Chapter 223 Pre-war meeting

On the morning of the second day, Ye Shan woke up on time, first went to the training ground to practice, and then started his day's work after dawn.

Approving documents, meeting with ninjas, etc., the life and work of the Hokage was very boring and consumed a lot of Yeshan's physical strength and energy. After a simple lunch, he went to the conference room to hold a meeting.

It is worth mentioning that the meeting held at noon today had a large number of participants. Almost all the commanders, big and small, on the front line came. Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Minato Namikaze, and Uchiha Fugaku were all present. They put down what they were doing just to discuss how to end the Ninja World War.

The Ninja World War lasted for two and a half years. Although Konoha achieved brilliant results, it also paid a heavy price. The long-term mental tension caused many ninjas to have psychological problems. The war really could not be dragged on any longer.

All the elite jonin sat quietly in the meeting room. Most of them were serious, except for Jiraiya, a thick-skinned guy, who was slurping a bowl of steaming ramen with gusto...

When Ye Shan brought Nara Shikaku into the conference room, he saw Jiraiya, who was sweating profusely while eating, and couldn't help but smile and said, "Whose ramen is this? It smells delicious!"

Jiraiya scratched his head and replied nonchalantly, "It's a very popular Ichiraku Ramen restaurant. Hasn't Hokage ever eaten there?"

"Ichiraku Ramen~" Ye Shan smacked his lips and said, "I've eaten it once or twice, it tastes really good. You eat it first, the meeting will start in a few minutes anyway."

Upon hearing this, Jiraiya quickened his eating speed and did not put down his soup until he had finished the last mouthful. He wiped his hands on Orochimaru's clothes beside him and sat up straight.

Nara Shikaku stepped forward upon seeing this, cleared his throat and announced: "The 9th General Operations Meeting of Konohagakure has officially begun. Let's start with the first session, where the commanders will report on the latest situation on the front line."

Orochimaru wiped his clothes in disdain, stood up, made hand seals and saluted before saying, "At present, everything is normal on the battlefield of Wind Country. The Kazekage and the Sand Ninja are suppressed outside Kikyo Castle. The only problem is the shortage of medicines, especially anti-toxic drugs. I hope the village can solve the problem."

Jiraiya, Minato Namikaze, and Uchiha Fugaku reported in turn. The content was similar, saying that the front line was as stable as a rock, but there were some harmless problems. They said this every time because the actual situation was like this.

The Sand Ninjas have occupied one third of the territory of the Rain Country, the Rock Ninjas have occupied the entire territory of the Grass Country, the Cloud Ninjas have simply withdrawn to lick their wounds, and the Mist Ninjas have been completely crippled. This is the current situation.

Everything is going according to Hayama's plan, except for Hanzo, the Rain Ninja Village Yamashita, who is known as a demigod. About two years ago, Orochimaru led a team to the Rain Country to capture the leader of the organization called "Akatsuki". It was thought to be a sure thing, but it failed unexpectedly. Not only did Hanzo die tragically in the village, but the Rain Country also changed overnight, and the grassroots leader Yahiko successfully took over.

Of course, we can't blame Shan Shuyu Hanzo for his incompetence. Hundreds of jonin were defeated by the Rinnegan. If it weren't for Orochimaru's cleverness, the elite sent by Konoha would have never returned. From then on, the Rain Country fell into greater chaos. The Sand Ninja, Konoha, and Rain Ninja fought hard on the tiny land. In the end, it was Yeshan who took action personally to solve the problem. The Rain Country was divided into three parts, with Konoha, Akatsuki, and Sand Village each occupying one part. Everyone was very satisfied, except for the daimyo of the Rain Country. The territory was directly reduced by two-thirds, and it would be a miracle if the daimyo was satisfied.

I have to say that the Samsara Eye is really powerful. Not only can it perform various strange and bizarre techniques, but it can also control the cycle of life and death. Even Ye Shan can't do anything to him. Otherwise, how can the Akatsuki organization stand up to him? The bones and residues have long been swallowed up!

Ye Shan sat upright on the chair, and after everyone had finished reporting, he began to speak: "Since the outbreak of the Ninja World War two and a half years ago, the village has achieved a great victory that has never been seen in the previous two wars, and has completely secured its position as the overlord. But recently many ninjas have reported low morale, and the daimyo has also said that it is difficult to sustain financially. I think it is time to end it. If you have any plans, just bring them up."

Uchiha Fugaku looked at the faces of the people around him, and seeing that they all had such expressions, he breathed a sigh of relief and stood up and said, "At present, the Rock Village has not shown any signs of fatigue. They have sufficient troops, especially the middle and lower ninja groups, which seem to be endless. However, according to the intelligence ninja report, the supply line of the Rock Village is very long, especially the supply of ninja tools and medicines are all dependent on domestic production. I think we can send an elite team to sneak into the rear to destroy their supply line. Once the supply of materials is gone, the Rock Village will collapse without a fight!"

