I watched over the battle with grim satisfaction, Kiri's probing strikes were actually quite good for me, the less simultaneous battles happening the easier it was for me to interfere, which I did for any person who almost died, a little bit of DP to divert a Jutsu or make someone dodge was enough to tip a death into a wound.
Still, even my interference could not save everyone, nor would I want to, letting the Military Wing members think they are invincible would be beyond counterproductive.
But that didn't mean that I would just throw their lives away, so I was planning on how to prevent this from being a full war.
Which is why a crow body was flying high above Mei's little army, they were rushing back to Kiri, if everything went well, they should reach their destination in three days.
And once they confronted the Mizukage and his council about this bullshit, things would go very well for them, and I would make sure Mei understood who helped her here.
If things went according to plan, then this was the last time Kirigakure made any political decisions without The Order's 'advice'.
***
Fumio looked over his map, a custom creation, well, technically it was a map overlaid on his Sealing and Sensing Formula that showed him where every single Seal he had ever placed was at all times.
And he had placed a Seal on every single member of his army.
This was the reason why everyone tolerated his blatant corruption and greediness, because with just this one tool, he could coordinate an entire invasion with ease.
But something felt... off, he didn't know how to describe it, but he felt like there was a cloud obscuring his vision, metaphorically speaking.
He had the feeling that he was just wasting time and troops, which he shouldn't be, considering this invasion should be crushing Wave's resistance with little effort.
But his strategy of probing their defenses didn't work like he expected, neither did his attempts at flanking them, none of the flanking squads had made it back.
Which was very worrying because that was a solid tenth of his army, all disappearing without a trace.
"Recall the center forces." He ordered firmly. "Have them bait Wave's forces into chasing them, when they do, collapse the east and west squads on them, then have them retreat."
His assistants quickly moved to convey his orders.
"Tell any of the Shinobi who engaged the enemy directly to report." He continued coldly. What was going on here?
Whoever was commanding Wave's defense was surprisingly competent for such a small nation, he immediately dismissed that Zabuza was leading them.
That sword fanatic was good at fighting, but he had never led a large army before.
So that meant Wave had other allies, he refused to believe that someone untested was giving him trouble.
Which meant the theory that Wave was a puppet state of Konoha gained more weight.
He thought it was just the warmongers in the Council and Mizukage's office trying to find an excuse for this invasion, but it seemed like they were actually correct.
Still, he had to reassess his strategy because clearly, whoever was leading Wave's forces was more experienced than he anticipated.
***
Yatagarasu had no idea what he was doing, this lack of strategists in The Order would have to be corrected after this war was over, because there was no way he was leading anything ever again.
He had been using the fact that he could fly high above the battlefield as his main advantage, mainly just spotting enemy movements and quickly relaying orders for everyone to move appropriately.
But he knew his tactics were amateurish at best, he was clearly making mistakes, even if the Military Wing was following them without complaint.
But it seems that Kiri was pulling back, does he push now? Does he try to trap them with a feint?
...
He needed advice, and so he looked back to the words his Creator had said to him.
'If you don't know what to do, then play it safe, a minor mistake can be fixed, a massive one might be irreversible.'
Hmmm.
What a wise being his Creator was.
"Kiri is retreating, do not chase them." He ordered through the body standing in the Sensor Station. "Focus all sensors on the flanks, make sure they aren't trying to bypass the bridge and slip into Wave."
It didn't matter if this battle took days or months, as long as the enemy could not enter Wave and as long as casualties were kept to a minimum, he would consider it a good battle.
***
A FEW HOURS LATER
Fumio glared at his map, they retreated without much issue, it seemed that their commander realized his ruse and stopped any pursuit from happening.
Still, it gave him some time to speak with those who had faced the enemy directly.
Who reported that the enemy had... abnormal troops, fighting at far higher levels than they should be able to reach, they mentioned the fact that every single person they fought was capable of using elemental Jutsu.
