Malphegor
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YTS: Ch. 145
🕑 Added 2025-04-10 11:41:48 +0000 UTCTsunade sat on the sofa, gritting her teeth as she cursed Danzō. Although she clearly understood that the village's higher-ups made this decision to gain a greater advantage in the early stages of the war, the ultimate goal was to minimize the village's losses.
But was this approach really in line with the so-called Will of Fire they always preached?
After Kei blurted out Danzō's name, Kushina shrank back and hid in the kitchen. There was no helping it—her boyfriend seemed to have turned into a mastermind behind the scenes. If Tsunade caught on to her guilty expression, how was she supposed to explain herself?
From Tsunade's perspective, she saw Kushina cautiously casting a questioning glance at Kei.
"It's fine, don't worry. Things aren't as bad as you think. The village is already selecting the second batch of troops—three thousand in total, who will leave Konoha in waves..." Kei waved his hand and explained the village's final decision to Tsunade and Kushina.
This initial group of a thousand soldiers was a decoy, not just cannon fodder.
The Third Hokage and the council elders were all shrewd—there was no way they would make a move detrimental to the war effort before the battle had even started. If things went south, they would have to bear the primary responsibility.
Aside from the first thousand troops who would follow Jiraiya and quickly reach the frontlines, the remaining three thousand would be divided into three hundred ten-man squads. Each squad would be led by core members from Konoha's major clans, jonin, the Third Hokage's confidants, and Root operatives.
Over the course of half a month, they would secretly leave Konoha under various pretexts, ultimately concealing their identities and arriving undetected at hidden strongholds and towns near the border.
This strategy maximized secrecy while rapidly forming an encirclement around the enemy forces.
Although such a tactic could only be used once and would place immense strain on logistics, if the enemy hesitated to attack, it could turn into a joke.
However, if executed successfully, it would establish a tremendous advantage in the early stages of the war.
Moreover, to minimize frontline casualties, Kei had placed Minato in the first wave of a thousand soldiers.
Additionally, he assigned the captain of the second Root squad, along with three of his team members, to scatter specially-made Flying Thunder God kunai along the route from Konoha to the frontlines.
If a major crisis arose, Kei could instantly teleport to the battlefield and turn the tide.
After all, the goal was to drag the war into a stalemate and create an opportunity for the Third Hokage to make a grand entrance—not to let Konoha get torn apart by other villages.
As for dealing with Iwa and Suna... That could wait until the Third Hokage was out of the picture.
"What about Kiri? How do you plan to handle them?" After hearing Kei's explanation, Tsunade felt somewhat reassured and immediately asked about the other front.
"We've prepared another list for a two-thousand-man unit. They'll be notified individually to conduct open training within the village, misleading the enemy while we wait for Kiri to make the first move. After all, they hold the advantage at sea."
"With knowledge of the enemy's numbers, this setup should..."
"The thousand-man unit facing Suna and Iwa will force them to divide their forces. There's no way those two villages will send a ten-thousand-strong joint army all at once. Kiri also has to keep an eye on Kumo, so we shouldn't face too much trouble."
"Who will lead these two units?"
"I don't know."
"Hm?"
"I really don't know. If this plan actually works, then the credit..."
Kei shrugged and casually sat on the sofa.
Three thousand troops sounded like a lot, but integrating scattered squads into a cohesive force in a short period—while executing an encirclement strategy—required not only skill but also immense prestige and leadership ability.
Furthermore, considering the possibility of enemy elites, the commander needed extraordinary strength. Orochimaru might be capable of handling this responsibility, but...
Heh.
"Has he lost his mind? Danzō is a bastard! Koharu and Homura must be out of their minds too..." Tsunade started cursing again.
This time, she didn't just target Danzō—the entire Konoha Council received their fair share of scolding.
Knock, knock, knock!
A knocking sound came from the door.
Kei swept the area with his sensory ability.
