After finally extracting the information from the Kumo ninja, I overwhelmed him completely and tied him up. I forced him to hold a piece of rope attached to a chunk of ice that, if he let go, would pierce his heart, and then I left. Obviously, my chakra was still sealed.
"How did it go?" Minato asked, waiting outside with Kosuke.
"Better than you. Almost everything the informant told you was false, or what the guy inside told me was false—one of the two."
I didn't actually ask the guy any questions. I just started torturing him since I already had the information I wanted because he was a reincarnation, so I took the opportunity to try out new forms of torture on him.
Because of that, he started talking about many things and different events, since he didn't know what I was looking for, so he started talking about anything to make me stop.
At first, I hadn't realized the informant had lied, as I was focused on other things, but after thinking back, I realized it.
He also mentioned the jinchuriki, from which I gathered that the Two-Tails is hidden under the Third Raikage's wing in the center of the village, while the Eight-Tails is inside the Raikage's half-brother, the son of A.
It's a good thing all that happened, because I wouldn't have known how to prove the information we were given was false. I don't have a truly valid excuse.
"We'll see which information is true and which is false. Let's get out of here," the blond ninja ordered. We nodded and left these inhospitable and desolate ice dunes.
...
The Hidden Leaf Village was experiencing a calm that, if I had to say so myself, felt artificial.
There were no major conflicts yet, so people had to go about their normal lives, but everyone knew that things could explode at any moment.
Information about a possible, almost imminent conflict was something everyone knew, but no one wanted to say anything, hoping they were just rumors and that nothing would happen.
Since a war wouldn't just affect the lives of the ninjas, but also those of the citizens and especially the village's economy.
I had just come from the Hokage Tower, where it was confirmed that the Chūnin Exams would be held, all in an effort to maintain a semblance of normalcy, however false it was.
I also brought the registration forms for Team 2 to participate in the Chūnin Exams. The kids had already said they wanted to participate, and I didn't want to deny them that. Unlike what the anime showed, this exam will be with allies from the village, so the threat of death doesn't exist unless both participants want a duel to the death.
When I arrived at the training field, I saw the three of them training diligently. I imagine there were many reasons why they were pushing themselves harder than usual, but I suppose the main one is the exams.
"I see you didn't waste any time," I said, appearing on the field.
"Miyu-sensei, you're finally here," Asuma complained.
"Actually, I'd say she arrived early if we think about the other times," Raido commented.
Without thinking, I grabbed them both by the collar and squeezed their necks, making them freeze with pained expressions.
"I don't recall ever giving them that much confidence to talk about their sensei like that," I said, then released them, causing them to fall to the ground with a dramatic thud.
At that moment, Kurenai approached, admiring the papers I was holding.
"What's that?" she asked.
"These are the forms for you to participate in the Chūnin Exams. Here." With that, I handed one to Kurenai and placed it on the two brats who were still on the ground. "The exam is in three days. You have time to rest and think about it, and all three of you have to participate if you want to enter. If one of you doesn't want to go, you'll have to find a genin without a team who wants to enter. With that, I'll be going. You have the rest of the day to do whatever you want; I have things to do."
Just as I was leaving, I felt someone grab the hem of my clothes. I turned around to see Kurenai looking somewhat doubtful.
"Sensei, is it true that there will be a war soon?" Her question drew the attention of the two people on the ground.
"Most likely," I replied.
"If I don't get promoted, won't I be sent to the battlefield?" Her question made her concern clear.
"It doesn't matter what rank you are; if you're a military asset, the Hokage can send you on any mission or to any battlefront. Remember I said I was promoted to Chunin because of my merits in the war; back then I was still a Genin and I still had to participate."
My answer left her feeling both calm and anxious.
Calm, because rank didn't affect whether or not one went to war. Anxious because, regardless of what happened, I'd probably end up going anyway.
There were still things to explain, but I'd do that when the war officially started and I had to go to the front lines.
Since the war has already begun, even if it's just a reconnaissance and infiltration phase, like the mission I did with Minato and Kosuke, it's safe to say that the war officially began when the skirmishes started.
...
I watched as the kids passed the first phase of the exam to move on to the second.
The only thing they had in common was that they used the Forest of Death, but here you had to survive five days straight to advance to the next round—nothing more.
"How many do you think will die?" I asked Minato, who also had his team taking the exam.
"Hopefully none, since..."
"Boring," I interrupted, as Minato's answer to leave.
If they left before the five days in the forest were up, fine, but if they stayed and advanced to the third round, good for them too; I have things to do.
"Let me know if anything important happens, like a snake with sexual deviance trying to kidnap some children," and with that, I returned to my residence, since I had to get everything ready when the war broke out, as I would have to be on the border and the country's economy would be at a standstill for at least a year.
...
The next day, I entered the lawless zone using a transformation so no one would know I was there. I had my tools watching the whole place, but who knows if some old geezer is spying on what I'm doing since he has nothing better to do? He might be able to detect me with his chakra, but I'm doing it anyway, just in case, since that old mummy might also be spying.
