Chapter 214: The Linked Stratagem, Enter the Trap
Aside from the Konoha shinobi assigned to reconnaissance duties, the remaining four hundred-plus ninja had spent the past three days recuperating and conserving their strength. While they were uncertain of when the Suna forces would attack, they knew precisely what was expected of them once the battle began.
A cold moon hung in the sky, veiled by drifting clouds, casting down a pale, icy radiance, delicate and ethereal like a bashful maiden.
Within the Land of Rivers, thousands of Suna shinobi stood fully prepared for battle. Beyond the visible Suna command center, another four thousand sand ninja lay in hiding.
Combined, the number of Suna forces mobilized for this campaign had surpassed eight thousand.
At the head of the formation stood Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage. At his sides were Chiyo and Bunpuku. At Rasa's command, the entire Suna army began to move.
Underground.
A puppet unit nearly five hundred strong crawled forward in slow, deliberate silence. Their movement wasn't particularly stealthy, intentionally so. There was an air of feigned secrecy, as though this contingent existed to send a message.
It was as if they were deliberately telling Veigar:
"We, the Sand, are coming for you, Konoha."
Above the clouds.
Through the hazy gloom of night, a shadowy mass drifted toward the Konoha frontlines.
Upon closer inspection, the mass resolved into dozens of bird-shaped puppet gliders, each carrying three sand shinobi on top. Inside each puppet rested a single puppeteer.
Suna jōnin Sōichirō, having learned of this airborne unit's objective, to deploy directly into the heart of the Konoha frontline, had personally requested to join the mission. Alongside him were two other jōnin who had also volunteered: Ryōma and Yūki.
The three stood atop a single Asuka-class puppet, gazing down at the terrain below, struck by the breathtaking view from above.
Though the unit comprised only around three hundred members, it had been personally named by Chiyo as the Asuka Puppet Corps. What they could accomplish on the battlefield would far exceed the strength of any typical three hundred-man force.
The Asuka-class puppets were a recent creation, ordered by Chiyo and constructed over the past three days under the leadership of Ryōma and Yūki. Powered by wind and controlled with precise puppet techniques, these gliders could soar across vast distances, reaching well over 300 miles.
In other words, transporting the nine hundred sand shinobi onboard directly into Konoha's central frontline posed no problem at all.
As Chiyo and Rasa led nearly three thousand sand shinobi in a bold and public advance toward the Konoha frontlines, Chiyo glanced up at the pale moon, thinking to herself:
"Konoha… for every drop of blood we've lost, you'll repay with your own."
"This puppet corps I've personally designed… will be your executioners."
...
Meanwhile, within the Land of Wind, a separate unit of around four hundred shinobi was en route toward Sunagakure.
Unbeknownst to Rasa and his forces in the Land of Rivers, this contingent wore Iwagakure headbands.
The reason for their presence?
The Third Tsuchikage, upon learning that Sunagakure had emptied its ranks for the campaign, had ordered reinforcements to the Land of Fire border, but also assembled this elite unit with the express goal of launching a surprise raid on the weakened Suna village once the war between Suna and Konoha erupted.
With Sunagakure's defenses all but gutted, it was like a slab of meat laid bare before the Third Tsuchikage's hungry eyes.
"Heiji, no word from Lord Third yet?"
The Iwa unit commander, Akagi, gazed in the direction of the Sand Village as he asked the jōnin beside him, his voice heavy with intent.
"None yet, Akagi-sama," Heiji replied honestly. "Lord Third has not issued the order to advance."
"Understood," Akagi grunted, jaw tight.
Heiji could sense his commander's growing impatience.
"Come on, Sand shinobi… hurry up and attack Konoha already," Heiji muttered inwardly.
...
Within Sunagakure, tension was mounting. With Rasa having secretly redeployed nearly every available shinobi, those left behind were stretched thin and on high alert.
They knew all too well: should another village strike now, the current defenses wouldn't hold. And if the enemy breached their walls, their lives would be forfeit.
No one dared relax, for fear of being taken unaware.
"Lord Fourth, Chiyo-baasama… please return soon," sighed Tamura Yu, the shinobi in charge of Suna's defensive operations.
...
At the Konoha frontline, a special jōnin from the Hyuga Clan rushed into the command tent, shouting at Hizashi:
"Hizashi-sama! We've spotted a large Suna force advancing rapidly toward our position. We've confirmed the presence of Fourth Kazekage Rasa and the advisor, Chiyo!"
"Additionally, there's a five-hundred-man puppet unit moving underground from the south!"
Hizashi sprang from his seat in alarm.
"Are you certain?"
"You actually saw Rasa among them?"
The Hyuga shinobi, kneeling with a sharp voice, confirmed:
"Yes, sir! And they'll reach us in about an hour."
With the Suna assault now confirmed, Hizashi and Minato exchanged glances. Yet again, Veigar had predicted everything to perfection.
A born battlefield commander.
Both men, struck by Veigar's foresight, thought the same thing at the same time.
Had Veigar known, he would've simply chuckled.
"Five thousand years of modern wisdom. You think I'm just messing around?"
"Hizashi-senpai," Veigar said with a calm smile, "pass down the order. It's time to begin."
Hizashi gave a solemn nod.
"Understood."
He quickly led a detachment of ninja from the command tent, including Kakashi and Obito.
"Sensei, we're ready as well," Veigar said with a grin once they'd gone.
Minato gave a serious nod in response.
"Right. Let's begin."
The plan Veigar had devised for the Sand invasion was known as the "Empty City Linked Stratagem," and step one was this:
"Invite the enemy into the trap."
As Rasa and Chiyo's army of nearly three thousand appeared on the horizon outside the Konoha frontline, what had appeared to be an abandoned battlefield suddenly came to life.
Over a thousand Konoha shinobi seemingly appeared from nowhere, mixed among them, several scarecrows.
But these weren't real soldiers.
These were shadow clones, over a thousand of them. Each one created for a single purpose:
To bait the enemy into the trap.
And thanks to Transformation Jutsu, no two faces looked alike.
These weren't just decoys.
They were sacrifices that wouldn't bleed.
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