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"Have you received any other orders from Lord Advisor?"
"No."
Orochimaru couldn't help but find this amusing. He shook his head with a light chuckle, his arms folded.
"No, I haven't. I've only received the mission to lead the elite forces in plundering the Land of Earth resources. As for anything else, I'm sorry, but there's nothing."
"....."
We're done for.
Hiashi and Fugaku exchanged glances. They both felt an impulse to return to Konoha immediately and crack open Kazuki's skull.
You hand over the elite forces to Orochimaru but don't give him an operational plan. How is this supposed to work?
Just let Orochimaru do whatever he wants?
Yeah, right!
They could swear that Kazuki didn't trust Orochimaru at all.
Having Orochimaru lead the elite forces to plunder the Land of Earth was precisely because this task—doing this sort of thing—would tarnish one's reputation.
Orochimaru happened not to care about such things. Moreover, the man had a black heart and a ruthless touch.
The reason Kazuki dared to have Orochimaru lead the team was, firstly, because he could control Orochimaru, and secondly, because he had people watching him.
Furthermore, if Orochimaru made any move outside the mission parameters, the Konoha ninja under his command would simply stop obeying his orders.
Otherwise, casually handing over three thousand elite ninja to a restless, trouble-making, potentially traitorous ninja—who would have the nerve to do that?
"Really nothing?" Fugaku asked again, unwilling to give up.
Orochimaru regretfully spread his hands.
Really nothing. I'm not lying.
Then how the hell are we supposed to fight!!
Fugaku nearly cursed out loud.
"I genuinely haven't formulated an operational plan. Because there's no need."
"The hell there's no need! It's clearly—"
Fugaku started cursing, then the anger on his face froze.
He looked up in shock at the entrance to the command post, standing up abruptly.
"Lord Advisor? Why are you here?"
Hiashi was also dumbfounded. Wasn't Kazuki supposed to be in the village, overseeing matters?
How had he made it to the front-line camp? Good grief!!!
This is no joking matter!
If Kazuki had said from the start that he would accompany the main force to the camp, everyone would have been mentally prepared.
Instead, Kazuki had explicitly stated he would stay in the village to manage things. Yet they'd barely arrived, and here he was.
What was this all about?
If news of this leaked, it would be disastrous.
Orochimaru, however, wasn't surprised by Kazuki's appearance. He had suspected Kazuki would show up.
Having him lead the force to cause trouble without providing an operational plan—that was inherently suspicious.
Kazuki walked into the command post and sat down in the empty head seat.
"Precisely because I'm making this trip myself, no operational plan is needed."
"....."
That's easy for you to say. No operational plan—are we just going to steamroll them?
Isn't that a bit too exaggerated?
"Assistant-sama, what about the village...?"
Hiashi tactfully reminded Kazuki that someone needed to hold things down in the village, otherwise chaos might ensue.
Besides, if he suddenly appeared at the front-line camp, what would happen in the village?
Kazuki smiled and explained.
"A shadow clone of mine is handling official duties in the village for now. I'll return shortly. As for Iwagakure's defenses, I'll tear open a gap myself. Prepare yourselves. We'll launch the attack tomorrow night. Once you see the Susanoo destroying their camp, charge straight into the Land of Earth. There's no need for any operational plan. In the face of absolute power, all defenses are just paper!!!"
It's not that I look down on you, Iwagakure. It's that you're genuinely weak.
Or rather, the defenses you've set up on the border are too weak.
Defeating you doesn't even require an operational plan. A direct assault is enough.
"....."
These arrogant, domineering words stirred a surge of excitement in Fugaku and Hiashi.
Unfortunately, they couldn't leave the camp to participate in the battle. They had to stay and hold things down.
The elders of the Uchiha and Hyūga clans also had to stay behind, including the Hyūga Main House members.
Keeping the Branch and Main Houses balanced didn't mean Kazuki intended to use Hyūga Main House members as cannon fodder.
"Orochimaru, the follow-up mission is yours. Don't disappoint me."
"You won't be disappointed."
Orochimaru smiled confidently. Plundering resources? A small matter.
Once Kazuki tore through the defenses and led the three thousand elites into the Land of Earth, with Iwagakure completely unprepared, if he couldn't sweep up all the resources, he, Orochimaru, might as well find a place to hang himself.
"What about villages?"
Kazuki's main targets were the various mining areas within the Land of Earth. Orochimaru felt that focusing solely on the mines was a waste of three thousand elites.
If we're going to plunder, let's be ruthless about it.
You really have a black heart, Orochimaru—you won't even spare the villages in the Land of Earth.
But during the Third Great Shinobi War, Iwagakure hadn't spared the villages and towns near the Land of Fire's border either.
"With minimal killing, plunder as much as you can. Remember: kill only when necessary. Seize money and valuables. Don't bother with other things—it's not worth the effort. In the end, you'll get a third of the plundered funds. The more you got the more money you'll receive."
Looks like I'll have to go all out.
Orochimaru's slit pupils lit up. When the mission was successfully completed, Kazuki would allocate village funds to support his research.
And from plundering the Land of Earth's wealth, he'd get a third. The more he plundered, the greater his reward.
Orochimaru, who initially hadn't cared much about this mission, began to take it seriously.
He needed to go all out.
Listening to Kazuki's words and watching Orochimaru grow increasingly motivated, Fugaku and Hiashi couldn't help but offer three seconds of silent mourning for the people of the Land of Earth.
A black-hearted, venomous snake has its eyes on your wealth. You've just been unlucky.
Fortunately, Kazuki sternly warned Orochimaru: taking things was fine, but he sternly limit the killing.
Plundering resources, even plundering the wealth of villages and towns, would only make Ōnoki hopping mad. But he wouldn't dare shift his focus away from Kumogakure.
If they killed people while plundering, then Ōnoki would seek vengeance against Konoha.
Steal a wave, sit back and watch Iwagakure stomp around angrily, or wait for Iwagakure to come seeking vengeance?
Anyone with a working brain would choose the former.
Hence Kazuki's specific warning to Orochimaru.
Even if resources and wealth were plundered excessively, as long as not too many people were killed, Ōnoki, no matter how angry, could only grit his teeth and file it away for later.
If too many people were killed, turning the Land of Earth upside down, then you could expect Ōnoki to turn his guns away from Kumogakure and come seeking vengeance.
Everything was ready.
The entire camp's atmosphere grew tense. Even the rowdy kids from the newly formed squads sensed something major was about to happen.
"Shikamaru, do you think the village suddenly sending all these ninja to the camp means we're going to war?"