Once I entered, I saw two separate groups. The ones on the left were Daiki's group, or as I call them, the Dark Impulses. While on the other side was Makoto and his group, or, as I call them, the Baka Mitai.
(Note: Guess the references; they're not that hard to figure out).
There weren't many of them, since I had asked them to bring the people they trusted to listen to what I had to say. Each group had six people in total.
"It's a good thing your dogs are being civilized, or else the punishment I would have given them would have left them bedridden for a week," he said, announcing my presence to the room.
The group of baka mitai went on guard and fell silent, while the group of dark impulses became violent.
"What the hell are you saying, uh...?" he couldn't finish his sentence, as Daiki cut him off.
"If you'd like to die a decent and peaceful death, you'd better keep quiet, you idiot," he reprimanded him, never taking his eyes off him.
I just smiled at him as I crafted a wooden chair and sat down as two tools appeared beside me.
Technically, they're no longer tools, but while they're working on this, they're still doing the same thing, so I don't need to call them anything else.
"Alright, let's finish this quickly, since the situation in the village could change at any moment, and the longer it's like this, the more time you have to prepare."
With that said, I used the transformation technique, causing more than half of them to open their eyes at the sight of me.
The other half had never seen me before, so the others were telling them who I was.
"Let's leave the nonsense for later; your superiors should have already told you something, and if not, he can tell you later if he wants, but one thing needs to be clear: what's said here stays here." I unleashed a massive amount of chakra and murderous intent throughout the area, making everyone there sweat and feel terrified.
It wasn't my place to tell you who I was or how important I was; I was only here to inform you and set the next part of this plan in motion—nothing more. It's up to Daiki and Makoto to know what they'll be told and what they won't.
"As you probably already know, there are rumors of a possible upcoming war; well, that's not a rumor, it's a fact," my statement shocked my listeners. "You have nothing to worry about since, as you're not ninjas, the Hokage can't force you to go to war, but that doesn't mean you have to sit idly by."
At that moment, I saw one of Makoto's group raise his hand, recognizing him almost instantly as a Nara.
"I imagine that, with your status, you know a lot of information before we do, but my question is, what are we supposed to do?"
"Well, that's more or less what I was getting at, but if you ask it like that, I'll just say it," I replied, coughing slightly. "What I want you to do is, when the war starts, take complete control of each of the lawless zones where you are."
"How are we going to do that?"
"That's insane."
"He wants us killed."
"It's suicide."
I started hearing murmurs among the two men's subordinates. Mokoto and Daiki were staring at me, saying nothing.
"Silence," I said, using chakra in my throat, making my voice louder than usual along with a snap of my fingers. "I never said to do it on the spot or in a single day."
That immediately silenced the murmurs and the disbelief of the men here.
"Once the war begins, the Hokage will deploy several platoons to the borders and strategic points, moving many of his ninjas and leaving very few here, likely for reserves or those who couldn't leave with the rest. Taking advantage of the decreased ninja activity in the village, you will seize the opportunity to dominate the entire territory without law."
No sooner had one of them finished speaking than someone on Daiki's side raised their hand.
"Once we do what we have to do, besides, if both groups are working toward the same goal, why are we two separate groups fighting each other if we're both cooperating in the shadows?"
I saw most of them nod in agreement with the woman's words.
"Regarding your second question, if there's a single dominant group ruling the lawless area, that will alert the higher-ups, who might even send in the ANBU or elites to eliminate them quickly. If there are two competing groups, we'll see a stalemate, and that will never happen if they're both at the same level, which would put the village's high command at ease."
I saw Nara nod as if he understood what she meant.
"And the first step is to move on to the next phase, which would be to gradually start controlling the commercial area, but depending on how things go, we'll see what you do next, since the Uchiha police can be quite troublesome."
Everyone agreed, since both sides have had issues with the Uchiha police.
"Well, that's all," I announced as I stood up. "Your leaders should already have the information about this and the next phase if they have any questions; with nothing more to add, I'll be off."
And with that, I left with a Shunshin.
I had this topic ready before the war; since I'll almost certainly be going to the battlefield, I don't know when I'll return to the village, so I want to have everything prepared in case I have to spend months or even years on the front lines.
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Hey everyone, this chapter might seem like filler, even though it isn't. But I had to clarify these things so that when you come back to them, you don't say, "When did this happen?" "When did they finish this?" "Or did they even leave any hints about this other thing?"
With that, I think I can formally begin the Third Shinobi World War in the next chapter.
I also want to say two things: first, a little apology, since I think I've let my off-kilter sense of humor show in the fic, which some people might not like. I'll try to avoid it, but sometimes I can't help myself and I write them anyway. And just in case it wasn't clear what my sense of humor is like, there's a video I always watch that cracks me up, called "cooby, wrong show," which is on Reddit, and it's from the anime Serial Experiments Lain, so you can see how off-kilter my humor is.
Second, I went back to university classes today; I don't know what this semester will be like. It's a bit relaxed, but I'm still working on my internship and thesis, not to mention the other classes I've fallen behind on that I'm catching up on here, so I don't know how busy I'll be, just so you know.
With nothing more to add, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. See you.