From Naruto onwards, I've become a dreamer.

Chapter 508: The army is approaching!

Once the overall strategy has been formulated, the next question is how to allocate resources.

If the troops left behind to defend and resist the Iwagakure army are unable to withstand the offensive and are thus breached by the Iwagakure army, then the entire strategic plan will collapse at the first touch.

Therefore, the troops left behind to garrison the village must be able to hold off Iwagakure.

Nara Shikaku hesitated for half a second before suggesting, "Fourth Hokage, I believe that Lord Jiraiya must remain here to oversee things."

"Why should I?!" Jiraiya immediately retorted, glaring at him. "According to the Fourth Hokage's strategy, to directly attack Iwagakure, the people he brings must be elite. Otherwise, how can they break through Iwagakure's defenses? What use am I if I stay here?"

Nara Shikaku replied with a hint of bitterness, "Lord Jiraiya, let's put ourselves in their shoes. If the people of Iwagakure discovered that the command of our large troop force stationed on the border was merely the head of the Nara clan, do you think they wouldn't become suspicious?"

Upon hearing this, Jiraiya was speechless, seemingly stumped, but then argued in a low voice, "If you put it that way, what's the point of me staying?"

"Useful, extremely useful!"

Nara Shikaku reiterated, his tone resolute: "If you are in charge, you can greatly confuse Iwagakure!"

Jiraiya blinked, somewhat bewildered, and pointed at himself: "Me? I'm that useful?"

“Of course, Lord Jiraiya.” Nara Shikaku turned to Uchiha Muneki and said slowly, “Currently, Iwagakure does not know about the Fourth Hokage and the reanimation of Uchiha Madara, so this is our greatest advantage, and we must make good use of it.”

"That's interesting, please continue."

Uchiha Munetsuki looked at Nara Shikaku with great interest. As expected of the strategist of the Hokage throughout the ages.

Although he put forward a general strategy, it would be essential to have advisors and more detailed methods to implement it.

"I believe we can seize this opportunity to have Jiraiya-sama stationed at the headquarters. As one of the Legendary Sannin and Konoha's current strongest fighting force, he can largely mislead the people of Iwagakure. He can also create a crucial opportunity and time for you to lead your team straight into Iwagakure!"

Nara Shikaku was clearly doing this, filling in the gaps in the strategic implementation of Uchiha Munetsuki's tactics.

"Yes, you're right."

Uchiha Munetsuki nodded slightly, acknowledging Nara Shikaku's execution strategy.

Having the 'Three Legendary Sannin' stationed at the headquarters is in line with the current state of Konoha. Otherwise, even if the people of Iwagakure were all idiots, they would have realized something was wrong when they saw that the head of the Nara clan was in charge of the headquarters!

"But."

Jiraiya was still somewhat unwilling to accept this.

He longed to follow Uchiha Muneki and, like a hero, single-handedly storm into Iwagakure.

"That's it."

Uchiha Muneki then turned to Jiraiya and smiled, "Lord Jiraiya, then I'll leave it to you to make full use of the title of 'Sannin' and stay here to attract the attention of Iwagakure."

The top leader had already set the tone, so even though Jiraiya was unwilling, he could only reluctantly bow his head and agree.

"If that's the case, then..."

Uchiha Munetsuki glanced around and finally decided on the team: "Kakashi Hatake, Might Guy, Neji Hyuga, Shino Aburame, Inoichi Yamanaka, and two ANBU squads will join me as an infiltration team to bypass Iwagakure. The rest of you will stay at headquarters. Is that alright?"

"Should we bring a few more people? Fourth Hokage?"

Nara Shikaku hesitated for a moment and asked, "I'm worried that these people might not be enough."

After all, their mission was to bypass the Iwagakure army and directly infiltrate Iwagakure to sabotage their rear. With such a small number of people, if they were discovered by the Iwagakure, the Fourth Hokage wouldn't be a concern, but the others would be in real danger.

"The number of people interspersed doesn't need to be too large."

Uchiha Muneki shook his head and said, "These people are enough. Too many people will only make it easier to be exposed."

"Ok."

No one could say anything more, and they could only agree to the plan.

"Then, let me add a few more words."

Uchiha Muneki tapped the table, looked at everyone, and said calmly, "You can lose, you can lose, you can even win a little, but you absolutely cannot win big."

