Chapter 410: Ninja Allied Forces?
"Have the ninja from the other three villages reached that location?" Tsunade asked from behind her desk in the Hokage Tower, lifting her head from the mountain of Konoha's complicated affairs.
At present, Konoha's attention was almost entirely focused on this SSS-rank mission. Intelligence, supplies, high-level combat power, and even strategic planning had all been poured into it.
"Lady Tsunade, Elder Hiruzen has already gone to receive them with Jiraiya. According to the latest report, they are nearly at the destination," Shizune answered, a stack of documents in her arms.
She had been about to take those documents to the Anbu, but since Tsunade had asked, she naturally stopped to answer.
Tsunade nodded.
This SSS-rank mission was not only the first super-large mission in the Ninja World's history, it was also the first mission that forcibly required cooperation between four great ninja villages. Behind those four villages stood the Four Great Nations, and Tsunade knew very well what the Daimyo of those nations were thinking.
To put it bluntly, the occupation of the Land of Water was a slap to their faces. At the same time, it made them covet that rich piece of meat like starving wolves desperate for a full meal.
Ordinary small countries could not satisfy their appetites. That was why, during the three Great Ninja Wars, the wars initiated by the Five Great Nations usually targeted other Great Nations, not the small countries caught between them as buffer zones.
The purpose of those small countries was to serve as strategic cushions for the Five Great Nations, reducing the chance of accidental conflict between them.
But now, the Land of Water had fallen and been occupied by an outside force. Naturally, the Daimyo of the Four Great Nations wanted to extend their sphere of influence into that land.
After all, if such a large territory could be seized, it would be an honor worthy of its own page in a Daimyo's family records.
However, immense honor also came with immense trouble.
For example, how exactly should the Land of Water be divided?
Dividing it between four nations was no easy task.
"Those people..." Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose. "The enemy conquered the Land of Water, occupied Hidden Mist Village, and even prevented the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, from escaping. Are they really that confident?"
Compared with this matter, the suspected discovery of one of Orochimaru's bases and the collusion between Ninja Academy teachers and Orochimaru seemed far less important.
Tsunade felt uneasy.
She had once served as Konoha's war commander, so she knew very well that although the ninja of Hidden Mist Village had grown somewhat weaker, they were still excellent shinobi. On top of that, Hidden Mist had the Three-Tails, a Tailed Beast.
But now?
The intelligence only mentioned Hidden Mist Village's destruction, using vague phrases like "people nearby heard a massive explosion" and "a giant mushroom cloud was seen." There was not a single living spy who had transmitted information explaining how Hidden Mist Village had been destroyed.
That proved the force that conquered Hidden Mist Village was enormous and possessed enough powerful individuals.
Even more terrifying was another possibility.
The enemy might have suppressed Hidden Mist Village instantly, so quickly that even the spies hidden inside the village had no time to escape.
It could even be said that this force had directly suppressed the Tailed Beast. Otherwise, if the Three-Tails had managed to delay the enemy even briefly, the spies from the various villages would definitely have seized the chance to escape, even at the risk of exposing their identities.
Every ninja village knew that there were foreign spies inside their own village, and the number was definitely not small.
Yet under such circumstances, neither Konoha nor Hidden Cloud had managed to get even one spy out alive.
Although the intelligence from the other ninja villages had not been mentioned, judging from their behavior, they probably had not obtained any useful information either.
And just how terrifying were the methods of a force that could suppress both a Tailed Beast and a giant like Hidden Mist Village?
It reminded Tsunade of her grandfather, the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, the man known as the God of Shinobi.
Although her teacher, Hiruzen, had once been praised as the strongest Hokage in history, Tsunade knew the truth.
Her grandfather was the real God of Shinobi, a man who could treat Tailed Beasts like pets.
"I hope this goes smoothly." Tsunade stood and looked out the window at the bustling streets of Konoha, her thoughts drifting.
