"The Uchiha clan will be split in two. Those close to Hiruzen will be placed under Danzō's command and follow his orders, while the rest of you will be assigned the most dangerous missions on the battlefield."
"Tsunade will most likely be reassigned to Danzō's side as well, first, because they're afraid Orochimaru won't be able to suppress you, and second, because they're worried he'll hesitate due to your shared past as fellow students."
"As for those who aren't placed with me, I'll have Minato change his identity and secretly blend into your units. His potential far exceeds anything you can imagine."
Everyone turned again to look at Minato, who was smiling innocently with a simple and somewhat clueless expression. Their faces were filled with disbelief.
Shin, are you serious?
"What about me?" Sakumo, spoke up anxiously, seeing that everyone else had been addressed.
"You…" Shin replied, "will be used as the spearhead against Suna. Whenever there's a mission that requires risking one's life, they'll send you. So, don't push yourself too hard. If you run into something you can't handle, call for me right away."
After hearing his analysis, everyone had a better idea of the situation. But Torifu couldn't hold back and asked, "I want to know, did you deduce all this yourself, or do you have other intelligence sources?"
"What do you think?" Shin gave everyone a mysterious and unreadable look, which prompted a series of collective eye rolls.
Naturally, he wasn't going to tell them about the trick he used on Hiruzen. Even Hiruzen himself didn't know that a Flying Thunder God mark had been carved into the bone of his leg.
The Flying Thunder God Technique didn't just allow spatial teleportation, it could transmit sound too.
As long as he wanted, he could eavesdrop on Hiruzen at any time, without ever worrying about being discovered.
So in front of him, Hiruzen had no secrets at all.
"Enough, war isn't a game. Go get ready. We'll be receiving our deployment orders within two days. When the time comes, I hope everyone can not only protect yourselves but also prioritize Tsunade's Konoha. Let Suna and Ame feel the fear of Konoha."
---
Two days later, sure enough, everyone received their official war deployment orders from the Hokage's office.
And everything turned out exactly as Shin had predicted, not a single detail was off.
At that moment, everyone was completely convinced by his foresight. Their confidence in the upcoming battle soared to unprecedented heights.
Since they were heading to the front lines, Shin and his team didn't dawdle like Tsunade had previously, they moved at top speed.
When they arrived at the battlefield, Shin met with Orochimaru in the war room.
At this moment, Orochimaru's usual demeanor was gone, his expression was serious. When he saw Shin enter the room, his eyes immediately turned sharp and sinister.
"I'm thoroughly disappointed in you!" Orochimaru launched into his words without warning.
"Everyone knows you can use the Flying Thunder God Technique, so why did it take you two full days to get here after receiving your deployment orders? Do you not understand how precious time is on the battlefield?"
"Fortunately, both sides are still in the probing stage, and there haven't been major casualties yet. But if there had been, who would take responsibility?"
At that moment, he felt incredibly satisfied inside.
You've always scolded me for falling behind in our research. Any time I couldn't keep up with your thinking, you'd lecture me.
Now it's your turn. How does it feel?
From the teasing look in Orochimaru's eyes, Shin instantly understood what he was thinking. He almost shot back a retort out of instinct. But with everyone watching, he could only say, "We brought a large amount of supplies with us on this trip, and they needed escorting, so…"
"Enough!" Orochimaru raised his hand and cut him off coldly. "I don't want to hear excuses from someone who can't carry out their mission."
Torifu and Fukuyama, standing nearby, were dumbfounded.
Didn't you say Orochimaru was one of us?
This is what you call "one of us"?
Not even enemies treat each other like this in public!
"Please assign me a mission."
"You're a medical-nin. You won't be sent to the front lines this time, but you must remain on standby at all times. I want to be able to see you 24 hours a day."
"Understood!"
Off to the side, Tameo was inwardly thrilled. He had already arranged for two people to monitor Shin at all times. When Tsunade had been stationed here earlier, he didn't have the guts to say a word against her. Now that she was gone, seeing her fiancé in such a bad situation gave him immense satisfaction.
He even suspected that Dan had been secretly killed by Shin, and for that, he'd been scolded harshly by Hiruzen.
Well, look how the tables have turned.
As long as Shin is under surveillance, there's no way he can support anyone else.
And if he disappears for even a moment, he could be charged with desertion, even executed on the spot.
Even if I don't have the power to kill you, I can still get you branded as a missing-nin. Let's see how you like that.
Next, Orochimaru began explaining the current situation and laid out the battle strategy.
This time, Ame was making a strong show of force, massing troops at the border, yet they had yet to launch an attack, leaving many puzzled.
As expected, the hawkish faction of the Uchiha clan was assigned the most dangerous mission, infiltrating the front lines to gather intelligence on Hanzō.
As for Shin, once he left the war room, two people immediately began shadowing him wherever he went.
After assigning tasks to the rest, Orochimaru made a point to keep Fukuyama behind.
Once he confirmed no one was around, he quickly formed a series of hand seals and raised a soundproof barrier. The very next moment, the stern expression on his face vanished. He smiled warmly and said:
"It's been a while!"
"Uh…" Fukuyama was a bit unsettled by how fast Orochimaru's demeanor changed, and replied, "It really has been a while."
"Time is short, so I'll be brief. The person who entered just now was actually Shin's clone. His real body has already infiltrated the Land of Rain."
"You mean the Shin I've been with these past two days was a clone? But how can his clone last that long?"
"Haha, that's not something you need to worry about," Orochimaru brushed it off, then pointed to a spot on the makeshift map and continued:
"All you need to do is take your clan and hide here. Shin will hand you intel on Hanzō. Once you receive it, send someone back to deliver it."
Fukuyama's face lit up with excitement, but Orochimaru quickly reminded him, "But you have a mission as well. You need to memorize the terrain in that area and find ideal ambush spots, and you must not be discovered by anyone in the process."