300 collections bonus chapter.
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Anbu Squad Leader Three Mandrills gritted his teeth. "I will send one squad back to brief the Third Hokage," he told Tsunade.
"But the remaining twelve men must stay here... as Lady Kushina's guards!"
He knew his slip-up would bring severe punishment. But as an Anbu, he couldn't abandon his current mission.
Tsunade knew driving them all away was unrealistic. Plus, Kushina really did need guards.
"I won't interfere with your mission," Tsunade said coldly. "Just keep out of my sight!"
Relieved, Three Mandrills quickly retreated. Their job was to protect Kushina from the shadows anyway. As long as Tsunade let them stay, staying hidden was easy.
Given the Anbu's massive blunder, the safest choice for Kushina was to return to Konoha immediately.
Even Tsunade hesitated about her previous decision to let Kushina stay.
However, Kushina insisted on remaining. The chances of her intel leaking over one careless sentence were low.
This was the frontline headquarters, heavily guarded by layers of elite ninja. A spy slipping in was nearly impossible.
What puzzled Kushina more was that Hagoromo clearly knew she was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
She didn't pry into his sources, though. She knew her student was sharp and mature beyond his years.
After months of living together, it wasn't surprising he figured it out. She wasn't overly secretive around those close to her; she might have let something slip.
Regardless, she was deeply moved by how fiercely he defended her.
More importantly, Hagoromo's attitude toward her hadn't changed at all despite knowing her secret. He showed no fear, hostility, contempt, or pity.
To Kushina, treating her exactly the same as before was the absolute best reaction.
Hagoromo wasn't originally from this world. To him, Tailed Beasts were basically just "rare beasts."
He was only curious about these massive chakra monsters. Anyone with average intelligence should know a Jinchuriki wasn't the beast itself.
Most people were simply blinded by fear and hatred.
A Jinchuriki is human; a Tailed Beast is a Tailed Beast. One is the container for the other, but they are still ordinary people. That was Hagoromo's view.
Once the Anbu left, Tsunade looked at Hagoromo. "Kamishiraishi Hagoromo. You did well. I'll remember your name."
It was a look of genuine appreciation. His boldness in attacking the Anbu had won her respect.
Ninja were supposed to be emotionless killing tools. That was the standard mold.
But as long as you were human, you couldn't erase your feelings. Family is family; strangers are strangers.
Kushina didn't actually need Hagoromo to fight her battles. But Tsunade was highly satisfied that he was willing to step up for his teacher.
And so, Kushina and Hagoromo's frontline deployment officially began.
To Hagoromo, the frontline HQ didn't feel much different from Konoha, just a bit tenser.
Since he didn't have any specific missions, he actually had more free time than back in the village.
He spent every spare moment trying to improve the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing.
He had also begged Kushina to teach him the most extreme sealing jutsu: the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
This time, however, Kushina absolutely refused.
Hagoromo might seem mature, but he definitely had a reckless, lawless streak. Otherwise, he wouldn't have helped her steal the Scroll of Seals.
Whenever Kushina hatched a crazy plan, he would offer a token objection—and then enthusiastically join in.
Knowing his personality, there was no way Kushina would teach him the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
It wasn't out of selfishness, nor was it forbidden by Konoha's brass. It was an Uzumaki clan jutsu; the Hokage had no say over it.
She simply feared Hagoromo would actually use the suicide jutsu.
Could he really do something that extreme? Having spent so much time together, Kushina knew exactly what kind of person he was.
Push comes to shove, she knew her student would absolutely pull the trigger.
The front lines were still the front lines. Even a restless spirit like Kushina reined it in.
It was hard to imagine her quietly helping Tsunade with paperwork, but she actually did it.
She knew her limits. Staying at the HQ was the best she could get; Tsunade would never let her near the actual fighting.
Konoha's defense against the Sand was divided into three tiers.
The first line sat sixty kilometers away in the Land of Rivers. It was a loose, horizontal spread of only six hundred troops.
Though it was the vanguard, its main purpose was early warning and surveillance.
The second line was twenty kilometers behind the first, holding 1,500 ninja clustered together.
This was Konoha's main mobile strike force. Once the first line detected an invasion, these troops would rapidly deploy to intercept the enemy.
The third and final line was the frontline headquarters itself, located thirty kilometers behind the second line.
This was the command center. It housed massive stockpiles of war supplies, the field hospital, and a garrison of 500 elite guards.
This tiered formation provided both horizontal coverage and vertical depth.
Given their numerical disadvantage, Konoha had to deploy their limited forces carefully. They simply didn't have the numbers to launch a full-scale invasion of the Land of Wind.