Sora lay in his tent for nearly an entire day before finally getting up.
Rubbing his swollen temples, he stepped out, planning to grab something to eat before reporting to Orochimaru.
On his way to find Orochimaru, Sora encountered several shinobi.
When they noticed him, their faces reflected a mixture of surprise and fear.
By now, word had spread across the camp about Sora's incredible feats in Tangyin Village. Everyone knew he had managed to injure the Yugakure leader, Kuroiwa Tatsuji seriously—a feat many found hard to believe.
The boy they once dismissed as useless had grown into someone undeniably powerful.
Yet, their fear of him overshadowed their amazement.
The scene where Sora handed a detonating tag to Daigo, instructing him to sacrifice himself alongside the enemy, had been witnessed not only by Namikaze Minato but by others as well.
That cold, calculating act left a deep impression. Many now regarded Sora as ruthless, someone who wouldn't hesitate to use his own comrades as tools if the situation demanded it.
Some even whispered their worries aloud: if they were to fall injured in future battles, would Sora hand them a detonating tag and treat them as expendable, just like Daigo?
Despite the fearful and wary gazes following him, Sora paid no attention and made his way straight to Orochimaru's tent.
Upon arrival, he found that Orochimaru wasn't there.
'He's probably in the combat command tent,' Sora thought.
Changing direction, he walked toward the command tent and finally found Orochimaru there—with Jiraiya standing beside him.
"Orochimaru-sensei, Jiraiya-sama," Sora greeted respectfully.
Orochimaru gave a silent nod of acknowledgement, his golden eyes sharp but unreadable.
Jiraiya, on the other hand, greeted him warmly. "How are you feeling, Sora? Got enough rest?"
Sora gave a short nod. "Yes, I've rested enough."
At that moment, Orochimaru finally spoke. His voice was calm yet commanding.
"Sora, prepare yourself. Tomorrow, we plan to advance the front by ten kilometres."
Sora frowned briefly; then his expression relaxed as realization dawned on him.
"You've already requested reinforcements from Konoha," he said, his voice measured. "The plan is to advance ten kilometres, draw the enemy's forces into battle, and then gradually retreat. The goal is to meet up with the reinforcements and use them to secure and defend the current front line. Is that correct, Orochimaru-sensei?"
Jiraiya's jaw dropped slightly in shock, staring at Sora in disbelief.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Jiraiya said, his voice full of surprise. "All Orochimaru said was that the front would advance ten kilometres tomorrow. And you figured all that out just from that one statement?"
Sora explained, "It's actually not hard to figure out. Our surprise attack on Yugakure was meant to pave the way for advancing the front lines. Now that the operation has succeeded, we must act quickly to capitalize on it. If we delay and give the Kumogakure forces time to regroup, all our previous efforts will have been for nothing.
Advancing ten kilometres—10,000 meters—is a significant stretch, and with the number of shinobi we currently have, it's impossible to hold that ground alone. For Orochimaru-sensei to decide to push forward by this much, he must have already arranged for reinforcements to support us.
What we lack most right now is shinobi.
While Konoha doesn't have an abundance of spare forces, the Kumogakure threat in Yunoha poses the greatest danger to the village compared to other fronts. Because of this, I'm certain that Hokage-sama would approve a request for reinforcements to secure this line."
Jiraiya stared at Sora, momentarily speechless.
Looking over at Orochimaru, he muttered, "Orochimaru, your disciple's brain... is something else."
Orochimaru didn't hesitate to praise him. "Sora's ability to see the bigger picture and assess the situation has always been excellent."
Still sceptical, Jiraiya turned back to Sora. "But wasn't the point of the surprise attack to drive Kumogakure out of Yugakure? Yugakure hasn't been cleared of Kumogakure forces yet. If that hasn't happened, how can you say the plan was successful?"
The corners of Sora's lips curled into a faint smile. "Jiraiya-sama, the purpose of our surprise attack was never to completely drive Kumogakure out of Yugakure.
Whether Yugakure returns to neutrality or not doesn't impact our ability to advance the front.
The real goal was to scare them—make them hesitate to act rashly so we could advance the front smoothly.
You and Orochimaru-sensei killed enough Yugakure and Kumogakure shinobi during the operation. That alone has achieved the desired effect. So why would you say the plan failed?"
Jiraiya scratched his head, finally conceding, "Orochimaru, this disciple of yours really has a sharp mind."
Orochimaru then raised a new question. "Sora, do you think Kumogakure will take action when we advance the front?"
Sora thought for a moment before replying, "They'll definitely react, but I don't think they'll engage us directly. At most, they'll send scouts to probe our movements or launch minor harassment tactics. A full-on confrontation seems unlikely."
Orochimaru nodded. "So, what's the solution? How can we push the front ten kilometres with minimal losses?"
Having already thought it through, Sora answered, "The best method is to create the illusion that we have a significantly larger force than we actually do.
We can use clones to build this illusion. Every shinobi should create as many clones as they can manage. Shadow Clones would form the core, surrounded by basic clones to amplify the effect.
Real shinobi will remain on the periphery, guarding the clones and preventing Kumogakure scouts from discovering our true numbers.
This way, it'll appear as though we've received substantial reinforcements, making Kumogakure hesitate to act."
Orochimaru's lips curved into a satisfied smile. "An excellent idea. Surrounding basic clones with Shadow Clones will confuse the enemy's perception of our numbers and distort their senses. With real shinobi on the perimeter, the deception becomes even harder to unravel. It's an effective way to protect our advance."
Jiraiya blinked in disbelief. "Wait, isn't this the same strategy you were going to propose, Orochimaru?"
Even Sora looked surprised at the coincidence, his eyes flicking to his sensei.
Orochimaru replied calmly, "Jiraiya, there's no need to overreact. This approach is the most practical given our current situation."
Then, Orochimaru turned back to Sora and added, "I've already reported your performance in Yugakure to Hokage-sama. You've only recently been promoted to Chūnin, so I'm unsure if a direct promotion to Jōnin is possible, but a promotion to Special Jōnin is highly likely."
Sora bowed slightly. "Thank you, Orochimaru-sensei."
Orochimaru waved it off. "It's what you've earned. That said, there's one more thing I need to discuss with you regarding Konoha's support personnel."
Sora's eyes narrowed slightly. The fact that Orochimaru specifically mentioned this detail hinted that something significant was involved.
Taking a guess, Sora asked, "Orochimaru-sensei, are the support personnel Konoha is sending from the major clans?"
Jiraiya, now thoroughly numb to the exchange, stared at the pair incredulously.
Before Orochimaru could confirm, Sora had already deduced the answer.
Jiraiya sighed internally. These two are something else.
Glancing at Orochimaru's calm expression and Sora's sharp analysis, Jiraiya thought to himself, I should probably tell Minato to steer clear of this kid. My disciple is talented, sure, but he's too straightforward. He might not fare well against someone like Sora in situations like these.
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