Naruto: Promotion is my Ninja Way

Nara Shikaku actually disagreed with the battle strategy that Shihouin Naraku had devised!

According to Shikaku's preferred approach, they should fight conventionally at first—engaging Kumogakure's forces in standard battlefield tactics, then systematically blocking their advance within the Land of Hot Water, and finally gathering the majority of their forces to decisively defeat the enemy.

This traditional method was tactically sound, and with Konohagakure's superior strength and resources, they could certainly achieve victory through such an approach.

However, the critical problem with this strategy was that it would take far too much time to execute properly.

Shihouin Naraku had no intention of spending months or even weeks on what he considered a relatively minor conflict. Such a prolonged engagement would be both meaningless and completely unnecessary given the current political situation.

That was precisely why Shihouin Naraku had formulated his current, much more aggressive strategy. He planned to use himself as bait, deliberately attracting Kumogakure forces to launch a desperate raid against his headquarters. Once they committed to this assault, he would crush their raiding teams completely, then use the majority of his forces to create an overwhelming sweeping momentum that would eliminate Kumogakure's presence entirely.

He had decided to implement this dangerous plan himself—after all, who else would have the courage to use their own supreme commander as live bait in such a risky gambit?

Even as Nara Shikaku led his large force toward the supposed location of Konoha's headquarters, the positions occupied by Konoha shinobi throughout the Land of Hot Water had already begun quietly repositioning themselves according to the predetermined plan.

Hyūga clan ninja activated their Byakugan, keeping careful watch over Kumogakure's troop movements with their enhanced vision.

Members of the Aburame clan released countless insects into the surrounding area, gathering crucial intelligence through their silent, nearly undetectable reconnaissance network.

Meanwhile, other ninja teams seized this opportunity to set up an elaborate network of poison gas traps, explosive tags, concealed weapons, and various other deadly defensive measures.

Kumogakure had secretly assembled a substantial force, waiting for their assault team to successfully attack Konoha's headquarters and field hospital before launching their own massive counteroffensive.

On the surface, it appeared that Konoha shinobi held the numerical advantage, but once the real battle began, Kumogakure would reveal their superior numbers.

Additionally, Konoha shinobi—whose morale would presumably be shattered by the surprise attack on their rear command structure—would find it extremely difficult to mount an effective defense against Kumogakure's coordinated assault.

However, both ninja forces had developed their own carefully crafted plans, and now it remained to be seen which side would ultimately emerge victorious.

Inside the headquarters building, Shihouin Naraku observed as members of the Yamanaka clan worked diligently for an extended period, carefully arranging several specialized puppets throughout the command center before finally departing.

Shihouin Naraku found himself genuinely curious about how these remarkable puppets had been constructed. While he didn't understand the specific technical details of their creation, he fully understood their intended function: disrupting enemy perception techniques.

Simply put, even when the command center was completely empty of personnel, these ingenious puppets would make it appear to any sensory ninja that there were people actively moving around inside the building!

Using puppets to deceive and mislead sensing ninja—it was truly an impressive technique!

"It's almost like magic..." Shihouin Naraku mused to himself.

He remembered that Yamanaka Fū, who had served as one of Shimura Danzō's personal guards before being reduced to ashes by Naraku's own jutsu, had also employed similar puppet techniques. However, Fū's version could actually seal an enemy's soul directly into the puppet itself.

"Every renowned ninja clan in the shinobi world has developed their own secret weapons and specialized techniques," Naraku reflected with appreciation.

After taking one final glance at the cleverly designed puppets, Shihouin Naraku walked out of the command center.

It wasn't that he particularly wanted to leave the building, but rather because within a hundred-meter radius around the command center, his forces had buried an enormous quantity of explosive traps, poisonous smoke bombs, detonating tags, hidden weapons, and other terrifyingly lethal devices.

Although Naraku himself wasn't afraid of these defensive measures, he still felt somewhat uncomfortable knowing he was completely surrounded by such dangerous implements of destruction.

These elaborate traps were, of course, specially prepared gifts for Kumogakure's incoming raiding party!

"Lord Naraku!" As soon as Shihouin Naraku stepped outside the building, Mitarashi Anko approached him with urgent purpose. Under normal circumstances, the two of them maintained a friendly, casual relationship, but this was an active battlefield, so Anko addressed him with complete military formality.

"What's the status at the hospital?" Naraku inquired immediately.

"All medical ninja and wounded personnel from the field hospital have been successfully evacuated to a secure location! The ninja assigned to protect them are already in position and ready!" Mitarashi Anko continued her report efficiently. "The trap network around the field hospital has been fully deployed and activated! The large force under Lord Nara Shikaku's command has departed as scheduled, and they're also sending additional ninja to the secure location where our medical staff and wounded are being kept to provide extra protection."

