Naruto: Promotion is my Ninja Way

[Ding! Host has been promoted to the highest commander of the Konohagakure front!]

[Congratulations to Host for earning four draws! Current draws: nine!]

[Friendly reminder: Drawing ten times in a row increases your chances of obtaining rare items!]

Nine draws!

Shihouin Naraku could barely contain his excitement. The Executive Committee had given him five lottery chances, and with the four new ones he'd just earned, he now had exactly nine draws total. Just one more draw and he'd reach the ten-draw milestone for the fourth time!

"Naraku." Tsunade's voice brought him back to reality. She looked at him with concern, deliberately choosing her words carefully. "Are you absolutely certain you want to take command of the battle against Kumogakure? You still have time to change your mind before I make this order official."

Shihouin Naraku shook his head firmly, his excitement from moments before replaced by determination. "It's just Kumogakure. I can handle them, Sensei. But what about Iwagakure? Who are you planning to send against them?"

At this point in time, there weren't many jōnin in Konohagakure who were suitable to become commanders and lead ninja forces into war. More importantly, whoever took this role had to be someone Tsunade could trust completely.

After the Sannin had grown up and proven themselves, the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen had never allowed anyone else to hold the position of supreme commander. Only one of the three legendary Sannin could lead the ninja army into battle—no one else was even considered for such an important role.

Among the three Sannin, Tsunade had served as supreme commander the least often, Jiraiya had moderate experience, and Orochimaru had commanded the most battles.

Shihouin Naraku understood why Sarutobi Hiruzen had made this decision. The supreme commander wielded enormous power and controlled large numbers of troops. If someone with hidden motives gained this position, it could spell disaster for the village.

That's why Shihouin Naraku was concerned about who would command the other front.

Tsunade sighed with obvious irritation. "Who else could it be? That perverted fool Jiraiya, of course!"

"Since he's the one who dragged me back to become Hokage, he can't just run off to chase women and gather material for his books. He'll have to sit in the commander's chair whether he likes it or not. He must lead our forces to stop Iwagakure's advance. That old fox Ōnoki is extremely cunning, but Jiraiya won't be caught off guard if he stays focused."

Shihouin Naraku had almost forgotten about Jiraiya. After all, in his memories of the original timeline, Jiraiya would soon be taking Uzumaki Naruto on a training journey around the world.

But thinking about it now, Jiraiya was indeed a perfect choice for the role. His loyalty to the village was unquestionable, and his abilities were top-tier. When Jiraiya got serious, he was truly a qualified and capable commander.

Tsunade looked at Shihouin Naraku with a serious expression. "I'm arranging for Shikaku to serve as your deputy commander. He'll help you develop various battle strategies and tactical plans. I'm not worried about your strength—you've proven yourself capable—but you must be extremely careful. In war, absolutely anything can happen."

"Understood!" Shihouin Naraku nodded seriously, then turned and left the Hokage's office.

Since there had been signs of trouble brewing at the borders for weeks now, the Executive Committee had already transported the necessary supplies to the front lines in advance. All Shihouin Naraku needed to do now was gather his forces and march out. Additional supplies would be delivered to the battlefield as they became available.

Half a day later, Shihouin Naraku stood at the main gate of Konohagakure alongside the famous Ino-Shika-Chō trio, watching as the ninja vanguard unit assembled before them.

The ninja forces under Shihouin Naraku's command totaled three hundred and seventy-two shinobi. Not counting Shihouin Naraku himself and the Ino-Shika-Chō combination, the force included only five jōnin, eight tokujōnin (special jōnin), and the remaining soldiers were all chūnin-level ninja.

This represented the very best of Konohagakure's available forces!

"Move out!" Shihouin Naraku called out, his cape flowing dramatically behind him as he led the way out of the village gates.

"Move out!" the first group echoed.

"Move out!" came the response from the second group.

"Move out!" the final groups shouted in unison.

The ninja troops immediately fell into formation and rushed toward the border to join the war effort.

Of course, a ninja force of nearly four hundred people couldn't all depart at the same time. Instead, they would travel to the battlefield in carefully planned waves.

Shihouin Naraku led the strongest and most elite vanguard unit—approximately one hundred of the finest ninja—and departed first.

After the remaining ninja troops finished their final preparations, the Ino-Shika-Chō trio and the other jōnin would be responsible for leading them to the battlefield in separate groups over the following days.

Since the ninja under Shihouin Naraku's direct command were all elite-level shinobi, they made excellent time traveling to the border of the Land of Fire.

