Hikaru was fast.
Even without using the Flying Thunder God Technique, his speed was still absurd.
In only a moment, he arrived outside the stronghold. At the same time, he opened his Jōgan.
Blue radiance flickered rapidly in his eyes, and in an instant, he had already determined how many Kumo ninja were present.
One hundred and ten. Quite a lot managed to infiltrate.
Hikaru thought silently as the chakra inside his body began to surge.
In the next instant, countless tree seeds spread outward with him as the center, covering a radius of at least five hundred meters.
Those seeds sank deep underground, and each one carried Hikaru's Flying Thunder God mark.
In other words, within a circular range of one kilometer, this entire area had become Hikaru's Flying Thunder God space.
Hikaru adjusted his breathing slightly.
The next moment, his figure flashed.
When he appeared again, he was already beside a Kumo ninja.
The Kumo ninja were frantically bombarding the stronghold with ninjutsu. Hikaru appeared without warning, and none of them reacted at all.
Until…
Pfft!
The sound of metal slicing through flesh rang out across the area.
There was not even a scream.
One Kumo ninja was beheaded on the spot.
Hikaru did not stop for even an instant. The Flying Thunder God Technique activated again.
The blood from the first man had not even finished scattering through the air before Hikaru appeared behind the second.
His ninja blade swept out.
Fresh blood sprayed once more.
Then, without the slightest hesitation, Hikaru moved toward the third target. Then the fourth.
As his strength grew, his chakra became more abundant, and his mastery of the Flying Thunder God Technique became increasingly refined.
Even though his sealing techniques were only at an average level, he could still bring the Flying Thunder God Technique to a terrifying degree.
"Enemy attack!"
Finally, after Hikaru killed nearly ten ninja in less than a second, someone reacted.
Unfortunately, before that person could assume any defensive posture, Hikaru's blade had already cut across his artery.
Blood gushed from his neck. He instinctively clutched the wound, his mouth opening and closing as if he wanted to say something.
But at that moment, he could not make a sound.
Still, his warning drew the attention of the other Kumo ninja.
These Kumo ninja were clearly elites. They immediately stopped attacking the stronghold and formed groups of three or four as quickly as possible, standing back-to-back in tight circles.
When they could not determine how the enemy had appeared or how he attacked, the best option was to assume a defensive formation as quickly as possible.
What they did not know was that Hikaru had only stopped attacking because of his own considerations.
Otherwise, all of them would already be dead.
"Who are you?"
The leading Kumo ninja shouted.
He could now clearly see that standing before him was a silver-haired youth.
The youth wore Konoha's uniform and had a Konoha forehead protector tied around his head. Yet the Kumo ninja had almost no impression of him.
During the regrouping, he had already swept his gaze across the battlefield.
What chilled him was that in less than a second, he had lost nearly ten comrades.
The members of this assault unit were all skilled fighters.
For them to die so silently, almost without warning, was something he truly could not accept.
He did not know who this youth was.
Normally, someone with this kind of strength would already be famous in the ninja world.
Moreover, this youth's eyes were shining with brilliant blue light.
Anyone who had seen such a person once would never forget him.
"My name is Senju Hikaru."
Hikaru spoke slowly. At the same time, chakra began to gather rapidly inside him.
These people had gathered together so cooperatively. This was exactly what Hikaru had wanted.
As expected, there was truth in the saying: good execution was not as useful as good cooperation from the enemy.
When Hikaru's chakra reached its peak, he raised one hand and held a single seal.
At the same time, he smiled and continued, "Or you may know me by another name. My codename is Nightingale."
"Konoha's Nightingale!"
As expected, compared with the name Senju Hikaru, the recognition of Konoha's Nightingale was on a completely different level.
The Kumo ninja finally understood who they were facing.
They also understood how their comrades had been killed.
Unfortunately, Hikaru gave them no chance.
Surging chakra erupted.
At his current level, he could already do what Hashirama had once done: clap his hands and summon whatever technique he wanted.
But Hikaru felt that clapping his hands together looked too much like praying.
He preferred forming a seal by raising his index and middle fingers while folding the rest.
After all, with his current strength, as long as the technique was not too transcendent, almost any jutsu could be triggered with this seal.
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
At that moment, the earth trembled violently.
A gigantic tree burst from the ground, and countless smaller trees began growing wildly around it.