Which was insane, there was no way Wave managed to train so many Shinobi so quickly, especially Shinobi of such a high level.
Every single troop they faced was equal to or stronger than a Kiri Chunin, if Fumio hadn't heard this from multiple sources, then he would have dismissed it as incompetence.
Their numbers were also higher than expected, going off of their initial estimates, they had estimated about 400 enemy combatants, but again, that was impossible for such a small nation.
He was convinced that if he took off the masks covering the enemies' faces, he would find faces belonging to Konoha instead of Wave.
So clearly, he needed a new approach, he was no longer dealing with an upstart force, this was Konohagakure's army in disguise.
So he needed to be fast and burn Wave to the ground, there would be no occupation, no conquest, he needed to cripple them before Konoha's main army arrived.
This was no longer a simple takeover, it was a precursor to the Fourth Shinobi World War.
***
Asura was meditating, he had not fought yet.
But he wanted too, oh how he wanted too.
The little skirmish at Orochimaru's base had been far too brief for his liking, no fighters worth naming.
And now it seems he was doomed by his own power.
He had focused on sheer combat potential, learning all the Jutsu he could as quickly as possible, which made him extremely deadly in an open battle, but he lacked the ability to quickly transverse the battlefield, which meant most of the time, another Templar or Acolyte squad was dispatched due to them being able to arrive faster than him.
He would have to rectify that weakness once this was over, he didn't want to miss out on any more battles.
Still, he sat patiently in the Sensor Station, waiting for his next chance to shine.
And he was rewarded, Yatagarasu, Firstborn of The Watcher himself, spoke directly to him.
"Asura." The Star-Eater looked up as he heard his name called. "Kiri is splitting into 3 groups, 2 smaller ones and one main force, harass the one coming passing through Sector 6-A, do as much damage as possible."
Asura bowed slightly.
"By His Will, it shall be done." He said seriously, excitement building up in him, praise The Watcher.
He used a Body Flicker, vanishing from the room.
***
15 MINUTES LATER
Asura stood silently in the middle of a road, the sector he was assigned was thankfully clear of trees and rocks, just a nice smooth surface that would make fighting easier.
And then, finally, they were there.
They did not bother hiding themselves, instead choosing to simply run towards their destination, he did not care for their plans.
He had received the order to do as much damage as possible, and killing them all was not contradictory to that order.
He counted 70 Shinobi approaching him, and clearly whoever was leading them was smart, because they did not immediately jump into a battle with him.
Instead, they spread out and stopped about 200 meters away from him, he let the Jutsu he had prepared fall away, slightly disappointed.
"Wave-nin." A man in the front called out. "Surrender."
He couldn't stop the laugh from bubbling out of his throat, how foolish.
He unfolded his 8 arms, each already formed into a hand seal.
"My name is Asura." He said loudly. "Templar of The Order, in different circumstances, the mercy of The Watcher would allow you a chance to surrender, but unfortunately, your army is a message."
The Kiri Shinobi immediately began forming their own hand seals, but they would not be fast enough.
'Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire.'
'Earth Release: Devouring Earth.'
'Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere.'
'Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu.'
'Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder.'
Elements manifested around him, all of them rushing towards his enemies at the same time.
And then, carnage.
But of course, he did not stop with just that, his hands were still moving.
'Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears X8'
Spikes rushed out of the ground, piercing through the first victims of his onslaught.
'Fire Release: Dragon Fire Dragon Flame Bullet X4'
Asura spit out a swarm of man-sized dragon shaped flames, they rushed into the scattered enemy, who desperately tried to defend themselves from him.
Some tried to throw Kunai and Shuriken at him, but...
'Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.'
A wave of wind knocked the throw weapons away.
Some tried to rush forward and engage him directly, but...
'Earth Release: Mudslide X2'
The ground rose up and grabbed them, dragging them to a slow death, suffocating in the mud.
None would be leaving his sight alive, none were allowed to escape their judgment.