Deception to the East, Attack to the West

"The enemy forces are weaker than we expected. We can concentrate our power to destroy Kirigakure's coastal fortress in one strike."

Fugaku estimated the number of troops the enemy could deploy and compared it with their own forces.

The advantage was on Konoha's side.

"However, Kirigakure's Headquarters in the Land of Waves has always been problematic. It can support the frontline fortress when they advance and transport local Kirigakure troops when they retreat. As long as this hub exists, even if we capture the fortress, we can't expel all Kirigakure ninjas."

Shikaku pointed to the small island of the Land of Waves on the map.

"It's okay. As long as we maintain a swift and fierce attack and capture the coastal fortress before reinforcements from the Land of Waves arrive, we can use it as a base to fend off the enemy from outside."

What Fugaku said made sense.

Shikaku nodded slightly, then looked at Shintaro, "What do you think?"

"My thoughts, let's try another target." Shintaro said with a smile.

Seeing Fugaku and Shikaku deep in thought, he continued, "Of course, attacking the fortress would be unexpected for Kirigakure, but even more unexpected would be us directly attacking their headquarters in the Land of Waves."

"But we don't have enough manpower. Even if the entire force attacks, the strength at the enemy's headquarters is only slightly less than half of ours. If we attack forcefully, we might suffer significant losses."

Fugaku had considered this issue but had to give up due to the limited number of troops.

Shikaku thought of something, "If we attack the coastal fortress, the Land of Waves will definitely send reinforcements, and then we can seize the opportunity to attack."

"But it would be easy for the enemy to strike us from both sides." Fugaku still had concerns.

Shintaro pointed to the map and shared his thoughts, "We have 1,400 people, 400 of whom will attack the coastal fortress, using the momentum of Konoha's main force to compel Kirigakure ninjas to call for reinforcements from the Land of Waves headquarters."

"The remaining thousand will ambush the enemy reinforcements at sea, then seize the opportunity to directly attack the enemy's headquarters."

Fugaku and Shikaku exchanged glances, "It works!"

However, Fugaku was still worried, "In this case, both our forces will be under immense pressure. On both battlefields, we will be outnumbered."

Shintaro took the initiative to take responsibility, "The thousand troops can be led by me, and I will be responsible for annihilating the main enemy forces."

"Captain, you and the 400 troops only need to create momentum and draw the enemy's attention. You don't need to engage in heavy fighting."

Fugaku sighed upon hearing this, "After all, I'm getting old and not as strong as you. Alright, let's do it."

Shikaku also agreed, and the time for this counterattack was set for tonight.

The three of them rested as usual, and Fugaku and Shikaku began gathering their forces at night so Kirigakure wouldn't have a chance to notice.

Shikaku allocated the troops according to a temporary list. He and Fugaku led four hundred people, and Shintaro led a thousand on his own.

As for the supplies and equipment, they were divided in half, so the four hundred could fight a thousand for a short time.

Shintaro led the team on a detour to the coast, while Fugaku and Shikaku led their 400 troops directly to the coastal fortress.

"We can blow up the warehouse. This will not only create momentum but also weaken Kirigakure's strength."

Fugaku first asked Shikaku's opinion.

There was nothing special about the attack direction, and the strategic significance of destroying the warehouse was indeed substantial, so Shikaku agreed without much thought.

After the two commanders agreed, the order was passed down.

The troops turned and headed north.

Dim moonlight illuminated their way, and the tracks of the forces in the forest were not clear.

"WHO?!"

A Kirigakure ninja on night patrol cautiously drew a kunai.

Fugaku's figure emerged from the dark forest, his eyes blood-red, like a ferocious demon.

Genjutsu!

The Kirigakure ninja's figure froze, and his throat was sealed by a kunai strike.

Fugaku withdrew his kunai and attached an explosive tag to it.

He then looked back and saw everyone was ready.

He gave the command, and everyone threw their Explosive Tag Kunai.

*BOOM*

The northern wall of the fortress was blown up by the explosive tags.

Inside the Kirigakure fortress was a coastal village occupied by Kirigakure, and the outer wall was built later with timber, so its defenses were not high.

"[Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu]."

Fugaku's Dragon Fire Technique was quite large-scale, directly destroying several houses and killing many Kirigakure ninjas on the spot.

'[Kage Nui no Jutsu]."

Several Kirigakure ninjas surrounded them and jumped, raising their swords to attack Fugaku, but Shikaku restrained them with one move.

Fugaku killed the Kirigakure ninjas with a few shurikens on their backs.

The two created a breach for the Konoha troops, and the Konoha troops stormed in, attacking the fortress indiscriminately.

❀❀❀

Ao was reviewing the list of supplies that had just been delivered and immediately approached the window when he heard the noise.

Byakugan!

He saw through the building walls and clearly observed the attacking Konoha ninjas.

"Four hundred Konoha ninjas... Huh, it's really a trick. Do you think you can deceive me?"

Ao still believed the news that Konoha would attack the eastern fortress was false.

Thinking that these four hundred Konoha ninjas were merely drawing weapons to the southern front.

"Fortunately, I have already sent 200 elite troops to support the southern front. Now there are more than 1,700 people there."

Ao rolled his eyes. Instead of worrying about the fortress he was guarding, he was planning for his comrades on the southern front.

"Ao-sama!"

A Kirigakure ninja rushed in.

"I understand, it's just Konoha entering, isn't it? Just Konoha..."

"The second line of defense has fallen!"

"What?!"

Ao who had been strategizing calmly, suddenly lost his composure.

Kirigakure also knew that the temporary outer wall was fragile, so they built two stone positions inside the wall.

Three lines of defense were formed in the fortress.

Inside the third line of defense were the most important supply and command locations.

Ao opened his Byakugan again, confirming the authenticity of the news.

"It turns out to be Konoha's elite troops. Does Konoha plan to have both?"

He was still trying to figure out Konoha's intentions, but time waits for no one.

He immediately rushed out of the command post and deployed his troops to fill the gap in the northern position.

After all, the number of Kirigakure ninjas was twice that of Konoha in the fortress, but Konoha concentrated their power and broke through the defense line.

As long as the other ninjas filled the void, everything would be fine...

But it wasn't.

The Konoha troops led by Fugaku were incredibly brave, and their ample supply of ninja equipment allowed the Konoha troops to explode with astonishing offensive power.

Soon, under the leadership of Fugaku and Shikaku, Konoha broke through all three lines of defense.

Fugaku rushed to the warehouse and released a fireball, blowing up the warehouse wall.

When he was once again ready to use a fireball to blow up the explosive tags in the warehouse, a water wall blocked the fireball attack.

*BOOM*

In the mist, it was Ao who confronted Fugaku.

This battle between Byakugan and Sharingan from Konoha occurred between Kirigakure and Konoha.