While Uchiha Kagami and Shimura Danzo were busy integrating the samurai units, Sarutobi Hiruzen's unit and Akimichi Torifu's unit were engaged in probing skirmishes with the main forces of the Daimyo's contingent.
Unlike the other two fronts, the central route, where the regular army was positioned, was extremely cautious and did not rush headlong into battle.
Because Uchiha Kokuya's goal was to prolong the war for as long as possible, the regular army in the central route was the main focus; the other two routes were merely expendable pawns, intended only to tie up the forces of Konoha Village and buy time for their side to make more preparations.
As the two armies drew closer, probing battles began.
In the open field, Konoha's combat units unhesitatingly deployed explosive cannons—which had now been upgraded, firing faster, in greater numbers, and even possessing additional functionalities—primarily operated by the samurai within the combat units.
Ninja units, suited for flexible combat, were strategically interspersed throughout each position according to their characteristics, coordinating flexibly with the samurai engaged in frontal combat.
The current Konoha combat units were mixed formations of ninja and samurai.
To fully unleash their combat capabilities, the characteristics of each branch had to be considered.
After years of experimentation, the discomfort and animosity between ninja and samurai had greatly diminished, and this joint operation was bound to further strengthen their relationship.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Boom, boom—
The sound of explosive tags cutting through the air and the sound of explosions rang out continuously.
The regular army of the Daimyo's contingent in front couldn't even get close; human bodies were completely powerless against the force of the explosions.
The formation tactics that samurai prided themselves on were utterly useless at this moment.
The samurai of Konoha Ninja Village operated the explosive cannons, their hearts somewhat conflicted.
They had once been part of those very formations, and had used them as their fighting style, but now they were completely ineffective, which was somewhat disheartening.
However, they were now members of Konoha Ninja Village, one of the combat branches of Konoha's fighting forces, no longer traditional samurai.
The types of new ninja tools in Konoha Ninja Village were increasing, not only battlefield ninja tools like explosive cannons and underground landmines, but also new individual-use ninja tools such as explosive talismans and matchlock guns were gradually appearing.
These naturally held great appeal for ninja who were not adept at learning ninjutsu but excelled at using tools—if Tenten were to transmigrate to this era and acquire these items, she would surely be overjoyed—and for samurai who weren't skilled at ninjutsu or only applied nature transformation to their swordsmanship, these were also their favorite weapons.
These samurai, having joined Konoha Ninja Village out of desperation, naturally felt no psychological burden.
Moreover, Konoha Ninja Village also provided education in this area, preventing them from being so stubbornly confined to samurai swords and encouraging them to learn and use these new ninja tools, greatly enhancing their combat capabilities.
The emergence of these new ninja tools undoubtedly narrowed the gap between ninja and samurai, and they were highly popular even within the ninja ranks—after all, not all ninja possessed the talent for learning advanced ninjutsu.
Many, like Tenten and Rock Lee, were not skilled at learning chakra nature transformation and focused their energy on using ninja tools and taijutsu.
Konoha Ninja Village had truly catered to many ordinary people in this regard, using new ninja tools to bridge the gap between the talented and the ordinary, gradually promoting their integration.
The barriers formed by differences in power slowly dissolved, which would further balance the disparities between people within Konoha Ninja Village.
Konoha Ninja Village had been undertaking such initiatives for over twenty years, and in Fumori Masaki's view, they had already borne fruit.
The promotion of ideological education and the actual narrowing of the power gap allowed many people of mediocre talent to find suitable positions within the village.
The ideology of "ninjutsu only" and "ninja only" was no longer mainstream; even those with ordinary strength could gain recognition from chakra experts through their other abilities.
In the past, Konoha Ninja Village was not without such examples; intelligence ninja and medical ninja had weak combat capabilities, but they still gained recognition from combat ninja because combat ninja realized that there would be a need for them on future battlefields.
Fumori Masaki's measures expanded this scope, and it was also due to the increasingly complex situation in the ninja world and the internal structure of the ninja village that a greater variety of people were needed.
Fumori Masaki held no negative views towards samurai and frequently showed concern for their lives within the village, striving to resolve any difficulties they faced.
