Regarding the Hidden Sand Village situation, during the early stages of the war Hiruzen had been determined to remain stationed at the front.
This was partly to prevent internal unrest within Konoha, and partly to personally oversee and arrange military deployments across several front lines.
Unless the conflict escalated to a specific threshold, or a special emergency arose requiring his direct intervention, he alone would step in to handle it.
His rapid initial deployment had been driven by two factors: the Sand Village's army invading the Land of Fire's border, and the Hidden Sand Village's unique situation of operating without a Kazekage. Hiruzen had aimed for a quick decisive victory, stabilizing this border battlefield as fast as possible.
However, he had not anticipated that without Kazekage-level leadership, this generation of the Sand Village army would prove this difficult to deal with.
Their battlefield style was completely different from anything the previous war had produced, prioritizing tactical innovation and leveraging their newly developed industries to create an entirely new kind of combat situation.
Even he, a seasoned Hokage of considerable experience, had suffered repeated setbacks. And now, time had dragged on to the point where he was being forced to withdraw and return to the village.
The Sand Village's surprise attack on the village's interior had unsettled him deeply.
Because he was not certain whether the Sand Village was maintaining any kind of communication or coordination with the other villages. If that intelligence were shared with other parties, Konoha's overall position would become very precarious.
The Sand Village's current declared adversaries were Konoha and Iwagakure, but the Hidden Cloud and Hidden Mist Villages' actual disposition toward the Sand Village was unclear.
The ninja world was inherently complex. There were no permanent enemies.
Everyone was constantly looking for opportunities to undermine others and add insult to injury. One moment they were enemies, the next they could become convenient partners.
In any conflict among the Five Great Villages, the weakening of one was something the other four would gladly accept.
As for the Uchiha and Hyuga clans, their unique bloodline abilities had always made them targets of interest and scrutiny from various forces across the ninja world.
Before the war had even reached its current intensity, Hiruzen's first priority had been to keep these two great clans away from the front lines.
The Uchiha and Hyuga possessed relatively unique doujutsu that had always attracted unwanted attention. Whenever members of either clan entered a battlefield, they were never deployed individually or in small numbers.
At minimum a full squad was sent together, ensuring that if someone fell, the body could be immediately recovered by the clan before their eyes could be examined or taken by another village.
Now, Hiruzen had deliberately remained on the battlefield for an extended period to stabilize the situation and manage all the variables in the conflict with the Sand Village.
But once he as Hokage departed, what the Sand Village army would do next was genuinely uncertain. Even he found it difficult to predict or resolve.
Therefore it was necessary to quickly mobilize the Uchiha and Hyuga clans to ensure that after his departure the Leaf Village army could still maintain a meaningful advantage.
"The rest is up to you," Hiruzen said, looking at the officer beside him.
The officer nodded.
"Try to keep the news of my departure from reaching the Sand Village for as long as possible, even if only by a small amount of time. There is no need to announce it to the lower ranks within the military either.
The slower the Sand Village reacts to this, the better. Let the enemy continue believing I am still on the battlefield so they do not dare to act rashly."
Hiruzen sighed.
"I understand."
He thought it was a sound approach. But the appearance of the Byakugan and Sharingan on the battlefield a few days later made the truth clear to everyone who was paying attention. The old man had retreated.
In the medical camp, looking at the several Sand Village wounded soldiers lying in the tents being urgently treated by medical ninja, Yuji's eyes flashed with cold light.
"This has been the most devastating small-scale conflict we have suffered against Konoha since the fighting began. We deployed over fifty people, and in the end only six survived," Shimizu said, standing to the side, his tone heavy.
Before, when the battlefield situation turned unfavorable, the Sand Village could still retreat in good order. But now, with the Byakugan and Sharingan both present on the field, withdrawing had become extraordinarily difficult.
"The Hyuga clan and the Uchiha."
Yuji stopped muttering to himself and thought it through.
During the previous Great Ninja War, both the Hyuga clan and the Uchiha clan had distinguished themselves considerably on Konoha's behalf.
The Byakugan in particular was the equivalent of providing the entire team with a complete map of the battlefield. It could clearly identify enemy ambush positions, hiding places, and movement trajectories in real time.
