Three days later.
Mount Kikyō had undergone a dramatic transformation in just three days, shifting from a treacherous peak into a fortified military stronghold.
On top of the fortifications initially built by the Sand shinobi stationed there, Orochimaru, backed by several hundred Konoha shinobi, had upgraded, redesigned, and reinforced the entire site. A massive defensive barrier had been erected to shield the area.
The forward command post, field hospital, supply depot—structure after structure sprang up in rapid succession. Dozens of shinobi now patrolled the mountain, ensuring no enemy could mount a surprise attack.
Meanwhile—
Back in the Land of Wind, Sunagakure had received news: nearly all the elite ninja they had sent into the Land of Fire had been wiped out by Konoha forces.
After a long night of deliberation, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, seized this opportunity to unilaterally tear up the peace treaty with Konoha, and issued a formal declaration of war.
The Third Great Ninja War had officially begun.
That same night, upon receiving the intel about the declaration, Orochimaru immediately summoned all Konoha jōnin present on Mount Kikyō for an emergency war council.
Agenda: Prepare for war.
While Orochimaru and the others gathered to discuss strategy, Veigar remained largely unaffected. Partly because he had already anticipated this war and steeled himself for it, and partly because his focus was consumed by the study of two jutsu he had obtained from Orochimaru.
One of them: the Flying Raijin Technique.
A space-time jutsu created by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, the Flying Raijin was one of the few techniques in the entire shinobi world that manipulated time and space directly. Its training difficulty was ranked S-class.
Since its invention, only two shinobi had ever successfully mastered it: Tobirama himself, and Minato Namikaze.
The reason was simple—aside from being extraordinarily difficult to learn, the jutsu required an innate affinity for space-time manipulation. Without it, mastery was impossible.
Now, with the technique in his hands, Veigar was gambling that he possessed such an affinity.
And if he couldn't master it himself, he had a backup plan: to ask Minato to inscribe the jutsu formula onto a fragment of Phenomenal Evil Power.
Though Veigar had lost parts of his memory in the incident at Rōran, he was confident—based on his retained knowledge, the Constant Ninjutsu: Ultra-Fast Regeneration Technique within his body, and echoes of his past life, that his theory would work.
Otherwise, there was no way to explain why he possessed Ryūmyaku energy and such a regenerative technique to begin with.
Inside the forward command post atop Mount Kikyō, the air was tense. Aside from Orochimaru, every jōnin present wore a solemn expression.
"You've all heard the intel," Orochimaru rasped.
"What are your thoughts?"
Having delivered the latest intelligence from Konoha, Orochimaru opened the floor to the others.
The jōnin all turned to Shikaku Nara, awaiting his insight.
Among the many ninja clans of Konoha, the Nara Clan had long been revered for its brilliance, and Shikaku was no exception. As the brains behind the current Ino-Shika-Chō generation, his strategic mind was second to none.
Before Orochimaru had even left with the vanguard, he had personally designated Shikaku as the strategist for the frontlines.
Now was his time to shine.
After a brief pause, Shikaku glanced first at Orochimaru, then at the gathered jōnin, and began:
"Orochimaru-sama, everyone."
"Sunagakure has only just officially declared war on us."
"There's no need to dissect their motives, we all saw this coming."
"There are several key points I want to raise."
Everyone, including Orochimaru, leaned in, listening intently as Shikaku began to speak in earnest.
"First: Manpower."
"Now that Suna has declared war, the rest of the Hidden Villages—Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure—will all be watching closely."
"We cannot rule out the possibility that they're waiting for an opportunity to strike."
"This means Konoha will need to spread its forces thin across multiple borders to prevent sudden invasions."
"In other words, when it comes to fighting Suna, we're almost guaranteed to be outnumbered."
"Unless the Hokage takes the extreme risk of pulling forces from the other borders to launch a lightning-fast strike that crushes Suna before the others can react…"
"Which is highly unlikely. Not only is that dangerous—"
"But I'm confident that if we did attempt such a move, both Iwa and Kumo would strike at us immediately, and possibly even come to Suna's aid."
"Therefore, we must prepare for a war of attrition."
"With sufficient manpower, our best approach is to hold the line, wear down their active shinobi, and deliver a decisive counterattack when the time is right."
Shikaku's deep analysis left the room in contemplative silence.
Orochimaru was the first to respond, applauding lightly.
Clap… clap… clap…
"Brilliant analysis. Assigning you as our strategist was the correct choice."
"Please, go on."
With Orochimaru's words, the others snapped out of their thoughts. Now they had a clearer sense of the bigger picture.
All eyes turned to Shikaku once more.
Clearing his throat, he continued:
"Second: Logistics."
"Since a war of attrition is likely, we must ensure that our logistical support is as thorough as possible."
"We all know that Suna's puppeteer corps is formidable, and that they are masters of poison."
"When the fighting breaks out, we're bound to have many shinobi fall victim to toxins."
"That means we need as many medical ninja on the front lines as possible. The more, the better."
At this point, Shikaku turned to look directly at Orochimaru, who met his gaze, raising an eyebrow and rasping:
"…Is there something you need me to do?"
Orochimaru found himself unbothered—relieved, even. With Shikaku handling the strategic planning, he wouldn't have to deal with the minutiae of logistics and coordination.
More importantly, if this turned into a prolonged conflict, it would play perfectly into Orochimaru's hands—more time, more battles, more experimental material.
For research.
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