Tsunade sat on the couch, shooting daggers at Danzo Shimura with her eyes.
Although deep down she understood that the village leadership had made this choice to gain a greater advantage at the start of the war.
The ultimate goal was also to minimize losses for the village.
But really—was this method truly in line with the Will of Fire they always spoke of?
After Kei Yamanaka let slip Danzo's name, Kushina slunk into the kitchen, keeping her head down.
She couldn't help it—her boyfriend seemed to have become the shadowy figure pulling the strings behind the scenes.
What if Onee-san Tsunade noticed something off about her expression? How on earth would she explain that?
Out of Tsunade's line of sight,
Kushina shot Kei Yamanaka a questioning look.
"Forget about it. Don't sweat it too much. It's not as bad as it sounds. The village has already started drafting candidates for the second wave. A total force of three thousand will be leaving Konoha in batches..."
Kei waved his hand dismissively, explaining the final decision made by the village to both Tsunade and Kushina.
This group of one thousand people was decoys—but not cannon fodder.
Hiruzen and the Elder Council were no fools; how could they possibly do anything harmful to the battlefield before the war even began? If things went south, *they* would bear the main responsibility!
In addition to the first thousand who left quickly with Jiraiya toward the front lines,
the remaining force of three thousand would be divided into three hundred squads of ten ninja each, each led by clan core members, elite Jonin from Konoha, Hiruzen's trusted aides, or Root operatives.
Within half a month, these squads would leave Konoha one after another under various pretexts and methods, ultimately hiding their identities and silently reaching hidden fortresses and nearby border towns.
Maximizing secrecy while rapidly forming a partial encirclement around the front-line forces.
Of course, this tactic could only be used once and would put enormous strain on logistics. If the enemy hesitated and delayed their attack, the whole plan might easily turn into a joke.
But if successful, it would undoubtedly provide a major advantage during the early stages of the war.
Moreover, to reduce casualties at the front lines, Kei had even placed Minato Namikaze into the first thousand-man unit.
He also ordered Otsu, captain of Root Squad Two, to deploy specially crafted Flying Thunder God Kunai along the path between Konoha and the front lines, together with his squad's other three members.
If any major incident occurred,
Kei could arrive at the front line instantly and tip the battle back in their favor.
After all, what he wanted was for the war to reach a stalemate before seizing the right moment to give the Third a chance to return, rather than letting Konoha get crippled by other villages.
As for completely crushing Iwagakure and Sunagakure—
that could wait until after the Third had gone.
"How does the Mist front plan to respond?" Tsunade asked after listening to Kei's explanation, feeling a bit better now.
"They've prepared a separate list of two thousand troops, notifying individuals directly to prepare openly within the village to create a false sense of readiness. At the same time, we'll wait for Mist to strike first—we're at a disadvantage at sea."
"With the enemy's strength unknown, this kind of formation..."
"The front lines will have a thousand-man unit, but Sunagakure and Iwagakure must be carefully coordinated. They can't simply merge ten thousand troops into one joint force, right? Also, we need to watch out for Kumogakure on Kirigakure's flank, so overall it should be manageable."
"Two units—who will command them?"
"Unknown."
"Huh?"
"Seriously don't know. Considering that if this plan actually succeeds, the glory..."
Kei Yamanaka shrugged and flopped onto the nearby couch.
Three thousand soldiers didn't sound like much.
But gathering scattered forces into a unified unit within such a short time and then immediately launching an encircling attack required more than just ability—it required not only skill but also authority and strong command presence.
Plus, factoring in possible top-tier enemy fighters, their combat power had to be extremely high too.
Orochimaru might possess the capability for such a demanding role.
But...
Haha...
"Baka! Has the old fool gone senile?! Danzō's no better—a rotten bastard himself! And Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado must've lost their minds too..."
Tsunade started cursing again.
This time, not only Danzō, but all four members of Konoha's F4 were equally cursed—they were all called out.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Someone knocked at the door.
Kei immediately activated his Sensor ability.
After sensing Kurenai Yuhi, Maito Gai, and Genma Shiranami, he happily stood up to open the door.
