The river stretched wide and fathomless, its expanse lost to the horizon in every direction.
Kakashi, Might Guy, and Uchiha Shisui walked along the bank, and as Kakashi gazed at the vast waterway—nearly a great river in its own right—he felt a surge of confidence.
In the Ninja World, the extraordinary individual prowess of shinobi left little room—no, none—for leveraging geographical advantages on the battlefield.
The sole exception was the One-Line Sky in the Hidden Sand Village.
The outcome of any war hinged almost entirely on who boasted the mightier experts, the stronger shinobi, and the larger forces under their command.
Beyond that, it came down to who could sever the enemy's supply lines and force a retreat.
On the front lines, strengths were generally evenly matched; aside from a handful of "mechanic" and "numeric" outliers, victory was a numbers game.
The "numeric" outliers included Senju Hashirama, Uchiha Madara, Pain, and the Third Raikage.
The "mechanic" outliers were Senju Tobirama, Minato Namikaze, Uchiha Obito, the Second Tsuchikage, and the Third Tsuchikage.
And the Tailed Beasts?
Which of the nine could truly hold an edge against these figures—most of them village Kage with legions of subordinates at their beck and call?
Even Uchiha Obito could bend the Nine-Tails to his will with a single glance.
In a Ninja World that idolized raw individual power—especially the likes of Senju Hashirama, Uchiha Madara, and Pain…
Geographical advantage?
It simply didn't exist.
I can reshape the terrain with one jutsu—what geographical advantage are you even talking about?
There was no precedent for exploiting terrain in this world's battles.
Naturally, there were no countermeasures either.
The moment Kakashi laid eyes on this river, a plan to turn the tide crystallized in his mind.
"Kakashi-senpai…"
Uchiha Shisui, who had volunteered to join them and had stayed quiet until now, suddenly spoke up.
"What is it?"
Kakashi turned to the young Uchiha.
Shisui lifted his gaze to meet Kakashi's, hesitation flickering across his face before he steeled himself. "Why are you so eager to start a war?"
Kakashi sighed inwardly at the question.
"Because I won't let the blood Konoha has spilled over decades to become the strongest village in the Ninja World go to waste."
Before Kakashi could respond, Might Guy beat him to it.
"But if we can avoid it…"
Shisui shook his head, words catching in his throat.
"If I recall correctly, you were at the Jonin meeting that day, weren't you, Shisui?"
Kakashi asked lightly, taking a step forward.
"Yes, I was."
Shisui nodded.
"I remember your grandfather, Uchiha Kagami, was a disciple of the Second Hokage, just like Lord Hiruzen."
"In a way, that makes us distant relatives."
Kakashi turned and clapped a hand on Shisui's shoulder.
Kakashi was Hiruzen Sarutobi's grand-disciple; Shisui was Uchiha Kagami's grandson.
Trace their lineages far enough, and both led back to Senju Tobirama.
Shisui said nothing, only watching Kakashi in silence.
"Guy's absolutely right."
"Sixty years of Konoha's heroic blood shouldn't be spilled in vain."
Hearing Kakashi echo his sentiment, Guy broke into a wide, gleaming grin.
[Might Guy's emotional fluctuation +1]
[Chakra +1%]
Kakashi ignored the display and pressed on. "Peace is precious, and war is cruel."
"But peace won through submission and compromise is nothing more than one side's oppression of the other—a fleeting mercy doled out from the victor's fingertips."
"That kind of peace is just a pretty illusion the bully drapes over their own shoulders."
"What's more, Konoha has always been the strongest."
"This time, Kumogakure isn't just after the Byakugan. In my view, they're testing us—probing Konoha's strength."
"If we let them walk away with it, the entire Ninja World will know the village that once stood unchallenged is finished."
"So we cannot let them succeed."
A chill settled in Kakashi's eyes as he spoke.
Some in the village had lost sight of reality.
Decades of unchallenged power had bred complacency; they'd forgotten that peace was forged through strength, not granted.
Ambition had rusted with time; resolve had faded with the years.
They no longer deserved the positions they held.
And he would step onto the battlefield if he had to.
But never because someone forced his hand.
"Is… that how it is…?"
Shisui stared at the senior before him, confusion clouding his features.
He remembered what the clan head had told him the night of the Jonin meeting.
Kakashi, a leader among the younger generation, was supposedly fierce, unyielding, a warmonger with a ruthless streak—someone to keep at arm's length.
Yet everything this senior said made perfect sense.
For a moment, Shisui couldn't tell who was right.
"Don't overthink it. Focus on the here and now."
Seeing Shisui caught in his turmoil, Kakashi softened his expression and offered a gentle reassurance.
He remained wary of Uchiha Shisui.
The Kotoamatsukami was a genjutsu that demanded constant vigilance.
Especially from a fifteen-year-old in the peak of adolescent impulsiveness—Shisui might, on a whim, cast it on anyone he deemed a threat.
Uchiha who awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan were often mentally unstable, after all.
But if handled carefully, the young man before him could be the sharpest blade in Konoha's arsenal.
"Yes, senpai. I was overthinking it."
Shisui smiled shyly at the comforting words.
Maybe he had been overthinking. How could Kakashi-senpai, disciple of the Fourth Hokage, be the dangerous figure the clan head described?
Unbidden, the image of the Yellow Flash surfaced in Shisui's mind—gentle, radiant, a beacon to all.
Kakashi-senpai carried Minato-sama's will.
If Minato-sama faced Kumogakure's aggression, he would have done the same.
"All right, it's getting late. Let's head back."
Kakashi glanced at the darkening sky.
"Got it. But Kakashi-senpai, why are you so fixated on this river?"
On the return trip, Shisui set aside his inner conflict and eyed Kakashi with open curiosity.
"It might just be the key to winning this war."
Kakashi gestured toward the broad river, its surface unmarred even by wind and snow.
"As expected of Kakashi! You've already devised a winning strategy the moment we arrived in the Land of Frost!"
Unlike Shisui, Might Guy's trust in Kakashi was absolute.
Night fell steadily. By the time the three returned to camp, Jiraiya had already led Hyūga Hizashi and Aburame Shiro on a nighttime raid against Kumogakure.
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