Facing a team with Byakugan support was like fighting blindfolded. In this situation, the tactical value of concealment and positioning was dramatically reduced, rendering many of the Sand Village's most effective approaches nearly useless.
As for the Uchiha Sharingan, its effect on individual combat power was comprehensive and well documented. The Uchiha clan's fearsome battlefield reputation was no exaggeration. The probability of surviving a direct engagement against them was relatively low.
The Uchiha clan's temperament was also well known throughout the ninja world. Arrogant, domineering, and ruthless. In their own assessment, even the Hyuga clan's Byakugan was not as noble as their Sharingan, despite both clans belonging to the same village.
Their actual achievements and record in the ninja world were, it had to be acknowledged, genuinely remarkable.
Their reputation was well earned. In other words, the Uchiha might not necessarily take seriously even the ninja of Konoha itself, let alone those from other villages.
"Hiruzen is leaving."
Yuji said it quietly, even as he activated the Reverse Cursed Technique with his own hands and began treating the injured Sand Village soldiers around him. Their wounds gradually stabilized and began closing in a short time.
"Could it be a trap?" Shimizu asked with suspicion.
"That is impossible. Given the current pressure Konoha is facing across multiple fronts, the Hokage must return to the village to handle various matters directly. Getting personnel from these two clans mobilized and deployed is not something just anyone could arrange.
Besides, the battlefield situation here is currently advantageous for Konoha. There is absolutely no need to reinforce with surplus troops, let alone specifically deploy the Uchiha and Hyuga."
"The only explanation that makes sense is that he wants to rely on these two clans to compensate for the loss of fighting power after his own departure, allowing Konoha to continue maintaining its advantage over us after he is gone."
He spoke calmly while continuing his treatment work.
In just those two interventions, the Sand Village soldiers he had treated had stabilized considerably, their wounds closing in a short time.
"Such a ruthless attack."
He looked at the severity of the injuries around him.
"This appears to be the Uchiha clan's handiwork."
He let out a cold chuckle.
What did that mean exactly? Were they trying to make a show of force for the Hidden Sand Village's benefit? Truly making a different kind of entrance. Quite imposing.
Within the Leaf Village army, the only one Yuji genuinely feared was Hiruzen. Now that Hiruzen was gone, he and Sasori could finally operate without restraint.
"The Uchiha have come. Haha. Interesting."
He murmured it almost playfully. He had admired that name for a long time.
"Send someone to establish contact with the Hidden Cloud Village. Relay our current intelligence to them using the signal lines."
"Understood." Shimizu turned and left.
A thought crossed Yuji's mind as he watched him go.
No wonder the Hyuga and Uchiha had not participated in the opening great battle. Firstly, Hiruzen had considered it unnecessary at that stage.
Secondly, he had wanted to wait until the war situation stabilized before deploying these two trump cards, ensuring the battlefield would not be overly complicated and minimizing the risk of either bloodline ability being captured or lost in the chaos of an uncertain engagement.
If that had indeed been Hiruzen's reasoning, then from Yuji's perspective, it was actually a favorable development.
The Hokage appeared to be overthinking certain things, and in doing so had greatly underestimated the threat that he and Sasori posed. With Hiruzen present on the front, Yuji could not easily make direct moves. Without the old man here, if he could bring the Byakugan and the Sharingan back to the Sand Village...
He narrowed his eyes.
This was not a specifically targeted plan that the Sand Village had prepared in advance. It had simply become an opportunity created by the high price Konoha was paying as the war progressed.
Furthermore, according to his broader plan, as this Great Ninja War intensified and the Sand Village's medicinal resources continued to operate at full capacity throughout the conflict, certain possibilities that had seemed distant were not without real potential for success.
It was worth remembering that by the end of the Third Great Ninja War in the original timeline, Konoha's military strength had been nearly depleted. Their forces had reached a point where they had no choice but to send newly graduated students directly to the front lines.
This was not the kind of controlled rear-area training that peacetime produced. It was frontline combat participation under desperate circumstances, a situation completely different from anything the previous Great Ninja War had required.
"I would like to see what the Uchiha clan is made of. Do not disappoint me."
He said it quietly, almost to himself.
And then, even more quietly, he added something further.
...
BOnus @600 pS
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