Chapter 173: Establishing Dominance
Due to the large number of casualties in their ranks, Kyosuke's forces arrived a full three to four hours later than anticipated. By the time they saw the Eastern Corps' encampment, night had completely fallen.
A party of seven stood waiting at the camp's entrance. Upon seeing the dust-covered reinforcements finally arrive, their leader, a dashing man in his early thirties with a refined and commanding presence, stepped forward to greet them.
He was the supreme commander of the Konoha Eastern Corps, Mitarashi Kiyoshi.
He walked briskly toward them, his eyes quickly scanning the new arrivals before locking onto the calm expression of Uchiha Kyosuke.
"I have long heard of your deeds, but seeing you in person is still quite a shock. It fills me with a genuine sense of shame," Mitarashi Kiyoshi said with a smile, extending his hand.
"You're too kind," Kyosuke replied, returning the smile and shaking his hand firmly.
Mitarashi Kiyoshi nodded a brief acknowledgment to Hyuga Hiashi beside him, then gestured toward the camp. "You've all had a long journey. Please, come in and rest."
Kyosuke took a step forward, and only then did the hundreds of shinobi behind him begin to move. Mitarashi Kiyoshi's eyes flickered at the sight, a subtle acknowledgment of the discipline and loyalty Kyosuke commanded, but he pretended not to notice and continued his conversation with the others.
After the troops were settled, Kyosuke and the senior officers gathered in the command tent to discuss their next move. He had already been briefed on the current situation by Hyuga Hiashi, and it was largely as the intelligence reports described.
The Mist Village had divided its forces, forming smaller, clan-based units that were relentlessly attacking the Eastern Corps' blockade. As a result, the Land of Whirlpools battlefield had been split into three distinct fronts.
The first front was led by Minazuki Saya and her clan, supplemented by a small number of regular Mist shinobi. They numbered only around 300, but Kyosuke had personally experienced Saya's power. She was an incredibly difficult opponent.
The second front was commanded by Hozuki Mangetsu and the Hozuki clan. Though their numbers were smaller than the Minazuki's, the Hozuki clan's secret techniques were more widespread and easier to master than the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, making their overall combat strength arguably higher.
The third front consisted of the Kaguya clan. They had the largest numbers but were, in terms of overall skill, the weakest of the three major clans. However, their fighting style was ferociously brave to the point of being suicidal. Since the war began, the Kaguya had inflicted the most casualties on Konoha's forces, and had suffered the most in return.
In addition to these three main battlefronts, the Mist forces had two other units that were causing major problems.
One was a special strike force centered around the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. They roamed the battlefield unpredictably, ambushing any smaller Konoha units they encountered. When faced with a larger force, they would simply retreat without engaging. They were currently the Eastern Corps' biggest headache.
The final threat was a small squad led by the Mizukage, Yagura, himself. Fortunately, with the overall situation still in flux, Yagura had not yet dared to reveal himself on the battlefield, so the crisis had not yet reached its peak.
Konoha's plan was to use the reinforcements from the Southwestern and Northern Corps to concentrate their firepower, eliminate one of the three fronts, and then use their numerical superiority to crush the remaining enemies one by one.
They would only get one chance at this. If they failed, the enemy would adapt. Tonight's meeting was to decide which front to target.
The various clan heads and their representatives all offered their opinions, but they could not reach a consensus.
Finally, Mitarashi Kiyoshi, seated at the head of the table, turned his gaze to Kyosuke, who had remained silent. He tapped the table for quiet. "Kyosuke," he asked, his voice filled with expectation, "what are your thoughts?"
At his words, all eyes in the tent turned to the young man sitting at the far end of the table. Although he was much younger than anyone else present, his brilliant military record was undeniable. They were all eager to hear what he had to say.
Kyosuke paused for a moment before speaking. "I suggest we target the Kaguya clan."
"There are two reasons for this," he continued.
"First, since we are committing to a strategy of destroying them one by one, our first target is critical. The Kaguya clan has the largest number of troops. By eliminating them, we will maximize our own numerical advantage for the subsequent battles."
"Second, and this is the most crucial point..." Kyosuke's gaze swept across the room, his voice holding a gravity that belied his age. "It's their fighting style."
