orochimaru sneered: "In war, there's no such thing as a foolproof plan. Do you think that by following the conventional plan and confronting Sunagakure head-on, there will be no casualties? This is already the plan with the least loss and the highest probability of victory under the current circumstances. As for the casualties that occur during the 'routine'..."

"This is a necessary sacrifice for the victory of the final battle."

"..."

silence.

To be fair, Orochimaru makes a lot of sense. War is essentially a game of exchanging pieces; unless you have overwhelming strength, it's practically impossible to win without taking any damage. Being able to keep the casualty ratio below 0.8 is already a sign of skillful warfare.

only……

For Asuma and his group, who had just graduated as genin and had never faced the brutality of ninja wars, this scene still evoked an instinctive sense of resistance, anger, and a faint fear.

"Wait, I disagree..."

Obito pondered for a long time before finally realizing what was going on. He instinctively wanted to offer a rebuttal, but was interrupted by a light cough from Yu Mikami.

Orochimaru turned his head and looked at Obito, his snake-like eyes fixed on him as if scrutinizing him: "Your name is Uchiha Obito, right? What were you about to say?"

He said Lord Orochimaru had a brilliant insight.

Yu Mikami said.

Chapter 187 Obito's Dissatisfaction, Orochimaru's Scheme

Orochimaru clearly realized that Mikami Yu was covering for Obito, while Obito had reservations about his plan.

But Orochimaru didn't care.

after all……

A ninja who barely managed to become a Chunin after graduating from the Ninja Academy more than a year ago, a loser even within the Uchiha clan, how dare he criticize the battle plans he devised?

If it were Mikami Yu or Nara Shikaku raising the questions, Orochimaru could patiently explain or consider whether he needed to modify his strategy based on their opinions. But Obito…

Hmph, the wisdom of mortals.

It's a loss for him to even say a single word to someone with such low intelligence.

present.