The day after the Six Kage Summit concluded, the morning light pierced through the thin mist above the Land of Whirlpools, plating the new city in a layer of pale gold.

Outside the Uzukage Building, brand-new flags snapped in the sea breeze. The flagpoles no longer bore the emblem of a single village; beside the Uchiha and Uzumaki crests, the totems of Hidden Leaf Village, Hidden Cloud, Iwagakure, Hidden Sand, and Hidden Mist were lined up neatly.

Beneath these flags, the plaque for the "Allied Shinobi Forces General Staff Headquarters" reflected a metallic sheen in the morning sun, heralding the arrival of a new era.

The Jonin liaison officers from the Five Great Nations arrived one after another.

They stepped onto the red carpet laid out by the Land of Whirlpools' reception staff, each wearing a different expression. The liaison from Hidden Sand had eager eyes, constantly sizing up the futuristic buildings around them; the representative from Hidden Mist appeared calm and friendly, as if visiting an ally.

The liaison officers from Hidden Cloud and Iwagakure hid the arrogance of their great Ninja villages beneath vigilant gazes. They walked slowly, measuring the reality of this land with every step.

The liaison officer from Hidden Leaf Village had the most complex feelings. It was a Jonin from the Nara Clan, wearing his signature look of weariness on his face, though deep in his eyes lay a profound gravity.

Guided politely by the reception staff, they passed through the lobby and entered a pure white metallic corridor. At the end of the corridor, a heavy alloy door slid open silently.

The scene behind the door caused this group of Elite Jōnin, who were accustomed to seeing big events, to hold their breath for a beat.

It was an unimaginably large circular room—the heart of the Allied Shinobi Forces: the General Staff Operations Command Center.

In the center of the room, a massive sand table over twenty meters in diameter emitted a soft glow. This was not made of piled earth, but constructed directly from pure Chakra. The Shinobi World's mountains, rivers, forests, and deserts were replicated upon it with unprecedented precision.

The borders of each country were clearly marked, and important strategic locations were presented on the sand table in the form of miniature models. Countless tiny dots of Chakra light moved slowly across the sand table like fireflies, representing troops currently patrolling or stationed in various areas.

Surrounding the sand table were tiers of stepped control consoles. Dozens of technicians in Land of Whirlpools uniforms were busy, their fingertips dancing rapidly across light-screen keyboards.

The walls of the room were occupied by several huge screens, with data constantly refreshing and flashing with light.

Uchiha Kei was already waiting there.

He wore a deep black uniform specially made for the "Chief of Staff," with gold Uzumaki and Uchiha clan crests on his epaulets. He did not sit in a high position, merely standing calmly beside the giant strategic sand table.

Seeing the liaison officers enter, he nodded slightly, without wasting words.

"Everyone, welcome to the General Staff Headquarters."

His voice was not loud, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly, carrying the momentum of an opening.

"Considering the time is tight, let us begin directly."

The liaison officers were guided to designated positions around the sand table, which were independent observation seats prepared for them. In front of each person was a small light screen displaying detailed regional data.

This efficiency, bordering on cold, made the liaison officers, who were accustomed to probing each other before meetings, feel uncomfortable.

In particular, the Jonin from Hidden Cloud named "Darui"—he was a confidant of Raikage A and had a tough style.

He glanced at the Iwagakure liaison officer beside him, who also looked displeased, and initiated the challenge.

"Chief of Staff, if I may speak frankly," his loud voice carried the ruggedness of a Ninja from the Land of Lightning, "The Allied Shinobi Forces claim to have eighty thousand troops spread across the entire Shinobi World. With such a massive force, can it really be commanded by just a few dozen people in this room and these... cold machines?"

"War relies on the experience and judgment of frontline commanders, not these armchair data points."

As soon as he finished speaking, the liaison officer from Hidden Stone Village, an old Jonin who had participated in the Third Great Ninja War, also chimed in with a deep voice: "My colleague from Hidden Cloud is right. The battlefield changes in an instant. By the time an order is issued from here and reaches the front line, the opportunity will likely have been missed. Furthermore, troops from different villages have completely different combat habits and command systems. How can they coordinate?"

This questioning was sharp and direct, representing the doubts of most of the liaison officers present.

They acknowledged that the technology of the Land of Whirlpools was strong, but war was an art of command, a crystallization of experience. How could it be replaced by novel gadgets played with by young people?

