Uchiha Kagami felt that the war situation today was somewhat unusual, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Compared to the past, the Hidden Sand Village's actions had become more cautious, and they hardly fell for any tempting strategies. However, the Hidden Sand ninja forces were already in a tense situation, so cautious operations were naturally to be expected.
But Uchiha Kagami always felt that there was something out of the ordinary. Every time he looked at the battle map, this feeling would always surface in his heart. However, it was as if a crucial part was blocked, and he couldn't connect the dots.
"Is it my imagination?" Uchiha Kagami muttered to himself. He didn't tell anyone else about this. Such a personal feeling couldn't be brought up. None of the high-ranking officials in the camp noticed anything unusual, so perhaps he was the only one who thought so.
And it was precisely because he was the only one who felt there was a problem that Uchiha Kagami began to doubt his own judgment. He had no definite reasons or evidence, and since others didn't share his thoughts, he naturally wouldn't act on it.
Only Uchiha Setsuna knew the reasons behind all this. He asked Zetsu to deliver intelligence to the Hidden Sand ninja forces in a way that wouldn't arouse suspicion. Fearing that the other party might get overly excited, the intelligence sent so far was only superficial and might be detected. This was both to prevent the other party from acting rashly and to ensure that if they did get carried away and launched a reckless attack, it wouldn't expose the possibility of an internal mole.
After all, Uchiha Setsuna couldn't control every move of the Hidden Sand ninja forces. Not to mention him, Zetsu, who had been secretly active, couldn't completely guide the actions of the Hidden Sand ninja forces. They had to prepare for anything. Fortunately, the Hidden Sand ninja forces didn't lose their heads. In this situation, they remained very calm, slowly changing their battle strategy based on the intelligence revealed by Zetsu.
Without the intelligence revealed by Zetsu, the Hidden Sand ninja forces might have truly fallen into the trap, forced to pay a greater price by the false facade and frontal pressure created by the Hidden Leaf Village. But now, the Hidden Sand ninja forces had avoided significant losses, allowing them to conveniently readjust their strategy.
To make the Hidden Sand ninja forces believe the authenticity of the intelligence, Zetsu truly put in a lot of effort. From possessing others, impersonating others, to secretly delivering intelligence, all kinds of methods were used. In the past, it had never been so exhausted. After entering the era of the Five Great Nations, with the expansion of the war scale and the establishment of ninja villages, it was no longer easy to act as freely as before.
Zetsu understood that this plan was a make-or-break situation. Once the Hidden Leaf Village noticed intelligence leaks and strengthened its protection of intelligence, it would no longer be able to act as it did now, otherwise it might expose itself. It could only hope that the plan would be successfully implemented.
This time, luck seemed to be on its side and Uchiha Setsuna's. After multiple internal discussions, the Hidden Sand ninja forces formulated a counterattack plan, targeting the battlefields in the Land of Rivers and the Land of Rain respectively. First, in the Land of Rivers, because Uchiha Kagami was very responsible and often led the charge on the battlefield, they believed they could devise a plan to lure Uchiha Kagami out into an ambush. Even if they couldn't kill him, they had to severely injure him. As for the Land of Rain, due to the shift in the focus of operations, the medical camp began to move into the Land of Rain. It was said that the medical ninja who could detoxify was also transferred there, to be able to deal with Chiyo's poisons at the first opportunity. If they could strike the medical camp, it would affect the medical support of the Hidden Leaf ninja forces.
"This plan will be a turning point for the Hidden Sand Village. Everyone must cooperate fully. Any slackening will be severely punished," Chiyo said expressionlessly, looking coldly at the Hidden Sand ninjas in front of her.
Currently, the Hidden Sand Village's governing policy was primarily high-pressure. No one doubted Chiyo's words. Ebizo and Chiyo's authority had been established over the years. Those with high status who had objections were fine, as things weren't taken to extremes, but those with low status couldn't even keep their lives.
"Yes," everyone answered loudly, expressing their approval of the operation. To be honest, they were also sacrificing for the Hidden Sand Village, and there wasn't much objection to this plan.
