In just one evening, the Leaf Village's border forces had been almost completely wiped out by the Sand Village.
Looking back at the battle, the Sand Village's lightning attack had been quite successful.
The way they had displayed their capabilities had made the eyes of the soldiers and officers light up with excitement, and the details of the engagement were already being circulated within the troops, boosting the overall morale of the Sand Village soldiers.
However, while they had seemingly destroyed the Leaf Village's defenses and seized the initiative, it had not been executed perfectly. There were still some flaws.
It could only be said that, even with superiority in the overall battle plan and operational framework, and even after doing everything possible to prepare for the Leaf Village's frontline response, he still could not completely control every detail on the battlefield.
Not every Sand Village member possessed his level of ability, including his familiarity with and understanding of Leaf Village tactics. The spread of the war across the border was vast. Even with his doujutsu and powerful perception ability, the area he could cover directly was only a portion of the entire battlefield.
There would always be areas exploited by the enemy that were beyond his reach.
He had no reason to blame anyone for this or to feel dissatisfied. His only response was to remain calm, handle the situation as it developed, and not allow his emotions to interfere with his judgment.
The vanguard battle was over. A large number of Sand Village members began patrolling the Leaf Village's border guard zone, searching for survivors and anyone who might have escaped.
By this point, dawn had begun to break.
In a clearing in the forest, a Sand Village ninja was gripping the head of a member of the Aburame clan, employing a memory-reading technique. Shimizu, Yuji, and Sasori stood surrounding them.
"The intelligence was leaked through his insects approximately one hour ago."
The Sand Village member released his grip on the Aburame clan member's head and looked up at them.
Shimizu's expression shifted.
Despite all the precautions taken, the information had still leaked. This only demonstrated how unique the clans of Konoha were and how much tactical value and battlefield effectiveness their secret techniques could deliver in actual combat.
Who in the Sand Village could have anticipated that they could use insects to transmit intelligence? Even with their general familiarity with the Aburame clan's abilities, they had still underestimated Konoha's combat depth.
"There's nothing to worry about," Yuji said immediately. "We can still buy ourselves sufficient time. What we've achieved already exceeds our expectations.
Even if the Leaf Village personnel in the rear have received the news, it will take at least a day for them to relay it back to the village itself. Within that day, we can accomplish many things."
That was simply how it was on the battlefield. Unexpected situations would always arise. The job of commanders and managers within the army was to adapt to circumstances as they developed and ensure that victory remained tilted in the Sand Village's favor over the longest possible timeframe.
"The opponent is Konoha," he said, with a slight laugh. "If they were easy to deal with, they would not have been the last village standing at the end of the Second Great Ninja War."
He nodded to the Sand Village member in front of him, who understood without needing further instruction and led the unconscious Aburame clan member away.
Special agents and important figures often became prisoners following battlefield defeats. Such people carried value. Prisoners were simply one of the types of battlefield resources that emerged in wartime.
The group sat down together. Yuji took out a map and began marking routes on the paper.
"Konoha has at least three defensive and guard lines along the outermost border. The first is the line we have already breached. The second, located further in the rear, is currently being cleared by our forces.
This second line handles logistics and supply deployment to the administrative base."
He pointed further along the map.
"The final line is probably this area outside the forest. A patrol force designed to prevent enemy infiltration into the interior of the Land of Fire.
This last line belongs to the deep rear, so its strategic mission is relatively minor, the personnel deployment is dispersed and not large, and it functions primarily for surveillance and defense purposes."
He continued.
"Now that the war has broken out with Konoha completely unprepared, the defensive forces in this area are very weak. Personnel deployment will be minimal.
Now that news of our breakthrough has probably reached this third line, Konoha's ninja, given their battlefield experience and training, will certainly not resist us in any meaningless direct confrontation."
"Of course, they will not simply retreat either."
"What they will do is conceal themselves in the shadows, avoid our detection, observe and track our movements and actions, and risk their lives to relay intelligence back to their main force. I want to make sure everyone understands this clearly."
He looked around the group.
"I also want to emphasize something that might sound harsh. The disparity in combat power between our village and Konoha is not insignificant.
Even with the advantage of a surprise attack, we cannot expect to instantly defeat them and inflict heavy losses before they can respond."
"In this great battle, we are only just beginning. Gaining the initiative does not guarantee victory. In battlefield tactics, we can make targeted calculations about specific opponents, but at the strategic level, we must give the enemy full respect."
He laid out the next phase.
"I will lead a reconnaissance squad ahead to clear out all of Konoha's observation posts on the third line.
Let Tsuru and Ryuchi lead the main force to clear all remaining obstacles and ensure Konoha remains unaware of our next movements. You two," he looked at the pair of Sand Village Jonin, "each take a squad and move to ambush the Leaf Village's potential supply routes along the approach.
Move as fast as possible. The more time you have to set up traps before the Leaf Village's main army appears, the better. Once they arrive, hit them when they are completely unprepared."
He paused and his tone became more serious.
"The Leaf Village's combat deployment did not anticipate us penetrating this deep this quickly. But that also means the exposure risk for your squads is considerably higher than for the other personnel. Be careful."
"Understood," the two Sand Village Jonin nodded.
"One more thing. The Leaf Village's vanguard will definitely be deployed first, and those vanguard units will certainly consist of top-tier combatants.
