Chapter 566: The Value of Mugetsu's Intelligence
"The force has already begun assembling at Training Ground 11," Hiruzen Sarutobi said.
Because the situation had developed so suddenly, this was an emergency mobilization to form a new unit, and many of the usual procedures had been skipped in the interest of speed.
In fact, only a few minutes before Mugetsu entered the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi had still been in a high level meeting.
The Konoha force in the Land of Grass had been defeated far too abruptly. Not long ago, they had even pushed the Iwa ninja force back to the border of the Land of Earth, yet the situation had suddenly reversed.
Konoha's higher ups had not even had time to identify the cause of the defeat before they decisively agreed to assemble a support force and send it to the Land of Grass, showing astonishing efficiency.
There was no other choice. This was not the kind of situation where they could afford to be slow. If the Land of Grass force were completely wiped out, then the northwest of the Land of Fire would be in real danger.
The Iwagakure force stationed in the Land of Grass could directly enter the Land of Fire from the border between the two countries.
If that happened, not only would it be difficult to explain the situation to the Fire Daimyo, but Konoha's prestige within the Land of Fire would also suffer. It might even become a direct threat to the village itself.
After all, the Iwagakure force in the Land of Grass included two Jinchuriki who were capable of full Tailed Beast transformation.
Even Danzo Shimura, who normally loved contradicting Hiruzen Sarutobi, did not cause trouble this time. He only had a slight disagreement over the choice of commander.
At first, Danzo had wanted Orochimaru, who was stationed in the Land of Hot Springs, to lead part of his force directly to the Land of Grass while Konoha sent additional reinforcements afterward.
Hiruzen Sarutobi believed that would merely be robbing Peter to pay Paul.
Kumogakure had not made any major moves recently, but Hiruzen did not believe they had truly calmed down.
If news of Konoha's defeat spread, Kumogakure would definitely become restless and start probing again. If Orochimaru were removed from the Land of Hot Springs at such a moment, then that front would be thrown into danger as well.
So Hiruzen rejected Danzo's proposal cleanly and put forward his own arrangement, appointing Mugetsu as the commander of the support force.
Since Mugetsu was also one of their own, and because the situation was truly critical, Danzo did not continue pressing Orochimaru's case.
"Have my disciples also been included in the support unit?" Mugetsu asked after thinking for a moment.
As the situation in the Ninja World grew more chaotic by the day, Mugetsu felt that his disciples would be safer at his side.
Konoha itself was safe enough, but this was wartime. With Obito and the others' level of strength, Hiruzen Sarutobi could never allow them to sit idle in the village. That would be far too wasteful.
At present, Obito and the others could already be considered elite jonin. Even among the Five Great Ninja Villages, combat power at that level was not common.
Rather than leaving them in Konoha and risking them falling into one of Uchiha Madara's traps during a mission, it would be better to bring them directly to the battlefield.
Although the battlefield was dangerous, at least Mugetsu could personally support them there.
Even if they could not win, he could still get them out.
"They are all on the list," Hiruzen Sarutobi replied.
Considering how grim the situation in the Land of Grass had become, the support force could not be weak. Otherwise, they would simply be sending people to die.
And Kakashi and the others were not only excellent in terms of combat strength, but also had a special relationship with Mugetsu, making them ideal jonin level candidates for the force.
Of course, if Mugetsu wanted Kakashi and the others to remain in Konoha, Hiruzen would have agreed.
Compared to Kakashi and the others, Mugetsu was unquestionably more important, and a commander was allowed a few minor privileges.
Besides, even if Kakashi and the others stayed behind, they could still form an elite squad in the village and continue contributing to Konoha.
"Once the force is assembled, I will lead them to the Land of Grass immediately," Mugetsu said with a nod as he prepared to leave the Hokage's office.
Aside from his disciples, he had no further requests.
"These are the intelligence reports on the Land of Grass battlefield. If you have time on the way, make sure you read them," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, handing Mugetsu a scroll.
There was no time left to explain the entire situation in detail. Hiruzen had only been able to give a brief overview.
Mugetsu took the scroll, bowed slightly, then turned and left.
"I'm counting on you, Mugetsu," Hiruzen Sarutobi said as he watched him depart.
If Konoha suffered another defeat there, the overall situation would become dire.
...
After leaving the Hokage Building, Mugetsu headed straight for Training Ground 11.
When he arrived, he saw that the force was still relatively small in number.
In truth, the orders to assemble the force and the notice summoning Mugetsu had gone out at almost the same time. The only reason he had arrived later was because Hiruzen had spent time briefing him.
