448. The Night Battle Part-1

Inside the Allied Shinobi forces headquarter,

In the central room,

Minato and Shikaku are seated in front of Inoichi.

"Inoichi, establish a connection with all division commanders and vice-commanders. I would like to hear the status report from them."

"Yes, Lord Fourth!"

Inoichi replays his intention to the members of the communication team and asks them to inform the commanders to prepare themselves for the meeting.

Half an hour later,

Minato, Shikaku, Inoichi, and the rest of the commanders and vice-commander appear in a virtual space.

"This… this is amazing!"

A few commanders and vice-commanders stare at their surrounding in amazement.

"This is marvelous indeed!"

Even Onoki and Rasa are shocked by the virtual space.

"What is this space?" Onoki turns to Minato in wonder.

"This space is a concept I came up with after studying the interaction between a jinchuruki and tailed beast for a few years. The Jinchuriki and the tailed-beast share a common mindscape, with their seals being the medium to link their thoughts. So, I developed something similar using Fuinjutsu."

Minato explains the details of the virtual space to them.

"To enter this space, the person requires a medium to create a link with the space. The medium and link in this case is the mind-body transmission jutsu of the Inoichi. His mind is connected to the central network of the CPS system, which helps in the amplification of his jutsu. So, using his shared link, I was able to pull everyone into this virtual space." Minato sits down on one of the seats.

"I have something important to relay to everyone." Minato glances at everyone present in the virtual space.

"We have spotted the enemy army in the following sectors." Shikaku marks the Zetsu army's position on the map.

"A quarter of the enemy forces are traveling underground. Another quarter is traveling through the sea while the rest half of the enemy army is planning to ambush our back line by taking a detour." Shikaku marks every feasible route of the Zetsu army.

"Hmm… as expected! If not for Konoha's surveillance system, we might have suffered huge losses in this war." A acknowledges Konoha's effort in the war.

"Perhaps we can use this opportunity to wipe out the Zetsu army in a direct confrontation by overwhelming them with numbers and then we can retaliate against the ambush party with the rest of our army." Onoki proposes.

"That's a good suggestion. However, we have to account for the state of our shinobis. Unlike the Zetsu army, our shinobis require food for sustenance and the long-term battle will leave with fatigue and injuries. So, we have to plan accordingly." Rasa interjects.

"Of course, I Knew it! What if we spilt our army in half and suppress the quarter of Zetsu army with brutal force?" Onoki moves a few pieces onto the table.

"Then, we can temporarily abandon the sectors near the sea and leave the Zetsu army with no enemy to battle. Meanwhile, half of our allied shinobi force can engage in a battle against the remaining Zetsu army ambushing our back line and waiting till reinforcement arrives from the first battlefield. With this, our victory will be guaranteed in the battle unless there is no unexpected situation." Onoki proposes a battle plan.

"Mmm… I agree with Lord Tsuchikage's battle plan, but there are a few things we have to take into consideration." Shikaku nods at Onoki.

"Oh! I will like to hear the thoughts of the brain of the Allied Shinobi force." Onoki ruffles his goatee.

"Lord Onoki, you forgot to consider the uncertain factor of this war, Kabuto Yakushi." Shikaku has a serious expression on his face.

"We have a definite number on the Zetsu army. However, Kabuto's Edo soldiers are indefinite. The members of our sealing unit sealed quite a few of them during the battle. However, more and more of these Edo Tensei soldiers keep appearing on the battlefield. Even the shinobis who recently died on the battlefield in the morning appeared as an Edo Tensei by the evening. So, we have to remove this uncertain factor if we want to win the war. Otherwise, our own soldiers will replenish the enemy's army." Shikaku raises a serious concern.

"Mm… I also noticed this situation during the battle." Tsunade nods at Shikaku's observation skills.

"So, I have already sent a few teams with elite shinobis to hunt down Kabuto and dispel the Edo Tensei."

"That's not the only concern of this war. The second factor that we have to consider is the night raid from enemy soldiers." Shikaku continues.

"Most of our shinobis are exhausted from today's battle, whereas the immortal soldiers of the enemy are tireless. So, they will definitely launch a sneak attack during the night to ambush and assassinate our soldiers. Especially the various commanders, vice-commanders, captains, and vice-captains. Even now, as we speak, a few of our soldiers are already engaged in the battle against the Edo Tensei soldiers in a few sectors. Not only that but while our army is resting during the night, the Zetsu army will continue marching throughout the night. So, we will have a very steep window of operation. So, Lord Onoki's plan has its flaws."

"Hmm… as expected of Shikaku Nara. It's a pleasure to have an ally like you and a nightmare to battle against you. I can still recall the Second and the Third Shinobi Wars. Your father was always three steps ahead of us." Onoki nods at Shikaku in praise.

"Very well, we will revise the plan according to Shikaku's reforms."

So, the meeting lasts for another hour before the war council concludes.

Back at the Allied shinobi force headquarters,

"Lord Shikaku, we have tallied the number of casualties for the day." One of the shinobis from the intelligence department respectfully approaches Shikaku and hands him a scroll.

Hmm…

Minato also walks beside Shikaku and glances at the report.

"We lost three thousand shinobis on the very first day of the battle while our sealing unit sealed only around three hundred Edo Tensei." Minato tightly clenches his fists.

"Yes, at this rate, a prolonged battle is not sustainable for us. Currently, our highest priority should be to remove Kabuto from this war." Shikaku sighs with a heavy heart.

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Inside the Akatsuki hideout,

Kabuto grins as he stares at the shogi pieces in front of him.

Swirl…

Tobi walks out of a swirling portal and glances at Kabuto.

"I didn't expect your Edo army to deal such a huge blow to the Allied Shinobi force."

"It's just the starting. However, the allied shinobi force has become aware of my impact on the war and they might be prepared for me during our next battle."

"That's for sure! At this rate, they will lose the war even before our armies could engage in a confrontation." Tobi is impressed by Kabuto's ability on the surface, but the wariness in his heart increases even further.

"So, what do you plan to do next?" Tobi raises a question.

Kuku…

Kabuto grins and glances at the Black Zetsu beside Tobi.

"For starters, I will switch my hiding spot since the enemy shinobis will come hunting for me like rabid dogs, and this place is not suitable for hiding anymore. Also, there is no need to look for me anymore since you won't be able to find me."

Kabuto hands over a special seed to Obito.

"This is the seed of a modified Zetsu. You can use him to converse with me. Also, I have a special surprise for the Allied Shinobi force."

Kabuto's lips widen as a white figure walks out from the shadows.

"Hmm?!"

Tobi's expression turns serious as he senses a threatening feeling from the white figure.

"Is this also a modified Zetsu of yours?"

"Not exactly!"

Kabuto waves his hand to open the white shell to reveal an unconscious Yamato.

"That's Hashirama's clone!" Tobi recognizes Yamato.

"I can use my Rinnegan to extract the intel about our enemies from him." Tobi proposes.

"That would be unnecessary since Rinnegan's jutsu will take his life. My truth serum and your Sharingan are more than enough for that task. Besides, I already have a use for him."

'Damn Kabuto… just how far have you studied our abilities?' Tobi curses Kabuto in his mind while staring at him with a poker face.

"It's not the same as the original. But he should be pretty close to the First Hokage after several of my enhancements. Though I lack the data on Hashirama Senju, he should not be that far off from my estimation."

"Very well! Let's extract the intel."

Kabuto injects another serum into Yamato's body while Tobi's Sharingan turns into Mangekyo Sharingan.

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A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, 'The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World' is out.

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