Konoha: The Soul King from the Uchiha Clan

Chapter 187 A Small Shock

The group arrived at the council tent located in the heart of the Konoha camp. Four high-ranking officials from both sides entered the tent, while the others waited outside.

The four sat down at the long table, with Orochimaru in the main seat in the center, Uchiha Gen in the first seat on the left, Maki in the first seat on the right, and Pakura in the second seat on the right.

A Konoha Chunin carried a tray into the council tent, served the four people a steaming cup of tea according to their seating order, and then left.

"Lord Orochimaru, may I ask how things are going?" Maki asked, sitting upright and respectfully.

Unfortunately, Maki's current strength is no match for Yekura's. If he hadn't bet on becoming a confidant of the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, he wouldn't have become the commander.

Even if someone is an ally, one must still show respect to someone who can take one's life at any moment.

Even during the Konoha Crush, Maki couldn't be arrogant in front of Orochimaru.

"The reinforcements from Iwagakure have arrived, and the opportunity to strike has been lost," Orochimaru said calmly, picking up his teacup.

"Unfortunately, we encountered ambushes from Grass Ninja, Rain Ninja, and various other ninja organizations on the way, making it difficult to arrive on time."

"Um."

Seeing that Orochimaru didn't blame him, Maki secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then asked seriously, "So, how should we proceed from here?"

Orochimaru asked with a half-smile, "Are you from Sunagakure willing to fight to the death alongside the combined forces of Konoha, Iwagakure, and Kusagakure?"

Maki chuckled awkwardly and said, "Lord Orochimaru, isn't this a bit too radical?"

"If we fight to the death without a good opportunity, we will suffer heavy losses even if we win, and we will lose everything if we lose."

Orochimaru said expressionlessly, "Then what else is there to say?"

"We can only use the conventional approach now."

The so-called conventional strategy is to test each other, wear each other down, accumulate small advantages into a big advantage, and then seize the opportunity to go all in.

Unless there is a significant difference in leadership between the two sides, this tactic is highly likely to result in a protracted battle.

"Teacher, what Lord Machi said makes sense; it's better to be cautious."

Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit tense, Uchiha Gen spoke up to smooth things over.

Upon hearing this, Maki gave Uchiha Gen a grateful look.

"Lord Orochimaru, it's not that we Sunagakure are unwilling to risk our lives, but some of the ninjas supporting your army are newcomers to the battlefield."

"They need time to gradually adapt to the brutal battlefield. If a high-intensity decisive battle is fought from the beginning, some of the ninjas may even have the opposite effect."

Ye Cang began to explain with a serious expression, which was actually an attempt to smooth things over.

"Alright, that's enough. Let's use the standard approach."

"Now let's discuss how the two armies can cooperate."

Joint operations between the two militaries involve many issues, such as how to identify friend from foe.

Ninjas can use transformation techniques, and most ninjas don't have the ability to see through them. Ninjas also have many interrogation methods, so how to distinguish friend from foe becomes a problem under these circumstances.

The issue of logistical supply distribution is also of paramount importance.

The Sand Village provided support very quickly this time, and since the logistics and supply system had not been set up at all, Konoha had to take on the logistics.

In fact, it's not easy for Sunagakure to build a logistics and supply system. The nearest supply line would have to pass through the Land of Rain, but that would be too dangerous.

The Rain Ninja's covetousness, the Iwagakure and Kusagakure alliance's flanking maneuver, and the Nami Ninja's covetousness.

If Sunagakure wants to build a relatively safe logistics and supply system, it must pass through the Land of Fire and then detour through the Land of Fire to enter the Land of Grass, which will take a long time.

In order to catch Iwagakure off guard, the wealthy Konoha took over the logistics and supplies for Sunagakure.

However, Konoha is not being taken advantage of. The logistical supplies here only refer to daily necessities and do not include military supplies such as kunai, shuriken, and explosive tags.

After more than an hour of discussion, both sides basically reached an agreement, and it was lunchtime.