"Commander Mugetsu, I am Mimurabe Ketsu, the vice commander of the unit. At present, over one hundred shinobi have assembled. All fifteen jonin and fifteen special jonin are already here," Mimurabe Ketsu reported.
Mugetsu nodded slightly.
That made sense. Jonin would naturally have been informed first, and they also moved faster.
"Mugetsu sensei, I had a feeling you'd be the commander. Looks like I'm pretty good at guessing," Obito said with a laugh as he greeted him.
No sooner had Mugetsu left earlier than the emergency summons for jonin had arrived. Aside from Yamato, everyone had come to Training Ground 11 as ordered.
Kakashi glanced at Obito indifferently. He felt this did not require any guessing at all.
It was too obvious. Mugetsu had just left for the Hokage Building, and then an emergency assembly was called almost immediately after. Clearly, Mugetsu had been assigned an important mission.
Mugetsu smiled in response and then looked over the jonin already present.
Among the fifteen jonin, five were his own disciples. As for the remaining ten, Mugetsu knew all of them. The circle of Konoha jonin was not that large.
There was Nara Suzaku and Shibi Aburame, who had accompanied him to the Land of Grass during the strike on Kusagakure. There was Hyuga Hizashi, who had fought alongside him on the Kirigakure front. There was also Akimichi Doton, whom he had met through Minato Namikaze during a jonin meeting.
Most of the official jonin were shinobi from various clans, while the special jonin were mainly ordinary ninja.
While Mugetsu was observing them, the shinobi were also observing him.
Aside from the jonin who held important positions in the force and had been notified directly, the other shinobi still did not know the full situation, nor had they expected the commander to be Mugetsu, a man who was not yet old and had relatively little seniority.
"Currently, aside from the high level officials and Lady Tsunade, Commander Mugetsu is the most qualified person in the village to lead this force," Nara Suzaku thought to himself.
If Shikaku Nara were still in Konoha, he might barely compare. Though Shikaku was not particularly powerful in combat, his intelligence was extraordinary, and he would have the full backing of the Akimichi and Yamanaka clans.
But with Ino Shika Cho absent from Konoha, and even Minato Namikaze not currently present, Mugetsu was the most suitable candidate.
"I never thought that after becoming a jonin for such a short time, he would already be chosen to command an entire force," Akimichi Doton thought, surprised by how quickly Mugetsu had risen.
"If Mugetsu is the commander, that's truly reassuring," Hyuga Hizashi thought as he gave Mugetsu a slight smile.
He was the captain of the perception squad in this support unit, so he had already known beforehand that Mugetsu would be leading them.
Hizashi did not find it inappropriate at all. Though Mugetsu had only been a jonin for a short time, in terms of accomplishments, he had already left many veterans with more than ten years of service far behind.
Mugetsu quietly watched as more and more shinobi assembled, saying nothing.
Obito and his fellow disciples also understood that this was a serious occasion. Aside from greeting Mugetsu when he first arrived, none of them spoke again. They stood quietly in the front row of the force.
Once the support unit had fully assembled, Mugetsu finally spoke.
"Konoha's force in the Land of Grass has been defeated. Very recently."
His words were like a bomb dropped into still water, instantly throwing most of the assembled shinobi into turmoil.
Some looked shocked, caught completely off guard by the news of a defeat in the Land of Grass. Others showed worry, thinking immediately of relatives or comrades stationed on that front.
"Something really happened in the Land of Grass. Jiraiya and Minato sensei should both be with that force," Obito thought at once, worry rising in his heart.
Though Jiraiya liked to brag and often acted unreliable, he had treated Obito fairly well. As for Minato Namikaze, he was naturally the second teacher Obito respected most.
"They should still be alive," Kakashi said quietly, shaking his head.
According to the future information he knew, Minato Namikaze would not die until after he became Hokage, and Jiraiya would later die at the hands of the Evil Akatsuki Organization when Uzumaki Naruto was already in his teens.
Of course, the future was already changing because of everything they had done. Yamato becoming Mugetsu's disciple was one example.
Even so, their interference with the larger Ninja World had still been limited. It should not have altered the future that drastically yet.
Compared to Minato and the others, Kakashi was actually more concerned about Mugetsu.
This defeat had happened far too suddenly. Even Kakashi, who paid close attention to the state of the Ninja World, had sensed nothing beforehand.
In his impression, the Konoha force in the Land of Grass should have held a clear advantage.
If the Iwa ninja force had somehow been able to flip such a situation so completely, then they must have been hiding some truly terrifying trump card.
It might even be the very war in which Mugetsu would eventually die.
"Still too weak," Kakashi thought with a quiet sigh.
With their current level of strength, perhaps only Might Guy could barely be considered capable of helping Mugetsu.
