When Mokgetsu arrived at the meeting room, there were only two people inside: Commander Orochimaru and Deputy Commander Nara Shikaku.
"Since everyone is here, let's start the meeting." Orochimaru said once Mokgetsu sat down.
Mokgetsu immediately realized that this meeting was not simple.
In the past, Orochimaru would notify other key members in the Ninja Squad for even a small meeting, but this time it was just the three commanders.
"Just a little while ago, our intelligence personnel discovered a major base of the Hidden Mist." Orochimaru began the official content of the meeting.
"According to the intelligence, it can be basically confirmed that this base gathers the main forces of the Hidden Mist Ninja Squad."
After speaking, Orochimaru didn't continue, but instead looked at Nara Shikaku and Mokgetsu, giving them enough time to react and think.
Nara Shikaku showed a contemplative expression and then said, "Now the enemy is exposed while we are hidden. I think we can dispatch more ninjas to monitor the movements of the Hidden Mist and then probe them."
He roughly guessed Orochimaru's thought; Konoha currently has the advantage in combat power, and now they have also won in intelligence warfare. Orochimaru must be thinking of proactively initiating a big battle to annihilate the living forces of the Hidden Mist.
However, Nara Shikaku believes that a direct large-scale attack is somewhat inappropriate; the intelligence might be real, but that doesn't mean there are no traps inside.
Previously, Orochimaru wanted to use the intelligence gap to entrap the Hidden Mist into a big battle, but an encounter changed the battlefield situation, so the strategy had to be altered.
If reinforcements from the Hidden Mist Village arrive, they are very likely to adopt a similar lure tactic as Orochimaru.
"That's right, this might be the enemy's lure tactic. I think all the recently obtained intelligence must be carefully verified and confirmed, as reinforcements from the Land of Water might have been dispatched." Mokgetsu thought and said.
Because the commander is Orochimaru, Mokgetsu didn't say much, only hinted at it, as he felt Orochimaru was not someone who would rashly rush into things.
Orochimaru nodded. His thoughts were similar to Mokgetsu and Shikaku's; they could use this intelligence to test, but couldn't gamble that the other side genuinely lacked the capability to deal with a surprise attack.
After the three reached a consensus, the next step was the specific tactical arrangements: how to probe, choosing the probing team, and plans after probing—all these needed to be determined.
Mokgetsu didn't involve himself much in this part; most of the time, he was listening to Orochimaru and them.
Even though his strength has increased a lot, Mokgetsu was just an ordinary person a few years ago, expecting him to execute warfare practices is a bit demanding, but he can certainly talk theory.
After discussing the specific attack plan, Orochimaru immediately gathered ninjas from over thirty squads to form a probing team to carry out reconnaissance around the enemy's base.
Although it's a probing attack, the target is the enemy's main force, and if there are too few people, they might be easily overwhelmed.
In the ensuing time, Orochimaru, Nara Shikaku, and Mokgetsu didn't sleep; they needed to wait for the latest intelligence to decide the next combat plan.
However, for ninjas of their level, staying up for a day is nothing; ninjas have much more energy compared to ordinary people.
Unexpectedly, before the probing action yielded results, the ninja from the Hyuga Clan, responsible for surrounding vigilance, first delivered the news of the enemy's massive attack.
To prevent being ambushed, the surroundings of the Konoha Camp were under the watch of Hyuga ninjas taking shifts, ensuring the camp's safety.
"A large number of Hidden Mist ninjas are surging towards our camp, with numbers exceeding a thousand!" the vigilant ninja swiftly reported.
Orochimaru suddenly stood up, frowning; the development of events was somewhat beyond his expectations.
The Byakugan is very powerful and convenient, but it has weaknesses; compared to traditional Perception Ninjutsu, the range the Byakugan can see isn't large, even for a well-trained Jonin Hyuga, typically only around a range of three and a half kilometers.
