This war council lasted for a full three hours.
In the end, Orochimaru decided to adopt a cautious strategy—launch probing attacks first, assess the true strength of the Sand ninjas, and only then initiate a full-scale offensive.
After all, Sunagakure was not comparable to the Rain Village. If they acted too rashly, even Konoha's elite forces would suffer heavy losses.
Why was it that Sunagakure, located in the harshest environment among the Five Great Nations—the Land of Wind—and lacking particularly powerful bloodline limits, could still stand among the Five Great Ninja Villages?
Because—
They possessed their unique puppet techniques.
Take the six thousand Sand ninjas Yoru's force would face as an example—
Once battle began, their combat strength would far exceed what that number suggested.
Sunagakure had the smallest number of ninjas among the great villages—
But it could also be said that they had one of the highest effective combat outputs.
They possessed terrifying puppet mechanisms.
Hidden weapons that were impossible to guard against.
And horrifying poisons that struck fear into the heart.
When fighting Sand ninjas—
Enemies often faced an entire army of puppets.
A skilled puppet master could control around three puppets simultaneously in battle.
And puppets—
Felt no fear.
No pain.
They were among the most terrifying killing tools on the battlefield.
As for Chiyo—
The most formidable puppet master in Sunagakure—
She could control ten puppets at once!
Her power alone rivaled ten elite squads!
It was easy to imagine—
If Konoha rushed in recklessly—
They would pay a devastating price under the Sand ninjas' deadly puppet mechanisms.
Konoha ninjas weren't like Yoru—
They didn't have elementalization.
Once struck by puppet weapons—
Death was almost certain.
That said—
Yoru himself wasn't particularly concerned with command decisions this time.
As the leader of the Special Operations Unit—
He had a great deal of freedom.
Strictly speaking, the unit had only two members—
Yoru—
And Hatake Sakumo.
These two—
Were Konoha's sharpest blades.
Eliminating elite squads.
Infiltrating deep behind enemy lines for assassination missions.
Destroying supply routes.
These were tasks that ordinary ninjas simply couldn't accomplish—
Which was why they fell to Yoru and Sakumo.
Yoru was more than happy with this arrangement.
Compared to commanding large-scale battles—
He preferred direct combat.
It accelerated his growth.
As for Tsunade—
She wouldn't easily step onto the battlefield.
Her presence at the Sunagakure front served a critical purpose—
Antidotes.
Sunagakure's poisons were terrifying.
Especially under the genius puppet master Chiyo.
Her toxins had already gained notoriety across the shinobi world.
In the previous war, countless Rain ninjas had died from these poisons.
As Konoha's greatest medical ninja—
Tsunade's most important mission in this war—
Was to counter Chiyo's toxins.
But to develop antidotes—
Samples were required.
Thus—
After nearly half a month—
The first critical mission fell to Yoru.
"Izawa Yūki… is it?"
Yoru glanced at the intelligence report and spoke calmly.
"Yes, Yoru-kun," Orochimaru replied with a faint smile. "He is a relatively well-known puppet master in Sunagakure. According to our intelligence, his puppets carry poisons developed by Chiyo—currently one of the most commonly used toxins among Sand puppet users."
"We haven't located the other major puppet masters yet. He is the only confirmed target so far."
Orochimaru's tone grew more serious.
"I'll leave this to you, Yoru-kun. You must bring back the poison from his puppets. If we can analyze it, we can save many of our ninjas."
Over the past half month—
Konoha and Sunagakure had engaged in probing skirmishes.
Although Konoha's overall combat strength was superior—
The difficulty posed by puppet techniques had exceeded Orochimaru's expectations.
In forests.
Underground.
Even in rivers—
Puppets controlled by hidden Sand ninjas could strike at any moment.
During marches.
While resting near water.
Even while eating in open areas—
Deadly puppet traps would suddenly attack.
Due to the scarcity of sensory-type ninjas—
It was impossible for every squad to have one.
Thus—
Konoha ninjas were often injured before even locating their enemy.
Though elite Konoha shinobi were rarely killed outright—
The real problem—
Was the poison.
Those injured would return to base—
Only to die in agony days later under the effects of the toxin.
Konoha's medical ninjas were completely helpless against it.
Even Tsunade—
Who could temporarily suppress the poison—
Needed samples to develop a proper antidote.
Puppet masters, while deadly through their puppets—
Were often physically weaker.
A puppet master capable of jonin-level combat—
Could be killed by a strong chunin—
If deprived of their puppets.
Thus—
Sunagakure kept the identities and movements of puppet masters strictly confidential.
This Izawa Yūki—
Was one of the few targets Konoha had managed to track.
And the poison he carried—
Was almost certainly one of the most widely used among Sand puppet masters.
Therefore—
His poison had to be obtained.
Only then could Tsunade create an antidote—
And save Konoha's lives.
"Don't worry. Leave it to me."
Yoru smiled faintly.
To others—
Puppets were a nightmare.
To him—
They were a joke.
No matter how specially crafted—
Puppets were still made of wood.
And before magma—
Wood was nothing.
As for hidden weapons and poison—
They meant nothing to him.
Could magma be poisoned?
Magma itself carried deadly toxins.
Soon—
These Sand puppet masters—
Would experience true despair.
Orochimaru smiled slightly, confidence flickering in his eyes.
Since his rise—
Yoru had never failed a mission.
A perfect record.
One hundred percent success rate.
Yoru took the intelligence report and left.
He returned to prepare his equipment—mainly sealing scrolls filled with large quantities of meat. Given his increasing appetite, this had become essential for every mission.
After that—
He headed toward Konoha's medical base—
Where a familiar, graceful figure awaited.
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