Konoha: The Soul King from the Uchiha Clan

Chapter 137 Vice Commander

As Uchiha Gen entered the tent, the two Chunin at the door exchanged a knowing glance, both noticing the surprise in each other's eyes.

No wonder he's Orochimaru's disciple, a genius of the Uchiha clan. His personality is so much better than the other Uchiha ninjas I've encountered before.

"Orochimaru-sensei."

"Please sit wherever you like."

Orochimaru, who was processing documents, looked up and glanced at them.

Uchiha Gen didn't stand on ceremony and casually picked a chair at the small long table where the meeting was being held and sat down.

"Orochimaru-sensei, what are your plans for the next phase?"

"Take your time," Orochimaru said without looking up.

"Oh?"

"You need to keep harvesting souls, and I need to keep collecting materials. Of course, the war should be sustained as long as possible."

"Besides, conducting experiments and research outside here is much more relaxed and comfortable than inside Konoha Village. There's no need to worry about anything, so there's no rush."

Uchiha Gen smiled; he thought so too. The longer the war lasted, the more souls he could harvest.

He had already decided to hold back from the start, so as not to hurt Kirigakure too much before Obito controlled Yagura.

Even if Obito controlled Yagura, he couldn't unleash his full power. If he hurt Kirigakure badly, Kirigakure would still retreat early.

Although Yagura is the Mizukage, it doesn't mean that he has all the power in Kirigakure. Kirigakure also has elders, among whom the most powerful elder is called the Marshal.

The Marshal's power was almost equal to that of the Mizukage, and with the addition of other elders, Obito could not act arbitrarily without a suitable reason.

If you insist on doing things your own way, it might be okay once or twice, but if it happens too often, you'll definitely be suspected.

Therefore, when Kirigakure suffers losses to a certain extent, Kirigakure will definitely withdraw its troops, and Obito cannot stop it.

Of course, their ideas were not accepted by the other Konoha ninjas, since the longer the war lasted, the greater the chance of death.

However, as the frontline commander, Orochimaru had no deputy commander to restrain him, and with his strength and prestige, it was not difficult for him to delay the progress of the war under his autocratic rule.

"I'm relieved to hear that from the teacher."

"Hmm...you can be my deputy."

"Um... Vice Commander, you don't have the authority to appoint him, do you?"

"Just apply to Konoha. You've made significant contributions; becoming a deputy commander of a thousand-strong force shouldn't be a problem."

"The old man still needs me."

Uchiha Gen smiled and said, "Although I know you want more time to do experiments and research, I still have to thank you for your kindness."

"Bring a stool and come learn right now."

"it is good."

He moved a stool and sat down next to Orochimaru. The two of them looked at the documents together. After they finished reading, Orochimaru would ask Uchiha Gen for his opinion on how to handle the situation.

If the opinion is correct, there's no need to say more; if the opinion is problematic, it will be pointed out for revision, and the reasons for such revision will be explained.

Orochimaru taught his disciples ninjutsu using scientific methods, and he also taught himself how to handle military affairs using scientific methods.

Instead of going through the files one by one in order, Orochimaru picked out files by category, with each file basically belonging to a single category.

Military documents are generally divided into four categories: ninja deployment, logistics, medical, and miscellaneous affairs, each of which is further subdivided into several subcategories.

It sounds complicated, but actually it's just a matter of managing people well.

If you have a decent foundation and intelligence, and are able to apply what you've learned to other situations, you can quickly learn how to handle various types of files.

The most important foundation here is arithmetic ability. If you are not good at arithmetic, you will be easily deceived by those below you.

Don't assume that all Konoha ninjas are innocent and pure. Even though Konoha's brainwashing education is very successful, there are still quite a few ninjas who outwardly comply but inwardly defy and line their own pockets.

They exist in Konoha Village and at various border posts, though the number varies.

There are basically no frontline camps at the moment, because those people know they can't fool Orochimaru, and they can't afford the consequences of being discovered.

