They're promoting the "Konoha threat" theory, and spouting nonsense about the Hidden

Chapter 252 Ambush

The temporary encampment of the army in Kirigakure Village on the border between the two countries of Uzu and Naga.

"The total number of people in the camp is about five thousand. Including the outer perimeter guards and the intelligence reconnaissance teams that went forward, the first wave of attacking forces from Kirigakure is about six thousand."

A member of the Hyuga branch family lay prone in the grass, staring angrily at the distant Kirigakure army camp. Using the Byakugan's powerful penetrating ability, he observed the number of people and facilities inside the camp while reporting to Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others beside him.

After the incident involving Hyuga Hiki, a member of the Hyuga main family, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately ordered the members of the Hyuga main family to stay away from the front lines of the battlefield.

He brought a few people to observe the Hidden Mist Camp at this time. Because he needed the powerful X-ray vision of the Byakugan, he brought a member of the Hyuga branch family.

"More than six thousand people... compared to the fifteen thousand ninjas that Kirigakure usually has, their number is less than half. In other words, if we don't take advantage of the opportunity before Kirigakure's second batch of reinforcements arrives and fight a battle to gain some advantage, the situation will become increasingly unfavorable for us."

Upon hearing the report from the Hyuga branch family ninja, Fugaku Uchiha immediately had an idea.

For the major ninja villages, sending spies to other ninja villages is simply a routine operation.

To obtain highly confidential information through these spies, one might rely heavily on the spies' skill level, such as Yakushi Nonou, who previously belonged to Konoha Root.

However, the approximate number of ninjas in a ninja village can be inferred, either actively or indirectly, through factors such as the number of missions accepted by the village, the time it takes for ninjas to complete missions, and the number of students enrolled in the ninja academy.

This is why the number of regular ninjas in Kirigakure, numbering 15,000, has been largely guessed by the other ninja villages.

This number of 15,000 ninjas, in the current "public" ranking of the five major ninja villages, is basically in the third position.

Iwagakure, a village that champions collectivism, has the largest number of ninja, with a standing army of 25,000 ninja, which speaks for itself.

Then comes Konoha with 20,000 people, followed by Kumogakure and Kirigakure tied for third with 15,000 people, and finally Sunagakure with 13,000 people.

However, due to the rapid increase in the number of Kirigakure ninjas in recent years, the general public in the ninja world does not have a high opinion of the quality of Kirigakure ninjas. Kirigakure's international image has improved compared to before, but the improvement is limited.

However, on the other side of the ninja world, in the Eastern Continent, Hozuki Shingetsu also hid six thousand ninjas. These ninjas were not only responsible for maintaining Kirigakure's rule in the Eastern Continent, but also a fresh force that Hozuki Shingetsu had hidden away, a reserve force for just in case.

What Fugaku Uchiha could understand, Hiruzen Sarutobi could naturally understand as well.

"The southeastern defense line only has four thousand men. Although I'm sure the average strength of the Mist Ninja is inferior to that of Konoha, the difference in numbers is real... We still need to find a way to deal with them!"

The 20,000 ninja troops of Konoha were divided into five units, with four battle lines plus a reserve force. The number of ninja defenders on each battle line was dynamically adjusted according to the strength of the opponents they faced.

A full four thousand men were deployed on the southeastern defense line.

As a veteran who had experienced both the First and Second Shinobi World Wars, Hiruzen Sarutobi was certainly not a complete novice in warfare who knew nothing about military common sense.

They naturally knew that the longer the war went on, the harder it would become, and the lower Konoha's morale would be.

"Can you pinpoint the location of Kirigakure Commander Muneto Uzumaki?"

After thinking for a while, Hiruzen Sarutobi turned his head and glanced at the Hyuga branch family ninja beside him, whose eyelids were bulging with veins.

"...The entire camp is too large and the personnel are too mixed, so it is really too difficult to accurately determine the location of the enemy commander."

The Hyuga branch family ninja looked troubled, but after glancing at Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression, he finally gritted his teeth and stated his judgment.

"About five kilometers away at the four o'clock position, there is an unusually large chakra reaction... Based on the Uzumaki clan's innate large chakra reserves, and the fact that Uzumaki Munehito, the young clan leader, was entrusted by Hozuki Shingetsu to be the front-line commander, it is highly likely that this chakra source is Uzumaki Munehito."

Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others looked in the direction he was pointing, but were puzzled to find that the location was a remote, rear area on the outer perimeter of the main camp, a place that, in theory, should not be the location of the commander's tent.

