Land of Grass, northern hills, Konoha's forward camp.
Wearing a standard shinobi outfit, Kokugetsu walked to the command tent amid greetings from Konoha ninja along the way.
Since the deputy commander post outweighed a frontline ANBU captaincy, Kokugetsu did not wear ANBU gear.
As deputy commander, he needed no announcement; the Konoha guards at the door called inside and let him enter.
"Senior Orochimaru, long time no see." Kokugetsu bowed slightly with a smile after stepping in.
"Heh, I didn't expect my partner this time to be Kokugetsu-kun. You've risen fast. Please, sit." Orochimaru chuckled and gestured.
"All thanks to the Hokage's trust." Kokugetsu smiled lightly and sat with composure.
Orochimaru neither agreed nor denied, then asked with a smile, "In Kokugetsu-kun's view, how should we fight this war?"
"It's my first time in a high command role. I lack experience. On this, I'll defer to Senior Orochimaru."
Young and successful yet not arrogant, clear on gains and retreats—no wonder he's shot up so quickly.
"If we want to defeat Iwagakure or make them back off, the quickest method is undoubtedly decapitation."
Orochimaru had little mood to grind on at the front; it cut too deeply into his lab time.
Though the battlefield made acquiring specimens easier, he'd rather take the trouble than pay that price.
"And that is exactly what Kokugetsu-kun excels at."
Kokugetsu smiled helplessly. "I'd rather learn the art of command from you, Senior, but if reality demands it, I'll carry out the mission myself."
Flattery pleased Orochimaru, but sending a deputy commander to risk an assassination was a bit much.
"Then I'll write down my command experience from these years and give it to you."
Ah?
I was just being polite.
With years of war and a lifetime steeped in stratagems, I don't think my command is poor.
Fine—good to refine it with reference.
"That would be great." Kokugetsu beamed, looking quite pleased.
"Give me the intel. I'll prepare and move to assassinate."
"No rush. Your target isn't the current Iwa commander, but the one about to arrive—Kitsuchi."
"According to intel just in from our spy, Iwa didn't expect me to command from the outset, so they're hurriedly replacing their commander."
That report came from Yakushi Nonō.
Worth noting, Yakushi Kabuto's intel work was also solid and much to Orochimaru's liking.
"I'm about to launch a major offensive and will join the battle myself shortly."
"Given the enemy's urgency, they'll pick the shortest route, so I want you to ambush here."
Orochimaru stood and tapped the map behind him at the midpoint between Iwagakure and the front.
Any competent shinobi isn't bound by terrain; they usually won't detour.
"Understood."
"Then move."
Kokugetsu nodded and left, slipping quietly from the busy camp and flying into the Land of Earth.
After reaching the designated spot and striking, Kokugetsu left a shadow clone concealed to watch, while his true body slipped into Great Black Heaven to mind his own business.
But after a day and a night, the clone saw no sign of Kitsuchi, and Kokugetsu had to return to Orochimaru.
"Failed the assassination?" Orochimaru asked curiously.
Kokugetsu rolled his eyes. "Assassinate what? I didn't even see a ghost."
"Hm?" Orochimaru's brows knit. "That's odd. Kitsuchi did arrive to reinforce the front."
"Could the intel be off?"
"Likely. Have your spy check."
"All right."
Half a day later, Orochimaru had Kokugetsu called back.
"Got it?" Kokugetsu dropped into a seat, voice low.
"Mm. That fellow Kitsuchi flew in. We misjudged the speed."
"Looks like Ōnoki cast a technique on him to hurry him along. By sheer chance, it let him slip the noose." Orochimaru smiled wryly.
Kokugetsu frowned in thought. He'd seen Kitsuchi when he flew by—did he pass not long after Kitsuchi landed?
If so… that really was luck.
"What now? Continue?"
"Assassinating Kitsuchi and the Iwa high command will be difficult now. Take a look at this."
Orochimaru lifted a scroll from the low table and handed it over.
Kokugetsu opened it, and the contents made him laugh and cry.
Iwa had set small barriers around the leading officers' tents in the camp center, with Iwa shinobi guarding inside.
Other Iwa jōnin used Earth clones in their tents—two or three each—to confuse him.
Besides that, Iwa had stationed dedicated sensor-nin in the camp center to detect any vanishing chakra surges.
In other words, even if Kokugetsu succeeded and killed one, he'd be detected by Iwa's sensors.
"Tut-tut. Such pains taken—Iwa must've learned from Kumo's experience. Makes it hard for me to make a move." Kokugetsu shook his head, smiling.
Iwa had spies watching Konoha vs. Kumo the whole time; they knew full well Kumo-nin died in their own nest.
"You've made a name across the shinobi world. Hence the special treatment."
"If it's too tricky, forget it. Fight straight; Iwa won't gain much anyway."
"No need to forget it."
"Oh?" Orochimaru's brow jumped, surprise plain. "You're confident of killing Kitsuchi in these conditions?"
"Not that. My plan is this…"
After hearing it, Orochimaru burst out laughing. "Hahaha, what a wicked, vicious plan."
"Iwagakure is terribly unlucky to have run into you."
"I approve. Leave a week's supplies for the whole force; take the rest."
"Take as many front-line storage scrolls as you need."
"Deal." Kokugetsu smiled darkly.
Late that night, Kokugetsu slipped into the middle of Iwa's camp, drew out storage scrolls, and began laying explosive tags unhurriedly.
Since killing one would expose him, he would lay the tag arrays and strike all at once.
Explosive tags show no chakra before activation—only after.
Using the dim field light, Kokugetsu stuck tags where the tents were unlit, and ran the connecting tags into the soil.
For one person, it was a lot of work—fortunately, the Elephant-Transfer Clone did the tiring part; the true body didn't.
By four-thirty before dawn, all the tags he'd brought were set. Most tents in the camp center were wrapped in his tag arrays.
"Shame Deidara's still a kid. He'd love tonight's fireworks."
"Wait—Deidara's from Iwa's camp."
"A bit of a hell joke."
Retreating to the camp center's edge, Kokugetsu shook his head with a smile, formed a single seal, and stirred the trace of his own chakra left in one tag.
In the gloom, a spark flared; the tag on a tent exploded, one triggering another like firecrackers.
The blasts rolled on and on, far louder than firecrackers; most spectacular of all were the billowing fireballs, surging like dominoes.
Roaring flames lit the night sky, only to be smothered quickly in thick smoke, within which countless flames flared large and small.
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