This time, Hikaru did not combine his Wood Release with Sage Arts.
But his Wood Release had already reached an intermediate level.
His sudden use of Wood Release had one essential purpose.
To raise morale.
He could see that although Konoha had decisively sent troops, and although the Konoha ninja had firm resolve to fight the enemy to the death, their morale was still low.
In his previous life, Hikaru had heard the saying that a grieving army was bound to win.
But he did not like that kind of atmosphere, and he had no intention of preserving it.
What he needed to do was raise morale.
Because he could confidently tell everyone that as long as he was here, they would never lose.
Under Hikaru's control, the terrifying Wood Release rushed toward the Kumo ninja.
The moment they heard the codename "Konoha's Nightingale," they had already decided to retreat.
Konoha's Nightingale was an ANBU legend. He had even been written into ninja handbooks.
Once the target was confirmed, the mission could be abandoned immediately.
This rule no longer applied only to ANBU ninja. After Hikaru became ANBU Minister, even ordinary ninja knew it.
But Hikaru had always worn a mask during missions. Almost no one knew what he looked like.
Unfortunately for them, the speed of the Wood Release far exceeded their imagination.
Before they could move, the forest spread and swallowed them.
Branches extending from the towering trees rapidly wrapped around the Kumo ninja.
More than ninety people were restrained almost instantly, without the ability to resist.
The branches rapidly drained their chakra and even began absorbing their life force.
In that instant, they could not even struggle.
"I did consider leaving one alive for interrogation."
Hikaru stood atop a giant tree and looked down at them from above. A smile appeared on his face.
"But I do not think that is necessary anymore."
He paused slightly.
"Then, farewell."
"Wood Release: Cutting Technique."
By the time Nara Shikaku and the others followed after Hikaru, they were already moving at full speed.
They were all Konoha's elites. Even if they had not reached the level of the Sannin, none of them could be underestimated.
But as they ran, they quickly sensed something was wrong.
Even though not all of them were sensory ninja, they could still feel a powerful chakra gathering ahead.
Soon, the ground began to tremble.
A giant tree suddenly rose from the earth, visible even from afar.
Wood Release!
Almost instantly, they knew what it was.
This was Hikaru's signature ninjutsu, and also the signature ninjutsu of Konoha's First Hokage.
Looking at that massive tree, which was enough to make one's heart turn cold, and feeling the suffocating chakra spreading through the air, they suddenly realized they may have underestimated Hikaru's strength.
Those who experienced the Nine-Tails' night naturally knew Hikaru possessed Wood Release, and that this power was far from weak.
But the Wood Release he displayed this time seemed to lack something compared with the night of the Nine-Tails.
Yet its power was not weaker than that night!
They were indeed powerful ninja. Even without systematic sensory ability, they could still keenly detect many differences.
This time, Hikaru had indeed not used Sage Arts to enhance his Wood Release.
And this time, he had used it rather casually.
But the power he released was not weak at all.
This pure Wood Release power, unmixed with Sage Arts, was immediately sensed by Shikaku and the others.
That pure strength told them one thing.
Hikaru had grown stronger again.
"How terrifying…"
Looking at the distant trees spreading like roaring beasts, the clan heads could not help sighing.
When they sped up and finally reached the battlefield, their bodies stiffened.
The huge forest had already begun to recede. Under Hikaru's chakra control, it rapidly contracted, leaving only one large tree covered in thorns.
The tree was only around ten meters tall. Compared with Hikaru's other trees, it was not particularly eye-catching.
But the tree twisted upward in a spiral, its branches spreading widely.
And on those branches hung corpse after corpse, each one pierced through by wooden spikes.
The bodies looked somewhat shriveled, as if their life force had been drained.
At the same time, crimson blood flowed along the branches and dripped down continuously.
Even battle-hardened people like them could not help feeling a chill in their hearts at the sight.
This was not a battle.
This was slaughter.
This was hell on earth.
At a glance, at least a hundred corpses hung from the branches.
The Kumo ninja who had launched the raid numbered only about that many.
Hikaru had wiped them all out in such a short time.
This further proved that Hikaru's strength had indeed become stronger than during the Nine-Tails incident.
This was also the first time many of them had seen some of Hikaru's methods directly.
The Danzo incident had certainly shocked them.
But compared with this, the Danzo incident almost seemed insignificant.
