Of course,
what they said was one thing, but what their bodies actually did was another.
At first, there had still been a few proud and arrogant Kiri ninja who doubted the authenticity of the "White Reaper's" achievements and wanted to go fight him themselves.
But now…
after Kaguya Hiromitsu's death, every last one of them had extinguished any thought of challenging Yuu alone.
What a joke… They only earned a few hundred thousand ryō a month. Why would they risk their lives like that?
The man could even capture a Kazekage alive. If the Mizukage was so eager to flatten the Land of Fire, why didn't he come personally?
At the very least, they would need to deploy the entire Seven Ninja Swordsmen, or send out a jinchūriki, before they could even consider killing or capturing Yuu.
Mm. Considering that Jūzō Biwa was already Konoha's prisoner, gathering the complete Seven Ninja Swordsmen was impossible. At most, Kirigakure could deploy all six remaining members.
Even if that truly happened, Fuguki Suikazan, who had personally fought Yuu, still had doubts about their chances of victory.
After the brief commotion subsided,
Raiga Kurosuki, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, coughed and gestured for everyone to quiet down. Then he looked toward the Kiri ninja who had delivered the report and asked,
"Where did this intelligence come from? How reliable is it? Other than you, who else knows?"
"The information came from the bounty exchange. It is said to be newly surfaced intelligence from today. As for its original source…"
The Kiri ninja paused before continuing,
"Although the owner of the bounty exchange did not say so directly, judging from several signs, this information should have come from someone called 'Deep Throat.'"
"Deep Throat?"
Hearing that name, Fuguki Suikazan, seated at the head of the table, twitched slightly as though recalling something.
Raiga noticed Fuguki's expression and turned toward him.
"You know this person?"
"I wouldn't say I know him, but I've heard the name."
Fuguki pondered briefly before answering,
"It is the codename of a double—or perhaps multiple—agent. His identity and origins are unknown. In the past, he sold several pieces of intelligence related to the Lands of Fire, Rain, and Lightning on the black market, and their accuracy was extremely high.
"Kirigakure's Intelligence Division has purchased information from him before."
In truth, every nation in the ninja world had dispatched large numbers of spies abroad.
Some spies remained permanently inside a particular ninja village, living normally like the other residents and only cooperating with their home village during specific operations.
Others spent years traveling between countries, probing for high-level secrets belonging to enemy forces.
The latter type of spy was relatively rare, but they were generally extremely capable.
For example, Konoha's "Walking Priestess" belonged to this category. Her codename was recorded by the intelligence divisions of all the Great Ninja Villages, yet no one had ever seen her true appearance.
"Deep Throat" was a similar case.
Compared with the "Priestess," however, Deep Throat was even more mysterious.
This person had been active in the ninja world's intelligence circles for more than ten years, yet no one could say whether he was male or female, a single individual or an organization.
The only thing people could infer from the fact that this person dared sell practically any intelligence was that he probably did not belong to any of the Five Great Ninja Villages.
But those matters were not important.
What mattered was that if this information truly came from him…
then its credibility should be quite high.
The next question was whether Kirigakure should act on it.
"I still suggest we proceed cautiously."
The Hōzuki clansman from earlier spoke again.
"We have already suffered several losses because we launched attacks blindly. Dozens of Kiri ninja have been eliminated by forces led by Konoha's White Reaper alone. If this happens a few more times…"
After a few more defeats, Kirigakure's manpower would probably become dangerously stretched, forcing them to request reinforcements from the village yet again.
Given the temperament of their Mizukage, if he saw them repeatedly failing in battle…
he might suspect them of colluding with the enemy and launch another major purge.
Something like that had happened during the Second Ninja World War.
The once-powerful Yuki clan had been destroyed because of it, to the point that there was now not a single Ice Release user left in Kirigakure.
The thought of that possibility caused all the Kiri ninja present to shudder.
"How about this?"
Raiga Kurosuki coughed and proposed,
"We'll first send out a small number of scouts tonight and tomorrow morning to test Konoha's defenses and determine their actual strength.
"If the intelligence proves accurate…
"this may be our best opportunity to wash away our humiliation!"
The White Reaper was indeed troublesome.
Whether in elemental ninjutsu or close-range swordsmanship, he had reached an exceptionally high level. Even the Seven Ninja Swordsmen—an organization originally established to assassinate Kage-level targets—did not dare confront him directly without sufficient preparation.
