Onoki's Pattern

"When the confidence of the people in Konohagakure was high.

In the Land of Earth, inside the Iwagakure military camp.

In the center, surrounded by a group of people, the third-generation Tsuchikage, who was the shortest but gave the impression of a heavy and sturdy mountain, sighed and said, 'The kid from the Senju clan, Yuki, launched a surprise attack out of the blue. It was truly unexpected!'

'Thanks to your foresight, Lord Tsuchikage, we didn't suffer any losses and took down a group of reckless Konoha Ninjas. This is undoubtedly a good omen for the upcoming battles!'" praised a high-ranking Iwagakure ninja below.

Others followed with compliments.

They all spoke from the heart.

Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage, had never disappointed the Iwagakure Ninjas for decades. Especially after the recent Four Kage Summit, where Onoki became the Supreme Commander of the Five Great Nations' Allied Forces, it not only significantly boosted Iwagakure's prestige in the Ninjas world, which had been in a mid-tier position among the Five Great Nations, but also worshiped him among the Iwagakure Ninjas.

Even though they had only gained a small advantage over Konoha, the praise showered upon Onoki rained down like a storm.

These compliments might have swayed others, but after over seventy years of experiencing the ups and downs of life, Onoki remained exceptionally calm.

Not only that, after listening to the rainbow praise from those around him, he snorted coldly and said without any reservation, 'A good omen? Is that what you truly believe?'

The crowd looked at each other in surprise.

Seeing this, Onoki shook his head and continued, 'If it were Iwagakure Ninjas who occupied the Land of Grass, then yes, it would be a good omen. But now, the war has reached our doorstep. What good is it to kill a few enemies? We've been on the defensive since the beginning of this battle. Yuki of the Senju clan is ruthless! Even though it would have been more advantageous for Konoha to delay, as soon as he sensed something was amiss, he didn't hesitate and immediately disrupted our plans.'

Upon hearing Onoki's words, the Iwagakure Ninjas, who had previously been pleased with the situation, couldn't help but feel their faces grow heavy.

But that's not all. Onoki continued, 'We, the Iwagakure Ninjas, might be considered fortunate, but from the intelligence we received, the Mist Village lost all their ships, the Sand Village suffered heavy losses in their logistics, and, most importantly, the Fourth Hokage Yuki led the Konoha forces in a sudden attack on the Hidden Cloud Village, and we still don't know the outcome. With all these developments, the situation of the Allied Ninjas Forces, who were caught off guard by Konoha, is extremely unfavorable!'

At this moment, Onoki was unaware of how the Hidden Cloud Village had played into Yuki's hands, facilitating his surprise attack. He might be gnashing his teeth in frustration if he had known.

However, even so, when Onoki pointed out the current situation, the seriousness on the faces of the others became even more pronounced, and there was no longer a sense of ease they had felt before.

It was at this moment that Onoki's son, Kurotsuchi, an experienced Iwagakure commander, took a deep breath and said, 'Although Konoha has gained an advantage due to the element of surprise, we can see that the Mist Village and the Sand Village still have living forces. It won't be long before they recover. As for the Hidden Cloud Village... even if it's the Fourth Hokage Yuki, it won't be easy to eliminate them completely, and Konoha, strong as it is, cannot surpass the combined power of the Five Great Nations. Even now, even though Konoha has achieved some gains, the number of Konoha Ninjas blocking our path is still five thousand less than ours.'

'Our advantage is still there.'

Upon hearing Kurotsuchi's explanation, many people breathed a sigh of relief. Their emotions had fluctuated dramatically earlier, and they had thought their situation was precarious.

Seeing this, Onoki nodded slightly in agreement with Kurotsuchi and continued, 'Kurotsuchi is right. From a military perspective, even though Konoha has the strongest military strength in the Ninjas world, it is at a disadvantage facing the combined strength of almost the entire Ninjas world. As for the Fourth Hokage Yuki, under the name of the Allied Ninjas Forces, our "ally" Uchiha Madara has already informed Uchiha Itachi about the war, and the latter will soon engage him. So, although Konoha has gained some advantages by striking first, it won't be long before the advantage tips in our favor. But!'

At this point, Onoki's tone became more severe, and he gazed seriously at everyone, 'War is never just about paper data. We never expected Konoha to blossom in so many ways and achieve such results. Who can predict what other tricks they might have up their sleeves in the future?'

'So, to avoid unnecessary trouble, when we have the advantage, we must act decisively and not hold back.'

One of the main reasons why military alliances with strong paper strength have few victories is that the parties within the alliance have various motives.

Today, if I lose more and others lose less, it will create a sense of imbalance, and there is a fear that someone within the alliance will intentionally weaken themselves using the enemy's blade.

There are many suspicions among the parties within the alliance, and this often leads to situations where allies stand idly by when their allies are in trouble. The enemy takes advantage of it, ultimately resulting in defeat.

At this moment, Onoki is determined to avoid this situation.

Especially when it was agreed that the Five Great Nations would join forces. And now, the Mist Village, the Sand Village, and the Hidden Cloud Village have suddenly fallen silent for a significant period.

The Iwagakure Ninjas who had such thoughts were probably quite a few.

Onoki and Kurotsuchi had just emphasized this point to dispel any such notions.

Although Onoki had always been known as the "Two-Tailed Dragon" by the outside world, harming others for his own benefit.

Even the Fourth Raikage, Ei, was worried that if the Five Great Nations won, Onoki would surely betray the Hidden Cloud Village.

But this time, Onoki was doing something that benefited others at his own expense.

It wasn't that he suddenly had a sense of international dedication.

Rather, he was well aware that only if the Iwagakure Ninjas were willing to sacrifice their own interests and act in the public's interest the other four nations would let go of their last bit of vigilance and truly unleash their full strength.

Only by truly uniting the forces of the Five Great Nations could there be a real chance of defeating Konoha and the Fourth Hokage Yuki, and... Uchiha Madara!

For this reason, the Iwagakure Ninjas were willing to make great sacrifices.

After all, the Iwagakure Ninjas had no ambitions like Konoha, and even if they defeated Konoha, the Ninjas world would still be satisfied with a situation where the Five Great Nations coexisted.

So, for the time to come, the twenty thousand Iwagakure Ninjas had no time to waste, and they had to act with all their might.

To show Konoha, the other four nations, and the entire Ninjas world the determination of the Iwagakure Ninjas in this war.

'With the advantage of five thousand extra Ninjas, the fifteen thousand Konoha Ninjas must be defeated by the Iwagakure Ninjas as quickly as possible. This way, Konoha will have no chance of turning the tide. Therefore, I ordered the twenty thousand Iwagakure Ninjas's immediate departure to head straight for the Konoha army. Remember! Go all out!'

At this moment, with his eyes full of seriousness and determination, Onoki addressed the crowd.

'If anyone intentionally delays, saves their strength, or fears death,' he warned, 'then don't blame my Dust Release for not discriminating!'

'Yes!' came the unanimous reply from everyone present.

Even if some had objections, with Onoki's unwavering attitude, they had no choice but to sigh deeply and follow his orders.

'So, let's act according to the plan!' With that, Onoki nodded in satisfaction.

'Yes, sir!'