For a squad, this range is enough to make many preparations, but for a thousand-level ninja squad battle, seeing it signifies extreme proximity between the sides, and there isn't much that can be done.
"Why have we suddenly fallen into such a large intelligence disadvantage?" Orochimaru pondered with some doubt.
He originally thought the Hidden Mist had received reinforcements and wanted to trap Konoha with a lure tactic, but he didn't expect the Hidden Mist had managed to uncover even their main base.
Although the camp's intelligence had been leaked once before, after changing the operation plan, Orochimaru quickly switched locations and even specifically dispatched a team to create two fake bases to confuse the view.
Logically, the Hidden Mist couldn't even find the fake ones, so how could they suddenly find the deeply hidden main base? It couldn't just be blind luck.
"Is it you two causing trouble behind the scenes again?" Mokgetsu immediately thought of Black Zetsu and Uchiha Madara.
The Hidden Mist might not have such strong intelligence capabilities, but Uchiha Madara and his group definitely do, as White Zetsu is the strongest intelligence ninja in the Ninja World.
Mokgetsu estimated that Uchiha Madara and Black Zetsu found him too troublesome and wanted to use the war to eliminate him.
Even if he doesn't die, if the Konoha Ninja Squad suffers heavy losses, the ensuing various impacts would also keep Mokgetsu busy, giving Uchiha Madara and his group more opportunities.
"It seems neither of us wants the other to have a peaceful night; prepare for battle." Orochimaru said as he walked out of the tent.
The distance from the Hidden Mist no longer permitted him to contemplate strategies against the enemy, and they could only rely on the hard strengths of the teams.
Mokgetsu and Nara Shikaku also followed him out.
The vigilant ninja immediately issued an emergency signal, and all the ninjas resting in the camp got up to prepare for battle.
"Wake up quickly, something big has happened." Kakashi was the first to wake up, then got up swiftly to wake the others.
"I want to create a world where everyone is a Jonin." Obito was lost in a beautiful dream.
"If you don't wake up, even Rin will become an Official Jonin." Kakashi thought and said.
Obito woke up with a start and immediately got up without asking much.
"Let's find Teacher Mokgetsu." Shisui said to the slightly panicked ninjas around him.
No matter what's happened, seeking Mokgetsu first would not be a bad idea.
The other disciples nodded in agreement one after another.
Just as Mokgetsu finished assembling the Fire Release Squad, he used his Byakugan to accurately locate Kakashi and the others, instructing them to join forces with the Fire Release Squad.
After drawing the Sunny Day, Mokgetsu conveyed the effect of the Ninjutsu to Orochimaru, stating it was a newly developed Fire Release Secret Technique.
Without hesitation, Orochimaru summoned eighty percent of the Fire Release Ninjas from the Ninja Squad to form a Fire Release Squad. Members of the Fire Release Squad usually perform tasks like ordinary ninjas within their teams, but during major battles, they must take orders from Mokgetsu and be under his command.
To maintain secrecy, only Mokgetsu, Orochimaru, and Nara Shikaku are aware of the Sunny Day's effect within the Ninja Squad.
Even members of the Fire Release Squad are unaware because Mokgetsu has yet to use it in their presence.
"Orochimaru, are you surprised? You thought your Intelligence Ninjas had triumphed? Actually, it's just an illusion we've given you," Karatachi Yagura sneered, batting away the incoming Kunai with his hooked iron rod.
Although this intelligence-level victory was unexpected even to him as the commander, it didn't prevent him from boasting slightly to undermine the morale of the Konoha Squad.
"Is that so? Have you considered the possibility that I might actually want a major battle even more than you do?" Orochimaru coldly retorted, unfazed.
Despite their current disadvantage, Orochimaru remained calm, knowing the decisive factor in war was the power of the Ninja Squad. With enough strength, no amount of scheming would matter.