Upon seeing the figures of Kurenai, Guy, and Genma, he chuckled and got up to open the door.
"Sensei, Happy New Year! We wish you good health, good luck, a fulfilling life, and a harmonious family in the coming year!"
The three young ninjas bowed in unison, offering their New Year's blessings. Then, they blinked their eyes and grinned at their Kei.
"Hahaha! You guys..." Kei laughed, inviting the three of them inside and handing out small decorated envelopes he had prepared in advance, each adorned with a spiraling leaf design.
Here, there was a tradition of giving New Year's money, though it was simply called "otoshidama" - special envelopes given to children during New Year celebrations.
In the past, village elders would distribute these gifts to young shinobi who came to pay their respects. Even during the chaotic Warring States era, this custom had persisted as a way to bring hope to the younger generation.
However, the envelopes Kei handed out didn't just contain money—there was also a small New Year's charm inside.
"Thank you, Sensei!" The three bowed again, grinning with excitement.
"Hehe~ Aren't you going to open them? These contain both my and your teacher's heartfelt wishes." Kushina urged them to open the decorated envelopes.
That mischievous smile on her face immediately gave Kurenai and Genma a bad feeling. Their teacher and his wife were both very kind and caring, always looking after them. But... they also had a shared trait—both really loved pranking people.
This envelope... Could it be hiding something not-so-wholesome?
"You're the team captain. You go first?" Kurenai gulped as she turned to look at Genma beside her.
"Sensei always taught us to respect the elderly and care for the young. Guy, you're the youngest—you should go first." Genma's mouth twitched as he shifted the responsibility onto Guy, who gave a thumbs-up, flashing his dazzling white teeth.
As he spoke, he confidently tore open the red envelope. "The hot-blooded passion of youth is already surging within m—!!!"
Before he could finish, his body stiffened. His eyes widened in excitement as he let out a strange roar—he had fallen into a genjutsu.
Seeing their teammate caught in an illusion, Kurenai and Genma exchanged a knowing glance before turning toward their teacher with an exasperated look.
Hiding a triggered genjutsu inside an otoshidama?! That was way too mean!
Bang! Bang!
Kushina's fists landed lightly on top of Kurenai and Genma's heads as she scolded them.
"Is this how you treat your—uh—teammates all the time?! And I personally wrote the sealing trigger last night! Your teacher was very serious about preparing your gifts, so hurry up and open them!"
"Ahhh~ okay, okay~" Kurenai shrank her neck and exchanged a glance with Genma.
Under their teacher's expectant gaze, they reluctantly tore open their envelopes.
In an instant, both of them fell into a genjutsu as well. However, after the initial surprise, their expressions quickly changed to excitement and joy.
"What kind of genjutsu did you put in there?" Tsunade, who had been drinking a bit too much last night, had completely missed out on Kei and Kushina's preparations.
Now, seeing the three kids trapped in an illusion, she raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"A simulator."
Kei grinned.
This genjutsu idea had actually come from Shizune when she visited last time. Compared to the Swallow My Sweet Release and Tsukuyomi illusions he had used on Tsunade before, this one was much simpler.
But in terms of accelerating learning? The effect was insane.
The genjutsu lasted for two hours in real-time, but inside, the three kids would experience nearly two months' worth of training.
A personal, two-month-long, one-on-one tutoring session by a super Kage-level expert. Now that was a New Year's gift with some serious weight!
"Speak normally."
"Uh... Advanced Training Illusion?"
"For some reason, when it comes from your mouth, it doesn't sound like anything good. Also, it's the first day of the New Year, and you're making them study?!"
"Hmm? Now that you mention it... does this make me as bad as someone who gifts kids a textbook on advanced chakra theory?" Kei stroked his chin in thought.
From that perspective... was he actually just being a menace? It shouldn't be that bad, right?!
This genjutsu only lasted two hours in real life.
But a textbook? That thing could make a kid suffer through an entire holiday break!
