Chapter 54: Chapter 54
"Kumogakure has officially declared war on Iwagakure and Konoha. Iwagakure has done the same. According to our intelligence, Kirigakure is rapidly mobilizing its troops, so we can consider that they will be declaring hostilities soon," Shikaku stated, providing a brief overview of the recent declarations made by the Lightning Daimyo and the Earth Daimyo.
"What about the Sand Village? Have they made any declarations?" One of the clan representatives questioned regarding the last major village's intent.
"As of now, out of the five major countries, the Wind Daimyo has declared neutrality and stated that they will not be participating in this war. However, they will retaliate if anyone encroaches on the Wind's territory," Shikaku continued. Sunagakure, which had suffered heavy losses during the Third Shinobi War, had not fully recovered, and they declared neutrality, carefully avoiding involvement in the conflict.
"So we are here to finalize the troop deployment. I understand that we might have to fight on three fronts if Kirigakure joins the war, but I am confident that the Will of Fire will prevail, just like in the previous wars," Hiruzen commented, and the discussion for the main troop deployment began in earnest.
"The Uchiha clan will be deployed to the Kiri front. With their Sharingan, they should be able to hold against the Kiri forces, and with Fugaku, they should be able to endure if the Kiri deploy their bijuu. Clan Leader Fugaku will be personally in charge and has been appointed as the commander for the Kiri battlefield, with Clan Leader Tsume acting as the deputy." In addition, Shikaku also mentioned a few other clans that would support the Uchiha on the Kiri front.
"Next, about the Kumogakure battlefield, it will be personally led by Jiraiya-sama as the commander, and I will act as the deputy. However, the Hyuga clan will be split in two and deployed on the Iwa and Kumo fronts. The Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clans will also be deployed in addition to the Kumo battlefield." Shikaku continued his report, naming a few more clans that would fight against the Cloud Shinobi.
"As for the Iwagakure front, Tsunade-sama will be the commander, and Clan Head Hiashi will act as the deputy, along with half of the Hyuga. The Sarutobi clan will be deployed as well." Shikaku finished assigning the clan shinobi to each battlefront.
In Konoha's current state, they could field somewhere close to thirty to thirty-five thousand troops, and if necessary, they could field up to forty thousand troops. Out of this number, only a part consisted of clan Shinobi; the rest were all civilian ninjas. These leaf ninjas were allocated according to the battlefield requirements. In the current Shinobi world, Iwagakure could field the highest number of troops, followed by Leaf, and then Kumo.
"So what about the medical troops and the scrolls? I understand we do not have a large stock on hand. How are they being allocated?" One of the medium-sized clan representatives couldn't help but question the allocation of these strategic resources. If they were to assign these items based on contributions, then most of these life-saving treasures would be monopolized by the larger clans, and they might even hoard these items for the future, even if they do not need them currently.
It was Hiruzen who spoke to settle everyone's worries. "No one has to worry about these items and medicines. The Village Council has decided not to distribute them based on contributions but to provide a fixed number for each battlefield. I hope that the commanders in each field do not abuse this authority and provide the items to any Shinobi who is in dire need of these treasures.
Additionally, ninety percent of the current stocks will be split between the Kiri and Kumo battlefields. I will try to establish a constant supply of these scrolls and medicines with the help of the Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka clans." The moment Hiruzen declared his words, the clans assigned to Kumo and Kiri were delighted, especially the Uchiha, who gave Hiruzen a respectful nod.
The only person unhappy with this decision was Hiashi Hyuga, who was assigned as the deputy for the Iwagakure front. Although he knew that the Slug Sage, Tsunade, was a god-like entity when it came to Iryo Ninjutsu, she couldn't be as effective as the medical scrolls, which acted as a portable medic. Having the highest-level scroll was like having an extra life. Therefore, he was not reconciled with being allocated only ten percent of the current stocks. Despite Hiruzen's promise of a steady supply, no one knew how long this war would last, and having one extra scroll could mean saving one more Shinobi's life, so he couldn't help but speak.
"Hokage-sama, it's not that I doubt Tsunade-sama's capability. No matter how strong she is, she's still one person. Don't you think assigning only ten percent of the current stock to the Iwagakure front will be detrimental? For all we know, the Leaf ninjas facing the Iwagakure side might be dealing with the highest numbers." The Hyuga clan head's question made the small and medium clans assigned to the Iwagakure front whisper in agreement. They didn't voice their opinions openly because of the presence of the Senju princess.
However, only those who knew the truth, like Hiruzen, Shikaku, and Tsunade, couldn't help but sigh internally, realizing how absurd the Hyuga clan head's words were. For the other battlefields, they would have to rely completely on the stock they started with until a steady supply could be established. Even then, the highest-level scrolls would not be available because, currently, Kazuki was the only one who could create them. The Iwagakure front could be considered the luckiest because they would have the scroll's creator himself acting as their supply point, actively creating more scrolls while on the battlefield. Additionally, the Iwa front would have an Iryo-nin of equal caliber to Tsunade herself in the form of Kazuki. However, Hiruzen couldn't openly voice these words, as doing so would only make the enemies actively target Kazuki on the battlefield.