Namikaze Minato nodded and added: "The problem now is that the supply line of Iwagakure Village is very long, and it is not easy to destroy it. In addition, the team we sent out before was almost wiped out, and their defense force is also very strong."

Ye Shan pondered for a moment, staring at the map and sliding his finger, and finally landed on a place called Kannabi Bridge: "Destroying a section of the road can be repaired quickly, our target is the enemy's bridge! Kannabi Bridge spans hundreds of meters, it is a work of the Grass Country that spent all its national strength to build, blow it up!"

Again, although the fighting between ninjas is very mobile, they still have to eat, drink, defecate and urinate. Since they have to eat, drink, defecate and urinate, supply lines are necessary. In this era of transportation dominated by cattle and horses, strategic materials rely heavily on civilians. The Kannabi Bridge connects the widest and longest river in the Grass Country. It is the only place in the country where you can cross the river without taking a boat. Once it is blown up, half of the supply line of the Hidden Rock Village will be destroyed. By then, Konoha will not have to do anything, and any Tsuchikage will have to retreat if he has any brains.

Uchiha Fugaku walked in front of Ye Shan, pointed at the location of the Kannabi Bridge, frowned and said: "Kannabi Bridge is easy to defend but difficult to attack. There is a squadron of about 200 elite ninjas stationed there all year round. I have sent teams out several times before and all failed. If you want to complete the mission, you need to launch a large-scale feint attack in advance to confuse the enemy, otherwise it will be impossible to complete the mission."

Concentrate all forces to attack the enemy by surprise, and then take advantage of the enemy's confusion to fish in troubled waters. This is the battle plan proposed by Uchiha Fugaku. It is very simple, but everyone present agrees. The reason is that the battle between ninjas is very mobile, and Konoha can't let Hayama, the Hokage, go out to blow up the bridge himself, right?

"Fugaku, you are the person in charge on the front line, so you are responsible for this matter. You will also be the one to select the team to carry out the mission. In short, I want to see the Kannabi Bridge blown up within two months!" Ye Shan said in a deep voice.

Uchiha Fugaku nodded, turned to look at Namikaze Minato, and said with a smile: "I have already thought of the team that will carry out the mission. The yellow flash of Konoha makes the enemy terrified, so it would be best if he could do it!"

Namikaze Minato raised his eyebrows. He didn't expect Uchiha Fugaku to specifically ask him to participate in the mission. He hadn't been to the frontline battlefield for a long time, so he smiled and said, "That couldn't be better. I've been feeling unwell lately. It's time to go out and stretch my arms and legs."

"But Kakashi and his four companions are not strong enough to complete this high-risk mission. Fugaku, you have to send me a few more experts to cooperate with you."

"I go!"

"I go!"

Two people stood up in the meeting room one after another. Ye Shan looked up and found that they were his old acquaintances, Konishi Kakuei and Hyuga Tetsujiro. He was about to agree, but Uchiha Fugaku rejected it: "No!"

"You two are both elite jonin that the enemy is paying close attention to. If you don't show up during the feint attack, the enemy may notice something. Infiltration and sabotage missions should be completed by ninjas who are not well-known at ordinary times, otherwise it will easily fail."

Ye Shan turned his head and looked at the ANBU ninja standing in the conference room. He meant to let the ANBU complete the mission because they met the criteria, but Fugaku rejected it again: "The ANBU team has great attack and killing power, but it is very lacking in combat endurance and is not suitable for carrying out the mission."

The Anbu is all about fighting to the death. It is full of guys with strong martial ethics. There are no non-combatants, so they are naturally not suitable for continuous covert operations.

It should be noted that stealth operations cannot be completed in a short period of time. It requires the executor to have sufficient patience, accurate judgment, and sustained combat capability. This requires a qualified commander, an excellent medical ninja, and a keen reconnaissance ninja. None of them can be missing.

However, given the size of Konoha, there are not many ninja teams that have all the above capabilities. Even if they do, they will be the focus of enemy attention. Wherever they go, there will be people watching them, so it cannot be said to be a secret operation.

At this time, Ye Shan had already guessed the suitable team in Uchiha Fugaku's mind, but he did not express his opinion. Instead, he ended the topic: "We will discuss the team members later. Now let's talk about the issue of the Wind Country."

Uchiha Fugaku looked at Yeshan meaningfully, then returned to his seat, crossed his arms and had an expressionless face.

The front line in the Land of Wind is completely different from that in the Land of Grass. Their supply lines are everywhere in the vast desert, and infiltration operations would be a joke. So Orochimaru and Jiraiya stated on the spot that as long as they added 5,000 troops, they could end the battle within three days.

