Chapter 10

Black Town, temporary camp of the withdrawing Konoha Eastern Line ninja forces.

"Did the Mist ninja suddenly launch an attack?" Nara Zhuque looked at the intelligence in hand, brows furrowed.

In just one day, Shisui sent someone to deliver the Eastern Line situation to Nara Zhuque.

Several people in the camp, upon hearing this, looked at each other, quite puzzled.

"The war has already ended; what could the Mist ninja be doing at this time? Could something have changed?"

They have already reached their doorsteps; if something were to happen now and they had to pick up their kunai and return to the battlefield, the army's resentment can be imagined.

Nara Zhuque did not respond; based solely on the information in hand, he could not determine the other party's motives.

"What did Jonin Shisui say? Is he asking us to come to their aid?"

Upon hearing this, several department heads fell silent; at this point, wouldn't the treatment for reinforcements be the same as the Uchiha's? "In Shisui Jonin's letter, it says the Hidden Mist Village dispatched an Elite Force, with nearly a hundred bloodstain ninjas, and there may still be many more ninjas hidden."

Over a hundred bloodstain ninjas! Everyone was shocked; as everyone knows, a single bloodstain ninja's strength is several times, even dozens of times, that of a ninja of the same rank, far beyond what an ordinary civilian ninja can oppose.

"The Mist ninja have already approached the frontline camp, though they were temporarily repelled; now they need reinforcements, and even more, medical ninjas."

"If the Mist ninja continue to reinforce, they may have to open their defenses and retreat backward."

The medical ninja—Tenzen Kahae, who had been quietly listening at the side, suddenly changed expression; as she looked up, the gazes of everyone present swept over her, faintly.

"The war has already ended; how could Hidden Mist possibly still have so many ninja troops? Shisui Uchiha must be spreading false military intelligence!"

That made sense; everyone hoped Shisui Uchiha was spreading false military intelligence, but they also knew the possibility was minuscule.

Nara Zhuque ignored Tenzen Kahae's uproar, pondered for a moment, and then made a decision.

"The main army will temporarily halt its advance; each department will draw ninjas to form fifteen squads, and additionally draw three squads of medical ninjas to form a relief force, led by Tenzen Rikuto, to set out immediately to reinforce the front line!"

"Commander Nara!"

Tenzen Kahae's gaze shifted, her face instantly fell; Tenzen Rikuto is her nephew, merely a mid‑rank ninja, and with the situation unclear, if anything were to happen, how would she explain it to the clan? "Carry out the order!"

"Yes."

Everyone in the tent watched coldly; they now yearned to return home and really did not want to lead the reinforcement squad.

Nara Zhuque looked at the many 'possibly', 'should', 'if' etc. words appearing in the letter and also felt a headache; according to his position, if the letter had not been sent by Shisui Uchiha, he would never have so decisively dispatched reinforcements.

Moreover, Shisui Uchiha explicitly inquired in the letter whether, given insufficient troops, they should retreat.

He directly tossed the problem onto his head; if he did not respond and something changed on the front line, the trouble would be his.

Moreover, this matter cannot be concealed; he must respond immediately.

However, his not taking action does not mean nobody will take action.

Tenzen Kahae returned to the tent and immediately summoned Tenzen Rikuto, then, after conveying Nara's order, she earnestly instructed him.

"This time going to the front line is fraught with danger; you must firmly remember Lady Tsunade's medical ninja precepts, do not lightly take the front position, and on the support route also be cautious and vigilant in checking for hazards."

Tenzen Rikuto, although under seventeen, had a steady temperament and a clear family stance: "Since it's a support mission, we should hurry; moreover, we are already near Konoha, which is usually safe, so if we deliberately delay, wouldn't they notice?"

"What's that? In the ninja world, how could there be a fluke mentality? Don't they remember how Lady Tsunade's brother died?"

"Moreover, the Uchiha family is Konoha's foremost noble house; they will not be easily defeated. On the contrary, medical ninjas are the most important, so you must not come to harm." "Nephew understood; I will go prepare now."

"Go, and be careful all the way!"

Meanwhile, after a day and night of repeated scouting, the Eastern Line tent finally confirmed through Shisui that, aside from those bloodstain ninjas, the Hidden Mist Village in the Land of Whirlpools had no reinforcements at all!

After receiving this news, the two people in the tent remained silent for a long time.

"Master, should I now send another letter to inform Commander Nara of the situation here?"

Having confirmed that the enemy had no further troops, naturally no reinforcements were needed; that was his view.

"No need; repeatedly issuing orders damages authority, and doing so would deepen his opinion of you."

Shisui nodded, but then thought that even if it deepened, it probably wouldn't matter, since the other party originally stood opposed to the Uchiha.

Sima Yi saw his thought, eyes sharp, and reminded him: "The ancients said, 'Who wins the people's hearts can become emperor; who wins the emperor's heart can become a feudal lord; who wins the feudal lord's heart can only become a minister.'"

Shisui stood frozen, his eyes rolling as he desperately pondered the meaning of the words.

Sima Yi sighed upon seeing this, "If you win the villagers' hearts you can become Hokage; if you win the Hokage's heart you can become an aide; if you win the aide's heart you can only become a department head. Do you understand this explanation?"

Huh~ He understood that!

"The teacher's meaning is, if all Konoha villagers support me, I can become Hokage; if the Hokage supports me, I can become Hokage assistant; if the assistant supports me, I can become department head. Therefore I need to gain more people's support?"

Therefore I need to gain more people's support?

"Correct, winning people's hearts is the top strategy; this saying will be the foundation of all our future plans—you must always keep it in mind."

"But the Nara clan has always supported the Hokage; even if we show goodwill, they won't help us, right?"

"Hahaha, no, no," Sima Yi laughed, shaking his head, picked up a book and read to himself, without further explanation.

Seeing this, Shisui also had to give up questioning and resolved to think secretly on his own that night.

"The Mist ninja side is no longer a concern; then, are we to do nothing next?"

Upon hearing this, Sima Yi did not even lift his head, speaking lightly: "Monitor the reinforcements and the Mist ninja's movements; they won't come that quickly—just wait for the opportunity."

"I understand, Master."

Hearing that the reinforcements would not come soon, Shisui's heart sank involuntarily, lost in thought.

As expected, for three consecutive days, according to the scouting ninjas he had sent out, the reinforcements marched no more than sixty li per day, and even showed a tendency to slow down.

Know that the reinforcements were only a dozen squads, not a large-scale march; this speed is even less than half of a normal ninja's marching pace.

At this rate, the reinforcements will still need at least five days to arrive.

Meanwhile, the Mist ninja showed no letup, continuously attacking day and night for several days, though most were blocked by traps.

Gradually, the remaining Mist ninja also sensed something amiss; having lost their scouting ninjas, they often became overly passive, and began to gather around Qing for this reason.

By this time, the original over a hundred bloodstain ninjas had dwindled to fewer than fifty! (End of chapter)