"As expected of someone born from ANBU…"
ANBU methods were cruel. Everyone present understood that.
But understanding was different from witnessing it with their own eyes.
Perhaps Yamanaka Inoichi was a little better off, but only a little.
Taking a deep breath, they knew the crisis had temporarily been resolved.
At the same time, aside from Uchiha Kuu, the smarter people among them could roughly guess Hikaru's purpose.
He had probably done this to raise morale.
It was just that his method made even them feel a trace of fear.
The four-thousand-strong army moved forward slowly.
When they saw the hellish scene before them, every single one of them was startled.
They saw the corpses of more than a hundred Kumo ninja hanging in the air, pierced by branches.
They saw blood dripping endlessly, staining the ground red.
For a moment, all of them froze.
The scene before them truly inspired instinctive fear.
But beneath that fear, they also felt an overwhelming sense of reassurance.
Not long ago, when the earth shook violently and a giant tree suddenly rose, that sense of reassurance had already quietly appeared in their hearts.
Only now, seeing this scene with their own eyes, did that feeling grow stronger alongside their fear.
After all, if such a powerful and terrifying ninja existed on their side, they would be much safer no matter how they looked at it.
This war was cruel.
Through sources like the newspaper, they had also received a great deal of information.
They knew that if they did not fight, Konoha would lose its credibility in the ninja world and gradually be devoured by others.
As residents of Konoha, they had no choice but to fight.
They had to fight.
But even counting the frontline troops, they only had six thousand people.
Kumo had reportedly deployed eight thousand.
Not only that, Kumo had the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki moving together.
Konoha's side, by comparison, was far more worrying.
Although they were fighting near the borders of the Land of Fire and their supply speed might be slightly faster, they were still nearly two thousand troops fewer than Kumo.
That numerical gap would frighten anyone.
Konoha did have examples of winning with fewer troops.
In fact, there were quite a few.
But who had led those battles?
Jiraiya of the Sannin.
Orochimaru of the Sannin.
And the current Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato.
This time, the clan heads of various families had indeed joined the army with elite members.
Even ANBU Minister Senju Hikaru, the man who had single-handedly held back the Nine-Tails' assault, was among them.
But honestly, many ninja had already prepared themselves to die.
In hindsight, Namikaze Minato only became Fourth Hokage after the war ended.
During the war, few believed he could do it. At that time, Orochimaru's call to become Hokage had been unimaginably strong.
Only because of various reasons did Orochimaru lose the Hokage seat and eventually become a rogue ninja.
But no matter what, Namikaze Minato becoming Fourth Hokage was already established fact.
So these ninja now believed that under his leadership, winning with fewer forces would not be strange.
But this war had neither Minato nor Orochimaru.
Could they really oppose the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki?
Six thousand against eight thousand.
A major gap in high-end combat power.
Even the more optimistic ninja felt a certain heaviness in their hearts.
But to protect their home and everything they needed to protect, they had stepped onto the battlefield with firm resolve.
At this moment, Hikaru's brutal and fear-inspiring display seemed to give them confidence.
Confidence that they might truly win.
They had indeed prepared to die.
But every human had the same desire to live.
As long as there was even a sliver of hope, they would do everything possible to grasp it.
Just as people always yearned for light, life only came once.
That was light.
That was one of the most primal desires deep inside every person's heart.
Hikaru's Wood Release caused an enormous disturbance.
Its coverage was wide, and the quality of his chakra was extremely high.
Although the Wood Release could not be seen from dozens of kilometers away, his chakra could spread far.
Inside a border stronghold in the Land of Hot Water, the Fourth Raikage frowned as he looked into the distance.
Not only him, but Killer B beside him also stopped rapping.
Many powerful ninja around them turned their gazes toward the distance as well.
"Lord Raikage, according to the sensory unit, a violent chakra fluctuation came from within the Land of Fire.
"The chakra signatures of our assault unit have disappeared. I'm afraid…
"In addition, the sensory unit detected a large number of chakra fluctuations. The exact number is unclear because they have already entered the stronghold."
"Is that so?"
The Fourth Raikage nodded lightly.
"I understand. You may leave."
The Fourth Raikage did not seem too surprised by this result.
Or rather, the moment he sensed that chakra, he knew those people were probably in trouble.
That chakra was strong.
One might even say it was not weaker than his.
As for being unable to detect the number of Konoha ninja, he did not care.