The samurai had indeed integrated into the life of Konoha Ninja Village, and for this, they were deeply grateful to the Hokage of Konoha Ninja Village.
In his conversations with samurai representatives, Fumori Masaki revealed that in the future, the village would no longer be just a place for ninja to live, but a gathering place for those who believed in the New Ninshu and the use of chakra.
Ninja and samurai would both become a type of soldier in Konoha Ninja Village, and perhaps even more new types of soldiers would emerge in the future.
At that time, Konoha Ninja Village might no longer be called a ninja village, but simply "Konoha."
For such a Konoha, the samurai harbored deep anticipation, yearning for that era to arrive.
Therefore, although the people in front of them were their former compatriots, they were now obstacles preventing Konoha from moving into a new era.
Despite some feelings of nostalgia, their actions did not falter.
No matter what, traditional samurai were a thing of the past; everyone had to find their way of life in the new era.
Those who clung to the past would find it difficult to survive in the future.
They had been abandoned by this country in the past, and it was Konoha that accepted them, allowing them to live anew.
Perhaps some would say they were abandoned because of Konoha Ninja Village.
Initially, some people did indeed have such thoughts and entered it with a sense of helplessness, because they couldn't survive without joining.
However, after living in Konoha Ninja Village for some time, and undergoing education within the village, they were able to discern right from wrong.
Konoha Ninja Village did indirectly cause their unemployment, but Konoha Ninja Village did nothing wrong in this regard.
From Konoha Ninja Village's perspective, holding those nobles accountable was only natural.
They themselves had more or less harbored grievances against the former noble lords; the downfall of the nobles was not the main issue, the key was that their own livelihoods became problematic, which led to the breeding of resentment.
After Konoha Ninja Village held those nobles accountable, it did its best to provide aid to the people living in those territories.
Commoners on the lands acquired by the village were able to move into the village and live, and samurai also found new ways of life in Konoha Ninja Village, living even better than before.
In contrast, the Land of Fire had never cared for them.
Other regional lords would only select the excellent ones to join; if the weak were also included, wouldn't the cost outweigh the benefits?
Only a place like Konoha Ninja Village, which could treat ordinary people well, could accept these ordinary samurai of mediocre strength, because they could help the samurai find a way to make a living.
Thus, those samurai who initially harbored grievances never voiced complaints again and began to wholeheartedly fight for Konoha Ninja Village.
In terms of system, Konoha Ninja Village was undoubtedly more fair and just than other noble territories, and the samurai saw all of this with their own eyes.
Therefore, they were certainly opposed to the Daimyo's actions.
They were now members of Konoha Ninja Village; if Konoha Ninja Village fell, their own lives might be in jeopardy, and they might not see the new era to come.
At the same time, in their view, the Daimyo's contingent was truly disrespectful, and there were indeed treacherous officials at his side.
The samurai calmly controlled the explosive cannons, while the ninja beside them, when the samurai were overwhelmed, used their own methods to block the enemy's long-range attacks—such as arrows and catapults—and also used ninjutsu to amplify the power of certain new ninja tools, or to engage in close combat to deal with enemies who managed to approach the explosive cannons and were difficult to deal with from a distance.
In addition to these combat ninja who provided defense, close to mid-range strikes, and assisted with new ninja tools, there were also intelligence ninja who calculated distances and gathered information.
The Yamanaka clan established a vast mental link network between the positions, firmly connecting them and making communication smoother.
Because the enemy's main purpose was to probe, they did not use all their strength.
No one was able to get close to Konoha Ninja Village's positions; they were all dealt with from a distance.
Things like arrows and catapults also posed no threat to the samurai positions.
"Well done!"
"Haha!"
The samurai and their ninja comrades slapped each other's hands, their camaraderie strong, looking at the retreating enemy in the distance, exchanging glances, and laughing heartily.
Sarutobi Hiruzen and Akimichi Torifu stood on high ground, observing the battle.
Detailed battlefield intelligence was conveyed to them one by one through the Yamanaka clan's network.
Seeing the enemy's vanguard return in defeat, they too began to smile.
"Hmph, with such meager abilities, they dare to show off?" Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head.
