V
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Arc V Chapter 5
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Asami played dumb. Lesser men might have fallen for her act, but not Shikaku. He didn't buy her act. He knew saw through her. The girl was prepared to wage war. She only needed the authorisation of the village council, a single decision and the world shall burn. Fortunately, Asami wasn’t the Hokage, otherwise she would have plunged Konoha already into the Fourth Great Ninja War.
“...” Shikaku leaned back in his chair, his eyes wandering around, staring through the open window. Today was such a lovely day, the shining sun, the cloudless sky, the chirping birds, and he remained stuck here. “I think that I begin to understand why you are so interested in annihilating the invasion force. You already plan the next war. That's why you want to encircle them.”
Asami smiled with innocence. “How so? Please enlighten me.”
Shikaku folded his hands. “You hope to subdue Suna quickly through a decisive victory at the chunin exams, so that we have a free hand against the other hidden villages, don't you?”
No answer, no reply, no response followed, only silence. Asami clapped her hands. “Fumihiko, assist me. Our friend deserves some applause.”
“...” Her assistant joined her, albeit hesitantly.
Asami and Fumihiko clapped together. Their applause unsettled Shikaku. Their gesture didn't feel like praise, quite the contrary.
Asami smirked. “Astute observations, you are correct, Shikaku. My primary concern was never the invasion. Sunagakure and Otogakure don't pose any major threat. They are militarily too weak to challenge Konoha. Nevertheless, our strategic position forces our hand. We need to act. We need to strike sooner rather than later. Because our enemies grow stronger with every day passing. We don’t have the time, nor the troops, to fight over worthless sand and scorpions. Suna is a barren desert.
A decisive victory during the chunin exams should prove sufficient to break their morale and dissuade from future foreign adventures. A victory will force to the negotiation table and make them sue for peace.
With our western flank secured, we can then our attention to the Iwa-Kiri-Kumo alliance. We need to dismantle it. To achieve such, we will need to eliminate one hidden village.”
Iwa is a possible candidate, but not the best option. Too resilient. A prolonged campaign will be necessary to take them down. Kiri is the weakest village among them, but they can be dealt with later. My personal recommendation is Kumo.”
“...” Shikaku stiffened. Megalomania had finally befallen her. Not only was she about to spark the Fourth Great Ninja War, but she also wanted to challenge the military giant Kumo. He still remembered the last war. Kumo proved to be a formidable enemy.
“Do you have any objections, Shikaku?” Asami tilted her head.
“No, none. None whatsoever.” Shikaku drummed his finger on the table, his sarcastic undertone tangible. “Not that I am curious, but why exactly Kumo? Kumo is the strongest village by far. They will be a difficult opponent.”
Asami hid behind a benevolent smile. “I am aware of such. Kumo is our strongest enemy, but that also means that if we manage to take out Kumo, Iwa and Kiri will follow soon. Without Kumogakure providing the bulk of the forces, the alliance will quickly fall apart.”
“...” Shikaku fell silent. He would present her thoughts to the village council as requested. Although not necessarily the best choice, her ideas deserved to be discussed thoroughly. The village council would need to decide. “I hope you realise that your actions will spark the Fourth Great Ninja War ...”
Asami showed no doubt, no hesitation. “I do, but if necessary, so shall it be. I swore to protect Konoha, and I intend to keep my word.”
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One room, no change of setting, continued interaction and arguments about defense, war impending, etcetera, etcetera... Meow.
I'll be honest here. It's a struggle to like Asami, I like the story and I really hope you can make her less insufferable in the future.
It is supposed to be that way.
For spineless cowards you can look somewhere else. You can't get the one without the other.
Go read a white knight story, yeesh.
But i do admit that the earlier chapters were way better than the later ones...or is she just becoming more of a nutjob every chapter?
@Fiston She always was this way. A bit nutty and a superiority complex. She has just opportunities to show this side.
Btw, where do you think the quality declined? For reference and when I edit later.
It's a niche genre that's not for everyone. That f*ck everything attitude she has.
The world is shit. Protagonist is shit. But she has ability to burn down that sh*t world. You can only hope that she will commit seppuku by the end. After she wipe out shitty humanity from that shitty world of course.
It goes really well if you read it in parallel with a fluffy novel you know. Like yin and yang. They balance out.
@mon5y-san
I think my main problem is that everyone else acquiesces to her too easily and most of her plans involve elementary school level tactics yet are somehow shocking and impressive to an experienced tactician.
@Bornwithoutaname
that's why it's not for everone.
you need your emotion to clouded your judgement. let's burning hatred consume all.
her solutions. while logically not much better. they still 'feel' pragmatic and rational when compare to other's that always come to friendship and love.
and best part about her solutions is that somebody will difinitely suffer are die. truly most optimal choice for that dammed world.
@Bornwithoutaname
As Clausewitz said, "Everything is very simple in war, but the simplest thing is difficult. These difficulties accumulate and produce a friction which no man can imagine exactly who has not seen war."
You shouldn't disparage simplicity because of hindsight and perceived "obviousness". If you want I can give you enough modern examples were simple solutions were ignored and shocking mistakes made on a frequent basis. Military history is full of blunders.
But to be fair, the standard Naruto sets is not particularly high. The Nara are described as master tacticians, but they rarely delivered when push came to shove.
The Raikage described his proposal to shift forces during the war arc as a brilliant master stroke. He literally said he can see now why Konoha never lost the war.
So you can guess yourself how little is needed to impress the audience in Naruto.
@Assurbanipal_II. I agree that Naruto sets a pretty low bar for tactics. I just think that rather than making the main character look smarter, the scene just made the Nara look like idiots lol.
@Bornwithoutaname
That was the intention. Partially. Asami has indeed a superiority complex, but I think she never claimed to be smart as far as I remember. 
Unless I am wrong.
@Assurbanipal_II I am loving her, I have read enough of good guys
@plot_xc