A special thank you to my patrons:
—Cain, Jacob Mooe, kevin Williams, Jose Sierra, Salim, Archer, Acedia, kurtis newman, Nithin Samuel, Soumya Ranjan Pathy, Bob, Little Sand.
You can read 30 chapters ahead of everyone on p@treon.
P@TREON - [email protected]/lessaservantofcosmos
(just replace the "@" with "a")
ps: Please support me on P@treon. I can really use your help!
—————————————————————
"Since Lord Kazuki entrusted the camp to the two of you to manage, matters like logistics are better left in your hands. It's more appropriate that way."
Orochimaru still wore that same easygoing smile as he clearly stated his position once again: I'm not getting involved. You two handle it however you see fit.
I'm… damn it.
Hiashi's mouth twitched twice. Fugaku's aged face darkened instantly, a powerful urge to curse rising in his chest.
You won't get involved in this, you won't handle that—are you turning into some kind of camp mascot now, Orochimaru?
What now? Should they summon every jonin in the camp who was eligible to attend meetings and hold one massive conference?
Hiashi and Fugaku exchanged a glance.
Fugaku gave a slight shake of his head, rejecting the idea outright.
Once a meeting of that scale started, stopping it would be nearly impossible. The two of them might end up getting completely railroaded by the crowd.
Only at this moment did Hiashi and Fugaku truly understand what it felt like to be slowly roasted over an open flame.
Their prestige simply wasn't enough. Their names didn't carry sufficient weight. Even though both were clan heads of major families in the village, they still couldn't hold the entire camp in check.
Because far too many people refused to accept their authority.
If you set aside official titles and positions, very few people in Konoha held higher personal status than Hiashi and Fugaku.
After all, the position of clan head for one of the great clans was no small thing.
Yet precisely because of that very status, they couldn't go out and rack up glorious battlefield achievements the way ordinary ninja could. They couldn't rapidly build legendary reputations through one heroic feat after another.
As a result, when it came to controlling the bigger picture, they found themselves increasingly powerless.
"Forget it. Let's leave it like this for now. The camp's supplies can hold out a little longer. The Daimyo has already sent over a decent amount—originally intended for rebuilding new settlements, but we can borrow some for the camp temporarily. It shouldn't cause any major issues."
In the end, Fugaku backed down and offered what he considered a fairly reasonable suggestion.
"..."
Hiashi silently agreed with the proposal.
Orochimaru lifted his head in disbelief. That's it?
Aren't you two being a little too timid? No—aren't you being excessively cautious?
As the ones in charge of the camp, yet lacking the necessary commanding presence and decisiveness…
Never mind. It has nothing to do with me. Why bother worrying about it?
After a moment's thought, Orochimaru decided not to say anything. He continued playing the role of silent mascot.
As long as the camp stabilized, he would leave immediately and return to his research in peace.
Camp management, power struggles, all of it—none of that had anything to do with Orochimaru.
Since it had nothing to do with him, why waste mental energy on it?
On the way to the border camp, Kazuki didn't rush at all. Since he had extra time to spare, there was no need to exhaust himself.
He could handle the strain, but Izumi and the members of the small ANBU squad couldn't. So Kazuki saw no point in racing against the clock just to shave off a few hours. Taking it slow was fine.
Arriving within a single day was more than sufficient.
Even without pushing the pace, by afternoon Kazuki and his group had already reached the camp.
"Lord Advisor!"
The moment Kazuki personally set foot in the forward camp, the ninja inside erupted in excited cheers.
They would never forget that sight: a figure wreathed in golden flames blazing through the darkness of night, the unstoppable might of Susanoo.
Sweeping through Iwagakure's camp with effortless dominance, tearing open their defensive lines, crushing every attempt at counterattack.
"You've all worked hard."
Kazuki raised his hand with a smile and gave a light wave in acknowledgment.
"Lord Advisor is so cool."
