Chapter 166
2-in-1-chapter
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Rēn frowned. "Did even our legend stumble this time?"
"No. The problem lies here in the village," Shikaku said with a bitter smile. "When Root was disbanded and absorbed into the ANBU, the process was far from smooth. Many of Danzō's diehard loyalists caused serious disturbances. I'm sure you still recall it clearly, Clan Head."
Rēn nodded slightly.
"The trouble started then," Shikaku went on. "In the midst of that internal turmoil, enemy spies in the village took advantage of the confusion. An Iwa-nin spy managed to steal a Root document containing the names of our operatives planted in the other villages. If department head Shiosui hadn't interrogated an exposed Iwa-nin spy and forced out that confession, we might not even know the list had been compromised."
"That sort of information was allowed to leak? What exactly is ANBU doing?" Rēn could not help but interrupt sharply.
The newly appointed ANBU commander and Interrogation Division Minister Shiosui both stood silent as stone, saying nothing.
"Clan Head Rēn, to be fair, the ANBU was in complete disarray at the time," Shikaku explained helplessly. "The Fifth Hokage was not chosen by tradition, nor did he inherit the position after the sudden death of his predecessor. He seized power by overthrowing the Third. Even in a peaceful succession, there would be turnover in the administration. For Torifu, having seized the post, it was imperative to consolidate control of ANBU as quickly as possible. The purge that followed made turmoil unavoidable."
"…I understand."
Rēn realized his words had been too sharp. He quickly recalled how the situation had been back then. The ANBU had been in chaos, and the Police Force had expended enormous effort simply keeping the village stable. He let the matter drop and asked directly, "So you're saying the Walking Shrine Maiden may already be exposed to Iwagakure? And it has been months since then?"
"Most likely not yet," Shikaku explained. "The fact that she was able to transmit this latest intelligence proves she has not been discovered. The stolen list was incomplete, but as the saying goes, once you pull up the radish, you bring the dirt with it. Even though our spies use single-line contacts, there is no such thing as absolute safety. The Walking Shrine Maiden herself sensed the shifting winds. In her message, she said she would soon attempt to flee and asked that we arrange for an escort at the border."
"So then, we need to send people to receive the Walking Shrine Maiden?"
"Exactly."
The new ANBU division head nodded. "Even if we cannot bring someone back alive, we must at least recover the body. If we cannot retrieve the corpse, we must ensure its complete destruction so that it does not fall into the hands of the Rock-nin."
Those words were harsh and unfeeling.
They were also understandable. Even Jiraiya frowned at hearing them, but he did not deny their correctness. Whether captured alive or not, the body of a legendary spy contained vital secrets that must never fall into enemy hands.
"Rescue or silence," Rēn murmured as he rubbed his brow. He did not know much about this Walking shrine maiden. Even his past-life memories mentioned her only in passing. He did remember, however, that she had apparently died at the hands of Yakushi Kabuto through Danzo's machinations, a chain of events that had driven Kabuto to darkness and led him into Orochimaru's ranks, where he would become a small but dangerous boss for Naruto and the others to face in the future.
(Note: If you haven't figured it out yet, it is Nonō Yakushi, the nun who raised Kabuto for a bit. The name " Walking shrine maiden" is a fan-made name. )
Danzo was finished now and the Walking shrine maiden was alive and well. Whether Kabuto would fall into darkness again was not important. Kabuto was just one individual. Even if he served Orochimaru, Rēn himself felt no fear of Orochimaru.
"I understand the situation roughly, but Lord Hokage, you are not expecting me to personally go to the Land of Earth, are you?" Rēn looked at the silent Fifth acting Hokage sitting in the chair. He would not be the one to handle every little task.
If every duty required his personal intervention, then what was the point of being clan head or minister?
"That is not necessary." Torifu waved his hand and quickly denied it.
"I was thinking of assembling an elite squad to escort the Walking shrine maiden, and I wanted to ask your opinion, Rēn. Also, since the Rock-nin are moving south, we need to muster troops quickly and decide on a commander," Torifu said, letting out a sigh.
