{READ THE NOTES FIRST}
{Quick Recap - 6 Months time skip after the Danzo debacle, Danzo hired Obito to keep Ren out of the Village during the trial so Kakuzu's partner came to hunt Juichi but got counter killed by Juichi. Ren fought Kakuzu while injured but finally won, but Obito with Zetsu's help called for Cloud and Stone shinobi to ambush Ren, now they're discussing the plan.}
{Just 1 chapter a day till I get back on schedule, after that I'd begin the PS goals for bonus chapters, bear with it for a while, I've just been out of touch from writing for a while so it's taking some time to get back in the flow and I don't want to force myself so much that it becomes a burden and I end up dropping it because no one wants that right?}
~~~
Once both sides had finally agreed to the temporary alliance, the tension between the Cloud and Stone groups didn't ease much, but the focus shifted quickly toward practicality. There was no point wasting time glaring at each other when Ren Senju could be recovering with every passing second.
Kitsuchi was the first to speak once everyone gathered in a rough semicircle. His tone was steady, commanding, and carried the weight of experience. "Our first and most important task right now," he began, glancing between the Cloud's leading figures, "is not to contain Ren Senju, nor to land a direct hit on him. That comes later. What we need to do first is set up Fuinjutsu arrays that will conceal any battle fluctuations. That way, even if our opening strike fails, the battle will remain undetected by other shinobi or the Leaf's border patrol squads. The last thing we need is interference."
Yugito crossed her arms, her expression serious, while C nodded slightly. He was already thinking through the logistics when Kitsuchi continued, "How many Fuinjutsu masters have you brought?"
C replied promptly, "Three. All peak level-five masters."
As he said that, three older shinobi in dark gray robes flickered into view beside him, silent and composed. Their hands bore faint sealing marks, visible even in the dim forest light.
Kitsuchi nodded, his eyes sweeping over them briefly before gesturing with his hand. In response, three figures flickered beside him as well, two wearing stone insignia on their cloaks, and one elderly man with white hair tied back and a calm but intimidating aura.
"We've brought one level-six Fuinjutsu master," Kitsuchi said, motioning toward the older man, "and two level-fives. I'd like your three level-fives to cooperate under Elder Hishiro's lead, the level-six master. This way, we'll maximize our result and avoid unnecessary overlap in the array structure."
C's gaze shifted to Hishiro. The old man didn't seem physically imposing, but his chakra presence was dense and finely controlled, the kind that only came from decades of experience.
Internally, C couldn't help but think, 'They really came prepared. Bringing even one of the their three remaining level-six masters… that's no small commitment.
He gave a brief nod. "Understood."
At that moment, Elder Hishiro stepped forward slowly, clasping his hands behind his back. His voice was low, weathered, but carried a distinct authority. "Before I begin setting up the formation," he said, "I must inform you of something important. Just now, I detected traces of a grand-level Fuinjutsu array that had been established here earlier. Judging from the remnants, it was a level-six formation, powerful, but not entirely stable."
That made everyone pause.
Hishiro continued calmly, though his eyes were slightly narrowed as if recalling the sensation. "However, even if it wasn't perfectly stable, that level of power doesn't come from an amateur. Which means we should assume that the boy, Ren Senju, is at least a level-six Fuinjutsu master himself. And if that's the case… he'll sense any barrier we set up the moment it's deployed."
The air seemed to grow heavier after that statement.
Both Kitsuchi and C exchanged a look, while Yugito's eyes narrowed. The thought that Ren, already a physical monster on par with a high S-Ranker might also have mastery over level-six sealing techniques wasn't comforting in the slightest. In fact, it made the entire operation sound far more dangerous.
Kitsuchi exhaled slowly, thinking it over. Then he straightened, tone decisive again. "In that case, we'll abandon the first plan," he said, glancing at both C and Yugito. "We can't risk alerting him before we strike. Losing the element of surprise would be a disaster."