"Excellent work." Shihouin Naraku nodded with satisfaction. "You will proceed to the field hospital immediately and establish a defensive position there. If you encounter any enemy attack, send up a signal flare without delay!"

"Yes, sir!" Mitarashi Anko acknowledged the order and departed as quickly as she had arrived.

Shihouin Naraku remained standing in place, observing his surroundings. At this moment, more than a dozen ninja appeared to be working busily around the command center. While their activity seemed completely normal to any outside observer, in reality, every single one of them was actually one of Naraku's shadow clones, placed there purely to maintain the illusion of normal operations and confuse any enemy scouts.

"Sir!" Morino Ibiki suddenly appeared, dropping to one knee as he delivered his urgent report. "Kumogakure's raiding force has crossed our border! They're heading directly toward the headquarters!"

"Based on their current movement speed, the enemy assault team will definitely arrive within ten minutes!"

"All units, withdraw to predetermined positions!" Naraku commanded.

"Yes, sir!"

The crescent moon hung high in the night sky, and the evening air seemed filled with a thin, concealing mist.

The Kumogakure assault force, having just crossed into the Land of Fire's territory, used their sensory ninja's abilities to carefully avoid Konoha's scattered guard posts as they approached the enemy headquarters at maximum speed.

Darui's hand moved to lightly grasp the hilt of his sword, which was secured across his back. Even while maintaining their rapid advance, he kept his eyes vigilantly scanning the surrounding environment for any signs of danger or ambush.

The assault force had enjoyed a remarkably smooth journey. The only exception had occurred when they were crossing the border into the Land of Fire—they had been discovered by a small Konoha patrol unit. However, the enemy force was far too small to pose any real threat, and Darui hadn't even needed to draw his weapon before his subordinates easily eliminated the entire patrol.

Although being discovered by the enemy could have been problematic, Darui actually felt relieved by the encounter. The significant reduction in Konoha's border security forces confirmed the intelligence reports indicating that large numbers of ninja had been deployed to the front lines. This meant they had not been deceived by enemy misinformation.

This was extremely encouraging news for their mission!

Darui's figure moved swiftly through a dense section of forest, and he immediately noticed the ninja leading their advance making a silent hand signal. Darui quickly relayed the same gesture to the forces following behind him.

They had arrived at their target!

The ten-man Kumogakure assault team came to a complete stop, standing silently among the tree branches. Their figures were perfectly concealed by the thick foliage and deep shadows.

Darui squinted as he studied the brightly illuminated building in the distance—that was the location of Konoha's front-line headquarters.

Shihouin Naraku was supposedly inside that very building!

By this time, news of Naraku's incredible achievements—including his destruction of numerous Sunagakure ninja and his confrontation with Orochimaru—had spread throughout the entire shinobi world.

While most people understood that certain medical ninja could indeed be exceptionally powerful fighters (Tsunade being the most obvious example), the problem was that the combat record attributed to Shihouin Naraku during the Konoha Crush operation seemed absolutely impossible to believe.

According to the reports, he had fought single-handedly against more than one hundred elite Sunagakure ninja. Even if jōnin had comprised only a small minority of that force, such a feat was still completely ridiculous.

The people of Kumogakure simply didn't believe these claims. They reasoned that not everyone could be like the legendary Third Raikage—and even the Third Raikage had eventually died under enemy siege tactics.

Even if Shihouin Naraku hadn't been fighting against ten thousand opponents but merely a few hundred, Kumogakure's ninja would still scoff at such exaggerated claims.

As for the reports about Naraku killing Orochimaru, Kumogakure was well aware that the legendary Sannin possessed some form of immortality technique. Since Orochimaru clearly hadn't actually died, how could Shihouin Naraku have killed him?

What exactly was this supposed immortality? Did such techniques even exist?

Therefore, many people remained highly skeptical about both the battle records and the reported strength of Shihouin Naraku that had emerged from Konohagakure.

Sunagakure knew the truth, of course, but they had been so thoroughly defeated by Konoha—and still had prisoners and their jinchūriki held captive in Konoha's custody—that they remained completely silent, desperately trying to preserve what little remained of their reputation. It was impossible for them to speak publicly about these matters.

Except for a small number of people who reluctantly accepted the reports as factual, most ninja suspected that Shihouin Naraku's alleged accomplishments were simply false propaganda released by Konohagakure. With the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen dead, Konoha urgently needed to promote a powerful new figure to maintain their deterrent reputation.

Darui didn't particularly care whether these reports were true or false—Shihouin Naraku would definitely die on the battlefield tonight.

The truth or falsehood of his reputation would become completely irrelevant!

Attack!

Darui gave the signal, and all ten members of the Kumogakure strike team immediately burst forward from their concealed positions.

"Kill them all!" Darui shouted as they charged.

The Konoha shinobi who had been working busily around the headquarters building looked up at the Kumogakure forces rushing out of the forest with apparent shock and surprise, freezing in place as if paralyzed by fear.

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