029 Yun Yin’s Wariness

With a faint smile lingering at the corner of his lips, Orochimaru walked out of the Hokage building and paused at the entrance.

Beside him, Fugaku Uchiha wore a solemn expression, as if treading a tightrope over an abyss, not daring to relax for even a moment.

Another one who can't afford to lose... Orochimaru chuckled inwardly. Whether this war was won or lost made little difference to him; it was merely a matter of how much he gained. But to Fugaku, the Uchiha clan was nearly the entirety of his life's meaning, just as the title of Hokage was to the old man. In this conflict, he had wagered everything, so how could he not be anxious or uneasy?

Such a state of mind was not fit for the battlefield—it was rare, after all, to have an Uchiha clan leader so easily manipulated.

Orochimaru laid a hand on Fugaku's shoulder. "Clan Leader Fugaku, do you remember our previous agreement?"

Fugaku’s face darkened, and he nodded slightly.

How could he have forgotten? To thoroughly clear the Uchiha of any suspicion of rebellion, he had agreed to allow his clan to suffer heavy losses in this war, making it impossible for others to slander them further. In the long run, this would undoubtedly benefit the clan, but the thought of offering so many lives as a sacrifice had left him sleepless for days, tossing and turning, plagued by doubts about his decision.

Orochimaru saw the guilt in Fugaku's eyes and spoke gently. "As I said, I have no intention of directly harming the Uchiha. Such means are crude and obvious. This time, the Cloud Village is deploying the Raikage and two Jinchuriki, but I have already taught you how to limit their barrier techniques."

He patted Fugaku’s shoulder again. "Instead of tormenting yourself here, you should think about how to minimize casualties and gain more merit."

Fugaku seemed lost in thought, but Orochimaru had already stepped forward. He swept his gaze over the assembled ninja forces, who had long been waiting, and gave a chilling smile. "Move out!"

"Yes!"

With a flurry of wind, the area before the Hokage building was left empty in an instant.

...

Within the borders of the Leaf, a low, circular fortress lay hidden in the forest, its outer walls veiled by vines and branches.

Under ordinary circumstances, even if someone discovered it, they would probably dismiss it as an abandoned building. But the group of Cloud ninja who had come here clearly thought otherwise.

The Fourth Raikage spoke in a deep, heavy voice. "Yugito, destroy it."

From behind him, a woman with straight, tea-brown hair leapt forward, transforming mid-air into a nekomata wreathed in blue flames.

Boom!

There was no need for jutsu. Completely transformed into her tailed beast form, Yugito Nii used her massive body to smash down upon the fortress. The outer wall collapsed, earth and stone crumbling, bringing down trees and vines with them. In the blink of an eye, the small fortress was flattened, unable to resist in the slightest.

"This is the thirteenth one—half remain," the Fourth Raikage said, a trace of regret flashing in his eyes—rage directed at those dogged hoarders.

War among ninja was unlike small skirmishes between squads—hundreds of ninja required safe bases to rest and regroup. Thus, every village had constructed strongholds along its borders. The fortress before them was the kind Konoha would activate only during wartime, equipped with barrier and sealing techniques as part of its defenses. Destroying it now was easy, but if it had been fully activated and manned by defenders, it would have taken ten times the effort to bring down.

What truly angered the Raikage was just how many of these bases Konoha had built.

There were twenty-six just to guard against the Land of Lightning—and that didn’t even count the ones their spies hadn’t found.

Yet they had no choice but to dash about and destroy them. With the Uzumaki clan’s sealing and barrier techniques, Konoha’s outposts were absurdly sturdy.

If the Leaf ninja army, called to repel the Cloud’s sudden assault, could make use of these bases, they could deploy in perfect defensive formations. That would completely thwart the Cloud's battle plans.

"Hah..."

After leveling the fortress, Yugito Nii returned to normal, exhaling deeply.

A look of satisfaction came over the Raikage's rugged features. Yugito’s strength was undoubtedly inferior to his own, but when it came to mass destruction, there was nothing more suitable than a Jinchuriki who could fully transform into their tailed beast.

Seeing her face pale, the Raikage asked bluntly, "Yugito, how much longer can your body endure?"

"I can keep going," Yugito replied at once, understanding the strategic importance of destroying these shells. She straightened up. "Raikage-sama, Matatabi and I are of one heart—there’s no need to worry about me."

The Raikage, however, glanced around at the assembled Cloud ninja. "Rest for a moment."

When Yugito tried to insist, he added, "Our goal is not simply to destroy Konoha’s fortresses. You’ll be an indispensable force in the battles to come."

With that, Yugito could only seize the moment to recover her strength.

Suddenly, a Cloud ninja appeared and handed over a file. "Raikage-sama, this is intelligence from Konoha."

The Fourth Raikage took the report and quickly scanned it, his brows drawing together.

There were only two pieces of information, but some were crucial. For example, the Uchiha Police Force had been fully mobilized, and the Konoha army was being led by Orochimaru, one of the three Sannin.

This surprised the Raikage. During the Third Great Ninja War, Orochimaru had not commanded the army, but had instead joined the Foundation.

"These relics of a bygone age dare to take action again... Hmph." Despite his words, the Raikage did not dare to underestimate Orochimaru. He instructed the intelligence unit, "Tell Killer Bee to accelerate the sweep of Konoha’s forces in the Land of Hot Water. If those rats aren’t dealt with by nightfall, abandon the pursuit and regroup at the rendezvous."

"Yes!"

With the order given, the intelligence team promptly began relaying the message through their specialized summoning animals.

The Raikage gazed off into the distance, sighing. "Konoha’s foundation is truly enviable."

In the First Great Ninja War, Konoha alone had stood its ground against the four other villages. Even after the deaths of the second Hokage and the original founders, new legends had arisen—Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade, the three Sannin. During the Third War, Minato and the Nine-Tails’ Jinchuriki had both been formidable, almost unstoppable.

Now, even after the Nine-Tails incident—damage that would have taken years for any other village to recover from—Konoha had once again mustered a formidable army to resist the Cloud.

Given time to recover, who knew what kind of ninja Konoha might produce next?

The Raikage rumbled, "Yugito, recover quickly. We have a troublesome opponent and little time."

"Yes!" Yugito immediately rose. "Raikage-sama, we can depart now."

Even risking her own wellbeing, she wished to do her part for her village.

Weighing the trouble these outposts posed, the Raikage nodded. "Very well. We must uproot these fortresses as quickly as possible."