NABC Chapter 187: The Sannin Skirmish (1)
Chapter 187: The Sannin Skirmish (1)
Chapter 187: The Sannin Skirmish (1)
"Shikudo, I'm glad you could make time today," Hiruzen gives a short chuckle and looks at the perpetually tired Nara Patriarch plopping on the couch in front of the Kage without a hint of shame.
After all, Nara Clan's men are notoriously lazy. Maybe to balance out their interest in women who happen to be notoriously active.
"Well, Kage-Sama," Shikudo smiles, "It was either this or taking a nap."
"What about preparing this week's financial reports?" Hiruzen raises a brow, "I'm almost sure you still aren't ready for the meeting tomorrow."
"That... I guess, will be the fault my proxy bears," Shikudo shrugs and scratches through his pointed beard, "But I suspect that you did not call me here for tomorrow's usual meeting."
Hiruzen mulls for a moment and nods.
"The village has encountered a lot of troubles, Shikudo..."
"Sakumo Hatake's disappearance and the recent issue with Hyuga Clan, yes," the man nods.
Chuckling, Hiruzen places a scroll on the table, "Far from it. Read through this."
Unfurling the scroll, Shikudo reads through with a calm expression but Hiruzen can observe the sullen glint in the Jonin Commander's eyes.
"It says Kirigakure is in a similar situation with the Kaguya Clan acting rebellious once more. Their bloodthirsty nature sure is hard to confine for long and they even... killed one of the seven swordsmen of the Mist."
Hiruzen nods and sets another scroll on the table, "Read this."
With understanding flickering through his gaze, Shikudo picks up the scroll and continues, "Iwagakure has problems with their Daimyo due to their loss against Uzu and in response, during this war, their supply of slaves is cut short by more than 80%. Another great news for the village."
But Shikudo's tone can be considered far from pleasant.
He waits for Hiruzen and as expected, Hiruzen places another scroll and nods, "Kumo."
Shikudo picks up the scroll and reads it under his breath.
"Third Raikage's initiative to make the current jinchuriki of the second and eight tails acceptable have gone downhill. Even if this B is considered the perfect Jinchuriki... he is still not appreciated by the village much less the civilian higher-ups under their Daimyo... another good news."
Hiruzen places yet another scroll and Shikudo questions, "Suna?" The old Kage nods in return.
"Hmm... Suna is still struggling to recover their trust in the Wind Daimyo after the Second Kazekage was assassinated by mysterious forces. This also makes them more dependent on building a concrete alliance with us."
Hiruzen finally speaks up, "These are the summary of reports from the village's spies in the different villages. But, what if I tell you that this information was known to me weeks before the actual intel came in?"
Not taken by surprise, Shikudo leans back on his couch and stares at the ceiling of the office, "If that is true, it would mean two things. Our spies have gotten less efficient. And the one who sent us all this information is likely to know about our secrets just as much. Of course, I am assuming that we aren't aware of the identity of this being."
"Correctly assumed," Hiruzen leans back, "And this means, the other villages may as well know about the Hyuga conflict and Sakumo's disappearance. They may know about the alliance efforts for the Chunin Exams. They may know the identity of our Anbu members, no less."
"An information agency?" Shikudo frowns.
"Unlikely," Hiruzen shakes his head, "No village will stand for its existence."
"What... what about Uzu? Their information is still unknown," Shikudo questions.
"That is what everyone will think," Hiruzen mutters with a gloomy expression, "In the previous war, Uzushiogakure was isolated due to their merchandise being used to inflict harm on the other nations. Since then, Uzu has cut itself off from others and created a void in the market that no other nation can fulfill and still refuses to emerge. They also have an untouchable position after the allied army of Kiri, Kumo, and Iwa fell.
One may argue why he didn't do that before... the answer is rather simple.
Grind comes before playing detective.
But understanding the hidden enemies is always one of Kai's greater objectives. After all, he prepared for everything Dan may throw their way long before the poor soul even got the chance to act on his actions.
'But... with seven clones constantly at the act and my real body on the grind to teach the kiddos... I predict that my current chakra reserve and recovery will soon start to fall short. Even the Seal of Adamantine Sage won't be of much help... I need a good source of chakra like Kushina has Kyubi.
I even have all the knowledge necessary to use a tailed beast but... I have no tailed beast. Can I create one? There are nine, eight are occupied and the Four-tails is still not sighted. Damn, makes me want to make a tailed beast for myself... how did they even come to be? If only I had someone near me with access to a tailed beast...'
Kai snickers internally, already setting the next thing to do for the night.
But there is also something else in his mind.
'Maybe I should actually start an intel organization... nah. That's a distraction. I have no use for money. No use making enemies needlessly. Just stay on the original grind skills and chicks. The world will fall to my heels by itself later on.'
He shrugs and starts to tail this individual.
---
"It took days but we did arrive here," Orochimaru smiles and greets a group of shinobi standing in front of a lake. Their forehead protectors are marked by two bolt-like patterns in the center that face each other. Seeing the stormy expressions of their escorts, Orochimaru further explains with a calm smile, "We were just making sure that this time, your secret pathway isn't riddled with enemies of other nations."
Yes, unfortunately, they did not discover Sakumo's tracks, and even after days of searching, they failed to locate the next Raikage candidate which means that they are either back to the developing war front of the Land of Hot Water or, for the time being, have retreated far from Takigakure.
This means that two of Team Hiruzen's objectives will be left incomplete.
"Hmph, you almost wasted a week! This effectively cuts one-fourth of the payment that we are obligated to pay to Konoha," The leading Jonin scoffs while Jiraiya shrugs.
"So what's the point in acting tough? We came late, our payment gets cut. It's fair. You lose nothing and we gain nothing either."
"Exactly," Tsunade smirks, "Stop wasting our time. Some Hidden Village you are... expecting support when the actual forces eye you."
The Jonin frowns at their display. Yet, he speaks nothing further.
Everyone knows of the three Sannin and their notoriety. Leading them into the village through the lake was an easy task but what awaited the trio is something entirely different than they could have expected.
***
Alternate Title: Kai's a Bit of Detective...; Walls Have Eyes, Punk!; Chakra Depression; Muddling War; The Sannin Antics
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