The Best Laid Plans

Arun

Chapter 22: Plans Hatched

Disclaimer 1: My message of hope is that one day we'll reach the stars. Can I have my Noble now? Or at least the prize money?

Disclaimer 2: I swear undying hatred to Edward Cullen and Bella! May the vampire that sparkles and the girl he fell in love with burn in hell forever.

Note: Be forewarned. This is not proofread.

xxxxx

The security around the alliance to rid Wind of the tyranny of Danzo and his Fire masters was very tight. Of course, the old cripple had his spies within Suna and had even suborned a few nobles to his cause. But Kaze no Kuni was aware there were traitors in his ranks and ordered the compartmentalization of the treaty with Cloud and Lightning. He and his planners knew that the treaty needed to remain secret only until Danzo was sufficiently weakened and Hi no Kuni's attention was focused on other fronts.

On the other side of the equation, Danzo was aware that his spies within Suna and the Kaze no Kuni Daimyo's court weren't infallible. To manage this risk, he had other agents observing all units of Wind country big enough and near enough to pose a threat to him and his men. But the initial phases of the Wind and Lighting alliance's plans required very little troop movement from Suna, depending, as it did, on the borrowed jinchuuriki of the Two-tails to bleed Danzo's peacekeepers dry. In combination with the veil of secrecy around the treaty as well as the use of borrowed troops, the initial actions caught him and his men by surprise. Consequently, he lost more men than he could afford to in those first few weeks.

But as the saw goes, no plan survives contact with the enemy. As Danzo suffered a reversal of fortunes, the introduction of Konoha's own heavy hitters in Team 7 into the fluid situation in Kaze no Kuni and their subsequent successful capture of Kumo's jinchuuriki was a big setback for Wind. Its impact was amplified by the fact that it came so close to the planned date for Cloud's offensive operations against Leaf in Rice country as it did. In the aftermath of this upset, it was clear to both the Kazekage and his Daimyo that Danzo wasn't weakened enough – or rather, Suna had lost enough nin to no longer enjoy a decisive advantage over Konoha's peacekeepers – which put a huge wrench in their plans to embroil Hi no Kuni in a hopeless and very short multi-front war. In effect, the chaos of war had ruined everyone's plans in the Land of Wind.

But a war leader is a flexible thinker who doesn't lose heart at the first setback and thus, the Wind Daimyo ordered the hastily assembled assault involving both samurai and shinobi against Danzo. The fact that such a move was necessitated by a need to save face before the Daimyo's allies in Lightning and the strategic imperative to remove Danzo and his men only made the decision inevitable. Of course, moving such large bodies of men at short notice is impossible to affect stealthily and that meant all too visible preparations for operations in the regiments encircling Danzo's camp as well as within the walls of Sunagakure, which were observed by ever watchful spies and reported back…

xxxxx

Teams 7 stood by the only entrance to the tent at the rear of the seated assembly of twenty as Danzo briefed his advisors and commanders. On hearing the summons, they'd wondered why they'd been invited – there was no other reason they could discern for the cripple to request their presence at any meeting than as part of a test of their allegiance – but it'd become clear such was not the case minutes into the presentation. Reports of Iwa's imminent invasion of Fire as well as Kumo's troop movements in Rice and Suna's preparations for assault had arrived within an hour of each other in the early hours of the morning and everyone realized the nature of the crisis that confronted Hi no Kuni.

"You're all aware of Kumo's collusion with Wind in the acts of provocation carried out by the latter here in Kaze no Kuni. Now, in conjunction with the preparations we're seeing within Sunagakure as well as the samurai units encircling us, we have to conclude that they are going to move against this camp within the next few days.

"There can be no doubt that three regiments of samurai supported by a detachment of shinobi against a unit our size in numbers is an adverse correlation of forces against us, but in this case, the appearance of strength on the enemy's part is deceptive. We have to bear in mind that our adversary is not concentrated. He's spread his numbers all around us and the nin compliments that are presently attached to his forces in our vicinity are not all that strong. This gives us a brief window of opportunity where if we move quickly, we can defeat one or more of his units in detail or escape before the trapdoors snap shut around us," Danzo stated, making eye contact with the members of Team 7, hoping to gauge their reaction.

But contrary to Danzo's expectations, there wasn't even the slightest shift in Team 7's stance at his pronouncement. Still, the old cripple caught Naruto's eyes briefly and nodded at the blonde.