"Besides that place, there is another place where a large amount of chakra is gathered."

That day, the branch family pointed out another direction.

"Separating the accommodations from the central tent... Is this out of concern for assassination? Or are they worried about Minato's space-time ninjutsu?"

In this situation, the thoughts of everyone present were undoubtedly skewed in this direction.

"Very well, in that case, let's wait! Such a young ninja unit commander, given the disparity in strength between the two sides, if we remain entrenched and do not venture out, as long as he harbors even a slight desire for merit, there's a considerable chance he'll come out to scout the terrain or relay orders... You observe from here, and when he leads a small force forward, we must seize every opportunity to severely injure or even kill Uzumaki Muneto, thus creating an opportunity for the subsequent great battle!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi is gambling.

Given these realities, even someone as experienced as him wouldn't have a good way to secure a victory in a short period of time, assuming his opponent doesn't make any mistakes.

Therefore, he could only gamble on the other party making a mistake; he was betting on the mindset of the Uzumaki sect members.

If we put ourselves in their shoes, the general view in the ninja world right now is that the four ninja villages may suffer huge losses, but the ultimate victor will definitely be one of them.

Against this backdrop, the commanders of the four great ninja villages' attack, barring any lapse in judgment, will soon have a significant military achievement to their name, namely, the annihilation of Konoha.

Under these circumstances, as the frontline commander of the Kirigakure forces, and a member of the Uzumaki clan, which has close ties with Konoha, and being extremely young, there will inevitably be some rumors circulating in the village.

Especially given that Konoha has just suffered a crushing defeat in the Land of Whirlpools, Konoha's strategic defensive posture is now clear. Given that news of their arrival has not yet spread widely, is it possible that Uzumaki Muneto, being a young man, might be greedy for credit and act rashly, or perhaps he might launch a large-scale attack without regard for consequences in order to prove that the relationship between the Uzumaki clan and Konoha has been completely severed and to prove Hozuki Shingetsu's foresight?

Based on his years of political experience, Hiruzen Sarutobi concluded that this conclusion was highly successful.

Or rather, this is the only judgment he can make now: to gamble on the Uzumaki sect members' greed and recklessness in order to secure their victory.

"Pass down the order: in the next probe by Kirigakure, have the troops probe layer by layer, and then leave behind items that symbolize the number of ninjas here, such as ninja headbands, combat documents, supplies, and food rations, without leaving a trace, so that Kirigakure can obtain them."

Hiruzen Sarutobi returned to Konoha and gave a meaningful message to the Anbu beside him.

"Note that the numbers on the ninja headbands and personnel documents are much greater than the number 'four thousand'."

After everything was arranged, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally let out a long sigh of relief, slumped into his chair, and said:

"We've done all we can; the rest is up to fate..."

At this moment, everyone else, having been made clear about Hiruzen Sarutobi's intentions through his undisguised maneuvering, also understood his purpose.

"A feint + luring the enemy deep into our territory..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's plan was so poor that even a four-year-old like Itachi Uchiha could see it clearly.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi's strategy was brilliant because he not only calculated the battlefield, but also the hearts of the people and the political ecology of the enemy forces.

Under normal circumstances, a young man leading troops into battle from a clan closely associated with Konoha would, in this situation, whether to avoid suspicion or to make a name for himself, inevitably have to fiercely criticize Konoha to prove himself.

Even though the Hidden Mist Village already knew about his and Fugaku Uchiha's arrival, Hiruzen Sarutobi was not afraid of the news being exposed.

There's no other reason than this is a blatant, overt conspiracy.

Hozuki Shingetsu can trust you, but if you don't take the initiative in this situation, will everyone in Kirigakure really believe that you, an outsider ninja clan, have completely severed ties with Konoha?

This bite, however, played right into Hiruzen Sarutobi's trap.

At this thought, a wave of emotion rose in the young Itachi Uchiha's heart, and he looked up at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to sense something, raised his head, and smiled at Itachi Uchiha.

-

As it turned out, Hiruzen Sarutobi made the right gamble.

From that day on, for some unknown reason, the Konoha garrison on the southeastern defense line suddenly fell into a rout.

Not only did they suffer repeated defeats in their scout battles against the intelligence reconnaissance team from Kirigakure, but their frontal defenses also crumbled completely.

The Kirigakure army was initially worried that this was a trap, but the evidence they found at various Konoha strongholds showing a steady increase in the number of Konoha ninja in this direction convinced everyone present that Konoha was now in a precarious situation.