"This is just the vanguard; the Chakra Samurai haven't even been deployed yet.
Don't get careless, Hiruzen," Akimichi Torifu said.
"I know, but even if the Chakra Samurai are deployed, as long as we fight steadily, we are bound to win," Sarutobi Hiruzen said.
He had a basis for saying this: their side had powerful combat units, whose fighting power surpassed that of an equal number of Chakra Samurai.
The role of new ninja tools greatly reduced the advantage of samurai armies, and there was also considerable support from nobles who favored them.
The disparity in troop numbers was greatly reduced, and on this point, in the comparison of strength between the two sides, the Konoha army had a huge advantage.
As Sarutobi Hiruzen said, in this situation, as long as they fought steadily, and the opponent couldn't pull off any strange tricks, they couldn't possibly win.
And while conspiracies could sway things for a time and narrow the gap, when the disparity was too vast, and even conspiracies couldn't bridge it, it became an unstoppable trend.
On the Daimyo's side, apart from Uchiha Kokuya, there were no "Kage" level strongmen to speak of.
Sarutobi Hiruzen himself was a master among "Kage" level individuals.
Although he did not hold the position of Kage at the moment, he undoubtedly possessed such strength.
The emergence of Fumori Masaki allowed Sarutobi Hiruzen, a strongman whom both Hashirama and Tobirama highly regarded, to be active.
In the normal timeline, because Sarutobi Hiruzen was the Hokage, he, like Fumori Masaki, could not easily leave the village.
Now that his combat power could operate outside the village, it gave Konoha Ninja Village too great a combat advantage.
Even if Konoha Ninja Village had not made any progress and maintained its original scale from that timeline, Sarutobi Hiruzen could greatly reduce Konoha Ninja Village's losses.
At least for now, the Daimyo's army showed no means worth mentioning.
If Uchiha Kokuya personally entered the fray, Sarutobi Hiruzen could try to deal with him personally.
Although Uchiha Kokuya possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan, would a Sarutobi Hiruzen in his prime fear an ordinary Mangekyo Sharingan?
"What you say is reasonable, but Uchiha Kokuya must have some special scheme.
This needs caution," Akimichi Torifu stroked his beard slightly.
"Indeed, Uchiha Kokuya's actions are, to some extent, very strange.
He might have some scheme, but I don't think he's taken the Daimyo's army into account.
If there is a scheme, it must be for his own benefit," Sarutobi Hiruzen said.
Akimichi Torifu nodded.
This was the judgment of Konoha's high-ranking officials, discussed in the Hokage's inner council, and their consensus was basically the same.
In other words, even if Uchiha Kokuya had a scheme, it probably wouldn't affect the battle between the Daimyo's army and Konoha's army; this scheme was for his own gain.
"If any trouble arises then, Masaki and the others will come too.
Isn't that how we arranged it?
I don't believe that no matter what scheme he has, he can escape our encirclement!" Sarutobi Hiruzen snorted coldly.
Akimichi Torifu felt the same way, but he suggested being cautious and waiting for Shimura Danzo to arrive for intelligence analysis before launching a large-scale counterattack.
Although Sarutobi Hiruzen and Akimichi Torifu had both learned traditional ninja techniques, they certainly couldn't compare to Shimura Danzo in terms of professionalism.
Sarutobi Hiruzen agreed.
Although he wasn't optimistic about the enemy's strength, that didn't mean he would be arrogant.
In the original timeline, he was the one chosen to be the Third Hokage, and even if he lost that position in this timeline, it didn't mean he would lose that kind of character.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had heard Fumori Masaki say—strategically, one can despise the enemy, but tactically, one must never underestimate the enemy—a saying he had always found profound and kept firmly in mind.
"I hope Uchiha Kokuya can't hold back and makes his move soon, so we can resolve this menace early.
Otherwise, if it drags on for too long, there might be unexpected situations that give the northern countries other ideas," Akimichi Torifu said.
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded slightly.
He knew why Akimichi Torifu said that.
On the way to their deployment, he had received a report from the Yamanaka clan that the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning had both dispatched troops to their borders, stating that if the Land of Fire fell into a prolonged civil war, they would intervene to maintain the internal situation.