"Our situation is bad enough that we cannot ignore the latter as an option," he continued, baiting Kakashi's students again. As before, they refused to take the bait. Or maybe they agreed with him… Danzo could not tell either way. "This leaves us several courses of action that I'll now list.

"For the first option, we simply dig in and hold the enemy off. If we stand our ground, we'll fulfill our primary mission parameter of serving as a buffer for Hi no Kuni against any military adventures by Kaze no Kuni. We have enough rations to withstand any siege for four months, but with one Suna regiment in our rear, we will be overrun unless relieved. However, the longer we hold out against Wind attriting their forces, the better it is for our main war effort against Iwa and Kumo. In the long run, however, and regardless of how the war turns out on other fronts, if we are not relieved, our camp will be overrun and we'll be butchered.

"Second, we retreat to Hi no Kuni. Obviously, if we opt for this course of action, we'll have to engage the samurai regiment guarding our rear and defeat them. Our internal lines of supply will be secured once we are on Fire territory and we'll be in a better position to defend our homes from our enemies. The situation on the other front is such that we won't receive much in the way of reinforcements even then, however. We also need to consider that if we withdraw, the Wind Daimyo can use the news of our retreat as propaganda to shore up his support, and weaken the position of all the noblemen who support us and disagree with his policies. Our noble allies are not so strong as to stand against Kaze no Kuni's army without our support and I imagine that within six months, they'll be crushed. This, in turn, will threaten our war effort for we'll be beset by strong enemies on three fronts.

"Third, we go on the offensive. These Suna bastards have killed our men these last few weeks with their Kumo helpers with impunity. Now, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura over there have captured the foreign help and defanged those treacherous bastards some. But the price they extracted was only enough for a part payment. There's still plenty left to repay for the things the Sand vermin did to our comrades and we can get our own back if we move fast.

"However, if we decide on this course of action, we can forget the safety and security of our camp. We simply won't have enough time to crush one of the regiments and return here for succor. Even if we could, we'll be weary from the battle and nursing our own wounded, and we may not be strong enough to repel their attacks. The enemy will realize this and seek engagement before we can recover our strength once they gain the relevant intel.

"So, to deny the enemy the opportunity, we'll have to abandon our base and head elsewhere. Preferably to the territory of our noblemen allies. Such a course of action has its advantages and disadvantages. We can use the journey to recover our strength as we don't want our allies to see us weakened. It might give them the impression that we're no help and if enough of them believe thus, they might decide to turn us over to their Daimyo and use us to purchase their return to his fold. On the negative side, of course, our actions will open the door to Hi no Kuni and Konoha for Wind and Sand.

"Fourth, we can surrender ourselves to the Wind Daimyo's tender mercies. Obviously, we'll have to be fools to choose this last option and even if it were a realistic possibility, we will not do it.

"Personally, I prefer number two. It saves our necks and ensures that most of our strength will be available to Konoha to fulfill whatever need may arise in these troubled times." And there's also the added plus of letting me step foot within Hi no Kuni's borders before the end of the four year term. Let those self-serving, hypocritical bastards try to execute me when they need me and the strength of my men to save their collective asses!

"Danzo-sama," Naruto said in the silence that followed as officers mulled over their options, "if I may say a few words?"

"Go ahead. That's the very purpose of this meeting," the man replied, eyeing the boy speculatively. The men gathered in the room weren't from his brainwashed units, after all, and liked to have their opinions heard. The Konoha loyalists and the Danzo's own loyalists within the camp had enough friction between them that he was wary of mixing them together. The former had to pretend the latter did not exist out of political expedience, but fights regularly broke out between individual members of the two units, usually instigated by newcomers from Leaf. And until he was sure of Team 7's loyalty to his cause, he wanted to keep them away from his personal troops.

Naruto nodded.

"One piece of intel that our observers seem to have missed is that the Wind regiment between us and Fire is not combat ready. They had a breakout of the flux and remain weak."

"And how did you come by this information?" one of the seated officers asked, turning to face the blonde in his seat.

"A little bird told me," Naruto shot back cheekily with a wry grin. His comrades did not have need to know that he infected the Wind regiment's water supply. The only thing that should concern them was the result of his sabotage. Then, addressing everyone, "Obviously, I can't reveal my sources and risk compromising them. But I've independent confirmation from separate sources on this subject. The regiment, I will go so far as to say, is combat ineffective. Easy pickings. They won't put up resistance worth a damn if we have a go at them."