If Uchiha Gen were to be involved in military affairs, things might be different, since strength is not the same as the ability to handle affairs.

……

That evening, reports of the battle from Kirigakure arrived back in Kirigakure.

Upon receiving the message, Yagura ignored it, left his home with a grim expression, and went to the Mizukage Building, where he sent someone to convene a meeting of senior executives.

Upon receiving the news, other high-ranking members of the Fog Village were also furious.

Did they lose Raiga Kurosuki and eight other Jonin?

This is simply unacceptable!

Of the nine Jonin, Gen Uchiha killed five, Orochimaru killed two, and the remaining two died in pursuit by Konoha Jonin.

Jonin are the backbone of a village, and their importance far surpasses that of cannon fodder Genin.

The loss of nine Jonin is no small matter.

After more than a year of recuperation, the five great ninja villages, including the newly promoted Jonin after the rewarding of merits, had a combined number of only between one hundred and one hundred and fifty.

The weakest village, Sunagakure, currently has just over a hundred Jonin, while Konoha and Kumogakure, which have the most Jonin, only have around one hundred and forty.

The Hidden Mist Village currently has only about 120 Jonin, and that includes the number of bloodline clans and secret technique clans. The number of Jonin who can be easily controlled by the higher-ups is at most a little over 100.

The loss of nearly one-tenth of their wealth was not only infuriating to the high-ranking officials of the Hidden Mist Village, but also caused them to tremble with heartache.

That's not all; as the saying goes, good fortune never comes in pairs, but misfortunes never come singly.

When the high-ranking members of the Hidden Mist Village heard that Raitogi had not retrieved the Inheritance Scroll, their morale generally collapsed slightly.

Such heavy losses must be taken responsibility, and Suigetsu Hozuki, as the frontline commander, naturally found himself in the eye of the storm.

Fortunately, Yagura was not completely disappointed with Suigetsu Hobutaki and spoke up in his defense.

After reading the battle report, Marshal Wuyin believed that the blame couldn't be entirely placed on the commander. Instead of kicking him while he was down, he offered a kind word.

With the intervention of the two bigwigs, the genius of the Watermelon Mountain Pufferfish was not recalled and dismissed, but instead allowed to redeem himself through meritorious service.

Atonement through meritorious service means the war will continue.

Marshal Kirigakure intended to cut his losses in time, but Yagura and the other elders disagreed.

Yagura was primarily unwilling to allow the battle he had spearheaded to end so abruptly, as it would damage his prestige.

The other elders, on the other hand, were unwilling to give up while there was still hope, because the sunk costs were too high.

They want to recover their losses and reclaim the ninja swords passed down through generations of Kirigakure!

To increase their chances of winning, after discussion, the Hidden Mist Village leadership decided to send 300 genin, 30 chunin, and 10 joinin to the front lines.

……

Shortly after the meeting ended, White Zetsu received the news and found Obito resting in an empty house on the edge of Kirigakure.

After listening to the information provided by White Zetsu, Obito, who was resting on the bed wearing a mask, slowly sat up, his crimson Sharingan staring at White Zetsu.

"Are you saying that Uchiha Gen not only has a dragon as a summoning beast, but also possesses the ability to extract a ninja's soul with fear?"

"Fei, you're not kidding, are you?"

"Unless Suigetsu Fuguki is joking with the Kirigakure higher-ups."

Ah Fei, his upper body partially exposed, curled up at the corners of his mouth in a half-smile, tilting his head as he spoke.

Obito: "..."

How dare Suigetsu Hozuki make such a joke with the higher-ups of Kirigakure?

It seems it's true.

"The Rinnegan exists, the Sage of Six Paths once existed, so the existence of dragons isn't that unbelievable."

"How can fear alone drain a ninja's soul?"

"Madara's collection did not contain such a powerful and unique Uchiha clan secret technique."

"Could it be that that guy learned it from somewhere else in the ninja world?"

Just as White Zetsu was about to speak, a pool of black liquid seeped from the floor, sticking to half of White Zetsu's body...