Hatake Sakumo was willing to relinquish a vice commander role just to fight on the front lines as a regular jōnin?
Konoha still had its heavyweights.
Sakumo had served as a battlefield vice commander. Any Konoha shinobi who saw him would address him as "Sakumo-dono."
On the battlefield, one order from a vice commander could determine the fate of dozens.
While he could request to go as a standard jōnin, the higher-ups couldn't actually allow that.
The moment Sakumo stepped foot on the front lines, they'd have no choice but to give him a vice commander's seat—or risk chaos in the chain of command.
Nara Shikakaku said flatly:
"Sakumo, Iwagakure is crumbling under the combined pressure from us and Kumogakure.
The Land of Earth campaign is nearing its end.
But the Hidden Cloud are a war-hungry bunch. Once they're done with Iwa, they'll likely turn on us again.
We must retain some strength to respond to a possible ambush from Kumogakure, or a rekindling of the Hot Water front.
And you, Sakumo… you are our trump card against Kumogakure."
With that explanation, Sakumo could only sit down.
Sarutobi Hiruzen adjusted the brim of his Hokage hat, shielding his eyes—hiding the complex expression beneath.
Ever since Sakumo slew the genius puppeteer of Sunagakure, his prestige had soared.
Many shinobi who had returned from the River Country front spoke glowingly of him in all kinds of settings.
And Konoha's ANBU had ears in all those places—bathhouses, izakaya, barbecue joints, parks.
Those words of praise were collected, copied into scrolls, and quietly placed on the Hokage's desk.
'They couldn't let Sakumo grow any more popular.
The more revered he became, the harder he'd be to control.'
—
The day after the council meeting, Tsunade led 1,000 shinobi to the Land of Whirlpools.
Uzushio was a narrow peninsula—over 300 kilometers long, but only 30 to 50 kilometers wide.
The Mist could land at any coastal point, and when met with resistance, simply retreat to the sea or to the Land of Waves.
After the fall of the Uzumaki Clan, Uzushio had been annexed into the Land of Fire.
The former Uzushio-controlled Land of Waves had been absorbed into the Land of Water and put under Kirigakure's jurisdiction.
Near the sea, Water Release shinobi held the advantage.
Konoha was fighting a brutal uphill battle.
Unlike the clean campaign in River Country, the Uzushio front was turning into a quagmire.
Casualties were high, and Mist forces remained elusive.
Konoha held no initiative here.
—
As they passed the ruins of Uzushiogakure, Tsunade told the column to march ahead.
She and a few Senju clan members stopped by the village outskirts.
Yellow Dog turned to Yako.
"Fox. Follow her. Observe her closely—her face, her state of mind. Try to gauge how much she really knows."
Yako vanished in a blink.
He reappeared atop the highest mountain overlooking Uzushiogakure, hiding behind a rock outcropping.
Through his binoculars, he watched Tsunade below.
The evening sun cast golden light across the shattered village.
Crumbled walls lined both banks of the Spiral River.
Here and there, the broken crest of the Uzumaki Clan still peeked through the decay.
Yako realized… this was the very same ridge where Danzo and ANBU had hidden during the Uzumaki's fall.
When the village was breached, ANBU did nothing.
When the southern bank was massacred, they still did nothing.
Only after the Uzumaki clan head died together with the Third Mizukage did Danzo finally give the order to descend.
Through his lenses, he saw Tsunade standing silently, her eyes cast downward.
Almost every Senju child had spent time in Uzushiogakure growing up.
The two clans were family; as children, they visited often.
Tsunade's grandfather, grandmother, aunts, cousins—they'd all lived here.
They were her childhood.
Now, the ruins were being reclaimed by brush and vines.
Man-made traces faded year by year.
In decades, the forest would consume it all.
Collapsed roofs. Walls pockmarked by jutsu.
Tiles sprouting weeds.
Tsunade looked to the southern street—where she and her cousin once stood in line for dango.
She looked to the northern compound's wall—where they used to sneak out past curfew.
That cousin, so lively and mischievous… no one even knew where her body had ended up.
She once had a crush on Senju Haku.
Had even asked Tsunade to play matchmaker.
But Haku, too, had died—on the Grass Country front.
And now, no Uzumaki bodies remained.
Kumo and Kiri had taken them all as spoils of war.
Tsunade's mind drifted—to the fact that ANBU now used Uzumaki sealing arts.
'Hmph. ANBU doesn't even bother hiding it anymore.'
They'd recovered plenty of Uzumaki corpses—studied them, dissected them, extracted every last secret.
Especially Root.
It was said their lab had rare materials, unrivaled conditions—enough that even Orochimaru couldn't refuse.
That so-called "rare material"… obviously referred to Uzumaki corpses.
Tsunade had overheard snippets from Orochimaru.
She knew just enough.
'Root… is Konoha's cesspit.'
Senju secrets. Uzumaki secrets. Uchiha Sharingan.
They studied it all.
Paranoid to the extreme—as if everyone in Konoha were out to destroy them.
They sought to hoard all knowledge and bloodline secrets alike.
Her eyes moved from the ruined village… to the surrounding landscape.
She once built a sand model of Konoha with her cousin by the distant shore.
She once climbed that very mountain—
—Huh?
Tsunade vanished in an instant, reappearing atop the peak.
She landed with a crash—earth cracked, stones flew—
—but found nothing.
'That speed…'
Yako was already gone.
He'd used Water Flicker to retreat far downriver.
'If she caught me from that far away, what's all my training been for?'
He had no plans to confront or reveal himself.
Uzumaki Yuka and the others were hidden safely in the Land of Rain for now.
No need to expose anything.
Yuka was easy to fool.
Tsunade? Not so much.
He wasn't Senju.
Wasn't Uzumaki.
And who knew what Tsunade might detect in his body with her medical ninjutsu?
Back beside Yellow Dog, Yako whispered:
"Can't say how much Tsunade-dono knows.
She stood in silence outside the village the whole time—clearly mourning.
Captain… I think she's stronger than before.
She sensed me from very far away… and came charging like a mad rhino."
"…Got it," Yellow Dog replied.
"Forget Tsunade for now. Root can handle Uzumaki fallout.
Focus on gathering intel on the Mist.
Our next target… is the Seven Ninja Swordsmen."
Yako froze.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen?
Hold on, Yellow Dog—my guy.
I know you're ambitious. I know you want that vice commander promotion.
But challenging the Seven Swordsmen?
That's… that's just suicidal.