If they could not contend with the force that had occupied the Land of Water this time, then something truly serious might happen.
At a temporary base, Hiruzen sat smoking his pipe, while Jiraiya sat beside him, yawning.
"Old woman Chiyo, you're the last person qualified to say that here," Kitsuchi said with a yawn. He had only glanced at Jiraiya, but somehow he had been infected by the man's yawning.
Chiyo's expression darkened, but she merely snorted and said nothing.
After all, she was also quite old. If they were being serious, she indeed had no right to criticize Hiruzen on that point.
"Enough. Everyone is here to carry out a mission, not to argue," Hiruzen said calmly, tapping his pipe against the table.
He was old, and his health was not what it used to be. This time, he had come to contribute one last time to Konoha and pass on the Will of Fire.
"That's right. But didn't Mei Terumī join your Konoha? Why not let her come out and tell us about the Land of Water first?" Darui said lazily, his eyes narrowed as if he had not fully woken up.
Even so, every ninja present could not help glancing at him.
Because Darui represented Hidden Cloud Village.
According to their intelligence, when Darui and his ninja corps set out, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer Bee, had also left the village. His destination remained unknown.
It could not be ruled out that Killer Bee was also preparing to head for the Land of Water.
"..." Mei walked out.
She looked far more haggard than before.
During this period, the news that her homeland and village had been destroyed had pressed on her heart like a ten-thousand-pound boulder, leaving her gasping for breath day and night. Whenever she closed her eyes, she seemed to see the vengeful spirits of Hidden Mist Village questioning why she had not yet taken revenge.
Moreover, Mei still had relatives in the village.
Now that Hidden Mist Village had been destroyed, those relatives were probably already dead.
That emotion had been spreading through the remaining Hidden Mist ninja during this time. Pain, brewed over days and nights, had turned into a thick wine of vengeance.
For Mei now, revenge was the only thing on her mind.
"Hidden Mist Village has been destroyed. I don't know if there are any survivors, but I can provide intelligence on the Land of Water," Mei said, dark circles heavy beneath her eyes.
The ninja present looked at her haggard face and could not help remembering the triumphant smile she had worn when she burned down the great tree that produced Hero Water.
Not much time had passed.
Yet when they met again, she had become like this.
The former Five Great Nations had become the Four Great Nations, and Mei had gone from being a ninja of Hidden Mist Village to a homeless wanderer who had now joined Konoha.
However, Mei had once been a ninja of the Land of Water. She did indeed understand the details of that land very well, and she even provided a piece of important intelligence.
In the northern region of the Land of Water, there was a secret base that could only be accessed once a month due to the tides and wind conditions. It had originally been used as a special Anbu training base for Hidden Mist Village, but later, due to maintenance costs and other problems, it had been abandoned.
Although abandoned, the base still had two old secret passages that led directly near Hidden Mist Village.
"So, we travel by boat, then when we approach that base, we go underwater and sneak into the interior of the Land of Water through that location?" Kitsuchi asked, immediately understanding Mei's meaning.
"But that requires confirming that the abandoned base hasn't been discovered by the force that conquered Hidden Mist Village. We also need to secure a retreat route," Darui added.
The biggest problem with Hidden Mist Village now was that no one knew how it had been destroyed, whether there were survivors, or what the enemy had taken from it.
If the enemy already knew about this secret base, then entering through it would be no different from walking into a trap.
For a time, the ninja present fell into heated discussion.
After all, this mission was too important to decide casually.
As for whether they should act together, every ninja present tacitly avoided bringing it up.
They all knew that unless one village was extremely confident in its own strength, no ninja village would willingly take the lead.
But when facing an unknown force that had conquered Hidden Mist Village at terrifying speed, no village dared to be that confident.
Every side hoped the other ninja villages would go ahead as trailblazers while they followed behind, observed the enemy's strength, and then decided how to attack.
Unless Konoha sends out a Jinchuriki.