Ye Shan almost vomited blood. Five thousand more soldiers? You dare to ask? There are only more than 20,000 ninjas with ninja numbers registered in Konoha at this stage, and most of them have been sent out to participate in the war. Even if he is a Hokage, he can't conjure up 5,000 troops!

"No, a maximum of one thousand people!" Ye Shan rejected it outright, but also made a concession: "I will urge the daimyo to send the medicine as soon as possible. The Sand Village is fighting on two fronts and they can't take care of themselves. A thousand more soldiers will be enough."

In several Ninja World Wars, Konoha always fought with a small force against a larger one, especially in the Second Ninja World War, where there was even an outrageous incident where a thousand people fought against five or six thousand people. Yes, that was the time when Uchiha Kagami died in battle... Normally speaking, with the excellent individual combat capabilities of Konoha Ninja Village, one against two is not a problem at all, one against three is barely acceptable, and one against five is simply a waste. Do you really think the other four countries are made of clay?

"Anyway, the Wind Country has 5,000 to 7,000, so I have the advantage! With the Sannin in charge, it won't be difficult to defeat them. I will have the Rain Country garrison launch a diversionary operation, so you don't need to worry about the enemy reinforcements."

Orochimaru licked his lips with his tongue, chuckled, and said in a hoarse voice: "Since the Hokage has said so, it would be petty for me to bargain again. A thousand people is a thousand people, and those turban guys are not tough guys."

He was right. The Sand Village was a well-known cunning village in the ninja world. They showed their strength in a favorable battle, but pretended to be dead in an unfavorable situation... There was nothing they could do. The Wind Country was poor and could not withstand the loss. On the contrary, the equally poor Earth Country was smelly and hard, like a stone in a cesspool, and was famous for being stubborn. If it were not for this, they would not have become enemies with the Water Country, even though their territory separated them from most of the ninja world. It was outrageous that the second-generation leaders of both sides took the initiative to fight and all died.

As the meeting drew to a close, Ye Shan stood up and looked down at everyone, and issued the final pre-war mobilization: "Everyone, the Third Ninja World War has been going on for a long time. I hope this is the last combat meeting. I also hope that you can all return safely, and then we can have a drink together!"

"crash"

Everyone stood up and responded in unison: "For Konoha!"

Ye Shan nodded with satisfaction, waved his hand and said, "Let's go!"

The Konoha-style instant body movement technique broke out, and in the blink of an eye the huge conference room became empty. Ye Shan sat on a chair and lit a cigarette, then threw the whole pack to Uchiha Fugaku, indicating that the latter could help himself.

Uchiha Fugaku took out two cigarettes and handed them to Namikaze Minato. Minato hesitated for a moment, but still took it and lit it. He didn't like smoking, especially under the premise that Kushina hated the smell of cigarettes, but he was led astray by others.

Ye Shan flicked the ash off his cigarette, picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea. He suddenly said something confusing: "Can they do it?"

Uchiha Fugaku exhaled smoke, looked up at the ceiling and said: "I don't know."

Namikaze Minato frowned and smoked, his eyes fixed on the door, afraid that Uzumaki Kushina would break in: "Try it."

Ye Shan pondered for a long time, and finally decided: "Let's give it a try!"

The three of them were talking about candidates for the infiltration and sabotage mission. Uchiha Fugaku's favorites were the four members of Kakashi's team, but Yeshan was very hesitant. He was reluctant to let the younger generation take risks, especially on a mission that was a life-threatening one.

But there are some things that he, as the Hokage, has no choice but to do, and Kakashi's team really meets the standards for stealth operations.

Kakashi Hatake, who was promoted to jonin not long ago, is very similar to Hayama. He has keen observation, excellent judgment, and excellent leadership. He is a true genius, and an all-round one. Kakashi is proficient in ninjutsu, swordsmanship, instant body movement, and reconnaissance. He is a natural leader.

Harano Rin is good at water-attribute ninjutsu. She has been taught by Tsunade under the special care of Hayama. She is excellent in medical ninjutsu and her combat capability is not inferior to that of ordinary elite Chunin.

Yamashiro Tatsuya's sister, Yamashiro Hoshi, specializes in wind escape and swordsmanship. She was recently promoted to special jonin and is considered a leader of the new generation.

As for Uchiha Obito, how should I put it? This kid doesn’t seem to have very good talent and his thinking is a bit eccentric, but overall he is not bad.

Ye Shan put out his cigarette, looked at the two people in front of him and said seriously: "I'll leave these four to you. The battle of Kannabi Bridge is crucial, and we must not allow any mistakes!"

Fugaku nodded without saying anything. The two of them were as close as brothers, and some things were understood without them having to say them.