Orochimaru and Uchiha Gen were quite generous; after arranging the living supplies for Sunagakure, they invited the Sunagakure ninja who came to the camp to have a meal.

Maki and Yekura were dumbfounded when they saw the table full of delicious food.

Have the meals of Konoha ninjas become this good?

Even attending a banquet isn't much different, is it?

There were twelve dishes on the table: six meat dishes (chicken, duck, fish, beef, lamb, and pork), three seasonal vegetable dishes, two bean product dishes, and one soup. Each dish was colorful, fragrant, and delicious, making one's appetite soar.

The fact that Konoha ninjas like to celebrate by eating at high-end restaurants and barbecue joints shows that meat is not cheap in this world, and even ninjas cannot afford to eat it every day.

Even in Konoha, a village with a developed economy and abundant resources, this is the case; one can only imagine how much worse it is in Sunagakure, a village whose economy ranks near the bottom of the Five Great Ninja Villages.

Seeing the two of them looking stunned, Uchiha Gen explained with a smile, "Orochimaru-sensei and I are always given special meals."

"Hmm... I used my own money."

"We don't usually eat this well; it's just five dishes and a soup. This time, we're treating you all, so we're being a bit extravagant."

It's just five dishes and a soup...

Upon hearing this, Maki and Yekura recalled the meals they ate at home during their leisure time, and for a moment they couldn't help but feel an urge to burst into tears.

The meals they ate at home were far from the standard of five dishes and one soup, let alone during wartime when they were in the army.

"Don't be shy, let's eat."

"Then I'll start eating."

Maki and Yekura spoke in unison, their eyes gleaming with excitement, and their throats twitching slightly.

Although they were greedy, Maki and Yekura did not forget to maintain the reputation of Sunagakure and did not wolf down their food like starving ghosts.

When they were full, the four of them had devoured all twelve dishes, and Maki and Yekura were quite stuffed.

After finishing their business and having a meal, Maki and Yekura said their goodbyes.

On that day, the Konoha-Sunagakure Allied Forces did not launch an attack but adopted a defensive posture. The next morning, they launched a probing attack.

The combined forces of Iwagakure and Kusagakure dispatched ninjas to respond, and the two sides clashed in the wilderness of the Land of Grass, with the intensity of the battle escalating.

A probing attack naturally doesn't require the commander and deputy commander to appear; even the Jonin only send out a small number of them.

At this time, the Iwagakure messenger was still far from Kirigakure. It would take about seven days for a ninja to travel from Iwagakure to Kirigakure.

After arriving, negotiations will be held. Once the negotiations are successful, Kirigakure will arrange ninjas and logistics, which will take at least half a month.

The Land of Wind and the Land of Water are located in the southwest and southeast, respectively, separated by the Land of Whirlpools, the Land of Tea, and the vast ocean.

If you want to attack the Land of Wind, how can you not make thorough preparations?

After all, Iwagakure couldn't provide logistical support to Kirigakure; Kirigakure had to rely on itself for supplies.

With Obito Uchiha, the sixth brother who desperately wanted to torment Kirigakure to death, there was no doubt that Kirigakure would send troops.

Although the Yuanshi's power was barely enough to rival that of the Mizukage, the Yuanshi cared about the Kirigakure's possessions, while Obito did not.

Having thoroughly investigated the situation in Kirigakure and firmly established himself, Obito was eager to break ties with Genji, fearing that this would inevitably lead to internal strife within Kirigakure.

This situation determines that Master Yuan will regress in many things.

Yuan Shi didn't realize that his retreat would only lead to Obito's further encroachment.

By the time Master Yuan realized what was happening, Wuyin had already been utterly destroyed, as expected.

With nothing else to do, Uchiha Gen did not change his lifestyle just because there was Sunagakure. He would regularly go to Gangmen Town, the most prosperous town in the Land of Grass, to relax.

First, soak in the town's most famous hot spring, then have a meal at the town's most luxurious restaurant...

I'm exhausted from work today and just want to go to bed early. This is just a minimum update, please forgive me.

(End of this chapter)