"But?" Danzo asked, sensing that the blonde wasn't finished yet. His mind spun various scenarios in his head, as he tried to discern the direction in which Naruto was trying to steer the group's decision.

"But I'm not sure if such a course of action will serve us or Konoha best. Iwa, Kumo and Kusa are going to be pressing the Land of Fire hard. If we cannot secure Suna's support or failing that, neutrality, we'll be beset on all sides and with such odds stacked against us, we'll probably lose the war. Thus, what happens here, in Suna, over the course of the next week will determine whether we have any chance at victory or not. And by extension, what we do here will save the land of our fathers. Think of the glory and honor and loot at our feet. It's to be had if we can only dare."

Danzo nodded gravely and his eyes pored over his gathered officers as they turned in their seats to face him. It was clear from the looks on their faces that at least some of them were seriously considering Naruto's words. But the old war hawk had his own agenda and he wasn't about to let a young pup take it all away with foolish dreams of glory and material wealth.

No, Danzo's plans included stepping foot on Hi no Kuni at the earliest to secure the country's future and to re-exert her supremacy over the other upstart nations. For who knew how that bumbling incompetent Kakashi would conduct the war? It was very probable, in the old warhawk's opinion, that Minato's golden prodigy would lose all because he let himself be guided by his sensibilities. Which simply would not do! What Konoha and Fire needed right now was a dynamic leader who had the courage, conviction and the moral fiber to make tough decisions and it was very clear to Danzo that he was that man!

"Chuunin Naruto has the right of it in that the next few weeks are crucial for Hi no Kuni's very existence," he conceded, spinning his own web of seductive reason. His job was made all the easier by the fact that it was up to the blonde to play the maverick while all he had to do was advocate conservatism, which all ninja understood in the very fiber of their being. "But we'll be no use to anyone if we throw away our lives in a mad charge. So, unless there's a purpose to striking into the enemy's heartland, I see no choice but to preserve this command and retreat. Sure, we'll be abandoning Kaze no Kuni to the Suna dogs, but we'll at least be alive to guard the gates of Fire from the barbarians when they come against us. And that, I think we can all agree, is where our duty ultimately lies. Live and protect the land of our forefathers."

Several officers murmured their assent and Danzo smiled inwardly. As always, age and guile beat youthful exuberance hands down.

"Danzo-sama is correct," Naruto demurred humbly. Truth to tell, he thought the traitor was wrong, but he wanted the man to think that Team 7 were on his side and were dissenting only because they saw an opportunity to further the old cripple's ends that he himself did not. And if his flattery lowered the man's guard and made him pliable to the blonde's suggestions, Kakashi's student certainly wasn't going to be above it. "I agree that all the fine men in this camp shouldn't be sacrificed needlessly. As things stand, their skills are crucial to our nation's very survival. And I'm not asking anyone to throw away your lives in a pointless gesture.

"But I beseech you to consider this. The path of retreat is guarded by one disease infested regiment that cannot block our escape. And there're two regiments before us supported by medium sized shinobi compliments ripe for the plucking. If you move quickly, you can hit one of them, avoid the blocking force already in position as well as the other regiment when it moves to intercept you and gain the safety of Fire's borders where you'll be reinforced by the units that are at this very moment, standing guard there. With that one act, you'd have destabilized the situation in Suna, undermined the Wind Daimyo's power and earned much glory and loot. Your names will be on everyone's lips as the savior of Fire country and the Daimyo himself will owe you for life."

"You keep saying 'you,'" one of the other shinobi officers, who'd been silent so far in the conversation, interrupted, "what will you be doing while the rest of us are striking at the samurai?"

The blonde turned his eyes on his teammates, a predatory grin on his face. They shot back seraphic smiles at him and he turned his gaze to his questioner. The man was a hardened veteran and so did not flinch back, but several who were lesser shinobi did. For Naruto's smile had the hard edge of a coldblooded killer contemplating massive violence about it.

"With Danzo-sama's permission and blessings, the three of us are going to Kaze no Kuni's capital to meet the Daimyo."

xxxxx

Jiraiya swallowed a mouthful of water and offered his canteen to the scout before him.

"Report?" he asked after the latter had satiated his thirst.

