30 The Art of War

Koryu let out a sigh. He knew that this news would be coming but he still was not ready for it. He took a deep breath and composed himself. He needed to set a good example for his men.

He then said, "Thank you for the news. Now, let's get to work."

The meeting lasted a few hours. All sorts of things such as provisions, medical procedures, chain of command, supply routes, and priorities were discussed.

It was decided that they would rest for the night. For now, the various sensor types rotated to keep watch throughout the night. The next day, a battalion would head out and set up another base of operations closer to the offensive line.

Almost everyone got some sleep that night. Nawaki, however, sat atop the command center and meditated. The vast forest allowed him to sense for miles. As he sat, he slowly absorbed natural energy and entered sage mode. As he scanned through the surroundings, countless types of animals could be felt. Foxes, bears, wolves, and cats lived throughout the forest.

As Nawaki was enjoying the vast flow of energy, something caught his attention. He had found an interesting chakra signature. It was significantly larger than all of the other animals. It's signature was significantly stronger than most humans even.

Upon closer inspection, he realized that whatever it was, it was not human. Nawaki honed in on the signature but before he could learn more, it flared and disappeared.

Nawaki raised his brow and said, "What was that? It felt powerful." Kensho then said, "There are countless creatures in this world and many of them possess great power. I would not be surprised to find all sorts of strange creatures in the forest and jungles. I say we go and check it out!"

Nawaki chuckled and said, "While I'd love to go on an adventure, it just isn't possible. I have a responsibility to stay here and follow Koryu san's orders." Kensho sighed and said, "Oh well. I tried. I just wanted to have some fun!"

They both laughed. Nawaki then said, "The more I talk to you, the less I believe that you're actually an angel. That title just does not seem to fit you."

Kensho scoffed and then said, "If you think I'm bad, you probably couldn't even imagine what the old man is like behind closed doors. After doing the same thing every day for countless years, he loves his fun."

Nawaki laughed and said, "Oh, I feel like I could imagine it to some extent. Back to that other thing, I'll just have to hope that I get to find some cool stuff when I'm out there."

Kensho smiled and said, "Me too. I'd be bored to death if nothing interesting happened."

As he said this, Nawaki noticed something. Three unknown chakra signatures had entered his range and were moving towards their camp. He thought for a moment. He had taken note of all the chakra signatures that belong to his allies and these three did not match up.

Kensho then said, "Oooooh, I smell fun. What are you gonna do?" Nawaki opened his eyes and stared into the sky. Over the past few hours, the sky began to open up. The rain stopped and stars were peeking out from behind the clouds.

He sat in silence as he took in the view. With the limited amount of light coming off the lamps that illuminated the camp, it was almost completely dark.

Nawaki's jaw was dropped open and he almost felt like crying. He couldn't come up with any words to describe it. Never in his two lives had he seen so many stars in the sky.

As he shifted his gaze across the sky, there was no end to the sea of lights. He slowly leaned backwards and laid down. As he looked up, he couldn't believe his eyes. Just when he thought that the sky couldn't be any more beautiful, he was proved wrong.

Stretching across the sky above him, a vast arm of light glowed with brilliance. Various fields of bright colors dotted the dense field of stars.

Nawaki was reminded of his old world. He recalled a trip to Hawaii. Late in the afternoon, he hiked for hours across a field of solidified lava. The priceless memory of watching the sun set over the seemingly endless blue sea. Once the sun set, he started his hike back to civilization.

When he was about half way back, he stopped. No light could be seen anywhere. It was truly pitch black. He slowly sat down and looked into the sky. The amount of stars was breathtaking. Even an arm of the Milky Way galaxy could be seen.

Snapping out of his nostalgia, he resumed admiring the night sky of this new world. He closed his eyes and basked in the cool air of the night. He then said, "I'll deal with it if they come close enough. For now, I'm just going to admire the view."

Kensho smiled. He was able to see Nawaki's memory as if it was his own. He had no doubt that it could be counted among the most breathtaking sights on that world. He then said, "That memory was beautiful, thank you for that. You've got a bit before they are too close for comfort so let's just enjoy our moment of peace."