Chiyo glanced at Hiruzen, who was silently smoking and not speaking.
On Konoha's side, Mei and Jiraiya were the ones doing most of the talking, while Hiruzen rarely spoke. This unusual scene made Chiyo somewhat wary.
What exactly was Konoha planning?
Had Konoha sent out the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?
It should be known that the Great Nation closest to the Land of Water was the Land of Fire. The Land of Lightning was relatively farther away.
Facing meat placed right in front of him, Chiyo did not believe Hiruzen would not be tempted.
The more capable a ninja was, the more unwilling they were to let their later years pass ordinarily. For Hiruzen, if he could lead Konoha to conquer and occupy the Land of Water, turning it into Konoha's sphere of influence, it would undoubtedly be the best funeral gift for his career.
"It seems to be here."
On a small hill not far away, several ninja dressed in black carefully observed the movement below.
They did not dare look too closely. They only took a brief glance to confirm the number of people gathered there, then immediately lowered their heads.
A ninja's sixth sense was extremely sharp. Some sensory ninja could detect when they were being watched. Because of that, the scouts only dared one glance.
But that one glance was enough to confirm one thing.
The ninja from the Four Great Nations should be stationed here.
After all, there were no towns marked on the map in this area. In theory, no one should be living here. Yet at this moment, so many people had gathered in one place. That was clearly abnormal.
"Disperse and relay this intelligence to the Lord!"
The ninja exchanged glances. Then one of them dissolved into bubbles and vanished.
"Danzo was right. Those people really did choose that place as the Ninja Allied Forces' encampment." Amamiya Kenichi raised an eyebrow as he looked at the intelligence in his hand.
He had not expected that old man Danzo to be one step ahead and actually guess the location of the Ninja Allied Forces' camp.
Minato had also sent back intelligence saying that no large-scale troop movements had been discovered near the secret base, and he was preparing to investigate the small town close to the Land of Water.
However, there was no need to investigate now.
Amamiya Kenichi had already sent Shiori to deliver the message. The location Danzo had pointed out was real.
Now that he had this intelligence, it was time to move.
He was not the sort of person who would sit still and wait for the enemy to attack him. The war could not be allowed to burn into the Land of Water, since that would be harmful to his rule there.
Only by making the flames of war burn in the Land of Fire would the situation align with his interests.
"I wonder if they've taken action yet?" Amamiya Kenichi glanced toward the Land of Rice Fields.
Previously, he had sent Shiori to deliver a letter to a certain place in the Land of Rice Fields.
That letter had naturally been sent to the Uchiha clan. He had some plans that required the Uchiha clan's cooperation.
"The atomic bomb here will still take a little more time." Amamiya Kenichi looked at the atomic bomb before him.
Time was tight. To ensure that the atomic bomb would not have any problems, Amamiya Kenichi had to refine it meticulously, which made the process slower.
However, when he thought about the current situation in the Land of Water, Amamiya Kenichi felt a headache coming on.
The Land of Water was larger than the Land of Snow, with many scattered islands. Those islands had towns, which required the ninja of the Land of Snow to garrison them and maintain order.
Originally, Amamiya Kenichi had planned to attack the Land of Water and preserve part of Hidden Mist Village's combat power, which would have helped him avoid falling into a ruling dilemma as much as possible.
However, the power of the atomic bomb had somewhat exceeded his expectations.
This led Amamiya Kenichi to face a new problem.
He did not have enough manpower.
The ninja brought from the Land of Snow, along with a portion of the surviving spirits of Hidden Mist Village, were already struggling to manage the entire Land of Water. On top of that, they had to deal with the Hidden Mist avengers who occasionally emerged from unknown corners.
Therefore, defense was necessary.
"Not enough manpower. Should I go with Minato myself? Should I call on..." Amamiya Kenichi rubbed his temples.
But with the atomic bomb, it should not be a big problem, right?
.....
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