Such a stronghold would naturally have defensive and protective measures, especially as a frontline base.
He only felt some regret.
It had been his idea to send one hundred Kumo ninja to raid that stronghold.
He knew Konoha would definitely deploy troops, but he had not expected them to react so quickly.
Only a few days had passed, and they had already sent forces straight over.
And by coincidence, they had run directly into his assault unit.
Still, if they ran into them, they ran into them.
The dead could not be brought back.
But for them to die without sending back even a single piece of information made the Fourth Raikage shake his head.
He felt they had likely been surrounded and attacked. Otherwise, they would not have died so cleanly.
Even though no information had returned, and even though the Fourth Raikage was furious, he also knew this was not the time to dwell on it.
They had to properly discuss the next battle plan.
This time, Konoha had invested quite a lot.
Almost every major clan head had joined, along with clan elites.
According to intelligence, the commander seemed to be that ANBU Minister, Konoha's Nightingale.
However, the information was unclear.
Obtaining even that much intelligence had not been easy.
Konoha's ANBU were currently conducting a frantic sweep of spies from every village.
Kumo's spies, in particular, had become priority targets.
Still, if the information was true, the Fourth Raikage was quite pleased.
A major clan head would not normally be sent to fight on the front lines for no reason.
And sending an ANBU Minister, someone who lurked in the shadows, and a youth at that, to lead an army—what did that mean?
Did it not mean Konoha truly had no one left?
Otherwise, why did they not send powerful and experienced commanders like Jiraiya or Tsunade?
Although intelligence had long reported that both Jiraiya and Tsunade were not in Konoha.
And Orochimaru had defected from Konoha.
But now that war had begun, why had Konoha still not summoned them back?
No matter how the Fourth Raikage thought about it, he could not understand.
But it seemed clear that Konoha truly lacked capable people.
Still, he did not dare be careless.
After all, Konoha's clan heads still had strength.
And with someone like Nara Shikaku present, their strategy and tactics would be strong.
But this was only intelligence. He had not yet confirmed it.
Especially after sensing that chakra just now, he became even more serious.
Looks like I need to confirm it properly.
The Fourth Raikage thought silently.
Intelligence was one of the most important factors in war.
Without sufficient intelligence, how could a war be fought?
The simplest way to obtain intelligence was through spies.
And through direct combat.
As long as combat occurred, even if the scale was not large, as long as the intensity was high enough, they could still obtain useful information.
What the Fourth Raikage needed to confirm now was who exactly stood on the other side.
Only then could Kumo make the proper response.
"Pass down my order. Tomorrow, select one thousand ninja to move with me. They must be fast and able to retreat at any time."
Thinking of this, the Fourth Raikage spoke directly. His voice was deep and firm.
"We set out at dawn and attack Konoha's stronghold.
"This operation has only one goal: find out who exactly is on the other side.
"So choose people with sharp minds. Understood?"
"Yes, Lord Raikage!"
Inside Konoha's stronghold, Nara Shikaku looked at Hikaru with deep helplessness.
"Minister Hikaru, that was certainly an impressive method. But next time, could you hold back a little? At least let us obtain some valuable intelligence."
The other clan heads had also realized what happened.
After they reunited with the main army and entered the stronghold together, the morale of Konoha's ninja had changed significantly.
The previously gloomy, even tragic atmosphere had completely disappeared.
In its place was trust in them and belief that they could lead Konoha to victory.
This was an excellent sign.
It meant Konoha's morale had been raised, which greatly helped their battlefield arrangements.
Although the previous atmosphere would not necessarily have caused problems, that mindset of certain death had been truly troubling.
Now, they had a stronger desire to survive.
They had more passion.
And they had greater fighting spirit.
The only problem was that Hikaru had acted too thoroughly.
He had not left a single survivor.
He had wiped out the enemy in an instant, leaving them with no one to interrogate.
True, with Yamanaka Inoichi present, they could cut off heads and inspect memories.
But the problem was that the dead were sometimes far less useful than the living.
Once a person died, their brain cells would rapidly decay.
At that point, the information retrieved would only be fragmented. That was absolutely unsuitable for war.
Moreover, examining one head was already troublesome.
Examining over a hundred heads without enough equipment would be an extremely difficult task for Inoichi.
So in the end, they abandoned that plan.