As soon as these words came out, everyone was shocked.

Even Nara Shikaku was somewhat confused: "Fourth Hokage, what do you mean by 'can't win by a large margin'?"

"What I mean is, no matter what happens, even if you can annihilate them, you must not do so." Uchiha Munezuki said calmly, "We are the 'weak,' and we must always think from the perspective of the 'weak.' Only the weak will not be suspected in any situation, understand?"

Nara Shikaku seemed to have a sudden realization: "You mean, lure the enemy deep into our territory?"

"Luring the enemy deep into our territory? It's not that simple."

Hiashi Hyuga frowned and said, "The people of Iwagakure aren't stupid either. If we lure them in deep, and we don't have our main force, won't we just be hurting ourselves?"

"It is neither about luring the enemy deep into our territory nor about showing weakness to them."

Nara Shikaku slowly said, "I guess the Fourth Hokage is worried that we will be misled by temporary victories and fall into the trap set by Iwagakure, right?"

Uchiha Muneki nodded slightly and said, "I want you to realize who is the weaker party. Don't think you can destroy Iwagakure just because you've won a few battles. Otherwise, you'll only fall into a trap and be completely annihilated."

"Please rest assured, Fourth Generation."

Nara Shikaku said earnestly, "I will definitely control the army and will not fall into the trap of the Iwa ninja. But please act quickly. I estimate that in about ten days at most, the Iwa ninja will discover our strength and weakness, and then they will definitely attack with all their might."

The real challenge isn't the infiltration team, but whether Konoha, stationed at their headquarters, can withstand the maddened Iwa ninja after they learn the truth.

"I estimate we can hold out for a maximum of fifteen days, no, it should be ten days." Nara Shikaku compared the disparity between the enemy and his own forces and made a conservative estimate: "It might even be less than ten days, so you must act quickly, Fourth Hokage!"

Nara Shikaku's heartfelt words made everyone in the infiltration team feel the weight of responsibility on their shoulders.

The hopes of the tens of thousands of ninjas remaining at Konoha's headquarters, as well as the village of Konoha behind them, and even the entire ninja world, all rested on their shoulders.

When it comes to a raid, speed is the most important thing, followed by stealth!
Uchiha Muneki led his team and, as night fell, plunged into the dense forest.

The news of his departure was unknown to many, including himself.

Nara Shikaku went to great lengths to keep it a secret, but he knew very well that this was just a delaying tactic.

The news of the Fourth Hokage and Madara Uchiha's resurrection using Edo Tensei has been seen by too many people in Konoha Village, and it is destined that it cannot be hidden for long, so we must hurry!
The strategic plan can only be fully executed when the Iwa ninja army is too fast to react.

According to Uchiha Muneki's plan, their raid would last three days without any rest. The Land of Rain and the Land of Sand were already blocked by 100,000 White Zetsu, so the route from Amegakure into the Land of Earth was clearly impossible. Therefore, Uchiha Muneki decided that they would detour from the border of the Land of Fire, pass through the Land of Frost, and then directly attack the Land of Earth from the Land of Fire!

If you look at the map, their marching route looks like they've taken a huge detour.

But this route can guarantee, to the greatest extent possible, that they will not be discovered in advance!

Neji Hyuga and Shino Aburame served as the vanguard of the entire squad.

The ANBU squad was responsible for covering the rear and clearing away their traces, while Yamanaka Inoichi and Kakashi stood guard on both sides of the entire squad.

The Byakugan truly lives up to its reputation as the number one weapon of war in Naruto. Its almost superhuman transparent vision allows it to see through any traps or enemy movements without any obstruction!

Of course, it's not without weaknesses, so Shino Aburame specifically spread out many insects to compensate for the Byakugan's weakness, serving as a more covert reconnaissance line of sight.

The entire squad slipped through the gaps in the three-pronged Iwagakure army, sneaking past the edge of the tens of thousands of Iwagakure soldiers.

"Wait, stop!"

Hyuga Neji suddenly raised his hand and clenched his fist, signaling the team behind him to stop.

A jet-black insect silently descended from behind and landed on his shoulder, seemingly waiting for his explanation.

"There are several reconnaissance teams ahead. They are ninjas from Iwagakure, and there are about three hundred of them."

Hyuga Neji described what he had seen, and said somewhat anxiously, "Quickly tell the Fourth Hokage what to do next."

