Chapter 360: Orochimaru, Are You Treating Me Like a Farm Animal?

It's not that Konoha didn't put in effort—it's that Kirigakure didn't play fair, throwing their tailed beasts into the battle.

"After this meeting, I'll personally supervise assembling a team to support Orochimaru. We need to keep the enemy away from our doorstep; we can't allow the flames of war to spread into the heart of the Land of Fire," Mito Homura said, adjusting his glasses.

Koharu Utatane, looking exhausted, added, "I'll also arrange for more medical ninjas to join the forces as soon as possible. The wounded on the front line need urgent treatment."

"I'll help coordinate the supplies," Tsunade stated.

"Then I'll leave it to you all," the Third Hokage sighed in relief.

Although the losses were heavy, Konoha could still handle it. The priority now was to repel the enemy's advance.

With casualties surpassing half their forces, even though Orochimaru still had a fair number of men left, he dared not recklessly send them all to the battlefield. He feared the camp would be vulnerable to an attack—like what happened to Danzo during the Second Shinobi War, when he was ambushed by Chiyo and nearly lost his life, left permanently disabled.

Nodding in agreement, Homura and Koharu left the Hokage's office to begin their preparations.

Tsunade, ready to leave, paused. After a moment of thought, she returned to her seat, looking at the heavily burdened Third Hokage. "Old man, I think you'd better assign more people to monitor Sunagakure. I'm worried they'll seize the chance to cause trouble."

In the years following the war, Sunagakure had struggled. They had, after all, brought this upon themselves—initiating war against Konoha and ultimately losing, with a heavy war debt.

Sunagakure was poor—so poor that even the Daimyo of the Land of Wind had lost interest in them. The Third Kazekage had been forced to scour the deserts for minerals to pay off their debts. Development in Sunagakure had come to a standstill.

Tsunade did not believe that a man like the Third Kazekage, who dared wage war against Konoha, would remain passive—especially with Konoha's current state after a major defeat.

If they were to attack now, it would be the best time, while Konoha was weakened and disorganized.

The war indemnity would take over ten years for Sunagakure to pay off—and during those ten years, their progress would be stalled. The best way to escape that fate was to start another war. As soon as Sunagakure declared war on Konoha, that indemnity would become just a piece of worthless paper.

"I'll be careful," the Third Hokage nodded, taking Tsunade's words to heart. He decided to send the Anbu to gather intel and keep Sunagakure under watch. Last time, Konoha had taken a hit from the shadows. This time, he couldn't let the enemy catch them off guard again.

—--

"Lord Takuya, Lord Orochimaru has requested your presence at the command center," the messenger reported.

"Got it. I'll head over immediately," Takuya yawned, rubbing his eyes as he sat up.

He knew it. Getting a good night's sleep tonight was simply impossible.

Good thing he had foresight; he had gone to his tent and tried to sleep even before nightfall.

As expected, as soon as it got dark, Orochimaru sent someone to call for him.

Putting on his clothes and ignoring the jonin vest sent by Orochimaru's people, Takuya stretched his shoulders and arms, heading towards the command center.

"Huh."

He had expected to see many people there, but to his surprise, it was just him and Orochimaru—even Shikaku Nara, the assistant commander, was nowhere in sight.

Seeing Takuya's confused expression, Orochimaru gave a slight smile and explained, "The others have already been assigned their tasks. When my men told me you were resting, I specifically allowed you to rest a bit longer. Shikaku has joined the patrol squad—right now, there isn't much to deal with at camp, but there is a need for more personnel for patrolling and trap setting, to prevent enemy infiltration."

You're still smiling? Did reinforcements from the village arrive or something? Takuya eyed Orochimaru suspiciously. He hadn't expected Shikaku to be sent out for patrols.

"Let's cut to the chase—what mission do you have for me?"

"Takuya, your task is to intercept," Orochimaru said, pointing at the map.

"Currently, our best option is to fortify our defenses. Patrol teams and sentries are in position—but to prevent a full-scale invasion, I need you, Takuya, to cover a large area."

"...."

A farm animal couldn't be worked this hard—was Orochimaru trying to treat Takuya like some beast of burden?

Why was he being made to cover such a huge area?

"And you'll be alone, with no team to support you," Orochimaru added with a smile.

The camp was severely understaffed—they needed people to hold the camp, so there weren't enough to patrol the entire area. Thus, the burden fell on Takuya.

Damn it!

Takuya was beyond annoyed, raising a middle finger at Orochimaru in an international gesture of displeasure.

Orochimaru merely smiled, unfazed.

As long as Takuya could complete the mission, he didn't mind being insulted.

Damn, this snake bastard can even smile through this! Takuya thought angrily, raising a second middle finger for good measure.

But it was a waste of energy—Orochimaru didn't care about Takuya's gestures at all.

To Orochimaru, as long as the defense line was held and Kirigakure forces were kept from infiltrating the Land of Fire, he'd be happy to be insulted all day.

No fun at all.

Leaving the command center, Takuya knew that he was in for a long night.

"Let's just hope Yagura doesn't go all-in with an all-out attack—if that happens, it'll be really hard to handle."

Shaking his head, Takuya returned to his tent. He packed some food, sealing it into a scroll, and left the camp to head for his designated area.

Other patrol units had at least a squad or even an entire division to cover a section—but him? He was alone, patrolling a massive area all by himself.

Konoha had suffered tremendous losses—not just among jonin and chunin, but even the genin tasked with transporting supplies had been killed in large numbers.

Until reinforcements from the village arrived, Orochimaru had no choice but to tighten belts—to defend this broad front with as few men as possible.

All he could do was pray that Kirigakure wouldn't launch an all-out offensive, and hope fewer enemy forces slipped through to infiltrate their territory.

"Boom!"

Thunder roared across the night sky, lightning illuminating the dark terrain. Takuya looked up at the dark, overcast sky and muttered, "Seriously, even the weather's against us—pouring rain at such a critical time."

This rain was certainly not a friendly sign for Konoha's forces.

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Next Bonus: 1500

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(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read up to chapter 400+ at Patreon com/ Emik01. 

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