Chapter 45

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"That's right, I calculated it all."

Toki, who was on the front lines, continued to psychologically manipulate Uchiha Shisui, the future first combat force of the Uchiha clan. Holding a picture in his hand, a smug expression appeared at the corner of Toki's mouth.

From the beginning, Toki had no intention of letting the Uchiha clan fight Kumogakure's army alone. Even if he could multiply Uchiha's hidden strengths several times over, it would still be unwise to directly confront the entire Kumogakure force.

The strategy Toki had implemented was based on a sixteen-character policy created by a great man from his past life: "When the enemy advances, we retreat. When the enemy halts, we harass. When the enemy tires, we attack. When the enemy retreats, we pursue." His elite troops were trained around Shisui's mastery of the Body Flicker Technique, giving them a significant advantage in mobility.

Instead of engaging in direct confrontations, Toki used their early victories as propaganda. This would inspire Konoha's civilian ninjas—those struggling at the bottom—to see this as an opportunity to gain battle merits. As long as they filled the ranks with civilians, the elite Uchiha forces led by Toki, a Kage-level powerhouse, would have no trouble defeating Kumogakure's army.

After all, during Konoha's founding, the Uchiha clan stood toe-to-toe with the powerful Senju clan. Despite their current decline, Uchiha's well-preserved special forces were still more than capable of handling Kumogakure, especially since their enemy had only deployed a fraction of their full strength, taking advantage of Konoha's weakened state after the Nine-Tails attack.

Toki's tactics were paying off. Small elite squads, using guerrilla tactics, were wreaking havoc on Kumogakure's forces. The squads, led by Shisui and the Hunter Team, had already inflicted significant losses on the enemy, forcing Kumogakure's army to rush toward Toki's forces in smaller batches.

However, Toki wasn't interested in a direct clash. Instead, he was lounging at a hot spring in the Land of Hot Water with Shisui, as their teams dispersed into small units, scattered across towns under the leadership of the Saber Squad's special forces. Toki's standing order to his teams was simple: hit and run, avoid direct confrontation.

This hit-and-run approach was driving the Kumogakure ninjas to the brink of insanity. Their opponent's squad configurations were too complete. Each Uchiha squad was composed of a Saber, an Archer, three Lancers, three ninjutsu user's, an Assassin, and a Messenger Rider. Their tactics were systematic: the Archer would scout, the Assassin would disable traps, the ninjutsu user would unleash A-rank level combination jutsu, and then the Lancers would retreat under the protection of the Saber.

This elusive style of combat left Troy, Kumogakure's lead ninja, utterly frustrated. His own forces' traps and defenses felt useless, as if the Uchiha were walking through them unimpeded. In desperation, Troy was forced to assign his squads to guard duty around the clock. But as the old saying goes, you can't prevent a thief every day. Within a month, Uchiha's hit-and-run tactics had already knocked out over 500 of Kumogakure's troops. Even one of their Jōnin was slain by Uchiha Inaba and Uchiha Yashiro, who were riding a Charizard.

The constant pressure and lack of rest had the Kumogakure forces on edge. Meanwhile, the Uchiha teams, led by the Saber Squad, were enjoying hot springs and wine after each mission, treating the campaign like a vacation rather than a war.

Toki ordered his teams to send daily reports of their victories and photos of their leisure time back to Konoha, where Shikaku Nara used them to fuel recruitment drives. The response was overwhelming. The enthusiasm for enlisting in the Defense Ministry reached an all-time high, with over 5,000 applications piling up at the Hokage's office. Among them were not just civilian ninjas, but even Chūnin and Jōnin, all eager to join Toki's forces. The allure of high rewards and minimal casualties was simply irresistible.

Even the elders of Konoha's other clans couldn't help but be tempted by this carefree, high-reward combat style.

Toki tossed the latest batch of reports from Shikaku to Shisui, who was shocked as he read them.

"How is this possible?"

Toki rose from the hot spring with a smile. "No one wants to follow a team that always loses battles. And similarly, when the reward is high enough, everyone becomes eager. If the return is 10%, people start to move. At 50%, they're willing to take risks. At 100%, they'll trample over laws. And at 300%, they won't hesitate to walk toward the gallows."

He continued, "Right now, the war damage in the Defense Ministry is less than 10%. Do you know what that means? We've lost fewer than 30 men while taking out nearly 600 of their troops. And the rewards for those 600 will be divided among just 200 of our fighters. When the money is distributed, each participant will earn as much as an A-rank mission reward. Don't you think that would impress anyone?"

Shisui, conflicted, responded, "But with our mobility and strength, we can pull this off. What about the village's other ninjas? They can't all perform at this level."

Not everyone was an Uchiha, and not everyone had Toki's unique advantages. Once the larger Konoha forces joined the field, Uchiha's edge in mobility would diminish, and raw power would become the deciding factor.

But Toki smiled knowingly before his face grew serious. "That's where you come in. We must take responsibility and bring back as many of our comrades as possible, those who volunteered to defend the nation. We need to be ready for a long-term battle, and it's important for the Uchiha and our new allies to work together, to bond like brothers."

"Once the right time comes, with proper teamwork, we'll achieve a miraculous victory!"

Shisui's eyes lit up, inspired by Toki's vision. "Don't worry, Patriarch! I'll lead our forces to win this war!"

Toki patted Shisui's shoulder approvingly. "Go for it!"

As Toki left the hot spring, he muttered to himself, "What kind of mixed bath is this? Not a single girl around... This kid doesn't get it. How are you supposed to open your Sharingan if you don't treat the new recruits like cannon fodder?"

With a sigh, he added, "Our Uchiha clan is too soft-hearted to handle losing comrades."

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