Chapter 570: The Hope of the Ninja World
"Iwakura sama, our Anbu has obtained the latest crucial intelligence on the Konoha ninja force!"
An Iwagakure jonin rushed into Iwakura's tent, his face full of excitement as he delivered the report.
"Crucial intelligence?" Iwakura, who had only just fallen asleep, sat up at once.
Any intelligence classified as crucial usually had a major impact on the battlefield. The last time Iwagakure achieved a surprise victory, it was precisely because they had learned the location and deployment of Konoha's main force.
"That's right. Not only did we receive news about Konoha's reinforcements, but we also obtained Konoha's upcoming battle plan," the Iwagakure jonin said eagerly.
With this intelligence in hand, he felt as if an unprecedented victory was already within reach.
"Bring it here. Let me see it at once." Iwakura's curiosity was fully stirred.
Because Retsuishi had been severely wounded and sent to the rear for emergency treatment, Iwakura was now acting commander of the Iwa ninja force.
Of course, he was only acting commander for the moment. Once Retsuishi recovered and returned to the battlefield, Iwakura would have to hand authority back to him.
Taking the intelligence scroll, Iwakura quickly unrolled it and began reading.
"The Konoha reinforcement vanguard, led by Mugetsu, has already joined up with Konoha's Land of Grass force. Konoha's reinforcement force totals one thousand ninja. Aside from the elite vanguard that arrived first, there are still nine hundred and fifty ninja advancing toward the Land of Grass…"
The more Iwakura read, the brighter his eyes became.
After reading the intelligence carefully from beginning to end, he nearly wanted to throw back his head and laugh.
This was a heaven sent opportunity.
Just when his superior, Retsuishi, had left the battlefield, this critical intelligence on Konoha's movements had fallen right into his hands.
"Even if we only eliminate a thousand ninja, it will still be a great victory worth celebrating." A smile spread across Iwakura's face.
Jiraiya's remaining troops and Konoha's reinforcements together should number at least sixteen hundred. If he could destroy even two thirds of that, it would be a victory large enough to be announced throughout all of Iwagakure.
And with such outstanding performance, the word "acting" in front of his title as commander would naturally disappear.
Once that happened, he could continue leading the two thousand strong Iwa ninja force on the battlefield and earn even more merit.
If things went well enough, his standing in Iwagakure might even surpass Retsuishi's, and he might become a candidate for the position of Fourth Tsuchikage.
At that thought, Iwakura could no longer suppress the upward curve of his lips.
The Tsuchikage was one of the Five Kage, truly a figure standing at the peak of the ninja world, someone no one could ignore.
"Gather all the jonin in the force. We're holding a combat meeting immediately!" Iwakura ordered the Iwagakure ninja who had brought the report.
If it had been Retsuishi, he might have simply issued direct orders. But Iwakura's prestige in the Iwa ninja force was not as strong, so he needed the meeting first to gain everyone's support.
Although it was still sleeping time, ninja were specially trained to sleep lightly. Some Iwagakure jonin did not even need to be called. The moment they heard the commotion outside, they woke on their own.
Inside the dedicated meeting tent, once all the Iwagakure jonin had gathered, Iwakura began the discussion.
He first had one of the Iwagakure ninja read out the full contents of the intelligence, then spoke.
"Everyone, what are your thoughts?"
"Prepare for battle! With intelligence like this in hand, we should strike while the iron is hot and wipe out the entire Konoha ninja force!" Jonin Hikari said at once.
They had even gotten this deep into Konoha's plans. It would be a huge waste not to act now.
"Of course we attack," the other Iwagakure jonin agreed one after another.
Iwakura nodded inwardly. Just as he had expected, once such vital intelligence had been secured, no one would choose to back down.
"My thoughts are the same as yours. Not only must we attack, but we must use this opportunity to completely smash Konoha's defense line in the Land of Grass and push into the Land of Fire itself," Iwakura said with a smile.
His status in Iwagakure was not low, so he understood very well that the village leadership generally favored a more conservative and low profile approach.
Invading the Land of Fire proper was certainly not low profile. However, this major battle had been explicitly approved by the Iwagakure high command, allowing them to fight as they saw fit. That meant Iwakura could pursue merit without hesitation.
"Still, even once their reinforcements arrive, we will retain the numerical advantage. Even so, it would be best to defeat them in separate groups."
"We must first destroy Konoha's Land of Grass force before their main reinforcement army arrives. After that, we'll eliminate the reinforcements as well."
With that, Iwakura began laying out his offensive plan.
The intelligence they had received included a detailed route and rendezvous plan for the Konoha Land of Grass force and the incoming reinforcements.
Most of the Iwagakure ninja approved of Iwakura's plan, so the meeting quickly shifted into refining it and filling in any gaps.
One Iwagakure ninja even proposed a bold idea, suggesting they gather the force immediately and launch a surprise attack against the Konoha ninja force without delay.
However, that suggestion was rejected.
Intelligence transmission took time. Travel also took time. More importantly, the intelligence clearly stated that the Konoha ninja force planned to sleep early tonight and wake before dawn to move.
