As he spoke, Shikaku Nara bowed deeply to everyone in the war council chamber, expressing the weight of his feelings.
Truthfully, he had little choice but to do so.
Konoha's standing combat forces had already been deployed earlier. Whether it was the pursuit squad initially led by Uchiha Ren, or the reinforcement troops later brought by Ren and Namikaze Minato, most of them had been clan shinobi temporarily mobilized from the various families within the village.
Although they were all shinobi of Konohagakure, clan shinobi were different from ordinary ninja.
For them, the concept of family clan existed between the individual and the village.
In their hearts, everyone had their own judgment regarding the relative importance of themselves, their clan, and the village.
Moreover, the various clans of Konoha often had minor frictions with each other due to competition for resources and influence.
Under normal circumstances, such conflicts were harmless.
But on the battlefield, they could become fatal weaknesses.
Therefore, to eliminate these potential risks, Shikaku had no choice but to lower his stance and ask everyone to temporarily set aside past grievances.
"Nara Clan Head, you're being too serious. This is an extraordinary time—of course the village's interests come first. When it comes to major matters, we all know our priorities."
"Exactly. Clan Head Nara, when the nest is destroyed, no egg remains intact! Our usual quarrels are just family squabbles—we never take them seriously."
"Clan Head Nara, just tell us what you need us to do!"
…
Everyone in the war council chamber gave Shikaku plenty of face, speaking up in agreement.
Seeing this, Shikaku understood that pressing the matter further would be excessive. He stood up and pointed at the map again.
"According to the intelligence gathered by the village, neither the Iwagakure, Kumogakure, nor Sunagakure forces brought much food or logistical supplies with them."
"With the provisions they currently have, they can support at most one major battle."
"So this war will have no probing attacks, no feints. The moment the battle begins, they will commit all their forces in a decisive assault."
"And what we must do… is hold them off with the 4,500 shinobi inside Kikyō Mountain Fortress."
Shikaku's expression was solemn, and his voice carried an immense weight.
Four thousand against ten thousand.
No matter how one looked at it, it seemed like a battle with an obvious outcome.
"Four thousand against ten thousand… how are we supposed to fight that?"
"Wait, what about the two thousand troops led by Lord Orochimaru?"
"Right! Didn't Lord Orochimaru depart last night with two thousand men? Even if the direction was different, he should've redirected here by now!"
…
After Shikaku finished speaking, many people in the war council chamber revealed puzzled expressions as they realized something unusual.
Orochimaru had left the village the previous night with two thousand troops to encircle the Kumogakure army.
Even if circumstances had changed, Orochimaru should have received the message and hurried toward Kikyō Mountain Fortress by now.
Yet there had been no sign of him or his forces.
This inevitably caused unease among many of those present.
"Everyone, please remain calm," Shikaku said loudly.
"Orochimaru and his two thousand troops have not gone missing. Rather… a new situation has emerged."
Hearing this, everyone stopped their discussions and looked toward Shikaku, waiting for his explanation.
Shikaku raised his hand and pointed to the border of the Land of Hot Water on the map.
"Latest intelligence: yesterday at dawn, Kumogakure gathered another three thousand troops at the border of the Land of Hot Water. Multiple squads have attempted to infiltrate the Land of Fire, showing signs of advancing pressure."
"At the same time, several outposts along the southern coastline of the Land of Fire have reported traces of Kirigakure shinobi landing, requesting reinforcements from the village."
The moment Shikaku said this, the entire war council chamber erupted into an uproar.
Everyone already knew Konoha's situation was grim.
They had prepared themselves for a desperate battle.
But they had never imagined things had deteriorated to this extent.
The alliance of Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Sunagakure alone was already terrifying enough.
Yet now even Kirigakure had joined the fray.
Konoha truly seemed to have become the enemy of the entire world.
Hiashi Hyūga frowned and spoke.
"Clan Head Nara, does that mean Orochimaru and his two thousand troops have already split up to reinforce the Land of Hot Water front and the southern coastline?"
This was the question everyone in the room most desperately wanted answered.
If it were six thousand against ten thousand, they still had some confidence in winning.
But if it were truly four thousand against ten thousand, they might not even survive this battle.
"They did split their forces," Shikaku said, shaking his head. "But not to reinforce those fronts."
"At the Land of Hot Water, Jiraiya still commands nearly two thousand border defense shinobi. Facing three thousand Kumogakure troops will be difficult, but they can hold."
"As for the southern coastline, the village was already prepared. There shouldn't be any major problems there."
"Faced with the enemy's attempt to pin down our forces, the village decided that Orochimaru and his two thousand troops would create the illusion of splitting up to reinforce those areas."
"In reality, Orochimaru's forces have already broken into smaller units and infiltrated behind the allied army of Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Sunagakure."
"The moment the battle begins, they will launch a pincer attack together with us."
As he spoke, Shikaku tapped several locations on the map, indicating Orochimaru's current positions.
Six thousand against ten thousand could still be fought—but Konoha would remain at a disadvantage.
Only by using an unexpected strategy could they secure victory.
This was a plan Shikaku had conceived on short notice—turning Orochimaru's two thousand troops into a hidden ambush force.
"I see!"
Everyone in the war council chamber breathed a sigh of relief, feeling somewhat reassured.
Shikaku continued.
"But if we want Orochimaru's surprise force to have the greatest possible effect, we must ensure that the allied army commits all their strength without holding anything back."
"So I propose that we take the initiative and attack."
"The battlefield will extend beyond Kikyō Mountain Fortress to these mountain peaks… here, here, here, and here."
As he spoke, Shikaku pointed to several mountains outside the fortress on the map—expanding the defensive line to more than double its original size.
Under normal circumstances, a defending force with fewer numbers would prefer a smaller defensive line.
That way they could concentrate their strength and limit the enemy's numerical advantage.
For example, with Kikyō Mountain Fortress, the enemy could only send a few thousand troops to attack at once. Too many soldiers would restrict their own shinobi's movements and make them vulnerable to large-scale attacks from the defenders.
Thus, even though it was technically four thousand versus ten thousand, they would only face a few thousand enemies at a time.
But once the defensive line expanded…
Konoha would still have four thousand troops, while the enemy could commit far more soldiers simultaneously.
In the worst case, it might truly become four thousand fighting ten thousand head-on.
Normally, they would never choose such a strategy.
However, considering that their four thousand troops were essentially the bait, while Orochimaru's two thousand shinobi were the real killing blow, no one raised any objections.
Seeing that no one opposed the plan, Shikaku took a deep breath.
"Now then… I will begin assigning the specific combat roles."
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