"Shikaku, what have you got?" Tsunade asked, straightening in her seat. Her gaze fixed on him. Shikaku's mind was a rare asset, with him around, she could afford to let someone else do the heavy thinking.
But even Shikaku was struggling with this one.
'How am I supposed to formulate a coherent plan with such incomplete information?' he thought.
All he knew for certain was that the cat, Takeshi, was rumored to be exceptionally strong. Without any solid intelligence, he had to work with the assumption that Takeshi's combat power was at least on par with Minato's. If Tsunade could still fight, they wouldn't need to overthink it, they could simply charge in and overwhelm the enemy.
But could Tsunade even take the field? Her behavior since the last war suggested that she was no longer the fighter she once was, a fact that gave Shikaku serious pause. As he couldn't insinuate and insult Tsunade being weaker, while not coming off at rude to them.
Now, every eye in the tent was on him.
After a moment of silent consideration, Shikaku stood and cleared his throat. "Minato," he began, "let's start with the details. How did you manage to injure the Third Raikage and capture the Third Mizukage?"
"Well," Minato said, "I mostly played a support role in injuring the Raikage, distraction, mainly. The real breakthrough came from a new ninjutsu that Takeshi and I developed, an evolution of the Rasengan."
The words 'new ninjutsu' were like a spark in the tent. Orochimaru leaned forward, his hands flat on the table, his eyes fixed on Minato with an intensity shared by everyone else present.
Sensing their anticipation, Minato knew he had to demonstrate. He extended his hand.
A standard Rasengan swirled to life in his palm, but a moment later, four sharp points of chakra erupted from its spinning core, like the blades of a shuriken.
"A powerful technique," Orochimaru observed, his eyes gleaming. His thirst for new jutsu had always been stronger than any desire for raw power, and seeing this, he felt an almost physical need to understand its mechanics. The technique itself wasn't overly complex, it was the addition of wind nature transformation to the Rasengan, but putting it into practice was another matter entirely.
"This is still an incomplete technique for me," Minato admitted with an embarrassed smile. "Takeshi's Rasenshuriken can be thrown. I'm nowhere near that level yet."
'What good is a shuriken you can't throw?' he thought.
At Minato's words, every head in the tent snapped toward Takeshi. The air grew thick with a stunned silence.
'It can be thrown?' one of the jonin thought, his mind reeling. 'A direct hit from something like that... it would maim or kill anyone. No wonder the Third Raikage fell.'
"An elegant jutsu," Orochimaru murmured, more to himself than to anyone else. For Takeshi and Minato to not only develop such a technique, but for one of them to have already perfected it... their talent was truly monstrous. An S-rank threat assessment wasn't an exaggeration, if anything, Orochimaru thought, it might be an understatement. A new, sharp sense of caution toward the black cat took root in his mind.
Someone spoke up. "I heard Rasa can use Gold Dust Ninjutsu using his Magnet Release. A jutsu like this probably won't be able to harm him."
"Takeshi and I both know the Flying Thunder God," Minato replied smoothly. "Getting close to Rasa won't be a problem."
'Right,' Shikaku thought, a wave of resignation washing over him. 'So what's the point of a plan? Just go get it done. This entire discussion is pointless.'
Despite his internal complaints, his expression remained perfectly calm. "I suggest a frontal assault to create a diversion," he said, his voice even. "Then Minato's team and Takeshi's team can infiltrate and attack Sunagakure from the rear."
"Meow~ In other words, just get it done," Takeshi added, cutting straight to the heart of the matter.
Shikaku fell silent for a second before giving a single, sharp nod. He sat back down and said nothing more.
Inoichi and Choza, who knew their friend better than anyone, exchanged faint smiles. It wasn't often that Shikaku was left so completely speechless. Then again, considering who had interrupted him, it wasn't all that surprising. With the Flying Thunder God, a throwable Rasenshuriken, and whatever other abilities he possessed, the black cat's power might just be even more terrifying than Minato's. With an asset like that, what was the point of a complex strategy?
"Hmph. With the plan decided, the next is the allocation of the Uchiha forces," Orochimaru announced, tapping the table to move the meeting along.
This part had nothing to do with Takeshi. He let his attention drift, silently summoning his system panel.
'Very good. Six thousand plus points.' he noted with satisfaction. He had spent a fortune on draws and supplies before, but this last mission had earned it all back. It really paid to have a few useful pawns. Orochimaru and Minato had been excellent assists this time around.
'Still,' he considered, 'what if Rasa escapes deep into the Land of Wind? My Water Release will be useless in such a dry environment.' He scanned his list of available techniques. 'I could use a Fire and Wind Release combination... or I could just get Magnet Release to counter his Gold Dust directly.' But the Magnet Release was nearly twenty thousand points, almost as much as Flying Thunder God had been.
On second thought, that seemed like overkill. He might as well try his luck with a draw.
He checked the current prize pool. This one had some interesting items. He'd learned his lesson from the pools that featured legendary abilities like the Mangekyo Sharingan or the Rinnegan, he didn't dare touch those. With his luck, those were just a way to burn points for nothing. The odds were probably worse than any rigged carnival game.
Feeling a familiar thrill, he dumped a chunk of his points into the Gacha pool.
*Click.*
The results of the eleven-draw appeared. He ignored the food items for a moment, two packs of special cat food and three packs of luxury cat food already recouped a good portion of his investment, and focused on the two toys he'd received: one Self-Destructing Rat Puppet and one Remote-Controlled Drone. Though they were labeled as toys, they had serious potential. The rat was a crude but effective bomb, while the drone could be used for reconnaissance or to air-drop kunai and explosive tags.
Satisfied, he ran a few more multi-draws. The rat puppets were apparently common, as he ended up with six of them. The drones were rarer, he only got two more after several attempts, but it was enough.
As a surprise bonus, he also won the Earth Release: Earth Flow River jutsu. He'd considered buying it before but had been put off by its seven-thousand-point price tag, opting for the more cost-effective Ice Release instead. He never imagined he'd get it from a random draw.
'Life really is unpredictable,' Takeshi mused. He didn't need the jutsu as badly as he once had, but it was a nice bonus, a free one, at that. It would only make his Water Release Jutsu's more potent. Better than nothing.
When his Gacha spree was over, he looked up to find that Orochimaru had finished discussing the Uchiha. He tilted his head, his gaze landing on Tsunade. Her eyes were dull and unfocused, her head drooping as if she were about to nod off completely.
'Tsk. You enjoy your nap. I'm out of here.'
He scanned the room, held his breath, and, with a flicker of a Shadow Clone and a silent activation of Flying Thunder God, vanished.
His exit was decisive, but every jonin in the tent immediately turned to stare at the clone he had left in his place. The clone's whiskers twitched as it mentally cursed its original half to death.
'What was he thinking?!' the clone fumed internally. 'With this many jonin in one place, did he really think no one would notice the swap, no matter how fast he was?'
Fortunately, immense power came with certain privileges. Especially when that power belonged to a cat.
Orochimaru stared at the clone for a long moment before letting out a low chuckle. "There was no need for a replacement," he said, his voice laced with amusement. "I believe everyone would have been far more at ease if you'd simply left."
A few of the jonin, including Inoichi, coughed lightly into their fists. An awkward silence settled over the tent as they had to admit, if only to themselves, that he was right. They were more relaxed now that they didn't have to be reminded that they were strategically inferior to a cat.
The clone, however, remained unfazed. "Meow~ I'm a part of Konoha. How could I miss a meeting?"
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