The Uchiha's Path to the Top, Starting from Konoha

Chapter 142 Coercion

The flames of war could break out at any moment.

The Hidden Rain Village, outnumbered, realized it was unable to assassinate Emperor Gilknefer.

Immediately under Hanzo the Salamander's instructions, they resumed their old business, constantly using squads led by Jonin and Special Jonin to assassinate high-ranking officials of the Imperial Army, in an attempt to break the morale of the Imperial Army.

A series of precise assassinations by Amegakure left the guardian deity, Furuta, struggling to cope alone, and a large number of mid- to high-ranking military officers were killed in succession.

Three of the Knights' commanders were killed in battle, and Nimbul, one of the Four Knights, was also killed. The last Knight, Renas, chose to defect when faced with a life-or-death situation.

A series of battle losses led Gilknefer to decide to settle the score with a decisive battle against Amegakure on the open plains.

But having tasted the sweetness of victory, Hanzo of the Salamander was unwilling to throw his precious fighting ninjas into the meat grinder of the battlefield. He abandoned the frontal battle, broke into smaller units, and adopted assassination and poisoning tactics, tormenting Gilknefer to the point of ecstasy.

The brilliant and ambitious "Blood Emperor" was no clay idol. With the help of Fluder's "Third-Tier Magic: Astrology and Intelligence Magic," he quickly figured out the composition of the Amegakure ninja squad.

While having the Imperial Knights feign pursuit of Amegakure to draw Hanzo's attention, Gilkenif secretly ordered the Imperial Knights to launch a counterattack against Amegakure's assassination squad.

The Hidden Rain Village, which had been sailing smoothly since the start of the battle, tasted the bitter fruit of defeat at this moment. Due to carelessness, more than 30 Jonin squads were ambushed, and as many as 13 Jonin were killed in the battle.

The Chunin squads formed to expand the results of the battle also included many combat ninjas from other villages. Nearly eighty squads were wiped out.

This sudden blow left the weak-willed Sanshoyu Hanzo stunned, as if a mouthful of blood was stuck in his throat, making his face extremely pale.

"Damn natives!"

In just one day, a third of the Jonin and one-ninth of the Chunin were lost. The three thousand Amegakure combat ninjas went from being aggressive to being filled with fear in the blink of an eye.

"Staff team! Staff team!"

Hanzo the Salamander took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Even with the gas mask on his mouth filtering the gas, a pale purple toxic gas filled the air, making the ninjas nearby feel a chill run down their spines.

Even a Jonin would be severely injured if they smelled this poisonous gas, if not killed.

"Lord Yuying, the most urgent task now is to regroup. The Imperial Army only caught us off guard. In terms of actual strength, we still have the upper hand."

Inside the tent, a strategist hired at great expense from Konoha and belonging to the Nara clan, immediately spoke up when he met Hanzo's gaze.

Hanzo the Salamander calmed his agitated heart, gazed at Nara, and asked softly, "Tell me, how should we regroup?"

Nara, feeling the intense pressure under his gaze, knew in his heart that this was a test that Amekage had given him.

If you survive, all will be well; if you don't, you'll most likely be marginalized and slink back to Konoha.

Not wanting to embarrass himself and bring shame to his family and Konoha, Nara, the strategist, put on his best effort, carefully considering his words before speaking.

"Lord Amakage, His Majesty the Führer once spoke at the Military Affairs Department about the four levels of military strategy."

Upon hearing Nara's words, everyone in the tent, including Hanzo the Salamander, sat up straight, looking attentively attentive.

This made Nara's face light up with pride, and his voice became even more relaxed.

"The best strategy is to attack the enemy's plans; the next best is to disrupt their alliances; the next best is to attack their army; and the worst is to besiege their cities."

These sixteen characters are already a proverb that every village leader in the ninja world must memorize. Hanzo of the Salamander pondered them for a while, and after comparing them with the current situation of Amegakure, he had an idea in mind.

At this moment, Nara, the strategist, continued, "Lord Amekage avoided the two inferior strategies of attacking the city and attacking the enemy, and instead disrupted the enemy's morale through assassination. He truly lives up to the name Amekage; his battle strategies are all top-notch."

"You flatter me. Compared to His Majesty the Führer, I am far inferior."

Nara, the strategist, first flattered Hanzo of the Salamander, noticing the smug look in his eyes, and then offered his own plan.

"Lord Amekage, the great mage of the indigenous empire, Fluda, has already reached the strength of a Kage in the ninja world. Among us, only Lord Amekage is capable of opposing him and quickly defeating or killing him."

Nara, the strategist, said in a deep voice, "Now that things have come to this, the best way to break the deadlock is to follow the proper path. With our absolute strength, we should gather all the Jonin and launch a surprise attack on the Emperor's location in one fell swoop, completely annihilating him!"

"The Nara strategist is right, but it's difficult to do."

Another strategist from Amegakure Village spoke up, "Firstly, the Empire's Archmage Fluda can use teleportation magic, and if we're not careful, the Emperor could escape. Secondly, due to the previous assassination attempt, the Emperor has strengthened his guard and his whereabouts are unpredictable; we can't even pinpoint his location."

"Killing the emperor directly is extremely difficult!"

The words of the Amegakure strategist also reflected the thoughts of the Jonin captains present.

Only Hanzo the Salamander remained calm and collected, waiting for Nara's explanation.

"Spatial teleportation spells can naturally be broken. It doesn't matter where the emperor is. As long as we pinpoint the empire's weakness, the emperor and the archmage will naturally appear."

Nara, the strategist, slowly said, "Attack where they are not going, and strike where they must defend. Rather than letting the enemy lead us by the nose, we should seize their weakness, outnumber them, and intimidate them with our strength, forcing them to sign a humiliating treaty. This is the best strategy, the superior one, to completely dismantle the Empire's ability to resist!"

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent. Then, Nara, the strategist, stood up, pointed to the map placed in the center of the tent, and spoke.

"Gentlemen, please look here. The Empire has 70,000 troops stationed here. In addition to other auxiliary troops, the total number of people who do not engage in production is about 100,000. The daily food and supplies for people and horses cannot be provided by a single large city for more than a few days. The nearby granaries must be the key to the Empire's army."

"Once we control the food supply, the Imperial army will either collapse without a fight and beg for our mercy, or it will erupt into civil war and lead its beasts to devour us!"

"In either case, the Emperor will inevitably appear. At that time, we will have the upper hand, and the Empire will be the kingdom of tomorrow!"

"Then let's do as Staff Officer Nara says."

Hanzo the Salamander clapped his hands and said in a praising tone, "We cannot hold the Emperor's position, but the Emperor can hold our position."

"The enemy is in the dark while we are in the light. Then let's act with honor and righteousness. Either force the empire to divide its forces, or stand idly by and invite our own destruction!"

(End of this chapter)