Naruto: Starting as the Third Hokage with Tears in His Eyes

Chapter 26 The Wall of Illusions, the Glory of the Uchiha

The border of the Land of Earth is covered with towering mountains.

In stark contrast to the scorching heat of the Land of Wind and the dampness of the Land of Rain, this place is filled with bare rocky mountains and bottomless canyons.

The steep terrain served as a natural barrier for Iwagakure Village.

A large Konoha army is stationed on this side of the mountain, facing Iwagakure across the distance.

Inside the main tent at the camp, the atmosphere was tense yet efficient.

Uchiha Kagami, dressed in dark blue armor, stood in front of a huge sand table, his brows furrowed.

Beside him stood Nara Shikaku, Akimichi Torifu, and Yamanaka Taichi, the three current leaders of the Ino-Shika-Cho alliance, all with equally serious expressions.

"Lord Kagami, Taichi, we have just received intelligence from the Uchiha squad in area C-3."

Nara Deer Antlers' fingers moved quickly across the sand table, planting a small red flag.

"They discovered a five-man scout team from Iwagakure, who were using earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a technique used in Chinese fantasy novels) to try to flank us through an underground cave."

"I have already arranged for the Earth Release ninja team to set traps along their inevitable route," Akimichi Torifu said in a deep, resonant voice, his massive body giving off a strong sense of security.

"very good."

Uchiha Kagami nodded. "Have Team C-3 continue monitoring, but don't alert them. Our mission is to observe, not to attack."

"yes!"

With his eyes closed and his hands pressed against his temples, Yamanaka Taichi's spirit was currently connected to more than thirty Uchiha squads scattered along the hundreds of kilometers of border through the secret techniques of the Yamanaka clan.

"Lord Kagami, intelligence has come from area B-5. A supply transport unit of about fifty people from Iwagakure has been spotted crossing a suspension bridge, transporting a batch of explosive tags."

"Deer Antlers, what do you think?"

Uchiha Kagami immediately looked at the strategist beside him.

Nara Shikamaru stroked his chin, staring at the sand table, his mind racing.

"They're transporting explosive tags... Their destination should be this fortress on the front lines."

He pointed to a location on the sand table, "But the route is strange; they took a huge detour. That doesn't make sense."

"unless……"

Nara Shikano's eyes suddenly lit up. "They're bluffing! This transport convoy is bait; the real supplies are being transported via a more covert route!"

"Tianyi!"

Uchiha Kagami immediately ordered, "Notify all Uchiha teams in the surveillance area to immediately conduct a fan-shaped scan centered on that transport convoy! Focus on checking all possible caves and underground passages!"

"yes!"

This is what Hiruzen Sarutobi envisioned as the "Wall of Illusions."

Using three-person teams from the Uchiha clan as the basic unit, they were scattered along the long border like chess pieces.

Each team is responsible for a specific area.

Then, this massive amount of intelligence was transmitted back to the command center in real time through the spiritual secrets of the mountain tribe.

In the command center, the exceptionally intelligent Nara clan analyzed, organized, and judged this intelligence, uncovering the enemy's true intentions from countless pieces of chaotic information.

Finally, the Akimichi clan and other combat ninjas in the camp would conduct precise defensive deployments or deadly surprise attacks based on the Nara clan's analysis.

The Sharingan's keen insight, the Yamanaka clan's intelligence gathering, the Nara clan's wisdom, and the Akimichi clan's execution capabilities.

The Uchiha clan and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, the two most powerful groups in Konoha, were united for the first time in such a seamless way under the will of the Third Hokage.

Together, they built an intelligence barrier that left the enemy nowhere to hide.

In the short few days since the start of the war, Iwagakure has launched no fewer than ten probing attacks on the border of the Land of Earth.

But each time, it felt like hitting an invisible wall.

Before their men even arrived, Konoha had already dug a trap.

As soon as their earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a term used to describe a type of magical ability or technique) emerged from the ground, they were met with an overwhelming barrage of explosive tags.

Iwagakure was utterly overwhelmed and suffered heavy casualties, yet they couldn't even catch a glimpse of Konoha's main force.

The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, was so angry in his office that he almost tore his desk apart.

"Useless! A bunch of useless trash!"

He roared at his Jonin subordinates, "Our men are like people running naked in front of the enemy!"

Meanwhile, inside the command tent in Konoha.

Looking at the Iwagakure forces on the sand table, whom they had repeatedly defeated, Uchiha Kagami felt an unprecedented sense of pride welling up inside him.

Instead of relying on brute force to fight, we should make full use of our eyes to understand the battlefield and determine the course of the war.

This feeling of strategizing and winning battles from afar brings him more satisfaction than simply engaging in combat.

He finally understood the meaning of the Hokage's words back then.

"What I need is not your lives, but your eyes and minds."

"Lord Jing, look."

Nara Shikaku pointed to a repeatedly marked location on the sand table, "Although we have thwarted Iwagakure's attacks in recent times, their targets seem to be subtly pointing towards our main camp."

"They want to carry out a decapitation strike?" Uchiha Kagami frowned.

"Possibly."

Kashiwagi nodded. "Onoki is a very proud person. After repeated setbacks, he might take a desperate gamble. Moreover, I always feel that they still have some trump cards that we haven't discovered yet."