"Their fighting style?" Hyuga Hiashi repeated, a glimmer of understanding in his eyes.
Mitarashi Kiyoshi immediately picked up on his meaning. "You're saying we should use their refusal to retreat to ensure their complete annihilation?"
"Exactly," Kyosuke confirmed with a calm nod.
A murmur of conversation filled the tent as the others considered his proposal.
"There is one more problem," a man with distinctive clan markings on his cheeks and a giant ninken lying at his feet spoke up. "Even with the reinforcements, our numbers on the third front are only slightly greater than the Kaguya's. Annihilating them completely will not be an easy task."
"What is the Kaguya clan's high-end combat strength?" Kyosuke asked without hesitation.
The Inuzuka ninja thought for a moment. "Their clan leader is named Kaguya Gen Tetsu. His skill is at the very peak of the elite jonin level. His mastery of close-quarters combat, combined with his fight-to-the-death mentality, makes him as dangerous as a Kage-level opponent. As for the others, there is no one else of particular note."
"Elite jonin..." Kyosuke frowned, not because he felt they were too strong, but because he found them surprisingly weak. An elite jonin clan head? Even if he survived this war and reached Kage-level strength, without the Shikotsumyaku, his power would have a clear ceiling. He couldn't imagine what had given them the courage to launch a rebellion in the Mist Village. Unable to find a better answer, he concluded that the entire clan must be insane.
Seeing Kyosuke fall silent, the others exchanged glances. Before they could speak, he looked up. "Leave Kaguya Gen Tetsu to me. After I've dealt with him, I will assist the others. We will ensure that not a single member of the Kaguya clan, or any of their Mist allies, leaves that battlefield alive."
"This..." The others were taken aback by his casual confidence. They had read the reports about him killing Pakura and Bunjin, but Pakura was, at best, an elite jonin, perhaps not even as strong as Gen Tetsu. As for Bunjin, they were more inclined to believe Orochimaru had been the one to finish him off.
Only Hyuga Hiashi and Mitarashi Kiyoshi, who had witnessed Kyosuke's power firsthand, seemed to believe him. The faces of the others were etched with doubt. It wasn't that they didn't want to trust him, but the stakes were too high. One mistake, and their situation would become even more dire.
An awkward, tense silence fell over the tent.
Kyosuke understood their hesitation perfectly. With a wry smile, he decided that actions would speak louder than words.
He released the full force of his chakra, an oppressive pressure that instantly identified him as a top-tier elite jonin. The leaders nodded; the pressure alone was impressive, but it wasn't enough.
Just as Mitarashi Kiyoshi was about to speak to ease the tension, a suffocating killing intent flooded the tent, seizing everyone in its grip. Their bodies went stiff as they instinctively looked to its source: Kyosuke's hand, resting on the hilt of his sword, which was now slightly unsheathed.
"That killing intent... My god, how many people has this boy killed on the battlefield?" the Inuzuka ninja thought, staring in disbelief at the young man whose eyes were now downcast.
"Incredible," Mitarashi Kiyoshi mused, a mix of admiration and slight unease. "I knew he was strong, but... so this is the Uchiha's greatest genius. He truly lives up to his reputation."
He was about to speak again when something even more startling happened.
Kyosuke's head snapped up. In his eyes, the three black tomoe of his Sharingan were spinning wildly. Six transparent snake-like shadows appeared in the air around him as his hair and the markings on his forehead transformed.
Clatter! Rattle! The tables, lamps, and scrolls in the tent began to shake violently from the sheer force of his power. The lights flickered, casting dancing shadows across the tent. The pressure was now so tangible it felt like a physical weight, making it difficult for the assembled leaders to even breathe, let alone speak.
All except for the equally shocked, but now grinning, Mitarashi Kiyoshi.
He clapped his hands together, his laughter booming through the tent. "Excellent! Absolutely excellent! The Kaguya clan is in for a world of trouble now!"
Seeing his carefully constructed aura of intimidation so easily dispersed, Kyosuke gave the commander a strange look before deactivating his Sage Mode. He had made his point.
"Well then," Mitarashi Kiyoshi said, a smirk on his face as he looked at the still-stunned shinobi. "It's decided. The third front, and the Kaguya clan, are yours, Kyosuke."
"Understood," Kyosuke replied with a faint smile.