Konoha's Will of Fire unites all its ninjas, and most people living in the village agree with this ideal.
The thousands of Chao also agree, but when everyone is united, the individual's strength must be strong as well.
The current situation in the ninja world is somewhat similar to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods from the previous life, where various countries fought constantly and wars never ceased. It wasn't until the King of Qin, Ying Zheng, unified the world and later Liu Bang, the Emperor of Han, overthrew the tyrannical Qin that the wars finally stopped.
The tailed beasts were divided among the villages by Hashirama Senju so that the major shinobi villages had enough power to deter foreign enemies.
But that power did not stop war power only increases people's ambition. If Hashirama had cooperated with Uchiha Madara back then to directly unify the ninja world through force, perhaps the three Great Ninja Wars would never have happened.
After living in the ninja world for so many years, Chao Yanqian's thoughts gradually changed. At first, Mizuno viewed things as an outsider, but now he often thinks like a Konoha ninja.
The position determines the mindset, and the difference in one's role also determines the starting point of one's perspective.
There is a fundamental difference between peace brought about by mutual understanding and peace created through unification. But what if mutual recognition could be achieved after unification? Perhaps peace would last a little longer.
Simply put, it's about combining the ideologies of Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara taking the essence and discarding the flaws.
And the only thing that can accomplish this is strength.
Returning to the surveillance post, Chao Yanqian said to everyone, "Mr. Lu Jiu has already started the deployment. Don't worry!"
"That's good!" said Hyuga Hiashi.
"Keep watching! I'm going to rest. When it's time to switch shifts, remember to wake me!" Chao Yanqian added.
"Alright!"
During the conversation with Nara Shiraku, at first Chao Yanqian was merely trying to justify his actions. In truth, the original purpose of releasing Orochimaru to gain power wasn't to protect Konoha it was to strengthen himself.
However, after living in Konoha for so long, Asa Denizou's mindset changed from that of an outsider to that of a Konoha ninja. Unconsciously, even Asa Denizou may not have noticed that he'd developed different feelings toward Konoha.
The idea of defecting didn't matter much to Mizuno China at first, but in order to stay in Konoha, he resorted to various forms of concealment.
When he sees Konoha ninjas sacrifice themselves, he feels anger.
When he hears that Kumogakure has invaded Konoha, he immediately begins to consider strategies to counter them.
However, no matter how much Chao Yanqian's current mindset has shifted, his instincts shaped by knowledge from a previouslife still sometimes resist aligning fully with Konoha.
The human heart is the most unpredictable. True mutual understanding between people exists only in fiction.
But now that he has power, Chao Yanqian also hopes he can bring change to Konoha.
Exhale!
He opened his eyes, turned to Hyuga Hiashi, and said in a low voice, "From now on, cancel the surveillance. Hiashi, please head to camp and inform Mr. Shikaku to immediately mobilize all frontline ninjas. Surround Kumogakure's troops and cut off their retreat."
"What!?"
Hyuga Hiashi was stunned. This was different from their earlier strategy. Why the sudden change?
"Just go!" Chao Yanqian said in a firm tone. "In one hour, I will launch an assault on Kumogakure's front-line forces. You have only one hour."
"Chao Yanqian, you're not joking, are you?" Hyuga asked in disbelief.
"Of course not," Chao Yanqian replied.
"Then use the [Flying Thunder God Technique] to go tell Shikaku yourself!" Hyuga Hiashi suggested.
"No. If I go, they'll stop me! Only if you go and say I've already acted will they move to support me!" Chao Yanqian said with a smile.
"This…" Hiashi hesitated. After all, this plan would nullify their original ambush strategy and throw Konoha's situation into uncertainty.
"Just go! Hiashi!" Hyuga Xiangyun tugged his arm. "If you delay any longer, it'll be too late!"
"…Alright!"
"A wise decision. I believe in you," Hyuga Xiangyun added with a confident glance at Chao Yanqia before leaving with Hiashi.
Kumogakure had stationed 3,000 ninjas at the border of the Land of Fire. Facing 3,000 with just one person not only does it require overwhelming strength, but also an enormous chakra reserve.
If there are no unusually troublesome jōnin among the Kumogakure forces, Chao Yanqian is confident he can handle it.
Originally, Chao Yanqian had hesitated. Once overwhelming power is revealed, it might spark jealousy among the higher-ups.
Some of Chao Yanqian's thoughts are considered extremely dangerous by the elders. Dangerous ideals combined with great strength might bring harm to Konoha.
But today's disagreement with Nara Shikaku helped Chao Yanqian realize the root difference between himself and the Third Hokage and his peers the clash of ideologies.
The Hokage's faction is too conservative, too idealistic. There is always a gap between ideals and reality.
The upper echelons of Konoha fear the strong, making it hard for true strength to thrive in the village. But if a powerful individual also possesses great influence, they cannot be easily suppressed.
Just like Tsunade and Jiraiya if they hadn't left the village voluntarily, perhaps the higher-ups would have taken subtle measures against them. But those would never have threatened their positions.
Sakumo Hatake White Fang is an exception. Though most people agree he did the right thing, the truth is that he broke the rules of the shinobi.
Chao Yanqian is confident he would never make such a naïve mistake.
And with the backing of a strong reputation, Chao Yanqian now has many supporters in Konoha. These supporters are his source of confidence in defying the elders.
Especially in the current war against Kumogakure, Chao Yanqian can build enough prestige to fortify his position.
Before, without strength, he had to compromise and be cautious. But now that he has strengthbwhy should he back down?
Five kilometers away lies Kumogakure's front line. From that distance, monitoring their movements requires either the Byakugan or nature-based sensory perception. One must also avoid their patrols, which may shift at any moment.
After Hyuga and the others left, Chao Yanqian evaded all patrol teams and quietly approached Kumogakure's encampment, silently counting down the time in his mind.
One hour. That's enough time for Hyuga Hiashi to notify Nara Shikaku and mobilize the reinforcements.
After one hour, Chao Yanqian would launch his assault.
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