While Sunagakure's forces scrambled to exorcise the Senju brothers, the Tsūtatsu Road front line was anything but quiet. Both the Kono-Taki Alliance and the Wind-Cloud Alliance made strategic adjustments during their tense standoff.
The Kono-Taki Alliance moved first—and moved big.
Following Third Takikage Amemiya's proposal from their first joint operations meeting, they completely restructured the entire allied force. Twenty thousand ninja remained after the cuts. Fewer bodies, sure, but the army that emerged was leaner, meaner, and significantly more lethal.
The eliminated troops weren't wasted either. They were reorganized into mobile patrol units along the fortress walls, freeing up the regular defenders and giving the main force room to breathe.
During that same meeting, Amemiya had semi-openly demanded command authority. Danzō hadn't budged an inch—he kept the Supreme Commander position locked in his iron grip. Faced with that stone wall, Amemiya settled for Deputy Supreme Commander instead.
But he won where it counted.
In the newly established Staff Department, Takigakure claimed four of seven positions. The remaining three went to Konoha's Koharu Utatane, Fugaku Uchiha, and Shikaku Nara.
Under the reorganization, Konoha and Takigakure forces split into twenty columns of one thousand each, commanded by elite jōnin—eight from Takigakure, eleven from Konoha, and one mixed unit.
Amemiya's original plan called for tactical drills and coordination training within the village first.
Then Shikaku Nara—Konoha's chief of staff who'd been quiet for weeks—spoke up with a better idea.
"Training through combat."
Attacking the Wind-Cloud Alliance's main camp head-on would be suicide. But breaking the columns into smaller squads to hit enemy scouts and supply convoys? That was winnable.
Wind-Cloud scout units ran small—four ninja minimum, twelve maximum. Throwing a hundred troops at them made losing nearly impossible.
Supply convoys posed more challenge. You had to detour around the main camp and intercept from distance, and you needed serious numbers—at least two to four columns. Both Jinghang and the Third Raikage took supply security seriously. Every convoy traveled with a thousand-plus escorts. Go with too many attackers and you'd get spotted. Too few and you wouldn't come back.
The strategy trained troops, built real combat experience, and racked up small victories. Three wins in one.
More importantly, those small victories would accumulate. Bit by bit, they'd shift momentum, boost morale, and seize the initiative. Strategically, it was perfect for their situation.
Deputy Commander Amemiya endorsed the plan immediately—with one condition.
"We wait until the Wind-Cloud Alliance completes their rotation."
The Takigakure reinforcements were still classified, but Sunagakure's intelligence network was legendary. That secret wouldn't last. Amemiya's forces had entered through Konoha's back entrance, but that welcome ceremony had made noise. If the Wind-Cloud Alliance caught wind and canceled their rotation, their numbers would hit thirty-two thousand.
That would make everything exponentially harder.
Danzō deployed every ANBU operative he could spare, monitoring the Wind-Cloud Alliance's every breath. Waiting. Watching.
Praying for that rotation.
He didn't wait long.
Six days after the Sunagakure and Kumogakure reinforcements arrived, over twelve thousand Wind-Cloud Alliance ninja withdrew from Tsūtatsu Camp in two separate columns.
Before Danzō could even call a second operations meeting, ANBU brought more explosive news:
The Wind-Cloud Alliance—occupiers of Konoha's throat for over a year—had evacuated.
Danzō stared at the report, completely baffled.
He immediately ordered the Hyūga clan to maintain close observation. This had to be another of Jinghang's tricks.
The Byakugan confirmed it. The Wind-Cloud Alliance had genuinely retreated.
Just... not very far.
For ninja, that was nothing. A blink. A warm-up jog.
What's the point?
"Investigate again!"
The next day: another thirty-mile retreat.
Day three: thirty more miles.
Danzō's confusion deepened into something approaching panic. He couldn't grasp Jinghang's intentions. Surely this war couldn't just... end like this? Inexplicably?
With no other options, he召集 the Staff Department again.
"Simple." Amemiya fluttered his small fan lazily. "Jinghang got word of our Takigakure reinforcements. Knew he couldn't win. So he retreated."
"Then why only thirty miles per day?" Fugaku Uchiha's tone carried an edge. Ever since Amemiya had humiliated him at the last meeting, he'd found the show-off Takikage insufferable.
"Heh." Amemiya's smile was condescending. "Sunagakure and Kumogakure were never truly unified. They're fine when winning, but after a year of bitter warfare? Morale's shot. Troops want to go home. Thirty miles per day keeps the army from collapsing entirely."
It sounded plausible. But every Konoha ninja in that room knew better. After a year of combat, Sunagakure and Kumogakure coordinated like clockwork. Even in retreat, they wouldn't fall apart.
Fugaku opened his mouth to argue—then closed it. He had no concrete rebuttal.
"I disagree with Lord Takikage's assessment."
Shikaku Nara's voice cut through the tension.
"Oh?" Amemiya's fan paused mid-flutter. "Enlighten us."
Shikaku bowed respectfully. "If the Wind-Cloud Alliance truly intended to retreat, that rotation six days ago makes no sense. Why not just part ways immediately? Sunagakure goes home, Kumogakure goes home. Clean. Simple. Efficient."
Amemiya's fan stopped completely.
That... actually makes sense.
"Then what's your theory, Staff Officer Nara?"
Shikaku's expression remained neutral. "I have a hypothesis. It's bold. You might find it absurd." He paused. "If so, dismiss it as speculation."
"Speak freely." Koharu Utatane gestured encouragingly.
"The Wind-Cloud Alliance isn't retreating." Shikaku's eyes swept the room. "They're attacking. The thirty-mile crawl? They're gauging our reaction."
Amemiya actually laughed. "Attacking? Where? We're all sitting right here in Konoha!"
Shikaku met his gaze directly.
"Lord Amemiya... is there any possibility the Wind-Cloud Alliance is attacking Takigakure Village?"
Silence crashed over the room like a tidal wave.
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