However, before Hiashi's question could add more confusion, Tsunade spoke up, "Hyuga clan head doesn't have to worry on that front. Although the current Senju clan might not have enough personnel to contribute to the war, we would like to contribute in other ways. The Senju clan has procured quite a substantial number of scrolls from the Nara clan in advance, so I will contribute them to the Iwa front. Rest assured, Hiashi, that even if the other fronts were to face a shortage of these scrolls, the Iwa front would not encounter such difficulty. I can promise everyone that much," she confidently declared.
Tsunade did purchase some scrolls for the Senju clan from her student, but that was nowhere near enough to meet the Iwa front's requirements. However, she was confident that with Kazuki around, he must already hold a substantial number of scrools on his person due to his cautiousness, which, according to her, bordered on paranoia. Sometimes, she always felt that the kid was on guard against some unknown enemy.
"Understood, Tsunade-sama. Thank you for your consideration. With your words, now I can feel reassured." Although Hiashi questioned the Hokage out of concern for his clan's shinobi's lives, he knew when to stop. With Sannin's promise, he was now confident about these strategic resources.
"Well, now that's settled. The ANBU and the medical team will be deployed according to their necessity. Although the Sand Village has declared neutrality, we cannot let our guard down because of their words. So, the Shimura clan, along with a few civilian ninjas, will be stationed on the Wind Country border just in case." Hiruzen made this decision because, after Danzo's recent fiasco, most of the clans in Leaf harbored animosity towards the Shimura clan.
The clan had lost most of its elites during the explosion, and Hiruzen wanted to help the Shimura clan retain their remaining members so they could progress steadily in the future. Although Hiruzen held some resentment toward Danzo, it didn't extend to the Shimura clan. With all of Danzo's supporters now dead, he didn't want to punish the innocents of the Shimura clan. Hiruzen understood that this way, a few bad eggs might escape, but the alternative would be wiping out the entire clan, which Hiruzen would not agree to.
The meeting went on for another two hours before it concluded, and everyone departed. Shikaku had called for a clan meeting before they departed for the battlefield tomorrow because he had to assign various personnel to take care of the clan affairs while he was away at battle. The Nara clan, as the supplier of medicines, would have to work even harder during times of war, as each additional batch of medicines they produced could end up saving a shinobi's life in need.
Although the Nara could be considered the top among the medium-sized clans within Konoha, they were not very well known for their fighting prowess. Currently, in total, the Nara have close to forty Jonin-level ninja, with only five elite Jonin-level Shinobi. This included all the Nara Shinobi, even those not on active duty due to advanced age. This might seem like a lot, but one should understand that a clan like the Uchiha alone could field close to thirty elite Jonin. The difference between the two was vast, and the Nara clan had no Kage-level ninja. The closest one who had the possibility of reaching that stage in recent years was Shikaku's younger brother, who perished during the Nine-Tails attack. However, he was confident that Kazuki, in the future, if provided with enough time for growth, would reach that stage. Maybe even Shikamaru, if that kid puts enough effort in that direction.
All the Jonin-level ninja were part of the meeting, with a single exception being Kazuki himself. Since the day he found the ritual, more than a dozen of the Nara members have gone through it, including Shikaku, Shikamaru, and Kazuki himself. They had an inherent advantage while fighting Shinobi of the same rank.
"Well, our clan has been assigned to the Kumogakure battlefield, so we might be facing more threats after our clan personally targeted their Jinchuriki. I hope you all remain cautious. For those who have not yet received the shadow puppets, I have procured them. The amount should be able to supply one each for all our Jonin-rank Shinobi. Due to a recent windfall, I also managed to get my hands on a substantial amount of chakra ore, which I had forged into suitable weapons. Please take your pick and assign the remaining to the outstanding Elite Chunins among our clan." Shikaku didn't hold back from providing the things he had procured lately. Kazuki, after tirelessly working with the help of his shadow clones, was able to create about two dozen shadow puppets.
In addition to the ones they already had at hand, they should be able to provide all the Nara Jonin's with one. Although these items were precious, in one's life, such items were trivial. So, he did not hold back and even had the chakra ore that Kazuki provided forged into suitable weapons for their clan members. Then he started distributing a few specialized tags among the clan, explaining their usage, which they gratefully accepted.
"Clan head, I am not being greedy or something, but I would like to know if we were able to gain anything substantial in regards to the highest level of medical scrolls from the Fuin grandmaster." Nara Jonin couldn't help but ask with a sheepish look. Unlike most clans, the Nara people were much more close-knit and didn't have an issue raising such sensitive questions with the clan head. Even among the Nara clan, only Shikaku, Yoshino, and the senior elder were aware of the grandmaster's true identity. Most in the clan believed that Kazuki was the student. Even though having a grandmaster's grace was a blessing to the Nara clan, the Nara Jonin couldn't help but ask because, though they were Shinobi and death was an everyday occurrence, who wouldn't want to live if they had a chance?
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