Facing the questioning, Uchiha Kei had no expression on his face.

He was not angry; he didn't even look at the two liaison officers who had initiated the challenge.

He walked to the giant Chakra sand table, stretched out his hands, formed an extremely simple seal, and pressed it gently on the edge of the sand table.

"Hum—"

The sand table's light instantly brightened twofold, and the Chakra light points flowing on it seemed to come alive, beginning to accelerate and evolve.

"General Staff Headquarters, the first combat readiness adjustment order is now being issued."

Uchiha Kei's voice rang out, calm, clear, and carrying a metallic texture.

"Order: The Seventh Border Patrol Battalion of Hidden Leaf Village is to retreat thirty kilometers before noon today, merge with the Eleventh Battalion, and establish a joint defense zone at the eastern mountain pass of 'Tanzaku Town.' The defense zone codename is 'Titmouse,' and it will be under the unified command of Jonin Shikaku."

"Order: The Puppet Unit Third Squadron of Hidden Sand is to abandon routine patrols of the 'Lolan Ancient City' ruins and switch to twenty-four-hour silent surveillance. All supplies are to be secretly transported by the logistics team directly under the Land of Wind Daimyo's office via the'Sand Route' Line 3."

"Order: The Anbu 'Water Mirror' squad of Hidden Mist is to immediately cease infiltration training in the Land of Waves and turn toward the eastern sea of the Land of Water to blockade the 'Mao-7' coordinate area. The Coast Guard 'Shibuki' unit will take over your defense zone in one hour."

"Order: The Yugito guard unit of Hidden Cloud is to abandon fixed sentry points and switch to mobile defense. Conduct irregular patrols with a radius of fifty kilometers, centered on 'Thundercloud Gorge.' All patrol routes will be sent directly to the personal terminal of Captain Shi of the guard unit by the General Staff Headquarters in half an hour."

"Order: The First Squad of the Blast Corps of Hidden Stone Village is to move to the border between the Land of Earth and the Land of Grass, and prepare for strategic demolition around the former site of 'Kannabi Bridge.' The mission level is 'Grade A-plus.' Specific demolition point maps will be issued after confirmation."

...

In just a few minutes, Uchiha Kei dictated and issued over a dozen scheduling orders in succession.

Each order was precise down to the unit number, specific action plan, supply route, reconnaissance range, and even the commander's name and handover time.

These orders were logically rigorous and interlocking. In his eyes, the eighty thousand Allied Shinobi Forces across the entire Shinobi World were not independent Ninjas, but chess pieces that could be precisely calculated and moved at will.

The Operations Command Center was silent.

Those liaison officers who prided themselves on being strategic experts were all speechless.

They quickly deduced the orders Uchiha Kei had issued in their minds, and the more they deduced, the more horrified they became.

The contraction of the Konoha defense line seemed like a show of weakness, but it formed a huge encirclement on the map with Hidden Sand's silent surveillance and Hidden Mist's maritime blockade. And the scheduling of Hidden Cloud and Iwagakure was like two sharp knives, precisely inserted into the weakest link where this encirclement was most likely to break.

This was not armchair strategy at all.

This was an art of war that was macro-level to the extreme, something they had never heard of.

Treating the entire Shinobi World as a chessboard and eighty thousand Ninjas as chess pieces, a strategic layout that affected the whole situation was completed in an instant.

This ability and courage had already far exceeded the scope of a "Kage."

The previously aggressive liaison officers from Hidden Cloud and Iwagakure were now pale, with cold sweat seeping from their foreheads. Their "experience," which they were so proud of, seemed so ridiculous in the face of this commanding ability that overlooked all living beings.

After the orders were issued, Uchiha Kei withdrew his hand.

The light on the sand table returned to normal, as if the thrilling deduction that had just occurred had never happened.

Uchiha Kei's gaze finally shifted, sweeping across the room.

That gaze was calm and profound, causing everyone who made eye contact to instinctively look away.

"I know that everyone has doubts in their hearts, believing that the command of war should rely on experience, not these 'cold machines'."

His voice broke the silence, without a hint of mockery, only the indifference of stating a fact.

"Then, next, let everyone see with your own eyes what a generational gap in intelligence actually means."

He didn't give anyone time to react and signaled to the console.

"Connect to the'Skynet' system and switch the main screen to the real-time monitoring interface."