Raising troops was genuinely difficult. The conscriptable civilian shinobi were already depleted, and families like Sarutobi and Shimura had been strained to the limit. If they pushed further, the only options would be to graduate students from the Academy early or to take more from other village clans. The Hyūga, Uchiha, Aburame, and the Ino-Shika-Cho families still had manpower that could be mobilized.
Torifu knew this better than anyone, since he himself came from the Akimichi clan.
"So you called Jiraiya here in hopes that he would serve as the commander against the Rock-nin?" Rēn inferred the reason Jiraiya had been summoned.
"Dealing with the Rock-nin is a headache," Jiraiya said as he scratched his head. "Those stone heads are tough opponents. Especially that old man Ōnoki. Dust Release is a real pain." He spoke from experience gained in the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars.
"Jiraiya, are you giving up your travels for now?" Torifu asked.
"Traveling will happen sooner or later, but since the village now has troubles, delaying my trip is not a big deal," Jiraiya replied calmly. His journeys were not bound by any rigid rules; the prophecies of the toad sages did not constrain him. He acted as his heart guided him.
Whether to move on or stay was all part of the journey.
"Just temporarily?" Torifu sighed, then brightened. Even a temporary stay by Jiraiya would be a tremendous boon. Jiraiya's strength ranked among Konoha's top, and even a prime Hiruzen might not be certain of victory against a Jiraiya at his peak.
"All right, then. Even if only temporarily, Jiraiya, lend me your strength," Torifu said, looking to Jiraiya.
"For the village, I will not hesitate," Jiraiya answered solemnly. His demeanor was serious and grave, devoid of the frivolity he displayed when spying. The gravity of his expression revealed the true Toad Sage.
"Then I will entrust you with overall command against the Rock-nin," Torifu said with gravity. He turned to Rēn and, his stern expression easing into something harder to voice, and asked, "Rēn, can those two thousand Mist-nin be placed under Jiraiya's command to resist the Rock-nin?"
Rēn blinked.
No wonder Torifu found this difficult to say. Two thousand Mist-nin represented a substantial contingent in Konoha's current strained forces. As reinforcements sent by Kirigakure, they should fall under the Hokage's command. However, Kirigakure had been kept in check largely by Rēn's own efforts, and those two thousand Mist-nin had been sent in large part out of deference to him.
According to the original plan, those Mist-nin were supposed to march north with Rēn to confront the Cloud-nin.
This was an attempt to take his men.
"Deploying Mist-nin against the Rock-nin? Water Style is going to be at a disadvantage against Earth Style," Rēn said without direct opposition. The presence or absence of the two thousand Mist-nin would not change his confidence against the Cloud-nin. His faith lay in himself and in the Uchiha, not in those two thousand Mist-nin.
If they wanted to take these troops from him, they needed to give a reasonable justification.
"Shikaku, explain," Torifu said, passing the floor to Nara Shikaku.
"Uchiha clan head, based on studies by the staff and myself, we believe that the Third Tsuchikage's manner of action suggests he will not launch a full-scale offensive at the outset," Nara Shikaku said slowly. "The Rock-nin historically prefer to watch from across the river and seize opportunities. They are likely to observe the outcome of our battle with the Cloud-nin rather than immediately intervene to share the burden. If we fall, the Rock-nin will probably rush in to take advantage. If we defeat the Cloud-nin, they will more likely target the Cloud-nin instead."
These patterns were based on precedent.
If the Rock-nin had not launched a surprise attack on the Cloud-nin during the Third Great Ninja War and eliminated the Third Raikage, the Cloud-nin might not have withdrawn so quickly, and their invasion of the Land of Fire might not have been abandoned. At that time, Konoha and the Cloud were still in the early stages of conflict and had not yet spilled rivers of blood.
It was then that Ōnoki unexpectedly struck, perhaps to prevent the Cloud-nin from gaining advantage. Worried that Konoha would fail to hold off the Cloud after dealing with the Sand, Mist, and Rock, Ōnoki launched a risky ambush that killed the Third Raikage and effectively helped Konoha repel the Cloud-nin.
Ending the war early spared the Cloud from severe depletion, which later allowed them to extort Konoha and to mount another southern invasion.
"So your plan is to use the Mist-nin to intimidate the Rock-nin?"
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