Chapter 395: General Mifune's Suggestion
"Bullshit!"
A roared. His massive fist crashed down. The heavy oak of the round table detonated under the sheer force, exploding into a storm of jagged splinters that rained across the room.
"Combine forces?" The Fourth Raikage leveled a thick, calloused finger directly at Onoki's bulbous nose. Muscles bulged along his dark arms. "Don't think I don't know exactly what kind of scheme you're brewing in that shriveled head of yours!"
"Mixing Kumogakure's elites with your Iwagakure cowards?" A took a heavy step forward. "You just want my subordinates to charge the front lines and die as cannon fodder! Or better yet, you're waiting for the perfect moment to stab me in the back!"
This was the impossible chasm dividing the two great shinobi villages. Decades of bitter blood feuds, massacres, and betrayals could not be erased by a few hollow platitudes about fighting for the sake of the ninja world. The wounds were too deep. The Third Raikage had perished fighting to his last breath, swarmed and besieged by ten thousand Iwagakure shinobi.
Kumogakure had never forgotten that debt of blood. They never would.
"What did you just say?" Onoki fired back. He hovered slightly out of his chair, his white beard bristling as his face flushed a deep, furious red.
"I am doing this for the big picture!" The Tsuchikage pointed a trembling finger back at the towering man. "You muscle-brained brute! Your head is so stuffed with petty revenge that you couldn't comprehend basic military strategy if it was written on your fist!"
"Strategy?" A let out a harsh, guttural sneer. "I call it a conspiracy!"
"The second we mix our platoons, what happens when the battle turns sour? Are you going to conveniently misfire that Dust Release of yours and vaporize my men along with the enemy?"
Onoki trembled, his small frame vibrating with sheer indignation.
"Completely unreasonable!" Onoki shouted. "If you refuse to trust me, then we fight separately! We might as well tear up this alliance right now and wait to be slaughtered!"
"Then we don't form it!" A roared back, refusing to yield a single inch. Sparks of volatile lightning crackled faintly around his broad shoulders.
"Kumogakure doesn't need a bunch of cowards who hide behind rocks! We will march into Konoha and save Killer Bee ourselves!"
Around the periphery of the ruined table, the representatives of the minor shinobi villages shrank back into their chairs. They huddled in the shadows, exchanging terrified glances, too afraid to even breathe loudly lest they draw the ire of the Kage.
'A bunch of absolute idiots.'
Sitting quietly in the dimly lit corner, Konan watched the screaming match unfold. As the representative of Amegakure, her amber eyes remained completely devoid of warmth.
Bickering? Mutual suspicion?
A faint, mocking sneer tugged at the corner of her pale lips.
In the past, she might have believed these leaders held some strategic utility.
But now?
After bearing witness to the pure, suffocating despair that was Uchiha Akira's strength, the so-called Kage standing before her looked like nothing more than a colony of ants. They were merely arguing over who got the privilege of being crushed first.
Nagato had wielded the legendary Rinnegan. He had elevated himself to the status of a living god.
And what was the result of that arrogance?
The Six Paths of Pain had been systematically dismantled and utterly crushed by Uchiha Akira. The most terrifying part was the lingering realization that the Uchiha demon likely hadn't even unleashed his full strength during the slaughter.
"Enough!"
Just as the Raikage's lightning flared and Onoki's hands formed a seal, a blinding silver arc flashed through the dim room.
General Mifune drew his katana in a single, fluid motion. The razor-sharp steel sliced through the heavy, suffocating tension, forcing both Kage to freeze.
The aging Samurai General of the Land of Iron stood with a dark, ashen expression.
"Lords Kage!"
"Need I remind you that this is the Land of Iron?"
"You stand on strictly neutral ground!"
Mifune tightened his grip on the hilt of his blade, his stern gaze sweeping between the towering Raikage and the floating Tsuchikage.
"The armies of Konoha have not even crossed our borders, and you two wish to fight to the death right here in this room?"
"If that is the path you choose."
"Then I will draft a formal letter of surrender to Uchiha Akira this very second!"
"If we are doomed to die by our own stupidity, we might as well expedite the process and die quickly!"
The harsh reprimand struck like a basin of freezing water splashed directly over their heads.
A and Onoki stiffened, their aggressive postures faltering.
The samurai was right.
The current geopolitical landscape offered zero margin for petty infighting. That monster, Uchiha Akira, was currently sitting upon his throne in the Hokage Building, watching their every move with cold, calculating amusement.
A took a slow, ragged breath. He unclenched his massive fists, forcibly drawing the volatile Lightning Release chakra back into his coils.
He dropped heavily into the reinforced chair behind him, the metal frame groaning in protest under his immense weight.
Onoki let out a derisive snort, uncrossing his arms as he slowly floated back down to the stone floor.
"General Mifune is correct," Onoki muttered, adjusting his robes.
"Now is not the time to bicker over old grudges."
Seeing the immediate threat defused, Mifune smoothly slid his katana back into its scabbard with a sharp click.
"Since our ultimate goal is identical, we must find a way to compromise."
"Dividing our military forces is a major tactical taboo. I must agree with the Tsuchikage's assessment on this matter."
