An excellent military commander usually won't be too bad at arithmetic (note: arithmetic, not mathematics). The most important difficulty among these is calculating time.
When to fight, when to defend, when to attack, when to advance, when to retreat—all of these have their considerations. War concerns the lives and fortunes of millions of people, so it must be precise, precise, and more precise.
At this moment, Jinghang was staring intently at a chart in the command tent of the Wind-Cloud Alliance army. This chart was quite strange—it wasn't a map, nor did it mark enemy and allied force distributions. It was just a large coordinate system with time marked on the horizontal axis and symbols like "Coin Battle," "Mist Rebellion," and "Konoha Attack" plotted as columns. Above all the columns was drawn a red dotted line, with small parentheses above the line containing two words: "Final Battle."
"Kazekage-sama, I always feel there's a problem with the plan."
The Third Raikage frowned.
Jinghang turned to look at the Third Raikage.
"What problem?"
"We have radios and can grasp real-time situations on all battlefields at any moment, but Konoha also has sensory ninja from the Yamanaka clan who can similarly understand the battle situation on Yuexi Peninsula. Once news of Mist's defeat spreads, I'm afraid..."
"Don't worry, old brother. Sarutobi Hiruzen won't receive that message."
Jinghang smiled slightly.
"Why not?"
The Third Raikage was somewhat surprised.
"Our radios are already equipped at the regiment level, but the Yamanaka clan's sensory ninja are also limited in number. Those capable of real-time communication over such distances are just a few—they can't be scattered everywhere like nails. As far as I know, only one person is stationed in Hidden Mist Village, and this person has been by Konoha's envoy Koharu Utatane's side and hasn't accompanied the army on expedition."
"What? Isn't Sarutobi Hiruzen afraid of Mist's defeat on Yuexi Peninsula?"
The Third Raikage was somewhat shocked.
"He really isn't afraid."
Jinghang casually poured tea for the Third Raikage.
"Don't you understand what kind of person Sarutobi Hiruzen is? He talks about peace and justice, closes with justice and peace, but the dirty schemes in his belly aren't much less than that self-proclaimed 'Darkness of Konoha' Shimura Danzō."
The Third Raikage nodded in deep agreement, accepting the tea and taking a sip.
"That's true. Danzō is bad on the surface, but this guy is rotten to the bone."
Jinghang hadn't expected the Third Raikage to make such a penetrating assessment, and immediately held him in higher regard.
"So you see, he doesn't care at all whether the Mist ninja win or lose on Yuexi Peninsula. He just hopes Yuexi Peninsula becomes as chaotic as possible, the fighting as intense as possible, and the deaths as numerous as possible. That way, wouldn't I be unable to sit still?"
Jinghang laughed.
"That makes sense. After all, that's ten thousand ninja. Even if they were ten thousand pigs, it would take days to catch them all. Who could have thought you'd move so efficiently, little brother, taking care of that bastard Yagura in just one night? Haha."
The Third Raikage laughed heartily.
"It may seem like just one night, but do you know how much thought I put into it? This wasn't easy."
"Kazekage-sama, there's always been something I don't understand."
"What's that?"
"What's that old hag Koharu Utatane still doing hanging around Hidden Mist Village?"
"What can she do? Some shameless business. Do you think a Tailed Beast is so easy to obtain?"
"Mm, that's true."
Just as the two were conversing, a shrill cry of a bird of prey suddenly came from outside the tent, and a small black shadow flew into the tent.
Jinghang's eyes lit up. He quickly wrapped iron sand around his left arm and gently raised it. A black war falcon landed lightly on it.
"Hehe, it's here."
Jinghang soothed the restless falcon.
"Don't get excited, don't get excited. I know you've had a hard time these past few days. Someone come."
A Sand ninja entered the tent.
Jinghang skillfully untied the bamboo tube from the falcon's leg and handed the falcon to the ninja.
"Feed it the tenderest lamb, egg whites, and water. Let it rest well for a few days."
"Yes."
The ninja smiled slightly and left with the falcon.
"How is it? How is it? Has it been opened?"
The Third Raikage asked urgently.
Jinghang took out the paper slip from the bamboo tube and examined it carefully by the lamplight. When he saw that the period after "Respectfully, Kakuzu" at the end had turned a faint yellow, he showed a satisfied smile.
"Hehe, the period at the end of this slip was dotted with special medicine. When exposed to light, it turns yellow after a day, proving this letter was previously opened."
"That means..."
"That old fox Sarutobi Hiruzen took the bait."
"Hahahaha."
The two looked at each other and smiled.
"Old brother, I've thought it over. You should stay and guard the main camp. Let Kōichi come with me to seal the Nine-Tails. His strength is considerable, but he's slightly lacking in experience, and that old guy Sarutobi Hiruzen still has some tricks up his sleeve."
The Third Raikage thought for a moment.
"Alright, you're the commander, you decide. Anyway, he's already mastered the sealing techniques."
"Mm, old brother, I estimate Konoha will start moving tomorrow night. You must hold out for these forty-eight hours."
Jinghang said solemnly.
"Don't worry, Kazekage-sama. With me here, that Sarutobi Hiruzen can forget about breaking through the Wind-Cloud Alliance camp!"
"Good!"
Jinghang patted the Third Raikage's shoulder. Suddenly noticing he was still clutching the paper slip, he seemed to think of something.
"Old brother, if I received news like this, shouldn't I give some reaction?"
The Third Raikage thought for a moment.
"You should give some reaction. How about... we retreat thirty li?"
Jinghang shook his head.
"If it were me, that wouldn't be my reaction. Where's Xuechi Gaoyi?"
Jinghang called out, and Xuechi Gaoyi immediately entered the tent.
"What are your orders, sir?"
Jinghang commanded:
"Right now, wake up all the puppet corps members and conduct nighttime bombing of Konoha tonight. The number of explosive tags should be three times that of daytime!"
He turned to the Third Raikage with a smile.
"This way it's reasonable."
The Third Raikage suddenly understood and gave a thumbs up in approval.
Jinghang walked back to the coordinate chart and adjusted some data.
"This way, tomorrow night will be the real final battle."
Jinghang's gaze slowly swept across the chart, suddenly freezing on "Mist Internal Strife."
"Oh no! Damn!"
Jinghang slapped his forehead.
"What's wrong! Is there some oversight?"
The Third Raikage asked.
Jinghang smiled bitterly.
"I almost forgot—there's still a great general in Hidden Mist Village. Like this, old brother, temporarily help me oversee camp affairs. I need to go bring my brother out of Hidden Mist Village, or he'll definitely die in bed!"
"Die in bed!? That serious? Then go quickly! I'll keep watch here."
Jinghang disappeared from the tent with a "poof" in a cloud of white smoke.
"A grown man dying in bed—what a great thing. People might not even want to come out. Why save him?"
The Third Raikage laughed.
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