Combining the battle intelligence revealed by Zetsu, the Hidden Sand ninja forces passed this plan internally and began to implement it immediately. In frontal combat, the goal was feints and deception. Even if some sacrifices were made, they would slowly lure the Hidden Leaf ninja forces and deliver the carefully crafted false intelligence of the Hidden Sand ninja forces into the hands of the Hidden Leaf Village.
Among the estimated sacrifices, some Hidden Sand ninjas held a certain status. Theoretically, sacrificing these people was not ideal, but the current policy prioritized the interests of the Hidden Sand Village above all else. Everything else could be put aside. She couldn't care about so much now, and besides, since these people were Hidden Sand ninjas, they should have the resolve to sacrifice for the village.
The full content of this plan was the top secret of the Hidden Sand Village. Except for Chiyo and certain high-ranking ninjas, everyone else only knew a part of it. And those Hidden Sand ninjas who were to be sacrificed knew absolutely nothing about the reasons behind it, executing orders unknowingly, unaware that they were being pushed out as bait by the village.
Thus, in the subsequent operations, the Hidden Sand ninja forces, following Chiyo's orders, launched attacks against the enemy. In the intricate battles, relying on the advantage of foresight, the Hidden Sand ninja forces skillfully leaked information, mixing truth with falsehood. Even if sacrifices had to be made, compared to the potential results in the future, it was all worth it.
One day, after a Hidden Leaf Second Ninja Squad intelligence ninja intercepted and deciphered a piece of Hidden Sand ninja intelligence, they obtained the Hidden Sand ninja forces' battle plan and immediately sent it to Uchiha Kagami. Upon hearing the news, Uchiha Kagami immediately convened the high-ranking ninjas in the camp to discuss the next course of action.
Everyone carefully analyzed the intelligence and felt that its authenticity was nine out of ten. According to what was stated, the Hidden Sand ninja forces would soon launch a major military operation, primarily attacking an important town in the Land of Rivers. If the enemy captured it, the communication between the Second Ninja Squad and the Hidden Leaf ninja forces in the Land of Rain would be cut off, which could be said to be very dangerous.
Although that area had always been a key focus for the Hidden Leaf ninja forces, the Hidden Sand ninja forces were not to be underestimated. From the intelligence, it seemed that the Hidden Sand Village had devised some targeted methods. If they didn't defend properly, they might truly be successful.
In other words, the next phase would revolve around the battle for this town. According to the village's requirements, Uchiha Kagami would certainly not adopt a frontal combat approach, as that would easily lead to entanglement with the enemy and significant losses. Previously, the Hidden Leaf ninja forces mainly relied on urban defense, combined with other methods to slowly wear down the enemy, or used surprise attacks to pressure them.
In terms of efficiency, the latter often resulted in more casualties, meeting the village's demand for a high exchange ratio. Previously, the Hidden Sand ninja forces were not so eager and rarely actively attacked such important areas. Now, it seemed that the tense situation forced them to make such a decision.
Even Uchiha Kagami was deceived by the false appearances displayed by the Hidden Sand ninja forces in recent days. He now believed that his past worries were groundless, especially seeing the somewhat irrational actions of the Hidden Sand ninja forces now, he was even more certain of this point.
"Lord Kagami, this is a great opportunity! We might be able to inflict a significant blow on the Hidden Sand ninja forces," someone said excitedly.
Kagami's heart also stirred. The village was about to launch a large-scale counterattack against the Hidden Sand Village. If they could weaken the Hidden Sand ninja forces as much as possible, future operations would be smoother, and the sacrifices would be fewer. The Hidden Sand ninja forces indeed had strong combat will; if they were not divided and surrounded, making them surrender would be an impossible task.
In the Land of Rivers campaign, Uchiha Kagami found almost no such opportunities and could only focus on eliminating the enemy. It was easier that way. Forcing surrender could only happen when one had an absolute advantage, and Uchiha Kagami's side was the main combat area for the enemy, so he couldn't gain an absolute advantage.
Seeing Uchiha Kagami's thoughtful expression, others also voiced their opinions. Although some felt that stability should be the priority, slowly wearing down the enemy's strength, many were deceived by the false appearances of the Hidden Sand ninja forces, and Uchiha Setsuna also contributed to this.