Under Mokgetsu's Sunny Day weakening effect, even if the Hidden Mist Ninjas outnumbered them, they wouldn't be able to defeat the Konoha Ninjas. For Orochimaru, the presence of powerful individuals among the Hidden Mist concerned him more than their squad.
If the Hidden Mist possessed a Jinchuriki, it would pose a significant challenge.
Whiss!
Karatachi Yagura suddenly leaped forward, appearing beside Orochimaru to swing his iron rod down at Orochimaru.
Orochimaru raised his right hand expressionlessly, and a massive snake suddenly emerged from his sleeve, blocking the iron rod.
Seeing this, Nara Shikaku immediately formed seals, using his Shadow Secret Techniques to control shadows and attack Karatachi Yagura.
"Water Release: Water Cannon Jutsu!"
Hozuki Zangetsu couldn't possibly allow Nara Shikaku's attack to succeed. He formed his hand into a gun shape, aimed at Nara Shikaku's head, and unleashed the Hozuki Clan's Secret Technique.
Water droplets like bullets shot from Hozuki Zangetsu's hand, rapidly streaking toward Nara Shikaku.
The Water Cannon was fast and didn't require forming seals, so Nara Shikaku narrowly avoided being hit even after abandoning his Shadow Secret Techniques, thanks to the timely support from Akimichi Chouza.
"Hidden Shadow Multi-Snake Hand!"
The next moment, more snakes swiftly slithered from Orochimaru's left sleeve, surging toward Karatachi Yagura.
Without haste, Karatachi Yagura conjured a water rope, swinging it to knock all the attacking snakes down.
At this moment, the Konoha Ninja Squad and the Hidden Mist Ninja Squad were locked in combat, with both elite ninjas and Genin engaged in battle.
However, the mood among the Konoha Ninjas was gloomy due to another ambush, compounded by their outnumbered status, which made them pessimistic about the ultimate outcome, even though the battle had just begun.
"So many enemies, Rin, you must be extra cautious," Obito said worriedly while fighting.
Bang!
Nohara Rin gathered chakra and unleashed a Bursting Fist, causing a Hidden Mist Ninja before her to explode into a spray of blood. While indeed weaker than Obito, compared to ordinary individuals, Nohara Rin was a prodigy, an extraordinarily rare Special Jonin at the age of ten.
"Obito, you too," Nohara Rin gently responded.
Obito swallowed nervously, devoting ninety percent of his attention to the battle, while keeping the remaining ten percent focused on Nohara Rin's condition.
"Could this battle be the one?" Watching the chaotic battlefield under the night sky, Shisui couldn't help but worry for Mokgetsu.
With Mokgetsu mastering the Flying Thunder God, he could retreat at any time, but Shisui knew Mokgetsu would never abandon his companions.
Just then, a dazzling light pierced the darkness, descending upon the battlefield. It rapidly brightened and ascended, illuminating the entire battlefield like a blazing sun, transforming the scene from night into daylight.
All the ninjas on the battlefield displayed bewildered expressions, whether Hidden Mist or Konoha Ninjas.
Even the battle-hardened Karatachi Yagura felt bewildered, having never encountered such a phenomenon in his decades-long life.
He knew of Ninjutsu capable of causing rain, but had never heard of a Ninjutsu that could create a miniature sun to illuminate the battlefield.
"What's happening? Why did it suddenly become bright as day?"
"I think it's Mokgetsu's Ninjutsu."
Ninjas near Mokgetsu recalled the orb of light he had previously conjured.
"No, my Water Release has weakened!" A Hidden Mist Ninja exclaimed after noticing a decline in their Water Release's power.
Ninjas understand the effect their Ninjutsu can have—it's not a mistake even a Genin would make.
"Huh, my Fire Release suddenly became stronger."
Conversely, a Konoha Ninja using Fire Release noticed an inexplicable increase in their technique's power, despite no change in their chakra or recent improvement in nature transformation.
PS: Exhausted from moving, but it's finally over today. I'll try to write more in the next few days.