Nawaki smiled and said, "Sounds like a plan senpai." They both then sat in silence and continued to gaze upon the stars.

After 15 minutes, Nawaki opened his eyes and said, "It's time. I'm glad that I set a perimeter with my kunai. This will be easy." He then disappeared in a flash.

In the forest, 3 Kumo ninja were out on a mission. Their orders were to scout out the enemy and estimate their battle strength. One of the ninjas raised his fist to signal for his team to stop. He then sat down and closed his eyes. Stretching out his senses, he scanned for nearby enemies. Finding nothing, he stood back up and shook his hand forwards to signal his team to continue their approach.

They kept on and were now within a mile of Konoha's encampment. Slowing their pace, they did their best to erase their presence. After some time, they approached the clearing and could see their objective. The leader removed a scroll and pen from his pouch and started taking down some notes. Meanwhile, the other two kept watch.

Once he finished his report, he sealed the scroll and packed it away. Suddenly, he heard a slashing sound. He looked in the direction of the noise but nothing was there. A bead of sweat dripped down his face.

As the droplet of sweat fell off his cheek, another slashing sound could be heard. Again, he looked to where the noise came from and nothing was there. Then it sunk in. Both of his teammates were gone.

Out of instinct, he turned around quickly to see a short Konoha ninja slowly walking towards him. The ninja then said, "You guys really need to work on the whole stealth part of the job." The Kumo ninja opened his mouth to respond but was knocked in the back of the head before he could say anything.

Nawaki stood over the unconscious body and sighed. The wood clone that distracted the enemy was absorbed back into Nawaki. He then knelt down, gripped the body, and disappeared in a flash.

Koryu was soundly asleep. Much to his dismay, he woke up to a knock on his door. He said in his groggy state, "What couldn't wait till morning?" A voice then called out from behind the door saying, "We have apprehended 3 Kumo scouts. Awaiting your orders."

Koryu sighed knowing that he would not be able to get any more sleep that night. He rolled out of bed and exited his quarters. After making his way over to the command center, he could only smile at what was in front of him.

On the ground, three Kumo ninja were tied up and crippled with restraining seals. On the table behind them sat a grinning ninja twirling a three pronged kunai around his finger.

Koryu sighed and said, "Boy, I should have known it was you. I won't even ask how you did it." Nawaki chuckled and said, "Just doing my job Koryu san."

Koryu then turned to the genin that summoned him and said, "Go fetch some people from the torture and interrogation corps. They have some work to do." The genin stood tall and said, "Hai!" He left as he said this.

The next morning, all of the jonin gathered in the command center. Once everyone had arrived, a tired Koryu stood up and yawned at the front of the room. He then started the meeting. He briefed them all on the intelligence that was gained the previous night and announced the teams that would go and set up their offensive line encampment. It was also revealed that Kumo planned to launch an assault in two days' time. They decided to

Once it was over, everyone dispersed and got to work. Nawaki, Minato, and Fugaku were assigned to advance to the offensive line and find a suitable location to set up camp. The three of them met up and Nawaki bragged about his escapade from the previous night.

After finishing his moment of glory, Nawaki said, "Usual formation, are you guys ready?" Minato and Fugaku nodded. The trio then took off into the forest.

It would take an hour to reach the destination. They had to cross into the Land of Bears and locate a clearing that could accommodate the forward encampment.

The hour went by quickly. The sky had fully cleared throughout the previous night and it was wonderful. The sun shined brightly and warmed up the cold air. It was quite pleasant.

As they approached the clearing, the trio stopped. Nawaki sat down and swept the area. After some careful investigation, he found nothing. He turned to Minato and said, "Let's mark the area and return to base." Minato nodded and they both tossed a kunai into the ground. Nawaki grabbed hold of Fugaku and the trio disappeared in a flash.

They entered the command center and reported to Koryu. After hearing their report, he issued orders for the advance teams to head out.

After a few hours, a smaller version of the main encampment was set up in the clearing. Once everything was ready, Koryu called a meeting and they planned out an operation to catch out the enemy's advancement.

As the meeting came to a close, Koryu stood tall before his men. He then said, "Everyone get plenty of rest tonight. Tomorrow marks the beginning of our fight."