He raised his hand slightly, pointing toward the open ground ahead. "So here's what we'll do instead, we'll launch a guaranteed strike first. A hit that forces him to react. And in that same instant, Elder Hishiro will activate the concealment array. This way, both our goals are achieved, we catch him off guard and keep the battle hidden from outside detection."
C considered that for a moment, then nodded. "That's acceptable. It's risky, but it makes sense." Yugito didn't speak, but her slight nod was enough to signal agreement.
Without another word, Kitsuchi crouched and began forming a sequence of hand seals. The ground beneath him vibrated faintly as he pressed his palm down. A puff of smoke erupted, and when it cleared, a large brown rat stood there, its fur coated in thin lines of hardened earth. Its beady eyes flickered with faint chakra light.
Kitsuchi leaned down slightly, murmuring a few words into its ear that only the rat could hear. The creature twitched its whiskers once, then burrowed into the earth, vanishing within seconds.
C glanced at the spot it disappeared, then back at Kitsuchi.
"That'll keep track of Ren's position," Kitsuchi explained, standing again and brushing some dust off his gloves. "If he starts moving too far away from this zone, we'll know immediately. It'll give us time to adjust before he slips out of our range."
A few seconds passed in tense silence before Kitsuchi's expression suddenly shifted. His brow furrowed deeply, eyes narrowing toward the distant treeline.
C noticed immediately. "What happened?" he asked, his tone sharp.
Kitsuchi didn't answer right away, he stayed crouched for a moment, feeling the faint pulse of chakra through his summoning link. When he finally stood, his voice carried a note of irritation.
"Just now, my summoned rat located Ren's position… but at the same time, it felt someone looking at him. The rat's an expert at sensing danger, it is extremely sensitive to chakra signatures which means we should assume Ren detected it. He's likely a high-level sensor as well."
He let out a slow breath, rubbing the back of his neck. "That means the chance of a clean sneak attack just dropped close to zero."
C's expression tightened, and Yugito frowned, the impatience in her voice coming through loud and clear. "Tch… fuck this sneak attack nonsense," she snapped. "Let's just go in and hit him head-on. We're wasting too much time trying to be clever. Every second we spend here, that kid's probably healing up and getting ready to run. I'd rather face him straight than dance around some trap plan that'll just warn him anyway."
Her words carried a sharp edge, a jab aimed at Kitsuchi more than the situation itself. But the Stone commander didn't bite back. He stood still, thoughtful for a few seconds, then gave a slow nod.
"You're right," Kitsuchi admitted calmly. "If he's aware of us, then waiting only gives him more time to recover. We'll drop the stealth plan and go for direct confrontation instead."
He glanced at both Yugito and C, his voice steady again as he shifted into command mode. "To maximize our chances, we'll spread our forces out. A one-kilometer radius around his position. Once everyone's in place, we'll all attack at the same time, no delays and no holding back."
C nodded, already calculating distances in his head. "Understood."
Kitsuchi continued, "We'll divide the range, half a kilometer of ground for our forces, and half for yours. Within each sector, four Chunin will perform coordinated combination attacks, and two jonin will do the same. I won't dictate the formations as every village has its own way of working, but the key point is this, the first strike must be overwhelming. Use your best long-range and mid-range techniques. We'll switch between offense and defense once the first wave lands."
He looked to C again. "Since your side has more people, the Cloud will lead the first offensive. My side will follow on the next rotation. Watch for signals before you switch. No one moves ahead without coordination, I don't care how confident your teams are."
C gave a small nod in acknowledgment.
Kitsuchi turned to Yugito last. "As for you and me, we'll both stay on constant offense. I'll trust you to handle yourself and keep up with the pace, but don't immediately transform into your Jinchuriki state. Even a level-six array won't be able to fully mask the chakra fluctuations from the Two-Tails. If that leaks out, Leaf sensors will detect us within minutes."
