Chapter 398 – Planning the Offensive
Leaving Orochimaru alive—and positioning him as an external piece on Konoha's chessboard—
No matter how one looked at it, it was the most cost-effective decision.
Of course, Orochimaru himself was no ordinary piece.
Very few people in the shinobi world possessed the deterrence necessary to keep him in check.
Which meant Konoha required someone who truly could restrain him.
And that person—
Was Uchiha Kei.
In terms of strength, Kei was in no way inferior to Orochimaru. If anything, he might very well surpass him.
As for tactics and calculation, Kei had proven time and again that he was no less capable.
In fact, after the Fourth Great Ninja War in the original timeline, Konoha's approach toward Orochimaru had been largely similar.
Officially, Yamato had been assigned to monitor him.
Unofficially, the true deterrent had been Uchiha Sasuke.
Sasuke might not have stayed beside Orochimaru constantly. He often wandered alone for extended periods.
But his sheer presence—his understanding of Orochimaru, his overwhelming combat ability, and the hardened temperament forged after being dragged back from darkness—
He had been the perfect counterbalance.
Not to mention, Sasuke had once killed Orochimaru outright.
Though "killed" was a loose term.
When everyone believed Orochimaru dead, he would simply crawl back from the shadows.
Again.
And again.
If survival instinct were measured as a shinobi art, Orochimaru might very well stand unmatched in the entire ninja world.
Even if he became one of the so-called "zero magic resistance" targets in some scenarios, he always found a way to rise again and disgust his enemies.
Which, frankly, was infuriating.
---
For now, Orochimaru's matter was settled.
Minato soon shared another piece of news—this one from the frontlines.
Kei hadn't guessed wrong.
Something significant had happened.
Uchiha Fugaku had delivered a brilliant performance.
First, he eliminated a Kumogakure unit attempting to raid their encampment.
Then, during a probing assault personally led by the Raikage—
He took the Raikage's right arm.
Kei blinked in genuine surprise.
"Has history just been pushed forward?"
He had known Fugaku could handle the Raikage.
But he hadn't expected him to make the Fourth Raikage lose his arm more than a decade ahead of schedule.
Father and son, indeed.
In the original timeline, Sasuke hadn't possessed eyes as powerful as Fugaku's current ones during the Five Kage Summit.
Yet he still forced the Raikage to sever his own arm.
Now, with Fugaku wielding Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan—
Achieving the same outcome was hardly shocking.
After all, both wielded Amaterasu.
All it took was proper timing.
If the Raikage launched consecutive high-speed assaults and Amaterasu was layered across Susanoo—
Avoiding injury would be nearly impossible.
And the Raikage's personality only worsened the matter.
At the critical moment—when faced with the choice between advancing or retreating—
He would always step forward.
Bold.
Aggressive.
And dangerously exploitable.
"It seems Fugaku has completely stabilized the front," Kei murmured while scanning the report. "And boosted morale significantly."
He then glanced up.
"What about the Third Hokage? If I recall correctly, he's handling diversionary operations and supply disruption?"
"Yes."
Minato nodded and unrolled a map.
"He has already entered the Land of Hot Water. His movements are highly confidential. Aside from me, Shikaku, and now you—no one knows his location."
Kei let out a soft sigh.
"Perhaps I shouldn't have asked. Next time, you should warn me if it's that classified."
Minato smiled faintly.
"If I can't trust you, then who can I trust?"
He tapped the map.
"They're searching for Kumogakure's supply lines. After what happened in the past, no one facing Konoha would dare ignore logistics."
That much was true.
Konoha's ability to sever supply lines was arguably the most formidable in the shinobi world.
The Third Great Ninja War had not ended solely due to politics and exhaustion.
A decisive factor had been Konoha cutting off Iwagakure's supply routes.
Thousands of Iwa shinobi in the Land of Grass were left stranded—isolated, without provisions, and without retreat.
Add to that Iwa's overuse of human-wave tactics that ultimately cost the Third Raikage his life—
Kumogakure withdrew to retaliate against Iwa.
Iwagakure, fearing invasion of its homeland, sought ceasefire.
It was a domino collapse.
And the trigger had been logistics.
No village wanted to be the next victim of Konoha's surgical strikes.
Least of all Kumogakure.
"Looks like the Third Hokage has his work cut out for him," Kei said with a faint smile.
"Not only must he conceal his movements, but he must constantly verify and confirm supply routes. That's no small burden."
Minato sighed softly.
"True. But I have no choice but to trust him."
He folded his hands.
"Our available manpower is limited. Ideally, I would have sent Shikaku. But his father is aging—he can't operate like during the last war. And Shikaku's strategic oversight here in the rear is just as critical."
Kei nodded.
"If Shikaku could be on the battlefield, it would certainly help. But under the current circumstances… that's unrealistic."
Just as Minato had said, Shikaku's father was already old.
He had essentially begun stepping down completely from active duty.
Moreover, he had been away from the Administration Department for some time. Even if he returned now, it would be impossible for him to perform at the level Shikaku currently maintained.
Of course, there were also issues of trust and internal balance.
But the Administration Department was simply too critical.
Shikaku could not leave.
Technically, the Third Hokage could return as acting head of administration.
But after finally easing him out of those key domains, no one was willing to take that risk again.
Even if Minato personally agreed, the people who followed him might not.