"Sensei Kei, Happy New Year! Wishing you good health, great fortune, happiness in life, and family harmony in the new year!"
The Three Little Troublemakers bowed together, delivering their New Year greetings in unison.
They then blinked their wide eyes and grinned mischievously at their teacher.
"Hahahaha—you guys!"
Smiling warmly, Kei welcomed the three troublemakers inside and handed each of them a red envelope adorned with a beckoning cat motif—he had prepared in advance.
In this world, there existed a custom akin to handing out lucky money during New Year, though it wasn't called "lucky money"—it was known as "Year Jewel."
In ancient times, elders would hand out mochi that had been offered to the gods during New Year celebrations to visiting children, and these mochis were called Year Jewels.
Later during the Warring States era, people gradually switched to simply handing out money instead.
However, the red envelopes he gave weren't just filled with cash—they also contained small New Year gifts.
"Thank you, Sensei!"
The Three Little Troublemakers beamed with joy and bowed once more.
"Hehe, won't you open them first? These carry both our heartfelt blessings and your sensei's affection."
Kushina urged them to open the red envelopes.
That slightly mischievous smile immediately set off alarm bells in both Kurenai and Genma.
Their sensei and shishū were both gentle people who always took meticulous care of them.
But they did share one thing in common—they had a knack for pranks.
Could these red envelopes hide something deviously amusing?
"Genma, since you're the team leader, you go first."
Kurenai glanced at Genma next to him and nervously swallowed.
"...Sensei always tells us to respect elders and look after the young. Gai, you're the youngest—why don't you go first?"
Genma Shiranami's lips twitched as he glanced at Maito Gai beside him.
Maito Gai gave a thumbs-up, flashing his bright white teeth while eagerly opening the red envelope first.
"The fire of youth can't be contained—!"
As their teammate cried out in excitement after falling victim to the genjutsu, Kurenai Yuhi and Genma Shiranami exchanged knowing glances, then turned to their teacher with exasperated expressions.
Hiding a trigger-based genjutsu inside the New Year Jewel? That's just too despicable!
Bonk! Bonk!
Kushina slammed both fists onto the tops of Kurenai and Genma's heads and grumbled,
"Do you really pick on this poor teammate so often?! Also, I worked really hard last night writing activation seals. Your teacher also sincerely prepared gifts for you. Hurry up and open them~!"
"Yayaya~ Okay okay~"
Kurenai ducked his head slightly and exchanged glances with Genma.
Under their teacher's expectant gaze, eager to see what would happen next, they reluctantly opened the red envelopes with gloomy expressions.
Instantly, both of them fell into the illusion as well.
However, after a brief shock, Kurenai Yuhi and Genma Shiranami, now immersed in the genjutsu, wore expressions of pleasant surprise and excitement.
"What kind of genjutsu did you hide?"
Tsunade had overindulged the previous night and completely missed Kushina and Kei Yamanaka's preparations.
Now seeing the three troublemakers trapped in illusions, she raised her eyebrow in confusion.
"[BBK Learning Machine]."
Kei Yamanaka grinned.
Kei had gotten the idea for this genjutsu during Shizune's last visit.
Compared to earlier creations like "Drink This Bowl of Mengpo Soup" and Modified Tsukuyomi, the difficulty level was significantly lower.
Yet it proved remarkably effective for accelerating learning.
A two-hour long genjutsu could make the three young shinobi experience nearly two months of study within the illusion.
Two solid months of one-on-one training under an instructor stronger than Kage-level experts.
Isn't that an impressive enough New Year gift?
"Explain it in plain English."
"Um... [Hypno Academy]?"
"...Knowing it came from you somehow makes me nervous. And you're giving the kids tutoring on New Year's Day?"
"Huh? Maybe that does sound a bit unreasonable..."
Kei rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Looking at it from this angle, was his action really so different from giving children mock exam collections like 'Five Years Gaokao, Three Years Simulation'?
Still, it couldn't be that bad!
His genjutsu only took up two hours in real time.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>