Mifune turned his steady gaze toward the hulking Raikage.
"Lord Raikage, when facing a powerhouse of Uchiha Akira's caliber, scattering our numbers into isolated skirmishes is entirely meaningless."
"Only an overwhelming accumulation of absolute numbers can force a qualitative shift on the battlefield."
A remained stubbornly silent, his jaw locked tight.
Although he hated the old fence-sitter with a burning passion, deep down in his warrior's heart, he knew Onoki was right. A fractured army would be slaughtered.
Mifune stepped forward toward the ruined remains of the round table. He dipped his index finger into a puddle of spilled green tea. With precise, deliberate motions, he traced a large circle on the surviving wood, followed by several smaller dots scattered around its perimeter.
"If our forces are scattered across multiple fronts, Uchiha Akira will fully exploit his mastery of Space-Time Ninjutsu to travel between the battlefields, systematically dismantling our divided troops one by one."
A's left eye twitched violently.
Memories of the Third Shinobi World War flared in his mind. The entire reason Namikaze Minato had earned the terrifying moniker of the Yellow Flash was due to his unsolvable, instantaneous support speed across massive battlefields.
And the current Uchiha Akira was a monster far more lethal and ruthless than Minato had ever been.
"Therefore, my proposal is this."
Mifune pressed his tea-stained finger heavily into the center of the large circle.
"The Iron Wall Strategy."
"All main combat forces from Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and every minor village present today must gather in one singular location!"
"Every single Kage-level powerhouse. Every wielder of a Bloodline Limit."
"We clump together!"
"We must forge a steel hedgehog so dense and lethal that even a monster like Uchiha Akira will shatter his teeth trying to chew through it!"
Onoki slowly stroked his white beard. A sharp, calculating glint pierced through the cloudy haze of his old eyes.
"Concentrating our superior forces for a massive, frontal decisive battle, hm..."
"But against him, defense alone is not enough."
The corners of Mifune's mouth curled upward, revealing a rare, chilling smile.
"Merely absorbing blows without striking back is not a military strategy, Lord Tsuchikage. It is a slow suicide."
"Uchiha Akira possesses god-like strength, yes, but he is ultimately only one man."
"Konoha has successfully annexed Sunagakure and Kirigakure. Their sovereign territory has expanded exponentially in a terrifyingly short amount of time. However, this aggressive expansion carries a fatal flaw..."
"Their defensive lines are stretched incredibly thin."
Mifune's finger dragged across the wet wood, drawing several sharp, aggressive lines that converged directly toward the heart of the Land of Fire.
"We will dispatch dozens of highly mobile, elite strike units."
"These squads do not need high numbers, but every single member must be a Jonin-level specialist."
"We send them to infiltrate the Land of Fire from every conceivable direction. They will cross the borders through the Land of Grass, slip through the Land of Hot Springs, and launch amphibious assaults from the eastern seas!"
"We will ignite fires across the entirety of the Land of Fire, forcing Konoha's military to exhaust themselves chasing shadows!"
"This is the Wolf Pack Strategy!"
A collective, sharp intake of breath echoed through the dim conference room.
The minor village leaders exchanged wide-eyed stares. The sheer ruthlessness of the tactic was staggering.
"As long as the civilian and logistical rear of the Land of Fire is burning, Uchiha Akira cannot simply sit idly upon his throne."
"Konoha will be forced to divide its domestic forces to hunt down our infiltration squads."
"By doing so, the military strength they can commit to the frontal battlefield will inevitably be severely diluted."
"The moment they fracture their lines to protect their homeland... that is the exact opportunity our main coalition army needs to press forward and crush Konoha's vanguard in one fell swoop!"
Having laid out his master plan, Mifune withdrew his hand, wiping the damp tea from his fingertips. He stood in quiet dignity, waiting for the verdict of the two Kage.
Onoki floated silently in mid-air, a dark, cruel smile slowly stretching across his wrinkled face.
"As expected of the Samurai General of the Land of Iron. A truly astonishing, venomous strategy."
"I... agree to these terms."
"Raikage, what about you?"
Onoki shifted his gaze toward the massive man.
A took a deep, shuddering breath, his broad chest heaving as he weighed the cost of the impending bloodshed. He clenched his fists until his knuckles popped.
"As long as this path allows me to save Bee..."
"I have no objections!"
"We execute Mifune's strategy to the letter!"
Meanwhile.
Deep within a subterranean cavern far from the Land of Iron.
Uchiha Obito leaned casually against a damp, gloomy stone wall. The right half of his scarred face was entirely swallowed by the shadows, leaving only his single, scarlet Sharingan visible. The three tomoe spun lazily, radiating a heart-stopping, frigid light in the suffocating darkness.
His gloved fingers rose, unconsciously tracing the smooth, empty surface of his orange spiral mask right over the spot where his left eye used to be.
"Have you still not made your decision, Obito?"
Black Zetsu slowly phased out of the solid stone floor, his dark, viscous form blending with the shadows.
"The current geopolitical landscape is shifting too rapidly. The situation no longer affords you the luxury of hesitation."
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