"Do you even need to say that? Lord Advisor is the strongest shinobi in our village. What happened that night—I'll probably never forget it for the rest of my life."
"Exactly. I never imagined I'd one day get to fight side by side with Lord Advisor—even if my job was just cleaning up the battlefield afterward."
A flood of praise poured in from every direction. Kazuki's expression remained calm and composed.
In contrast, Izumi—who was walking right beside him—had cheeks flushed bright red with excitement. Her small fists were clenched tightly, her heart swelling with genuine pride and joy for Kazuki.
The person capable of truly holding the camp together had finally arrived.
Fugaku and Hiashi both let out long breaths of relief.
If Kazuki hadn't come, or if he delayed making arrangements any longer, the two of them might have gone mad from the pressure.
Inside the command tent, Kazuki naturally took the main seat without hesitation. The only ones who followed him in were Fugaku, Hiashi, and Orochimaru—three people total.
Orochimaru remained the same as ever: a quiet beauty. As long as he kept his mouth shut, hardly anyone would remember he was actually a man.
"You two haven't been getting much rest?"
Kazuki could see at a glance that both Fugaku and Hiashi looked exhausted. He had a pretty good idea why they were so worn out, but on the surface he pretended not to know.
Hiashi gave an awkward laugh and said nothing. Fugaku, however, immediately launched into complaint:
"The pressure has been enormous. Once the elite forces that invaded the Land of Earth returned to camp, all sorts of problems started cropping up."
"And the two of you have been struggling to keep everyone in line, right?" Kazuki smoothly finished the thought for them.
Hiashi could only sit there stone-faced in his chair. Fugaku paused for a second, then slowly nodded.
Orochimaru let out a soft chuckle, watching the two men with keen interest.
His gaze was filled with barely concealed schadenfreude.
Right now, in Orochimaru's eyes, Hiashi and Fugaku weren't so different from Danzo back in the day.
Danzo had once tried to seize control in exactly the same way.
The result? He overplayed his hand and caused the village considerable damage.
The Third Hokage had been furious beyond words.
The difference was that Danzo had forced his way into power, while Fugaku and Hiashi had been officially assigned the responsibility.
Danzo's high status meant no one dared act out openly—people could only grumble behind his back.
But with Hiashi and Fugaku, things weren't so restrained.
"That's perfectly understandable."
Rather than blaming them, Kazuki actually spoke up in their defense:
"Before the elite units returned, the camp didn't have that many ninja—mostly civilian-rank shinobi—so there weren't any major issues. But once the elites came back, the situation changed completely. You can't really be blamed for that. Even though both of you are the clan heads of the Uchiha and Hyuga. In times of war, the title of clan head doesn't give you that much extra authority. I'm not going to fault either of you. The reason I came to the forward camp in person is precisely to get everything sorted out properly. Right now, what are the most troublesome unresolved issues still plaguing the camp?"
In plain terms, their prestige simply wasn't high enough, their reputations weren't loud enough. Aside from being clan heads, they had no other impressive credentials to fall back on. That was why they couldn't fully control the camp.
If Orochimaru had been the one in charge, the situation would look completely different.
Even if plenty of people refused to follow his orders, Orochimaru's name carried weight.
No matter how tarnished or unpopular he might be now, he was still one of the Legendary Sannin. He had once rendered countless great services to the village.
As long as he openly admitted he was acting under orders, even if people disliked it, they wouldn't dare cause trouble behind the scenes.
"The camp's supplies are running low."
Hiashi and Fugaku exchanged another glance. This time Hiashi spoke up:
"The camp already had a large number of ninja to begin with. Then, when the war against the Land of Earth was launched, the village transferred in even more. Now that the elite forces have returned, the total population has clearly exceeded the camp's designed capacity. Supply shipments simply can't keep up with consumption rates."
As the burden on the logistics division grew heavier by the day, Hiashi and Fugaku grew more and more anxious. But anxiety alone accomplished nothing—they couldn't magically conjure up enough supplies to match the rate of use.