Their job will be to reach the battlefield as quickly as possible, assess the situation, and relay that assessment back to the reinforcement forces so they can plan their response. When that happens, you do not need to engage them. Leave that part to me and Sasori."
"We will find a way to alter the Leaf Village vanguard's position and intended route."
The arrangements were meticulously planned, accounting for almost every conceivable scenario. And without any hesitation, he had assigned himself and Sasori to what was clearly the most dangerous mission on the battlefield. There was no intention of remaining in the rear to hold a defensive position.
"I'll go with you", Shimuzu said.
"No," Yuji said without hesitation. "You are the commander. You need to stay here and have the main army quickly seize all the border areas along the route while setting up the necessary positions at the same time.
What Sasori and I are doing is just the opening act. The real battle and the key to victory or defeat lies here with you."
Shimizu hesitated.
If something happened to Yuji and Sasori out there...
"Sasori and I received our military orders before we came here," Yuji said, smiling. "If we don't step forward now, when would we?"
Sasori's expression remained calm, but his eyes clearly agreed. In fact, there was even a hint of excitement and anticipation in them.
While speaking, Yuji deliberately glanced at the other older figures standing to the side.
These individuals had previously been high-ranking members of the Third Kazekage's faction. He had every intention of using this great battle to eliminate the remaining ones among them permanently.
Yuji addressed one of them, "the mission to bypass the main battlefield, approach Konoha Village, and launch a surprise attack is being entrusted to you. Your battlefield experience is extremely rich, and I would not feel at ease entrusting this kind of mission to anyone else."
He looked at the man directly.
"You must pay close attention to your safety. Your mission is to use a surprise attack on Konoha Village at a crucial moment to restrain their frontline movements and exhaust their resources and attention. But this is also the most dangerous part of the entire operation. Is that acceptable?"
The middle-aged man had an expression that shifted through several changes as he felt the watchful eyes of the others around him settle on him. Finally, he nodded.
He was clearly somewhat reluctant.
But the more he compared himself to Sasori standing nearby, the more speechless his reluctance became. He could not say anything that would hold up.
Yuji narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched.
Every village had its share of people who occupied positions without truly earning them, and these old figures had grown comfortable over long years of holding rank within the Third Kazekage's structure.
Much like the Third Hokage himself, they had always proclaimed the necessity of military power and war to maintain the village's standing in the ninja world.
Yet because of their decisions made from positions of comfort, large numbers of Sand Village members had sacrificed their lives and shed blood on front lines while these men watched from the rear.
Even when they did appear on battlefields, they mostly gave orders from safe positions. The genuine moments of fighting without regard for their own safety had been rare.
Previously, they had maintained their positions through their relationship with the Third Kazekage. That relationship was now gone.
Yuji was fairly certain that a small detachment penetrating deep into the Land of Fire toward Konoha Village was a mission very few of them would return from.
Not because he was sending them to die outright, but because no one could predict the full shape of the battlefield once things were in motion.
A detachment moving that deep into enemy territory, in a war that had only just begun, against a village of Konoha's experience and depth, faced risks that were difficult to calculate in advance.
If things went wrong, the Land of Rivers at the border offered a possible retreat path. But reaching it from that depth would not be simple.
He needed to maintain the Sand Village's fighting strength and avoid unnecessary casualties among the forces he actually needed.
The war between Sunagakure and Konoha was not going to be decided quickly. Defeating Konoha in a short campaign was not realistic, and a prolonged war of pure attrition was also not something the Sand Village could sustain. He had no illusions about this.
His singular objective for this first phase was clear. Inflict as much damage on Konoha as possible in the opening engagement. Force them into a desperate response. Make them pay a price far beyond what they had anticipated.
He wanted to hurt them badly enough that the cost of this war settled into their bones.
On the battlefield, military orders were absolute. Ninja obeyed them without question. Although Yuji was not the overall commander, Shimizu was, and Shimizu was clearly operating according to Yuji's direction in the current situation.
Shimizu himself had significant experience as one of the earlier followers serving under the Three Kazekage, and his qualifications were genuine.
A murderous glint flickered briefly in Sasori's eyes as he watched the older officials respond. When they complied, he concealed it. If they had refused, Sasori would not have hesitated for a single moment. He would have acted immediately.
The wartime situation provided every reason and justification. Even if it invited criticism from within the village later, Sasori did not particularly care. His personality had never made him easy to manage.
"Troublesome," Sasori said.
The others nodded heavily, their manner conveying something between respect and the awareness that they were being entrusted with something they could not easily decline.
The group moved into the detailed discussion of the battle plan.
With the overall framework balanced and clearly laid out, everyone's thinking was sharp and focused. Each person knew precisely what they were responsible for, what they were trying to accomplish, and what the sequence of actions needed to be.
Each team was expected to anticipate potential situations in advance and to have a clear response prepared for various scenarios.
This was something that had been missing from the Sand Village's approach in the previous war. The tactical deployment had been communicated, but the detailed planning down to specific timing, personnel numbers, and sequences had largely been left to subordinates to figure out on their own.
The combat thinking had been relatively vague, with responsibility distributed in a way that made it difficult for any single commander to demonstrate their full value on the battlefield.