Yugito grinned, tilting her head. "That should be my line, old man. Try to keep up, will you? If you fall behind, who knows where my fireball might land. Wouldn't want to hit the wrong mountain."
Kitsuchi stared at her for a second, expression unreadable. Then he simply nodded once. "Fine. But remember this, adapt to the situation as it changes. If you run into something you can't handle, contact me before acting on your own. If you don't… then don't blame me for the losses you suffer."
Yugito gave a feral grin and looked away.
Without wasting another second, Kitsuchi raised his hand in a subtle signal. In the next instant, he flickered away, his figure vanishing into the trees alongside the twenty-five jonin teams from the Stone. The air where they'd been standing rippled faintly from the sudden chakra movements.
Yugito watched him disappear, her smile fading into a neutral expression. "Let's get this over with," she muttered, before flickering away herself, her chakra signature moving fast toward her assigned direction.
C stood alone for a moment, exhaling quietly. "Every time," he muttered under his breath, "these heavy hitter types can never cooperate peacefully."
Then, with a small wave of his hand, he signaled the waiting Cloud squads. In a blur of motion, all forty jonin teams vanished from sight, spreading across the opposite half of the forest to form their part of the encirclement.
~~~
From the deeper shadows two figures uncurled themselves and stepped into view, the familiar, uncanny silhouette of a Zetsu split in two, and a single, cloaked man whose presence made the air chill, Obito.
The black half of the Zetsu curled its lip in something like irritation as the white half, bright and oddly playful, flicked its tongue out and snapped a wandering butterfly from the air. The tiny creature didn't stand a chance; the white half chewed it with casual interest while the black half watched the encampment with narrowed, patient eyes.
"These idiots really shouldn't be allowed to live," the black half muttered, voice dry. "Lucky for us the brat's still here and healing. If he'd gotten far enough while they were bickering, he could've slipped back to the village and left them standing around with their plans."
A thin, humorless sigh threaded through the words. "And besides, the strategy they settled on is laughable. Even if they try to hide their movements, the kid will sense the attack the moment they start. He'll know."
Obito's single visible eye, sharp and unreadable beneath the cloak, swept to the exact spot where the alliance had formed. "Why do you think he'll sense it so easily?" he asked, voice low.
The white half of the Zetsu answered with an almost chipper trill that contrasted badly with the black half's dour tone. "Oh, I know, I know. We've monitored him sometimes. We think he has some kind of space-sensing technique which is not a common talent. He may be able to feel distortions in space itself." The white half's tongue flicked one last time, cleaning blood from its mouth.
Obito's eye tightened. "That's troublesome." He fell silent for a beat, considering the map of possibilities in his head, a high-level sensor, a space-sensitive ability, both threats that could unravel even a good ambush. Then he lifted his chin and spoke. "Let's give these idiots a helping hand," he said simply. "They're doing our work for us, in a way."
The black half of the Zetsu let out a dry chuckle. "Distraction by fight? Or something more subtle?" it asked.
Obito met the question without the humor. "I'll suppress the spatial fluctuations around the first wave of jutsus they'll fire. Long enough to hit its true mark, or at least to confuse the kid. After that… they're on their own."
The Zetsu, still half bright-eyed and oddly gleeful and half dry and monotonous buried itself halfway into the loam of the forest floor. "Then I shall scatter the chakra fluctuations your suppression makes, diffuse them, muddle the signatures. It'll make the whole thing quieter, and more secure."
Obito's eye lingered on the location where Ren lay healing, then hardened. "All Leaf shinobi shall suffer," he murmured, voice full of old, patient malice, "especially those connected to the Yellow Flash." The name hung heavy in the air like an accusation.
With that, Obito's cloak spiraled into motion and he vanished
~~~~~
{Well then, Ren would already be facing two heavy enemies, plus the silent threat of Obito and Zetsu, so he should be in trouble right?}
{Also, a spoiler, they're not the only enemies he'd be facing, just saying.}