If they departed right away, there was a high chance the trip would be wasted. Worse, they might expose their own intentions. And if the Konoha force sensed danger and changed their plans in response, it would all be for nothing.
"This is the second temporary rest point they plan to use." Iwakura pointed to a deep forest with a small river on the map.
"Their plan is to wander during the day, then only stop at a designated rest point at night for a brief break before moving again. The purpose is to confuse our tracking."
"In that case, we'll use their own plan against them. We'll march there immediately, lie in ambush, and wait. Whether they arrive early or right on time, they'll walk straight into us fully prepared."
The reason Iwakura had believed the intelligence was genuine internal Konoha information the moment he saw it was simple.
On one hand, he trusted his own intelligence personnel, especially after their recent major success.
On the other hand, the contents themselves looked authentic. The intelligence not only described how Konoha planned to handle the spy problem, but also included false leads meant to deceive the Iwa ninja force. No matter how he looked at it, it resembled genuine internal intelligence.
What Iwakura could never have imagined was that Mugetsu and Jiraiya, just to fool them, had deceived an entire group of Konoha jonin into attending a fake meeting.
Because the intelligence was so detailed, the combat meeting itself actually left little room for broad discussion. The specific battle plan was decided very quickly.
"You never really know your own strength until a real fight begins. I never would have thought our Iwagakure intelligence department had grown so much stronger than Konoha's," one Iwagakure jonin said with a relaxed smile.
Anyone with the slightest self awareness knew who had truly been carrying the battlefield lately. Had Konoha been defeated because their force was weaker in direct combat?
Of course not.
It was because Iwagakure had completely crushed them in the intelligence war.
If one had to compare it to a game, then when the Iwa ninja force fought Jiraiya's troops, they were not only using a wall hack that revealed enemy positions, they were practically connected to Jiraiya's voice chat as well. They could hear him, but he could not hear them.
The Iwagakure jonin all smiled.
Recently, they had truly vented all the frustration they had been bottling up. They had been fighting very comfortably.
Once the meeting ended, Iwakura assembled the Iwa ninja force and led them in a rapid march toward the designated location.
Although it was only around one in the deep night, not a single ninja dragged their feet. They quickly prepared themselves and silently followed the main force.
"After this battle, the entire ninja world will remember my name." Looking up at the dark sky, lit only by faint starlight, Iwakura felt a surge of triumph.
If everything unfolded as he envisioned, this battle would become Konoha's most painful defeat in recent years.
As the black of night gradually faded into a dim dawn, the Iwa ninja force approached the second resting point mentioned in the intelligence.
Even though the intelligence stated clearly that this was where the Konoha ninja force planned to rest tonight, Iwakura did not let his guard down. He immediately ordered the sensory ninja in the force to activate their techniques and scout the area ahead.
"Iwakura sama, there are no chakra signatures from any ninja!" the sensory ninja reported after completing their hand seals and opening their eyes.
"Continue forward!" Iwakura said with a smile and a nod.
Everything so far had only further confirmed the authenticity of the intelligence. Victory felt closer and closer.
Looking at the tall trees deep within the forest, Iwakura felt more and more pleased.
It was as though every one of those trees was a Konoha ninja waiting for him to cut down tonight.
"No wonder it's only a temporary rest point. Other than being somewhat concealed, the terrain here is easy to attack and difficult to defend," Iwakura thought after examining the surroundings.
Even so, the terrain still made him a little uneasy. So he quickly organized patrol teams to scout the perimeter.
Iwagakure did not have as many sensory ninja as Konoha, and their limited sensory personnel could not continuously maintain detection techniques. That made conventional patrols by regular ninja especially important.
After a while, when those patrols confirmed that everything remained peaceful, the Iwa ninja force finally relaxed completely.
"Our intelligence department is incredible. It's this precise," one Iwagakure ninja exclaimed.
If every battle came with intelligence like this, then even against a force one and a half times their size, they would still have a good chance of winning.
Immediately afterward, Iwakura began arranging the ninja into shifts so they could rest.
They had not slept well and had marched through the entire night, so the condition of the Iwa ninja force was generally poor. They badly needed sleep.
Still, to avoid accidents, Iwakura could not allow everyone to sleep at once. Some had to take the opportunity to recover, while others remained on guard and set traps around the area.
Once all of that had been arranged, Iwakura also prepared to catch up on some sleep.
Ordinary Iwagakure ninja only had to fight. But as commander, he had far more to think about and far more to do. If anything, he needed sleep even more than they did.
Boom!!!
An incredibly violent explosion suddenly shook the forest, and the vivid fiery red flash it produced was blinding against the pale dawn.
Iwakura, who had only just lain down, instantly lost every trace of drowsiness. He snapped his eyes open and leaped to his feet.
Boom!
As though triggering a chain reaction, another explosion erupted almost immediately after, and another burst of crimson light lit up the area, swallowing the surrounding Iwagakure ninja.
"Damn it, we fell for it!" Iwakura's face turned utterly grim.
Even though he still could not understand exactly how the Konoha ninja had done it, the explosion just now had clearly come from paper bomb traps.
The intelligence had been fake.
The Konoha ninja had arrived here first and already prepared the battlefield.