"Sorry. At the time, I only wanted to prevent them from going back, while also raising Konoha's morale, so…"
Hikaru shrugged indifferently, then smiled.
"And besides, we do not have their intelligence, but Kumo also does not necessarily have ours. At most, they know we have arrived."
Hikaru's explanation left Shikaku helpless, but he had to nod and admit the truth of it.
Before they set out, Konoha had launched a large-scale purge of spies.
No matter where those spies came from, and regardless of whether Konoha had already identified them, ANBU dealt with them all one by one.
After that, Konoha entered a state of heightened security.
Sending out intelligence became extremely difficult.
Even if Kumo had information, it would be fragmented and scarce.
As for the traces left by their army's march, that could not be helped.
Fortunately, they had Hyūga ninja.
With those ninja constantly rotating surveillance with the Byakugan, they could at least buy a little more time and gain more room to respond.
"Minister Hikaru is right. But this time, we must be careful with our defenses."
Shikaku rubbed his head, then became serious.
"We must guard against Kumo's assault. They lost so many people this time. Not only did they fail to take the stronghold, they also failed to send back any intelligence.
"The Fourth Raikage may make a risky move next.
"For example, a small-scale, high-intensity assault to test our situation."
"Oh?"
Hikaru blinked. He really had not considered that much.
But Shikaku's words forced him to take it seriously.
Hikaru's understanding of marching and warfare was not deep.
Most of his knowledge came from films, books, and even games from his previous life.
But the films he had watched were mostly grand-strategy stories or personal-perspective war films. Even the games he played were grand strategy.
For example, that war-crime concentration camp of a strategy game. He had played plenty of that.
He had not done little things like humiliating France or washing Japan with nuclear fire.
But those games were all grand strategy games.
You sent a powerful general with suitable troops, secured their logistics, and they pushed the enemy over for you.
There was no need to think too deeply about tactical details.
Hikaru knew he was lacking in that area.
For example, now.
When it came to guarding against the enemy in all aspects during wartime, he had not done enough.
That was why he originally wanted Shikaku to serve as the battlefield commander when they set out.
He only needed to tell Shikaku the strategic goals he required.
Once Shikaku achieved those goals, Hikaru would act to solve the problem and accomplish his own purpose.
But Shikaku had pushed him into this position directly.
The purpose was probably to help him build authority.
In reality, their current arrangement was still mostly the same as what Hikaru had originally wanted.
It was just that under these circumstances, Shikaku needed to remind him about many matters, effectively teaching him some things.
"Looks like we really do need to be careful. Actually, I think our work needs to be divided more clearly."
Hikaru thought for a moment, then smiled.
"But for now, let us solve the immediate problem first. Minister Shikaku, do you have any ideas, or further analysis?"
"Considering Kumo's objective, I believe they may not send too many people this time."
Although Shikaku was curious about what Hikaru meant by dividing work, he first expressed his thoughts.
"Also, based on Kumo's style, they should be a highly mobile group.
"They will have strong assault ability, and if the attack fails or they are surrounded by our main force, they can quickly scatter and retreat.
"And I believe the person leading them will not be weak either. We must defend carefully."
Hikaru stared at Shikaku for a moment.
This man had not only predicted Kumo's likely movement but also roughly determined the kind of personnel they might deploy.
Although Hikaru knew the Nara Clan had high intelligence, this was not merely a matter of being smart.
It also required rich wartime command experience.
Now, Hikaru increasingly felt that his initial decision to make this man battlefield commander had been correct.
Although the situation had changed, Shikaku had still come with him.
This meant that in many small matters and details, he could give Hikaru more help.
It also made Hikaru believe even more firmly that Shikaku could help him complete all the necessary preparations.
Thinking of this, Hikaru suddenly smiled.
"Minister Shikaku, I will leave the arrangement of this matter to you. That should not be a problem, right?"
"No problem."
Shikaku nodded.
"But Minister Hikaru is the commander-in-chief. I still need to ask for your approval on these matters."
"I understand. But sometimes, there is no need to make things so troublesome."
Hikaru smiled.
"From now on, Minister Shikaku, you will handle the tactical details, while I will handle the strategic arrangements. How does that sound?"
"This…"
"Yes, Minister Hikaru."
◇ I'll drop one bonus chapter for every 10 reviews (leave a review/comment!)
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 60 chapters ahead on P@treon: patreon.com/KageNaruto