Reciprocity

Minato quickly arrived at the camp.

As the hole in the commander's tent was being repaired, Orochimaru and Minato entered the tent and returned to the sand table.

"Although we thwarted Kumogakure's actions last night, it also caused significant losses for us." Orochimaru said, staring at the sand table.

Minato agreed: "Yes, I think the number of casualties might be in the dozens."

"Thirty-six lightly injured, nine severely injured, and twelve dead." Orochimaru, as the supreme commander, accurately stated the casualty report. "There are also tents and fortifications that need to be replenished together. Let Kumogakure feel the consequences."

"Could it be that you want to...?" Minato had a guess in his mind.

"Correct, just like them, we will attack their camp at night." Orochimaru replied, his tone calm but also showing a hint of coldness.

"I plan to assign this task to you." Orochimaru suddenly looked up, catching Minato off guard.

Minato did not agree immediately. He pointed to the sand table map and began to analyze: "I think this is inappropriate."

"The reason they managed to infiltrate the camp to rescue the spy last night was not just due to the negligence of the patrolling ninjas, but also because of the terrain."

"There are dense forests. Additionally, it is prone to fog at night. This gives Kumogakure ninjas opportunities. The terrain is a flat rocky highland without vegetation or even cover. Our night attack would be easily spotted and it would be difficult to escape the enemy's pursuit."

But Orochimaru turned around and waved his hand, his tone flat: "That's why I'm giving this task to you. I don't care about the difficulties this mission might face, I only need to see the results."

"It's up to you to decide the specific details of the mission. At the latest, within three days, I want to see Kumogakure suffer at least ten times the losses we did."

Orochimaru then stopped talking, and Minato left reluctantly.

Minato felt quite helpless because a hasty decision would cause serious losses on their side if he was not careful.

He could only try his best to come up with a more stable plan to ensure the mission's completion while reducing casualties.

As he worried, he thought of one person, and that was Shintaro.

"Maybe he can give me some advice..."

He found Shintaro, who was patrolling the battlefield, and explained the mission set by Orochimaru straight to the point.

Shintaro first sighed in his heart: "Orochimaru is indeed very unkind and insistent on his own way."

Then he began to think about the dilemma Minato faced.

Indeed, the terrain was an important factor.

The terrain in the Land of Frost was sufficient for the ninjas patrolling at night to clearly see the surrounding enemies, and even if the task was completed, it would be difficult for those carrying out the task to escape, and they would need to find a very simple way.

Shintaro squatted on the ground and used a tree branch to carve a simple topographic map.

Minato was quite surprised by this. After all, Shintaro had only seen the battlefield map in the commander's camp.

"Since Kumogakure will attack at night, we should retaliate and make our move louder."

Shintaro ignored Minato and talked to himself.

Minato heard from his words that the other party seemed to have an idea.

"Kumogakure's ninja camp is here, right?" Shintaro asked.

Minato nodded, so Shintaro continued: "This is the only highland for miles with a wide view. They must think that camping here is safe."

"But there is another way we can get closer."

Shintaro looked up at him. Minato, being intelligent, immediately understood his meaning.

"You mean... approaching from underground?" Minato's eyes already showed a clear understanding.

"Yes, we can send Earth Release ninjas ahead to open a tunnel underground and enter the camp after approaching the highland. After causing damage on a certain scale, the troops will retreat in the same way and use explosive tags to blow up the tunnel entrance and block the enemy's pursuit route."

Minato clapped his hands and praised, "This plan is reliable, we can try it."

The two then discussed the specific details of the plan and finally decided on the time and number of participants for the night attack.

Minato then summoned two hundred front-line troops and carefully selected fifty elites among them.

Among the fifty, there were three Jonin, including Minato. The rest were all at the Chunin and Special Jonin level, and there was not a single Genin.

Among these ninjas, half were Earth Release ninjas and ninjas proficient in Earth Ninjutsu.

All members of Inuzuka Gaku's team were selected.

❀❀❀

The next day, at dusk, this fifty-man force had made all preparations, gathered supplies, and brought a large number of explosive tags.

Under Minato's leadership, everyone crossed the border of the Land of Frost and began approaching the Kumogakure camp.

By the time they reached a distance where the Kumogakure camp could be seen with the naked eye, it was already night.

Everyone hid on a gentle slope, observing the Kumogakure camp on the horizon.

Minato ordered: "Stop advancing, start digging here, and pay attention to concealment."

At this distance, it was still possible to be discovered if they were not careful, so everyone hid behind the slope and started digging.

This not only hid their figures but also concealed the dug-out gravel and soil.

Shintaro continued to use Earth Release to break the ground. Daichi, beside him, was an Earth Release ninja. He also used Earth Ninjutsu to break the hard rocky soil into gravel and debris.

Compared to other Earth Release ninjas, Daichi's achievement in Earth Ninjutsu was considered outstanding.

Next to Daichi was Kiromaru, who helped dig the soil with his claws. Daichi proudly said to Gaku, who stood beside Kiromaru: "How is it? Is my Earth Release power enough for a promotion?"

"If you can be promoted to Special Jonin... that is certainly possible." said Gaku, stroking his beard.

Daichi was elated: "Great, it seems I'm one step closer to my dream!"

Shintaro was digging the soil and asked, "What's your dream?"

"My dream is to become a great ninja like the Sannin or Minato-sama." Daichi detailed his true thoughts.

Shintaro replied in a rising tone and asked, "Oh? Why not become Hokage?"

Daichi quickly waved his hand and said, "I still have some self-awareness."

"But I think you have a good chance of becoming Hokage."

Hearing Daichi's words, Shintaro just smiled and didn't answer.

Seeing this, Daichi said: "Anyway, you are very talented, you can definitely do it. If you become Hokage in the future, thank me for my prediction."

Before Shintaro could respond, Gaku interrupted Daichi's enthusiasm and said, "Almost done. Everyone else is working hard, and you are still chatting here."

Daichi shut his mouth reluctantly.

Isamu watched the fun and said, "Weren't you going to become a great ninja like the Sannin? Why are you giving up so quickly?"

Daichi stubbornly said: "What do you know? This is called enduring humiliation!"

Takuto, who was yawning, laughed heartily, making Daichi suddenly feel very embarrassed, and he started working hard with a red face.