"Supply train of seven wagons two miles North with an escort of a platoon of samurai and a squad of shinobi. I did not sense anyone with a strong chakra in their ranks. They could be hiding it, I suppose, but I doubt it."

The Toad sannin nodded. He agreed with the scout's assessment himself. His unit hadn't been active long enough for the enemy to start beefing up the security in their rear. He considered the problem for a few seconds and made up his mind.

Soon after infiltrating the Grass border, the Sannin had split his company into three platoons and sent two ahead to operate deeper within enemy lines. He'd attached himself to the third, slightly over-strength platoon, intending to use it as the official reserve while catching whatever enemy forces escaped his minions' clutches and killing stragglers of the invasion force.

"We'll ambush them at the turn of the road," he said to the young shinobi gathered around him. "Mind you, I want Iwa prisoners. We'll extract intel on the two Iwa jinchuurikis before sending them on to Konoha."

"What about Kusa-nin?" someone asked.

"Don't go out of your way to take Kusa prisoners. If they offer themselves up, take them in," the Sannin said absentmindedly, his thoughts on Iwa's jinchuuriki. He was particularly worried about Stone's strategic weapons. These shinobi were the same who'd fought against Konoha during the last war and working in tandem, they were known to be utterly ferocious fighters and skilled tacticians. Jiraiya had no doubt that age had only made them more dangerous. And in this war, with the forces of Hi no Kuni stretched as they were, the Iwa's tailed beasts had to be neutralized at all costs. He certainly had to hold them back at least a fortnight while Kakashi moved heaven and earth to scrounge up enough troops to create a line in the rear.

"And if they fight?"

Jiraiya's eyes turned cold.

"Kill the backstabbing vermin."

xxxxx

Kakashi stared balefully at the report on his table. It was on days like this that he regretted ascending the Hokage seat and shouldering all the responsibilities that came with the job.

On his desk was intel that Kumo's troops in Rice were being reinforced in a big way by Cloud and Lightning, and he did not need anyone to tell him – again – that Wind and Sand were acting up on their side of the border. Perhaps because they sensed something they took for weakness, the pricks at Stone, Rock and Grass had marched their troops into Hi no Kuni itself. Worst of all, from Kakashi's standpoint, the Iwa-Kusa alliance had assembled their troops without Leaf gaining cognizance until it was too late to do anything about the massed troops. It said much of the magnitude of Konoha ANBU Intelligence group's failure that even at this late stage in the game, they could only make guesses as to whether the Iwa-Kusa alliance simply wanted to grab some land while Fire's attention was divided between several other enemies, or they planned to overrun the capital and wipe Fire off and Leaf off the map of the Elemental nations. Certainly, the long running enmity between Stone and Leaf was bitter enough that the latter was as just as likely as the former. Either way, it was clear that the Land of Fire faced the gravest danger to its existence in the eighty-odd years since the formation of the hidden villages.

The fundamental problem was that the decision on force levels for Hi no Kuni and Konohagakure had been shaped over the last decade on the premise that Fire would be forced to fight Iwa, Kumo and Kiri in the worst-case scenario. To counter this threat, the plan called for establishing supremacy, or failing that, standoff capability through parity over the Mist navy. Towards that worthy goal, Hi no Kuni's navy had been strengthened in the last three years with a hefty dose of talent from Tea and Wave, and major fleets as well as sizable ninja garrisons staged in those two lands to make Kiri think twice before embarking on any foreign adventure.

Rock and Lightning were on the same continent as Fire, however, and any war with them was going to be lost or won on land. With this in mind, Hi no Kuni and Konohagakure built up their Samurai and nin units in the three years of "peace" since Fire's annexation of Tea so as to be able to fight a two front war against Iwa and Kumo. Everyone had assumed – and with good reason – that Wind's neutrality would be ensured at the minimum and thus, no one had weighed them as a factor in their strategic calculations. In hindsight, it was clear that ignoring Wind was a big mistake, seeing as Kaze no Kuni was one of the five great elemental nations, but the think-tanks had grown complacent towards the former in the aftermath of the Suna-Oto affair. It was an all too human failure and his people were going to suffer greatly as a result of it…

Which led to the present debacle. How was Fire to win a war with three of the other four great elemental nations when their surface forces were tailored for a war against two?

Too bad there isn't a time travel jutsu invented so that I can go back and wring Jiraiya's neck for helping Sarutobi talk me into this seat. And to kick my own ass for being idiot enough to accept it!

