"Now that Jinnan Town has fallen, we have the opportunity to push deeper into the Land of Fire. However, there's one issue that must be addressed."
"Yoru, during the last battle, you were forced to retreat due to chakra exhaustion. If you were at full strength, how long could you hold out alone against the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki?"
Inside the Mist's frontline command tent, the elite of Kirigakure were gathered. Yagura's expression was solemn as he looked at Yoru.
When facing a jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails' level, ordinary jōnin might as well be cannon fodder. Only Kage-level combatants stand a chance—and even then, only those who can unleash large-scale jutsu. Anything less, and one Tailed Beast Ball could end it all.
"It's difficult. I can't guarantee success—but I'm willing to try," Yoru replied in a low voice. "She's a jinchūriki. Guarantees mean little. But we can launch a probing attack and see how deep the water runs."
"If I'm unable to suppress her or if she loses control, I'll retreat immediately."
"That's acceptable," Yagura nodded, then sighed, a rare note of frustration crossing his otherwise cherubic face. "It's a shame we don't have our own jinchūriki ready to deploy. If we did, we could counter her directly instead of staying on the back foot."
"No helping it. Both the Three-Tails and Six-Tails are hard to track, and capturing them has proven extremely difficult."
"In fact, we've already detected the Three-Tails' presence, and we've roughly located the Six-Tails too. We just haven't had the chance to seal them yet."
"No matter," someone added. "With Lord Yoru here, who needs Tailed Beasts? We can crush Konoha either way!"
The morale in the tent soared. After all, Yoru had slain Jiraiya—a member of the legendary Sannin. That alone had stunned the entire ninja world and skyrocketed the Mist's confidence. Even the appearance of a jinchūriki wasn't enough to shake their resolve.
"They've got a jinchūriki? Well, we've got Lord Yoru! Who's afraid of who?!"
"Everyone seems confident," Yagura said with a broad grin. "It seems this battle is ours for the taking."
Had the Mist lacked someone capable of countering the Nine-Tails, even with Jinnan Town fallen, they wouldn't have been able to advance. Just one rampaging transformation from Kushina would have sent them fleeing.
But now that Yoru had volunteered to shoulder that burden, the weight on everyone's shoulders lifted.
"Let's discuss strategic deployment," Yagura said, turning toward the sand table with a serious look.
"Konoha's original defense line was centered on Jinnan Town, supported by four key points: Higashimatsuyama, Mizusawa Bridge, the Onshirato Mining Area, and Kazama Valley. These positions formed a layered defense extending to both flanks."
"With Jinnan Town broken, their defensive structure has lost its forward anchor. This not only gives us a positional advantage—it puts the initiative entirely in our hands."
"Since Yoru can potentially pin down the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, we can launch a probing strike on one part of the line to locate her position. Once confirmed, we'll strike a different, more weakly defended sector with full force."
Yoru didn't know what the other villages specialized in, but when it came to Kirigakure, guerrilla warfare was second nature.
With their mist techniques and superior mobility, Mist shinobi were built for hit-and-run tactics and rapid deployment—precisely why they had been hammering Jinnan Town from the start.
"That approach makes sense—use the jinchūriki's limited mobility against her and apply pressure where she's absent," Yoru said with a nod. "But Yagura-sama… have you considered a certain individual? If he shows up on this front, splitting our forces might be the worst mistake we could make."
"Who are you referring to?"
"Minato Namikaze."
Yoru's voice dropped an octave. "You've all heard the reports from the Iwagakure front: using his Flying Thunder God Technique, he single-handedly slaughtered fifty Iwa jōnin in an instant. If he arrives here, we'll be handing him opportunities on a silver platter."
The name alone made the command tent fall silent.
Since the outbreak of the Third Shinobi World War, countless geniuses had emerged. But only two stood at the very top—Yoru of the Mist, and the Yellow Flash of the Leaf.
Minato had dominated the Iwa front, annihilated fifty jōnin in a flash, and destroyed Kannabi Bridge—turning the tide of war. He even had time to show up at the Cloud front and go toe-to-toe with both the future Fourth Raikage and Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki—and walked away unscathed.
If he showed up here, Yagura's plan of splitting forces would be tantamount to suicide.
"Yoru, your concerns are valid. If Konoha's Yellow Flash appears, then yes—dividing our forces would be foolish," Yagura admitted. "But I've already taken precautions."
"I've spread word of Jiraiya's death and the fall of Jinnan. I've even sent scrolls proposing strategic cooperation to both Iwa and Kumo. It won't be long before they start putting pressure on Konoha."
"If Konoha has already deployed their jinchūriki, it means they're nearly out of options. Once Iwagakure and Kumogakure start leaning in, Konoha won't be able to randomly reassign their few remaining elites."
"Especially Minato—who's stationed on the Iwa front."
"See, Iwagakure hasn't lost many troops in this war. The reason Ōnoki has been deadlocked with Konoha is because he fears Minato's space-time jutsu will once again strike at his supply lines."
"If Kannabi Bridge is hit again, and Iwa loses their logistical support, their troops will be cornered with no way out. Ōnoki knows it—and so does Konoha."
"But now, with news spreading that Konoha has committed their jinchūriki and lost a Sannin, Ōnoki will smell blood. Even if he doesn't attack immediately, he'll be itching for a chance. And with that, Konoha can't afford to pull Minato out of Iwa."
"In other words—this battle favors us!"
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