Everyone knew that Kirigakure was no match for Konohagakure, but at this stage of the Third Shinobi World War, the Leaf simply had no surplus troops left to contend with the Mist.
To reverse such a situation, one had to pull chestnuts out of the fire.
For the Konoha high command, the optimal solution—the Mist Collapse Plan—was born. It involved sacrificing the shinobi of various clans on the Eastern Front while secretly manipulating Mist spies within the Leaf. They would leak the specific intelligence Konoha wanted the enemy to know, and then coordinate their own actions to reinforce the reliability of that intel, gradually deepening the enemy's dependence on those leaks to influence the Hidden Mist Village's strategy from the shadows.
Step by step, while continuously betraying colleagues, teammates, and fellow villagers, they would lull the Mist into a false sense of security until they exposed a flaw. Then, Konoha would dispatch top-tier infiltration experts to gather intelligence and finally, at the most critical juncture, deploy a Kage-level asset capable of turning the tide to deliver a fatal blow to Kirigakure.
This was a very "shinobi" way of doing things.
To put it more bluntly, it was a symbol of Konoha being backed into a corner—a sign of insufficient strength.
However, the true course of the ninja world's future would not follow that path. Reality is always more absurd than any plan.
In the original timeline, Kirigakure's amphibious landing operation at the Kusunami Coast should have failed. There were two variables that influenced the battlefield's outcome:
First: Might Duy opened the Eight Inner Gates Formation, sacrificing himself to crush the core elite force sent by the Mist for this mission—the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
Second: Konoha's Shisui of the Body Flicker, Shisui Uchiha, arrived with timely reinforcements, thwarting a mission led by Ao of the Hidden Mist.
The second point was particularly notable. Hyuga Yu had originally believed that the timeline for Shisui's encounter with Ao wasn't yet upon them; after all, the current Shisui was a year younger than Yu, and his title as "Shisui of the Body Flicker" had only recently begun to spread.
But considering the current situation, Yu immediately deduced that there was only one mission at hand requiring someone of Ao's caliber to lead a team deep into the Land of Fire: to verify the authenticity of the explosive tag transport convoy.
Because the Shisui of this era stopped Ao, and Might Duy nearly annihilated the Seven Ninja Swordsmen elsewhere, the Mist found it difficult to verify the intelligence coming from Konoha. Since the previous intelligence leaks provided by the Leaf had been entirely accurate, the Mist ultimately chose to trust the spy's report—that Konoha truly was transporting a massive quantity of explosive tags!
Of course, this was all just Yu's speculation. Whether it was the truth would require more intelligence to uncover.
However, this known information was already enough for Hyuga Yu to finalize his plan.
The Edge of the Unnamed Forest
Terai stood with an indifferent expression, his cold gaze piercing through his mask as he scrutinized Hyuga Yu, who stood before the Root shinobi deep in thought. Terai looked up at the sky. Thick, dark clouds drifted over the distant sea, shifting into various shapes under the blowing gale.
It was already 9:00 PM. Calculating the time, Terai said flatly:
"You have one more hour to hesitate."
"After 10:00, I must make arrangements. All Root shinobi on the Kusunami Coast are waiting for my orders. This isn't child's play; it's a real war. I don't have time to accompany you—"
Before Terai could finish, Hyuga Yu raised his head. His elegant, composed face—as calm as the deep sea—now bore a look of grim determination. "There's no need."
"Finally seen sense?" A cold sneer curled at the corner of Terai's mouth. He had anticipated Yu's inevitable choice, yet... for some reason, a flicker of disappointment rose in his heart.
Of the two options he had provided, the only one that allowed Hyuga Yu to survive was to act like a true Root shinobi: abandon the Tenth Team, live on in disgrace, and ruthlessly trade his teammates' lives for a path to promotion.
"Since you've seen sense, then fall into line—"
Terai exhaled heavily through his mask and looked coldly at Hyuga Yu. He pointed toward the twenty-two nameless Root shinobi kneeling on one knee beside him, gesturing toward the end of the line. "Kneel, and you shall live."
Yu narrowed his eyes slightly. He reached out, brushed Terai's hand aside, and said calmly:
"Who told you I was going to run away?"
Hearing this, Terai snapped his head up and frowned at him. "Are you mad?"
Yu ignored him, staring deeply at Terai for several seconds before stating with conviction, "I should be the one in charge here!"
"You have no command authority."
"But Lord Ryoma should have told you to listen to me, correct?"
Terai found it even harder to comprehend. "How did you know?"
Yu couldn't exactly say he was just bluffing. He simply looked at Terai and said in a heavy voice:
"Lord Ryoma's arrangements naturally have their reasons. Just because you can't do something doesn't mean I can't."
"The main battlefield hasn't reached the point of total collapse yet. We can turn the tide!"
"That's impossible." Terai shook his head. "Whether it's the surprise attack force or the main strength on the front lines, the Mist has deployed at least three times our numbers this time."
"Your struggle is meaningless."
"Think what you like."
Yu didn't argue. He just looked at the man's bird-head mask and calmly stated his requirement:
"Give me the map of the Mist's offensive routes."
Looking at the unreasonably demanding Hyuga Yu, Terai couldn't help but take a deep breath. Eventually, he gritted his teeth, pulled a map scroll from his ninja tool pouch, and tossed it over.
"What do you plan to do?" he asked grimly.
Hyuga Yu unfurled the map scroll.
It was the same map that Genma Shiranui had given him, but the routes and arrows marked on this one were far more complex. Relying on the knowledge he had gained in his Shinobi Reconnaissance classes, Yu roughly distinguished the general direction and timing of the Mist's main force, as well as the routes of the secret infiltration units and the escort personnel arranged by Konoha.
In the midst of it all, the Tenth Team was assigned to an inconspicuous branch line, and Might Duy's name was marked right next to them.
In other words, Duy's reassignment was indeed a decision made by the Konoha high command, but even they hadn't expected his Eight Inner Gates to be so staggering. In their plan, they had merely treated Might Duy as a Special Jonin.
At that moment, Yu turned the map over, pointed to the Tenth Team's route, and spoke to Terai with a serious expression:
"According to my calculations, the enemy's core elite force will pass through here!"
"Leave the defenses in other directions as they are. Concentrate all Root personnel here and set an ambush in advance."
Terai froze, feeling a prickle of dread on his scalp. If they followed this plan, how was it any different from the first option he had given Yu? But when he had offered that choice, he truly hadn't expected Yu to take it!
"This makes no sense—I know you want to save those brats, but... you're being completely reckless!"
Yu's face hardened as he glared at him. "I'll emphasize it one more time. I am the one calling the shots here!"
Terai clenched his back teeth. He had expected Yu to provide some grand strategy to turn the situation around, but hearing this, he was—unsurprisingly—angered by Yu's seemingly whimsical command.
"You'll regret this, Hyuga Yu!"
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