But in the absence of such a technique, there was nothing to be done except plow forward as best as he could. Which meant, deciding how to punish Kumo for their aggression in Rice. Sinking their commerce on the seas was too big an escalation, the Godaime judged, and would quite possibly push them into pursuing action on other fronts. Such a reaction would stretch Fire's forces even further and was to be avoided. Neither could Hi no Kuni afford to simply ignore Lightning's actions in Tea and Rice. Fire had to demonstrate their confidence in their own strength to the other weaker nations during this time of crisis lest the smaller fry too sensed allied with the jackals and begin to nip at Hi no Kuni's heels.

And most important of all, he had to find the troops somewhere to fight the Iwa-Kusa invaders. He did not know how he was going to manage that, but if Fire was to stand a chance at surviving the war, he must.

Perhaps…

xxxxx

"I hope you had a pleasant journey, Lord," Sarutobi said, greeting his visitor.

The Fire Daimyo nodded amicably to the retired Hokage and seated himself with a sigh of contentment. He much preferred cushy seats to riding on a horse carriage. The Daimyo's guards quietly withdrew to the wall, joining Sarutobi's people in their vigil.

"It was, thank you," the Daimyo said. Smiling, he expanded on his statement, "We did not run into any trouble throughout our march and I'm very happy for it. The peace I see in Tea today is a far cry from even a year and a half before. Hi no Kuni is indebted to you and your men, Sarutobi."

"Thank you, Lord. Your words do me and my men great honor. We were very fortunate in the early stages of our rule here in Tea. The previous regime made a critical error in judgment at the start of the insurrection when they destroyed two of the three major stores of imported grain in the land. As you know, Tea imports most of its food grains and it'd have been very bad for us if we'd ignored the plight of the citizenry as the insurgents did. Instead, by shipping in huge loads of grains and staving off famine, starting the road construction programs, repairing and expanding dams, investing huge sums of monies on shipbuilding programs, ensuring law and order, cutting off the resistance's seaborne supplies routes, protecting our supporters and the neutrals from the enemy and launching reprisals whenever we had conclusive evidence about the guerrillas, we took the sting out of the insurgency and it lost strength a lot earlier than expected. Still, it is an open secret that it was a near thing for the first two years when the programs were getting started and we didn't have enough hulls to control the supplies coming from the sea."

The Daimyo nodded.

"Even so, I'm very glad that Tea is peaceful today, because the situation developing inland is worrying in the extreme."

"Very much so, Lord. I'm especially perturbed by the goings on in Wind and Grass."

"The capture of the two-tails and Kusa's switch in allegiance?" the Daimyo asked.

Sarutobi nodded gravely.

"Committing a tailed beast is a very serious escalation. I would have thought that they'd want their jinchuuriki closer to home, but the very fact that they sent her to Suna is an indication of how seriously they value their newfound relationship with Kaze no Kuni."

"If you put it that way, it does sound very ominous," the Daimyo sighed. "Perhaps we were amiss in sending Danzo to Wind three years back."

The retired Sandaime shook his head.

"It had to be done to avert civil war, Lord."

"Yes, I suppose. And Kusa?"

"We'll deal with them in due time. If we survive the war."

"I'm inclined to teach Grass a lesson that'll live long in everyone's memory," the Daimyo conceded.

"We will," Sarutobi said. Then, with a grimace, "But there's something else that I wanted to talk to you about. There are spies about and I couldn't risk letting this information get out, though Kakashi needs to hear it soonest."

"Oh?"

"It's about Danzo and the Uchiha affair…"

xxxxx

"Konan?"

"Yes, Nagato."

"We're going monkey hunting."

xxxxx

Author's notes:

Please leave reviews.

Well, it's been a long time since the last chapter. I'm sorry that you had to wait for it so, but a personal tragedy and a hectic work schedule took up all my time. This chapter was supposed to be longer with a big battle in it, but I decided to cut it short. This ending feels kind of appropriate and you have my apologies about the cliffhanger. To mollify your tempers, I'll offer you this. It'd be two or three chapters of continuous action from the next chapter onwards. I hope I'm up to the challenge of writing it.

Finally, I have posted what I consider a thought-provoking Avatar oneshot called Consequences in my profile. If you have free time, gentle reader, please go through it and let me know what you think about it. I've had three reviews so far and in one of those, the reviewer called me a racist. LOL