When they arrived at the border as night was falling, Shihouin Naraku ordered his troops to establish a temporary camp. Except for the essential guards who would maintain watch throughout the night, everyone else was given time to rest and recover from the journey.

"Here... and here..." Shihouin Naraku muttered to himself as he studied the map spread across his command table, tracing routes with his finger. This was a detailed map of the Land of Hot Water, and he was carefully considering the best possible routes for advancing their forces.

The war absolutely could not be allowed to reach the Land of Fire itself. Even if Konoha won such a battle, both the village and the country would ultimately lose because their own territory would be destroyed. What good would victory be if their homeland lay in ruins?

Therefore, Shihouin Naraku had to lead his ninja forces to completely repel the Kumogakure ninja teams before they could cross into the Land of Fire.

"Lord Naraku!" A covert intelligence agent approached after passing through the double security check of secret codes and hand signals, then entered the command center.

"What's your report?" Shihouin Naraku asked without looking up from his maps.

"Lord Naraku, the vanguard forces from Kumogakure have entered the Land of Hot Water. They're currently working to eliminate the spy networks we established there."

"They're moving faster than expected," Shihouin Naraku observed, taking the intelligence scroll from the agent and dismissing him with a gesture.

Shihouin Naraku carefully read through the intelligence report. "The vanguard is being led by Darui. If they're sending such a powerful ninja to lead the advance, they must be planning to rush straight through the Land of Hot Water and strike directly into the Land of Fire."

Studying the movement patterns and routes of the Kumogakure ninja forces, Shihouin Naraku began drafting detailed war missions and tactical orders. After working intensively for quite some time, he called out, "Send Yūtōgen and Yura to see me immediately."

"Yes, sir!"

Within minutes, two tokujōnin arrived at the command tent.

"Yūtōgen," Shihouin Naraku addressed the first ninja, "you will lead two full teams into the Land of Hot Water from the northwest direction. If you encounter any ninja from Kumogakure, I'm giving you complete authority to decide how to respond based on the situation. Your only absolute requirement is this: you are not permitted to withdraw from the Land of Hot Water until reinforcements arrive to support you!"

"Yes, sir!" Yūtōgen acknowledged the order and immediately departed, leading his assigned teams out into the night.

"Yura, your mission is even more critical than his," Shihouin Naraku continued, turning to address the second tokujōnin. "I'm assigning you three complete teams—twelve ninja total. You'll serve as our forward strike force and enter the Land of Hot Water ahead of our main army. Your primary objective is to secure key strategic positions within the Land of Hot Water."

Shihouin Naraku's finger moved to point at a specific location marked on the map. "This place is called Shiratani. If Kumogakure's forces manage to occupy Shiratani before you arrive there, you must immediately launch an assault to recapture this position for our forces. If Kumogakure hasn't reached it yet, establish a strong defensive position there and hold it at all costs. Do not abandon that position under any circumstances!"

"Yes, sir!" Yura saluted and departed, leading his teams toward Shiratani.

"That's two of our elite tokujōnin deployed," Shihouin Naraku noted to himself as he watched his subordinates disappear into the darkness.

After dispatching these advance forces, Shihouin Naraku continued working late into the night, refining his battle plans.

When dawn broke, Shihouin Naraku ordered the field hospital to begin rapid construction. Using the existing defensive structures along the border as a foundation, the medical facility was completed with impressive speed.

Immediately after that, Shihouin Naraku sent reconnaissance teams to thoroughly survey the border defenses and reinforced the ninja manning the border guard posts with additional personnel.

No matter what happened in the coming battle, the borders of the Land of Fire could not be allowed to fall into enemy hands.

As time passed, the border defense measures became increasingly sophisticated and formidable. If Kumogakure's ninja forces wanted to launch an attack, they wouldn't be able to get anywhere near the Land of Fire's borders without suffering heavy casualties.

Throughout the entire day, Shihouin Naraku continuously adjusted his tactical deployments based on the steady stream of intelligence reports arriving from the front lines. He found himself engaged in a complex strategic chess match with Kumogakure's commander, fighting a battle of wits across the distance.

The actual fighting began quickly and escalated to intense levels almost immediately!

Within the territory of the Land of Hot Water, warfare erupted in an instant and reached its most fierce and brutal stage. One after another, wounded ninja were evacuated from the active battlefield and transported to the field hospital for emergency medical treatment.

Fresh ninja reinforcements were continuously dispatched by Shihouin Naraku to enter the Land of Hot Water once again and engage in fierce combat against the invading forces from Kumogakure.

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