Ever since she had witnessed Tsunade's methods during Ay's treatment, Rinha Maya had been seriously fangirling over the Senju princess and it was starting to annoy her.
"Come now Tsunade-sama. You can't treat your adoring fan badly!" Shiki ruthlessly gloated with a smirk on his face.
"Keep laughing while you can brat. Maybe the Third Raikage will show up for his kid himself." Tsunade quipped.
"The Raikage himself moving around like that and attacking Konoha shinobi would mean war. None of the Five Great Villages are ready for that yet." Shiki dismissed her concerns.
"He could send his brother Blue B." The Senju princess did not want to let the matter go without some getback.
"The Eight Tails' Jinchuriki? Even worse than coming himself. Not to mention risky. Kages can be replaced, Tailed Beasts can't." The boy responded.
"Grrr . . ." Tsunade was not at all pleased about the fact that she could not gain the slightest advantage in the conversation.
"I doubt Kumo will deploy more than two or three Elite Jonin. Zee from last time will probably take the opportunity to come for us, Dodai will definitely come and maybe one more Elite jonin and a few extras." Shiki theorized.
"Mm . . . I guess that makes sense." The Senju princess acquiesced.
"Sure you don't need me and Kanata to stick around?" She asked.
"Getting Ay junior back to Konoha will also act as insurance for us so better make sure that's done."
*
The next day, the Konoha folk along with the caravan leaders, Land of Iron trio and Rinha Maya gathered up to discuss how to proceed.
"I've scouted the surroundings, there are Kumo lookouts all around to watch for us but no actual ambush squad." Shiki reported.
"I accompanied him to check and can confirm." Hyuga Makoto spoke in support.
In fact, he had been quite shocked at the range and precision of the boy's sensory abilities, more than convinced of the legendary young prodigy's prowess.
Yes, Shiki's reputation was spreading throughout Konoha quite rapidly with each feat he piled on.
"The enemy likely means to track us while they wait for reinforcements from their village which means the attack won't occur right as we leave but later." Inori spoke, getting nods of agreement.
"Hmm . . ." The Violet Rose pondered.
"The enemy likely noticed our reinforcements' arrival but it is imperative that we do not allow the returning pair with the prisoner to be tracked." She declared.
"Tsunade-sama and Kanata-san merely need to leave one shadow clone each with us. We'll leave Roran with the caravan first while you two wait for a day or two, hiding yourselves. That should draw the lookouts and trackers." Shiki proposed.
"Not all of them though. Right? Some would stay behind as a precaution no?" Mei interjected.
"Maybe but Kanata and I will be able to slip by undetected since there will be less of them and their guard should be lowered." Tsunade countered.
The others could only marvel at the efficiency with which all relevant decisions were made and like this, everyone made their preparations to leave.
Except for Rinha Maya who was taking advantage of every remaining bit of time left to hound her new idol, Tsunade, with medical questions.
No longer having to deal with the drama that the girl started with Ema over Tenki, Tomoe was immensely pleased with the development.
In fact, out of everyone, the only one not able to appreciate it was the Senju princess herself.
Everything proceeded as planned and finally, the caravan was back on the move after a full month in Roran.
Unfortunately, for Shiki, all the information he seeked in the city was in a sealed area only the Queen of each generation could open without using force and even his senses could not pierce it, likely because the Ryumyaku caused interference even in its inactive state.
It was indeed bothersome but it also proved that the Ryumyaku truly had potential to be a truly great source of power for the boy, even if only in the future.
*
As the journey continued, managing alertness was proving to be a challenge, they were still being tracked by Kumo but there were no signs of an ambush.
At first, the group theorized that they simply did not want to start a conflict in a major country like the Land of Wind but even after heading north crossing into the Land of Birds according to the original itinerary of the caravan, no ambush came.
The caravan headed west crossing the Land of Stones and Land of Mountain Streams but still nothing.
They briefly considered that Kumo might not want to make their ambush in countries with Hidden Villages of their own but considering most countries nowadays had them, it felt impossible, especially considering Kumo's usually forceful attitude.
Ishigakure of the Land of Stones and Tsukigakure of the Land of Mountain Streams were definitely not threatening enough to merit that kind of caution.
*
"Maybe they're just trying to eliminate variables? They have already eaten two major losses from us after all." Mei spoke as the rest of the Reinforced Team 6 listened.
"It is possible. In which case, after we cross the Land of Bears, the Land of Valleys is the next stop without a Hidden Village." Hyuga Makoto responded.
{If they are patient, the Land of Rice Paddies is also a stop without a Hidden Village and is much closer to Kumo.} Shinka signed.
"True but but we would be even closer to the Land of Fire and thus, much more likely to receive reinforcements if things go wrong. In the Land of Valleys we'll be cut off from any source of quick support." Shiki said in response.
"Makoto and Shiki have a point. Also, Kumo is no stranger to launching attacks after sailing to a more advantageous position so it is possible that they already made their way there by sea and are preparing a more elaborate trap." Inori suggested.
The usually stony and quiet Fugaku then decided to speak up.
"Then is it not best to take the fight to them ahead of time? Break up the timing of their ambush."
Everyone fell into thought.
While there was merit in the idea, the caravan could not be left unguarded.
"There is a way." Shiki suddenly spoke up, making the others turn to him.
"Konoha is currently allied with Hoshigakure of the Land of Bears is it not?" He inquired.
The rest immediately figured out the simple idea.
"You mean for us to leave the caravan in Hoshigakure where they should be safe while we go ahead to deal with the ambush by ourselves?" Inori questioned to which the boy nodded.
"That seems like the most reasonable option." Mei voiced her support.
"Alright then, I'll talk to Tenma-san and based on his response, we'll make our plan of attack against Kumo. The Violet Rose announced.
And, so, the whole gang gathered once more.
This . . . It will be hard to convince everyone to stop for a long while again." Tenma said with difficulty after the situation was explained to him.
Inori shook her head.
"For better or worse, it shouldn't take that long." The Violet Rose responded.
But then, an unexpected interjection came.
"Allow us to join you in battle."
+++++
Hey, Author here!
To promote the novel I will be releasing BONUS CHAPTERS on SUNDAYS based on the previous week's power stone count.
100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter
500 Power Stones = 2 Bonus Chapters
1000 Power Stones = 3 Bonus Chapters
Every earned BONUS CHAPTER on Webnovel will also be posted on Scribble.
Just a reminder that you can read up to a FULL MONTH ahead of this site on pa-treon.
I'm trying to become a full time Author now and I'm not going to be starting any new novels just so I can make sure this one is properly completed.
Find those sweet advanced chapters on pa-treon.com/lusoba without the -