The little insect flew back, to a distance of about two hundred meters, at the main position of the entire squad.

"Fourth Hokage, what happened?"

Kakashi saw the insect fly back and knew there was a problem ahead, so he asked.

"Neji discovered several reconnaissance teams, they're from Iwagakure, there are about three hundred of them," Uchiha Muneki said calmly, then turned to the others and asked, "What do you think?"

"Go around it?"

Yamanaka Inoichi suggested, "This is the Land of Waterfalls, which is very close to the Land of Earth."

“No, if we go around it, it will take at least another day.” Kakashi shook his head and rejected the idea. “Our time is very tight. Wasting a day will only put the army behind us at greater risk.”

"That's right, Kakashi is absolutely right."

Uchiha Muneki smiled slightly, looked ahead, and said, "Anyway, we're not far from the Land of Earth, so why not take this opportunity to say hello to Onoki of the Two-Tone Kingdom?"

"You mean... eliminate them?"

Yamanaka Inoichi was a little shocked and looked at the group of people.

With less than twenty people in total, how could they possibly go head-to-head with a reconnaissance team of three hundred?

"Fourth Hokage, this is too risky!" Yamanaka Inoichi was still somewhat worried: "If we are discovered, we will be surrounded soon, as we are not far from the Iwa ninja army. The plan we made will fail. I think we should at least ensure our safety, even if it means wasting a day."

"If we kill them all, we won't be exposed, right?"

Uchiha Muneki looked at everyone meaningfully and slowly said, "It's time to give Onoki a surprise."

Now that the command has been determined, the remaining task is to figure out how to execute it.

Three hundred Iwa ninja reconnaissance squads were resting in this valley when they suddenly discovered that fog had risen all around them, and the thick fog quickly covered the entire valley.

The team leader, a Jonin, immediately realized something was wrong and shouted, "Watch out! Watch out! Enemy attack!"

Instantly, the hundreds of reconnaissance team members were in an uproar.

"what!"

"Ahhh!"

"No, no!"

"Get away! Get away!"

The terrifying sounds coming from all directions made the team leader, a high-ranking ninja, break out in a cold sweat.

He immediately realized that the attackers were no ordinary people, and their numbers were unknown. Looking at the ninjas dying all around him, he made a decision: "Everyone, scatter and break through! Charge out and tell Lord Akatsuchi what's going on here!"

A bolt of lightning, like the scythe of death, flashed at an extremely fast speed in the thick fog!

Almost every blink of an eye, a head falls.

Anyone who tries to break free from the thick fog will be destroyed by kunai that appear out of nowhere.

But many more people were covered by swarms of insects, screaming in terror as they gradually lost their lives. In just over ten minutes, the three-hundred-person reconnaissance team was completely wiped out!
The thick fog in the valley gradually dissipated, leaving only corpses scattered everywhere.

With Kakashi, Might Guy, Neji Hyuga, Shino Aburame, and many elite ANBU members, it would be a real problem if they couldn't wipe out a mere 300-person reconnaissance squad.

Uchiha looked at the skeleton, then turned to Shino Aburame and the head of the Anbu branch and said, "Eliminate all traces here, leave not a single one, and then continue on your way."

They were a raiding squad, and after eliminating the reconnaissance squad, they couldn't rest on the spot.

Instead, we should continue to accelerate our advance into the Land of Earth and cut off the supply lines of the Iwa ninja army before they can react!
On the other side, the three armies led by Akatsuchi, Kurotsuchi, and Hirotsuchi respectively are pressing towards the border of Konoha.

Akatsuchi was the first to send out several hundred ninjas, intending to test Konoha's strength.

Nara Shikaku saw through his plan, lured hundreds of ninjas into a trap, and then annihilated them all in one fell swoop, without revealing any flaws.

"The enemy commander must be Nara Shikaku, right?"

Huang Tu looked at the battle report and sneered, "This guy's style is too obvious; he's always cautious."

"Father, what should we do next?" Heitu looked at him and asked, "Should we send the Red Earth army to press forward and put pressure on them, and then break through from the flank?"

"No rush, I've already sent Deidara to scout ahead."

Huang Tu pondered for a moment, looking at the general layout of Konoha on the report that had been sent back: "I have a feeling that Konoha won't be so honest as to obediently set up their formation and confront us head-on."

(End of this chapter)