After Kushina and Nawaki returned ho, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Natsuki arrived at the Anbu headquarters.
The situation was urgent and left no ti for rest. They had to act imdiately.
As one of the Five Great Ninja Villages and the strongest among them, Konoha moved with incredible speed once its gears started turning.
Due to her relationship with the Uzumaki Clan, Tsunade was appointed as the person in charge of this operation.
She issued several orders, which could be summarized into three main points.
First, after controlling Junpei, he was to be sent back to Kirigakure.
If Kirigakure discovered he was missing, they would surely realize that the news of their plan to attack the Uzumaki Clan had been leaked.
Whether they moved their plan forward, delayed it, or canceled it altogether, none of those outcos would be good for Konoha.
An enemy hiding in the shadows was always the most terrifying.
Second, have Mito write a letter to be delivered to the Uzumaki Clan first.
Although Konoha and the Uzumaki Clan were allies, it would be too abrupt for a large group of ninja to suddenly enter the Land of Whirlpools without prior notice.
Third, assemble the ninja who would participate in this operation.
To ensure the mission's success, the lowest rank Tsunade selected was Tokubetsu Jonin.
The operation was also classified as an S-rank mission.
Upon successful completion of the mission, all participating ninja would receive a handso reward.
After all the orders were issued, Natsuki and Orochimaru headed to the Anbu training grounds.
This was the designated assembly point for the mission.
Tsunade remained at the Anbu headquarters to command and wait for updates.
"Sensei,"
Taking advantage of the downti while waiting, Natsuki spoke up, "Does Konoha have Hiding in Mist Technique?"
"You want to learn it?"
Orochimaru asked back.
"Yes."
Natsuki nodded and said, "I think Hiding in Mist Technique can be very useful in many situations."
"To maximize the effectiveness of Hiding in Mist Technique, it must be paired with the Silent Killing Technique."
Orochimaru said in a flat tone, "The Silent Killing Technique is extrely difficult to learn and is particularly ti-consuming."
No wonder Water Release ninja from other villages rarely used Hiding in Mist Technique, except for those from Kirigakure.
Natsuki smiled and said, "I'm not going to learn the Silent Killing Technique. I want to modify Hiding in Mist Technique."
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed instantly.
He had forgotten that Natsuki, like Tobirama, was a creative-type ninja.
"You already have an idea?"
Orochimaru asked subconsciously.
"I have three already."
Natsuki held up three fingers.
The Smoker Template had five abilities, but three of them were quite similar and could be grouped into one idea.
"...?"
Orochimaru's mouth could not help but twitch.
Wasn't the first ti you saw Hiding in Mist Technique just two days ago?
How do you already have three ideas?
Even if he or Hiruzen wanted to create a Ninjutsu, it would be impossible to have three viable ideas in just two days.
Orochimaru suddenly understood Hiruzen.
He felt both surprised and gratified.
"Wait here. I'm going to the Hokage Building."
Orochimaru snapped out of it and walked out.
When he returned, he had a Ninjutsu scroll in his hand. It was indeed Hiding in Mist Technique.
Natsuki took the Ninjutsu scroll and began to read it.
After all, the unlock condition for the Smoker Template's second ability was to learn Hiding in Mist Technique.
Fortunately, Hiding in Mist Technique was not difficult. Its learning difficulty was only D-rank.
While Natsuki was waiting and learning, ninja began arriving at the Anbu training grounds one after another.
They were all ninja who had been notified by the Anbu to participate in this mission.
After greeting Orochimaru, they stood in place and waited.
However, many eyes fell upon Natsuki.
He was the only child there, making him very conspicuous.
They had all guessed his identity. He was most likely Orochimaru's student, Natsuki.
But an S-rank mission, allowing a third-year kid to participate?
Ti passed slowly.
More and more ninja gathered at the Anbu training grounds until Tsunade and Jiraiya arrived.
"Ninja from the Inuzuka, Abura, and Hyuga Clans will be responsible for scouting."
Tsunade walked in front of everyone and instructed, "In this operation, we must ensure we arrive without alerting any enemy village ninja."
The Inuzuka Clan had ninja dogs, the Abura Clan had insects, and the Hyuga Clan had the Byakugan. All three clans were natural sensory ninja.
"Yes!"
Everyone answered in unison.
"Move out!"
Tsunade waved her hand and leaped into the air.
The group followed her toward the Land of Whirlpools.
The Land of Whirlpools was a small peninsula nation located between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water.
It had a very special characteristic. The Daimyo of the Land of Whirlpools also hailed from the Uzumaki Clan.
Under normal circumstances, the ninja world followed a "one country, one village" system.
A country's Daimyo nominally led the ninja of its village.
The Land of Whirlpools was an exception.
This also served as a testant to the strength of the Uzumaki Clan.
And the ergence of Jinchuriki had made the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu famous throughout the ninja world.
Possessing such abilities made them a target for Kumogakure and Kirigakure.
If Kumogakure was purely after the Sealing Jutsu, then Kirigakure wanted more than just that.
If Kirigakure wanted to attack Konoha, they could not bypass the Uzumaki Clan.
The Uzumaki Clan could be called Konoha's bridgehead against Kirigakure.
If they could be eliminated, it would remove an obstacle for Kirigakure.
Two days later, Natsuki and the others successfully arrived in the Land of Whirlpools.
The first leader of the Uzumaki Clan was nad Uzumaki Ashina. He was close friends with Senju Hashirama, which led to the alliance with the Senju Clan.
Hashirama even married Mito and integrated the Uzumaki Clan's crest into the Konoha symbol.
The current leader of the Uzumaki Clan was Uzumaki Ashina's son, Uzumaki Keisuke.
"Keisuke-sama, it's been a long ti."
Tsunade greeted him with a smile.
"Welco,"
Uzumaki Keisuke said with a sigh. "If it weren't for your tily notification, we wouldn't have known that disaster was already upon us."
"The Uzumaki Clan and Konoha are allies. This is what we should do."
Tsunade paused and then said, "Enough with the pleasantries. We must begin making arrangents as soon as possible."
"You're right,"
Keisuke nodded and said.
He quickly made arrangents.
After sending the other Konoha ninja to rest, he took Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade to the council hall.
Although Natsuki was Orochimaru's student, he was young and already exhausted from the two-day journey, so he did not participate.
After eating, he drifted off to sleep.
By afternoon, the Uzumaki Clan had beco busy.
However, to avoid alerting the enemy, only a small number of trusted ninja were involved in the operations.
Their tasks were twofold.
One was to establish a defensive barrier.
The other was to set traps.
Naturally, Natsuki did not need to do these things.
He stayed in his room, studying Hiding in Mist Technique.
But he did not have to study for long.
A week later, in the dead of night, the Hyuga Clan ninja stationed by the sea discovered the incoming Kumogakure and Kirigakure ninja.
(To be continued.)
I'll be dropping 5 extra bonus chapters if we get 10 reviews xD
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)
User Comments
0 comments from readers