So sending the still-capable Third Hokage—who had commanded during both the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars—to the battlefield became the inevitable choice.
"Still," Kei said calmly, "the Third Hokage shouldn't have any problems. He's as calculating as ever. By the way… when do I head to the front?"
"Not yet," Minato replied with a smile. "When we're preparing to end this war."
He paused slightly.
"For now, I think it's about time we begin making certain adjustments."
Kei nodded slowly.
"Agreed. We should begin preparations. A few months from now, Konoha won't be peaceful anymore…"
---
While the two discussed strategic matters, the situation at the frontlines grew increasingly tense.
But it remained within controllable limits.
After Uchiha Fugaku's "brilliant performance," the Fourth Raikage's injury and forced withdrawal had dramatically boosted Konoha's morale—while making Kumogakure far more cautious.
The war did not stop.
But it scaled back.
Large-scale clashes gave way to dense, frequent skirmishes between smaller squads.
Around the borders of the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Water, conflicts erupted almost daily.
Both sides focused on reconnaissance—ensuring no enemy forces had infiltrated too deeply—while protecting their own strongholds.
At the same time, each attempted to nibble away at the other's territory through incremental engagements, pushing forward whenever opportunities arose.
This pattern continued for a full month.
That did not mean larger clashes never occurred.
On one occasion, both sides fought fiercely over a strategically valuable region.
Even with restraint, nearly a thousand shinobi took part.
A battle of that scale—its devastation was inevitable.
In the end, neither side gained advantage.
The terrain itself was warped by overlapping ninjutsu, permanently altering its geography and stripping it of strategic value.
Both sides abandoned it.
Notably, during that clash neither Fugaku nor the Raikage personally intervened.
An unspoken balance had formed.
Still, Fugaku allowed himself no complacency.
Outmaneuvering the Raikage once meant little.
The man had not lost his combat ability.
And the Eight-Tails jinchūriki had yet to appear.
Yes, the Third Hokage operated on the flank.
But without direct confrontation, no one could truly gauge the balance of power.
---
Kumogakure Frontline Camp
"Damn Konoha!"
The Fourth Raikage slammed his fist onto a table, shattering it into splinters.
The Kumogakure commanders around him remained silent.
They all knew the immense pressure weighing on him.
The war had stalled.
Dragged into a mire.
That was never his intention.
An entire month had passed.
Only two large-scale battles had occurred.
One of them—his own surprise assault—had failed.
This was far from their expectations.
Village elders remained cautiously optimistic.
Frontline shinobi still believed in their superiority.
But stagnation gnawed at them.
Worse still—
The Third Hokage's force had vanished.
Two thousand men.
And yet they had seemingly disappeared.
Intel confirmed their size.
But two thousand shinobi hiding on their flank—or worse, behind them—
How could Kumogakure act recklessly?
What if they launched a major offensive, only for that hidden force to emerge at their rear?
They had considered sending a similar infiltration force into the Land of Fire.
But Konoha possessed the Hyūga clan.
Different configurations meant different realities.
And with the Third Hokage personally leading—
No one dared underestimate him, even at nearly sixty years old.
After a long silence, the Raikage asked:
"When will reinforcements arrive?"
"In about one week, Raikage-sama," a shinobi replied quickly.
"Good. Send word. When they arrive, they are not to join the main force. Scatter them through our rear territories. Sweep and search."
He folded his arms.
"We maintain numerical superiority on the front. Increase search pressure. The current search force is insufficient."
"Yes, Raikage-sama."
Until now, only limited manpower had been assigned to locate the Third Hokage.
Maintaining frontline dominance had priority.
But adding another thousand men to the search—
Even the Third Hokage could not simply vanish.
Konoha relied on superior reconnaissance.
If configuration failed—
Overwhelm with numbers.
The Raikage's logic was simple.
For a fleeting moment, another thought surfaced.
Should they attempt to acquire Byakugan eyes—like Kirigakure once had?
He dismissed it immediately.
Unrealistic.
"Any news from Dodai?" he asked suddenly. "He hasn't reported in a month. What about our 'shadow' inside Konoha?"
The shinobi hesitated.
"…No news yet. Perhaps Dodai-sama is maintaining radio silence."
Radio silence?
Veins bulged across the Raikage's forehead.
A month of silence was not reassuring.
Unless—
He refused to finish that thought.
Dodai had always been cautious.
While not an infiltration specialist, his abilities should have allowed him to evade detection.
But a month without contact?
Even optimism had limits.
Regret crept in.
Why had he agreed to let Dodai take that mission?
The man had prepared thoroughly.
Studied routes.
Memorized entry maps.
Reviewed intelligence exhaustively.
But no preparation could eliminate unforeseen variables.
And now—
Something had clearly gone wrong.
---
"Brother."
Killer B suddenly spoke.
"Why don't we team up?"
The Raikage frowned.
"No. If we move together and the Third Hokage strikes our camp—"
"I mean you attack head-on, I support from the side, fool," B rapped casually.
"If we meet the Third Hokage, I'll handle him. If not, we strike Konoha's camp instead, idiot."
The Raikage narrowed his eyes.
He considered it carefully.
At first, he shook his head.
Then—
He slowly nodded.
The war was entering its next phase.
Stalemate would not last forever.
And somewhere beyond the visible battlefield—
Other plans were already moving into place.