"Ha! The number of Konoha ninja defenders facing us keeps increasing, yet they're strangely retreating under our offensive... Do they think our commander is an idiot? Do they really expect to scare us away with just a piece of paper?"

Suigetsu Hobuki, one of the former Seven Ninja Swordsmen, sneered in front of many ninjas inside the main tent.

Uzumaki Muneto did not spread the news of Hiruzen Sarutobi and Fugaku Uchiha's arrival widely, and therefore Suigetsu Hobuki was unaware of it.

However, in the eyes of the informed Uzumaki clan, the underlying meaning of this matter is worth examining.

However, unlike what Hiruzen Sarutobi thought, Munen Uzumaki, who had been trained by Shingetsu Hozuki for many years, naturally wouldn't be afraid of the mere rumors circulating in the village.

When reason is not swayed by external factors, given the intelligence of Uzumaki Muneto, he naturally realized that Hiruzen Sarutobi's actions must have a deeper meaning.

Having obtained crucial intelligence, he decided to turn the tables and make Hiruzen Sarutobi's attempt to steal a chicken backfire.

-

"That special source of chakra has broken away from the main force and moved independently!"

Upon receiving the message from the summoning beast that had summoned the branch family ninja that day, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but clench his fists, secretly thrilled.

Although he knew the other party would most likely fall for the trap, he still couldn't help but jump for joy when he actually saw it.

In the past few days, under the command of Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Konoha garrison of the Land of Vegetables has been retreating steadily in the face of the Kirigakure's offensive, and the Kirigakure has taken the opportunity to occupy large swathes of territory.

After a series of defeats, the Konoha garrison almost lost the Land of Vegetables.

It's important to understand that the Land of Vegetables is the last line of defense protecting the Land of Fire. The loss of the Land of Vegetables means that the Mist Ninja can officially set foot on the Land of Fire's mainland, which means that the Mist Ninja army will not be far from Konoha Village.

Once we overcome a few more obstacles, we'll be able to stand atop the mountain and gaze out at the Hokage Rock of Konoha.

Despite the immense cost of pursuing this opportunity, and although Danzo Shimura refrained from criticizing Hiruzen Sarutobi due to Konoha's precarious situation or other reasons, the incident still sparked discontent among Konoha's internal personnel. However, Hiruzen managed to suppress this discontent with his immense prestige.

Seeing this outcome, he naturally breathed a huge sigh of relief.

In this situation, he didn't even have time to think about why this massive amount of chakra would act alone before issuing the summons order.

"Gather all Jonin who are not currently on missions, call Fugaku, and assemble immediately to depart!"

Under Hiruzen Sarutobi's command, the elite ninja squad that had been prepared in advance quietly left the main battlefield. Based on the information provided by the Hyuga branch family ninja along the way, they quickly arrived at the enemy's inevitable route and set up an ambush site in advance.

It was only at this point that Hiruzen Sarutobi had the mind to think about why Munen Uzumaki was traveling alone.

"Isn't it highly unusual for a commander to travel alone at such a crucial moment? Could it be that the enemy discovered our plan and is using it against us? But how do we explain that gleaming source of chakra?"

"Was it a chakra illusion created by the Red Eyes? Did they predict we would send the Byakugan to observe? Wouldn't that put the main force in danger?"

Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was feeling uncertain, the nearby Aburame ninja and Inuzuka ninja reported that a powerful chakra source had been discovered several kilometers ahead.

"Phew... That's great. This is enough to prove that it's not a chakra illusion created by the Red-Eyed One. With such powerful chakra, even if he's not Uzumaki Muneto, it's enough to prove his status in Kirigakure. If we can severely injure or even kill him, the final result will probably be the same..."

The others were naturally unaware of Hiruzen Sarutobi's inner thoughts.

Soon after, the figure in the distance finally appeared before everyone as time passed.

The newcomer was dressed in the classic grey and white ninja outfit of the Mist Ninja, with his long white hair tied into a ponytail hanging down his back. A water-patterned ninja headband was worn on his forehead, adding a touch of heroism to his exceptionally handsome face.

However, the newcomer seemed unusually young, which didn't quite match the rumor that the Uzumaki sect member was nearly thirty years old...

Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was feeling somewhat confused, someone in the crowd suddenly became visibly shaken, leaned down to Hiruzen's ear, and whispered:

"That's... Hozuki New Moon!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the newcomer seemed to sense something and looked straight in their direction.

(End of this chapter)