Konoha's Intelligence Division had members stationed in the capital. Although the capital was entirely controlled by Uchiha Kokuya, he didn't have any special methods for clearing out spies, so he couldn't prevent the leakage of information.
However, even if Uchiha Kokuya knew, he probably wouldn't care. Whether information leaked or not wasn't important; what mattered was whether it could incite chaos.
Uchiha Kokuya's approach to this was very direct, even disregarding any consequences—he didn't need any consequences anyway. All responsibility would fall on the Daimyo, and he himself had no attachments. If he could obtain Asura's power, he could retire successfully. After cultivating the Rinnegan, he would then come back to trouble Konoha.
Local lords near the capital, to varying degrees, were unwilling to attack Konoha. However, faced with orders from the Daimyo's mansion, they couldn't refuse. The Daimyo's mansion clearly had no patience in this regard; if any lord hesitated for too long, they would be immediately executed by chakra samurai, who would then take control of their armed forces.
Such actions greatly intimidated the nearby armed lords, forcing them to entrust all their forces to the chakra samurai. Although they wore smiles on the surface, they harbored deep dissatisfaction towards the Daimyo's mansion.
Because most of the powerful local armed forces were located at the national borders, and the rest were in the capital, primarily the Daimyo family's forces, the chakra samurai's control efforts did not encounter too much resistance. Individual local lords simply could not contend with the chakra samurai.
Even without reaching the powerful forces on the borders, the Daimyo's side had accumulated tens of thousands of personnel, and this number was still expanding. Such news quickly reached Konoha.
"Uchiha Kokuya is truly in a hurry. Honestly, I've never understood what he's thinking," Sarutobi Hiruzen said, looking at the report in his hand during the Hokage's cabinet meeting.
"Indeed. Even if he wants to retaliate against Konoha, there are much better methods. Why is he so impatient?" Shimura Danzo also found it very puzzling.
Regarding the reason for Uchiha Kokuya's resurrection, Fumori Masaki had some vague suspicions, possibly the lingering aftermath of the Land of Demons from years ago. However, he didn't understand Uchiha Kokuya's special abilities. Therefore, he didn't know why Uchiha Kokuya was so eager to start a war, but it suited his intentions.
Such simple and direct actions would cause severe repercussions for the Daimyo's mansion. After the war ended, Konoha would have greater initiative. One could say that Uchiha Kokuya's measures were all paving the way for Konoha to control the entire nation's ruling power in the future. Of course, Uchiha Kokuya surely wasn't thinking this way; he must have another objective for doing this.
"Speaking of which, Uchiha Kokuya hasn't had any particular concerns over the years. He seems to have always been anticipating this war, and now that we've given him this opportunity, he immediately began to act," Mitokado Homura said.
"Although we don't know his exact plans, it looks like he intends to stir up as much chaos as possible within the country. But we won't give him the chance to do that!" Fumori Masaki declared.
"What do you mean?" Uchiha Kagami asked.
"Stirring up trouble simply means making the scale of the war larger until it spirals out of control. We will end the war as quickly as possible, preventing him from playing such games," Fumori Masaki said, looking at everyone.
The Daimyo's mansion's actions had already caused them to lose their civilian support, and local nobles were also becoming disloyal. Fumori Masaki felt that this was enough; there was no need to escalate the war and cause greater damage to the country. Ending the civil war as soon as possible was the right path. The longer it dragged on, the greater the harm to the Land of Fire and the more opportunities it would give other countries to exploit the situation.
"Then how should we conduct the operation? If we confront the samurai head-on in a direct battle, I believe the village will certainly win, but the losses would be uncertain," Akimichi Torifu asked.
Akimichi Torifu was very knowledgeable about direct combat. Their clan often cooperated with samurai and understood their fighting characteristics. While powerful ninja units were indeed strong, fighting samurai in a direct battle, to some extent, limited the ninjas' effectiveness.
Ninjas, by nature, should employ flexible and varied tactics in complex terrain. These are two different types of forces, and placing them in the same position is not a good choice.
"Haha, Torifu, have you forgotten our carefully cultivated aerial combat units? Now is the time for them to show their strength. They can assist ground forces from high altitude to strike the enemy. With the enemy's strength, they definitely won't be able to hold out for long," Fumori Masaki chuckled.
"I don't doubt the performance of the aerial combat units, but the chakra samurai trained by Uchiha Kokuya are not a weak force. Moreover, they don't fear pain or fatigue, and their combat power is quite considerable," Akimichi Torifu found these chakra samurai very troublesome.
"While their strength is not weak, their shortcomings are also very obvious: they are rigid. You know, Uchiha Kokuya's secret medicine can make people quickly cultivate chakra, but it gradually makes the body lose sensation, becoming like a puppet. There will certainly be advantages in combat, but one point is that their minds will also be affected," Fumori Masaki explained.
"Hmm, I'm afraid this is Uchiha Kokuya's method for controlling the chakra samurai," Shimura Danzo nodded slightly.
"Then the problem becomes very clear. Chakra samurai with impaired minds are indeed incredibly powerful in combat, but it also means they cannot execute particularly flexible tactical commands. If left without a commander, their combat will appear particularly rigid. I believe this is their biggest weakness."
"That's right! Masaki is correct; this is a very obvious flaw of the chakra samurai. And from the reports, there are many voices of discontent within the Daimyo's army, suppressed entirely by the chakra samurai. This implies that the leaders are also predominantly chakra samurai, so their tactics are bound to be rigid, and Uchiha Kokuya can't possibly command them all individually," Sarutobi Hiruzen exclaimed in delight.
"This is also a flaw of samurai armies. With an overly massive number, to achieve flexible command, a layered command system must be arranged. If it were a normal samurai army, the situation might be better, for example, the chakra samurai of the Land of Iron would be very troublesome, but Uchiha Kokuya's chakra samurai are..." Fumori Masaki chuckled lightly, with a hint of sarcasm.
"And we ninjas have a unique advantage, not just in the composition of our units, but also in our communication methods..."
Everyone understood what Fumori Masaki was referring to: the Yamanaka clan's mind-transfer jutsu. By relying on the special power of chakra, this feudal era had long achieved wireless communication methods, although it was limited to ninja units. However, the structure of ninja units was not as numerous as that of chakra samurai.
"Therefore, I believe our village's forces have a very clear advantage. As long as we formulate a good battle plan, we can certainly quickly suppress those chakra samurai with obvious flaws," Fumori Masaki stated.
Subsequently, the initial discussion on battle strategy concluded. The specifics were to be discussed at the Jonin meeting. When Fumori Masaki returned to his office, he received a request for an audience. He paused for a moment and agreed to let the person in.