Uchiha Setsuna wasn't doing nothing; his main role was to guide the combat atmosphere in the camp, primarily towards active offense. Of course, due to the village's requirements, active offense had to meet the condition of a high exchange ratio. However, by subtly guiding it, he could increase the success rate of the Hidden Sand Village's battle plan.
Uchiha Setsuna's performance in front of everyone was still pro-war. Speaking at this time would not arouse much suspicion and would also promote a pro-war atmosphere. He also supported the operation. With the vast majority agreeing, Uchiha Kagami considered it repeatedly and finally nodded in agreement.
—It succeeded.
The moment Uchiha Kagami nodded, Uchiha Setsuna's heart was filled with joy, and he almost cried out. However, not yet, he couldn't smile yet. Just like when he conspired against Uchiha Ken's father, he needed to suppress the joy in his heart until it was all over.
Since it had been decided to launch an attack, the discussion turned to how to carry it out. Everyone immediately discussed the intelligence and defensive capabilities. Uchiha Setsuna guided everyone to consider how to inflict as much damage as possible on the enemy, which would make the plan lean more towards a surprise attack.
After multiple discussions, when Uchiha Kagami decided to personally lead a small team to launch a surprise attack on the Hidden Sand ninja forces from behind the mountain path, four words involuntarily popped into Uchiha Setsuna's mind: The overall situation is set.
Achieving the current situation was truly not easy. To have the commander personally lead a small team to execute a surprise attack, Uchiha Setsuna had done his utmost, as he also had to consider clearing himself of suspicion afterward. Fortunately, Uchiha Kagami was very responsible, and Uchiha Setsuna exploited this. Moreover, ninja commanders were inherently more suited for front-line combat, which led Uchiha Kagami to make such a decision.
Although Uchiha Kagami's strength was considerable, it hadn't reached the point of being a one-man army. With only a small team by his side, encountering a carefully planned ambush, the possibility of escaping unscathed was not high. Just like back then, if Tobirama Senju hadn't led a large force, even a strong Second Hokage, surrounded by his powerful students, was still pushed to the brink by Kinkaku, Ginkaku, and twenty elite Kinkaku and Ginkaku forces.
Even if Uchiha Kagami could escape, Uchiha Setsuna wouldn't give him a chance to return. He would find an opportunity to go as a reinforcement and then eliminate Uchiha Kagami. Of course, those who went with him would definitely not survive either, and the reason, well, they could just blame it all on the Hidden Sand ninjas.
After the meeting, Uchiha Setsuna revealed this intelligence to Zetsu outside in his own way. Without a special barrier, Zetsu could easily enter the camp. Of course, to avoid attracting attention, it usually wouldn't enter personally but would wait elsewhere.
Upon receiving Uchiha Setsuna's intelligence, Zetsu muttered in a low voice: "Heh, it seems things are going very smoothly so far. I hope this Uchiha Kagami kid has some skill and doesn't get taken out so easily."
For Zetsu, whether Uchiha Kagami lived or died was irrelevant. It had its own goals, and in this regard, it was different from Uchiha Setsuna. Ultimately, Zetsu's goal was to have Otsutsuki Kaguya unsealed again. To achieve this goal, the Rinnegan, which was the only way to control the Gedo Mazo, had to appear in this world first, and the key to that was the reincarnation of Indra.
As long as Indra's reincarnation could quickly grow, obtain Ashura's chakra, and thus re-condense the exact same chakra as the Sage of Six Paths, Otsutsuki Hagoromo, bringing the Rinnegan back into the world, that would be enough. Everything else had nothing to do with it.
And the reason it was so dedicated to helping Uchiha Setsuna plot to kill Uchiha Kagami was, of course, not for Uchiha Setsuna, but all for itself, for the reincarnation of Indra. Therefore, the outcome it hoped for was completely different from what Uchiha Setsuna hoped for.
But Uchiha Setsuna was unaware of this at the moment. He always believed he was Madara's successor. Zetsu, who had lived for a thousand years, would always scoff inwardly whenever it saw him like this. He would never know that he was never Madara's successor.