Chapter 62: Shikamaru's Stratagem

… During the period when Orochimaru subdued the Land of Snow and hurried back, a fierce battle erupted between the Sound Village and the Ninja Alliance of the Four Nations.

Inside the Sound Village, Shikamaru sat cross-legged on the ground, eyes closed, fingertips pressed together and placed three inches below his navel.

Kabuto stood quietly beside him. Soon, Shikamaru opened his eyes.

A cup of hot tea was handed over. Shikamaru reached out to take it, murmuring, "Thank you."

Kabuto smiled warmly, his demeanor gentle. "So, how is it?"

Shikamaru blew away the steam and cautiously took a sip. "There's nothing more I can do."

This war of attrition had seen Shikamaru employ his intellect, devising a month-long plan that began smoothly. But the Ninja Alliance was no pushover; once they deciphered the Sound Village's strategy, they advanced with brute force.

Now, only a desperate fight remained.

Kabuto adjusted his glasses and said, "Assassinations, internal turmoil, manipulating public opinion, feints, even concocting rumors of treasures—all these have dragged out the conflict until now. You’ve done remarkably well."

It had been fourteen days since Orochimaru departed for the Land of Snow. Lasting this long was no easy feat.

Had the battle been fought head-on, without any scheming, the Sound Village would have fallen in a single day.

Even had Kabuto himself been the strategist, he could have delayed them for ten days at most—and with heavy losses.

Yet Shikamaru not only dragged it out for fourteen days, but preserved half the troops, barely losing any elite fighters. Truly impressive.

Shikamaru shook his head. "You know what I'm fighting for."

Kabuto chuckled; he knew well. Over ten thousand prisoners from the original Leaf Village were held within the Sound Village. If the Sound Village was destroyed, the prisoners would surely perish—a fate Shikamaru could not accept. Thus, he pushed himself to the limits, seeking every possible way to buy time against the Four Nations’ Ninja Alliance.

He had already done all he could.

Shikamaru said, "If it comes to direct combat, I have one last plan. It might delay them for two days, but after that, the Sound Village will be finished."

Kabuto’s lips curled. "What plan?"

Shikamaru replied, "Gather the surviving Leaf Village prisoners and place them at the main gate of the Sound Village. Use their lives to negotiate with the Ninja Alliance."

The prisoners were not Sound Village people; about eight thousand remained alive. Out of humanitarian concern, the Alliance would not slaughter them immediately.

They would report to their respective Kages, who would convene to decide the prisoners’ fate. It would likely take roughly a day to reach a decision and carry it out.

Meanwhile, a few thousand could be sent on raids to stir up trouble, easily stretching the delay to a full day.

Finally, the Alliance would launch a final assault against the remaining forces of the Sound Village, which would take another day.

Two days in total.

"Not a bad plan, but I'm afraid you might run off with the Leaf prisoners," Kabuto said, bluntly.

Over these days, Kabuto had witnessed Shikamaru’s cunning firsthand, and with this knowledge came heightened vigilance. The only thing holding Shikamaru in check was the Leaf prisoners.

Should he lose that leverage, Shikamaru would become an enemy—a dangerous one.

Now, Shikamaru proposed gathering all the prisoners in one place, a risky move.

"Alright, fine. I admit I have another motive. If it succeeds, the delay will be more than just two days," Shikamaru confessed, surrendering with a mock-defeated look. "In fact, I’ve been secretly communicating with the Alliance’s leadership. I told them the Leaf prisoners would betray the Sound Village at a critical moment."

Kabuto’s eyes narrowed, a glint flashing across his glasses. Shikamaru had spoken.

All Shikamaru’s actions were under surveillance, and Kabuto was no fool; he already suspected Shikamaru was in contact with the Alliance. But now that Shikamaru admitted it, what did it mean?

Shikamaru continued, "Actually, I lied to them. Most of the Leaf prisoners have married into the Sound Village. You know how loyal Leaf people are—few would truly betray us."

Beyond Shikamaru’s claim of deception, the Leaf villagers were indeed steadfast. Though they hated the Sound Village, marriage and other factors prevented them from acting against it, leaving them conflicted and indecisive.

Kabuto smiled, "I don’t believe you."

He couldn't. If the Leaf prisoners were gathered and sent to the Alliance’s rear, who could predict whether they would truly betray the Sound Village?

Shikamaru shrugged. "It’s the only way."

The plan: gather all the Leaf prisoners, stage a betrayal, send seven thousand into the Alliance’s rear, then have the remaining Sound forces clash head-on with the Alliance. Those eight thousand prisoners behind enemy lines would strike at the command centers.

With inside and outside cooperation, the Alliance would be without leadership, fighting in disarray, and the war could be prolonged for several more days.

"What will you do?" Shikamaru asked Kabuto.

…

That day, the remaining eight thousand Leaf prisoners were bound and placed at the Sound Village’s gate, forming a wall of defenseless bodies.

Kabuto, as acting leader, declared that for every step the Alliance advanced, a hundred would be executed.

After some probing, Kabuto made good on his threat, killing five hundred. Only then did the Alliance realize he was not bluffing.

Slaughtering eight thousand defenseless prisoners had no precedent in ninja history. No one could bear such a crime.

Moreover, the blame would fall on the Four Nations. The Alliance lacked the resolve to make such a decision directly; it had to be reported for the Kages to decide.

But that very night, before a verdict could be reached, chaos erupted in the Sound Village. Led by Jiraiya, Tsunade, Naruto, and Sasuke, nearly a thousand Sound ninjas were killed, and the remaining seven thousand Leaf prisoners were taken to join the Alliance.

These seven thousand were secretly sent to the Alliance’s rear.

…

Inside the Sound Village, Kabuto and Shikamaru processed intelligence reports together.

Shikamaru smiled, "See? Thanks to my secret contacts in the past few days, the Leaf prisoners were swiftly accepted."

Kabuto smiled as well. "Accepted, yes—but who can say if things will proceed as planned?"

His words implied doubt: would the prisoners really attack the command posts as planned, or might they truly rebel?

Shikamaru remained calm. "What do you think?"

Kabuto replied, "You’re very clever."

Neither gave a direct answer, but both understood.

Kabuto couldn’t outmaneuver Shikamaru, but his trump card was Orochimaru. He believed Orochimaru would ultimately win, and Shikamaru’s intelligence was why he trusted him to carry out the plan.

Shikamaru, meanwhile, was thinking far ahead—beyond the Fourth Great Ninja War, toward the future.

In that future, as long as Orochimaru lived, countless Sound Villages would exist. The destruction of this one was merely a delay for Orochimaru.

Shikamaru believed Orochimaru would win in the end, so he would not truly betray him.

"Only…" Shikamaru looked out the window. "This really is the last gambit."

This scheme and the ongoing battle could delay things for five or six days. After that, the Sound Village would be essentially destroyed—unless Orochimaru returned within three days, in which case some would survive.

But could Orochimaru make it back in time? He promised a month’s delay, yet all they’d managed was twenty days.

Kabuto’s worries were less than Shikamaru’s. He knew Orochimaru’s promised month was a maximum; Orochimaru could return at any moment.

=========================================

Seeking reviews! Seeking suggestions! Your sincere comments may inspire a high-quality novel, or at least help the author grow…