They had all trained hard, but their training time was still too short. After all, most of them were only eleven years old. In times of peace, they would not even have graduated from the Ninja Academy yet.
"I just hope I can learn the Yang Seal before that day comes."
If he could master the Yang Seal, then even if none of his other abilities improved, his actual combat power would still rise dramatically.
Shisui wore a solemn expression. He had come to a similar conclusion as Kakashi.
"There's still too little time."
Compared to Kakashi and the others, Shisui was even younger. He had not yet turned ten.
Mugetsu did not give the unit much time to react before continuing.
"Your mission is to support the Land of Grass force and prevent the Iwagakure force from entering the Land of Fire."
Hiruzen Sarutobi had not demanded that Mugetsu must defeat the Iwa ninja force. His requirement was far more practical: establish a solid defense and prevent Iwagakure from breaking through into the Land of Fire.
As long as Iwagakure could not force its way in, Mugetsu's mission would already be considered complete.
If he could go further and repel the Iwa force while inflicting heavy losses on them, that would be an additional achievement.
"Move out!"
After a brief pause, Mugetsu swept his gaze over the assembled shinobi and gave the order in a firm voice.
No one questioned him. No one complained.
They all followed him in silence, quickly leaving Konoha and heading toward the Land of Grass.
For shinobi, this kind of abrupt mobilization was not actually unusual.
When an emergency mission came down, they were given their objective and sent out immediately.
This could be viewed as nothing more than a large scale emergency mission.
Moreover, Konoha's education in loyalty to the village had always been very effective. The shinobi had a strong sense of responsibility toward protecting Konoha.
The moment they heard that Iwagakure might invade, many of them reached the same conclusion at once: the enemy absolutely had to be stopped outside the borders of the Land of Fire. Konoha itself could not be allowed to face the flames of war.
While running, Mugetsu began reading the intelligence scroll Hiruzen had given him.
If he were moving at full speed on his own, naturally he would not have been able to read while traveling.
But when moving as part of a larger force, Mugetsu had that luxury. Compared to him, the marching speed of the unit was not particularly fast.
"Hiromi Sarutobi betrayed the force and attempted to assassinate Jiraiya, while using an ability similar to the one used by the Iwagakure assassination squad."
When Mugetsu read that line, a thoughtful look appeared on his face.
In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen had only given a very brief summary. He had mentioned the Iwagakure assassination squad in passing, but had not gone into detail about Hiromi Sarutobi's betrayal.
At first, based on Hiruzen's explanation alone, Mugetsu had already felt it sounded very much like White Zetsu.
Now that he had read the detailed battlefield intelligence, he felt there was at least a ninety eight percent chance, if not a full one hundred, that White Zetsu was behind all of this.
The technique that erased one's presence so completely was the Mayfly technique.
And the reason Hiromi Sarutobi had betrayed them was likely simple. He had never been Hiromi Sarutobi in the first place. It was probably White Zetsu using a transformed body.
The combat strength of ordinary White Zetsu was actually not high. If someone had prior intelligence about them, even a seasoned chunin could kill one.
What made White Zetsu terrifying was their skill set. Their techniques could only be described as outrageously high end.
Their Transformation Technique was effectively the strongest transformation technique in the entire Naruto world, capable of mimicking even a shinobi's chakra nature.
And the Mayfly technique was an elite stealth and movement Ninjutsu that allowed them to merge into the earth, erase their presence, and travel at high speed.
With those two abilities combined, White Zetsu were the greatest intelligence operatives in the Ninja World, as well as nightmare assassins on the battlefield.
Now that White Zetsu was acting directly, Mugetsu felt that Jiraiya's defeat was not strange at all.
White Zetsu's interference in the Third Shinobi World War was practically dimensionality reduction.
Even the Allied Shinobi Forces of eighty thousand during the Fourth Shinobi World War, with countless powerful shinobi among them, had struggled with White Zetsu's infiltration. Jiraiya's force could hardly be expected to fare better.
"Still, for me, this isn't too troublesome," Mugetsu thought calmly.
He possessed an inconspicuous but extremely useful ability: the Appraisal Technique.
No matter how perfect White Zetsu's disguise was, a single use of Appraisal Technique on them would expose everything through their abilities.
Its only drawback was that Mugetsu needed to actually see the target first.
At the moment, none of the White Zetsu seemed foolish enough to appear openly in front of him.
Still, if White Zetsu dared to infiltrate his force and play their impersonation game there, Mugetsu would show them what real intelligence warfare looked like.
An "intelligence Jiraiya" existed only in theory.
Mugetsu, on the other hand, truly possessed a technique that could read through chakra and skill sets directly.
.....
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