But…
not every Konoha ninja could possibly be that powerful, right?
They might not be able to defeat Yuu, but surely they could defeat everyone else?
Furthermore, no matter how outstanding an individual's power was, one person could not end an entire war alone.
As long as they took advantage of Konoha's forces being spread out and weakened as much of its fighting strength as possible, then even if the conflict later entered a stalemate, Kirigakure would remain undefeated.
And if Kirigakure could send powerful new reinforcements during this period and kill Yuu…
then perhaps they could even push deeper into the Land of Fire and tear off a piece of its rich territory.
"Then let us begin the vote."
Fuguki Suikazan spoke in a deep voice.
"Those who support Raiga's proposal, raise your hands. Anyone with another suggestion may still present it now."
"…"
The Kiri ninja gathered here were all among Kirigakure's better-known jōnin.
Regardless of whether their personalities were bloodthirsty, their minds were generally still clear—
with the exception of the naturally brainless Kaguya clansmen.
After considering the matter,
most of them approved Raiga Kurosuki's strategy.
Since the decision had passed, the next matter was its implementation.
Fuguki remained responsible for this part, since he was still nominally the overall commander of the frontline operation.
Thus, Fuguki spread out the map and began issuing orders and arranging deployments.
…
At this very moment,
Uchiha Fugaku inside the Shakuka Town stronghold was also studying a map of the southeastern region with a serious expression, considering how he should adjust the defensive line.
Although Uchiha Fugaku had spent years in Konoha serving as the captain of what was essentially a public security squad, he had always believed that he was a potential military strategist.
He felt that more of his energy should be devoted to military affairs rather than handling trivial disputes.
Previously, circumstances had prevented him from displaying his talents.
But now,
having become the "acting commander" through a fortunate coincidence, Uchiha Fugaku could barely suppress the restless excitement in his heart.
He wanted to immediately issue several orders and prove his military ability to everyone.
For example…
have every Konoha ninja in the strongholds carry five additional shuriken in their ninja pouches;
move all explosive-tag traps near Shakuka Town five meters to the left to achieve an unexpected effect;
and expand the search radius of every regional patrol squad by five hundred meters…
However,
Uchiha Fugaku was no longer a teenager or a young man in his twenties.
As a man in his thirties, he understood that he was only an "acting commander," and one whose authority had not been approved by Konoha's leadership but merely temporarily granted by Yuu.
If he improvised recklessly and achieved good results, that would be fine.
But if something went wrong, it would become extremely troublesome.
Thus, he could only suppress his desire to experiment and instruct the two men beside him,
"…Yashiro, Inabi, pass down my orders. Tell every patrol squad to double their vigilance and extend their reconnaissance range outward by one kilometer!
"All sensory ninja will work in shifts and maintain continuous surveillance toward the coastline!
"Also, have Kakashi and Gekkō Shigure keep their mobile squads ready at all times!"
"Yes, Clan Head! We'll do it immediately!"
Uchiha Yashiro and Inabi nodded firmly and departed to carry out the orders.
After watching them leave,
Uchiha Fugaku lowered his head and returned to studying the map.
For one brief moment, he suddenly hoped that Kirigakure would launch an attack against Konoha during these few days.
That way, he could step forward and perform brilliantly, using the enemy's defeat to forge the Uchiha clan's reputation!
When that happened, Konoha's villagers and leadership would probably begin viewing the Uchiha in a new light.
Perhaps they might even place Uchiha Fugaku's name among the candidates for Hokage, allowing him to compete with Minato for the position of Fifth Hokage and make Mikoto look at him with newfound admiration…
The thought was rather exciting.
"…Heh."
Uchiha Fugaku grinned, thoroughly pleased by his own imagination.
At the same time,
inside a tent behind the stronghold,
Rin had just completed her rounds and was organizing various medicines in front of a cabinet.
During the process, she unconsciously raised her head and looked toward the southern sky. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, and faint concern appeared in her eyes.
"…Worried about Yuu, Rin?"
Kurenai's voice came from beside her.
Rin turned toward the red-eyed girl, lightly pressed her lips together, and nodded.
"Mm. Although he is already very strong, the situation around the ruins of Uzushiogakure is still unknown. He went there alone. If something unexpected happens, no one will be there to support him."
"…Don't worry. You know how strong he is. Even all of us together might not be able to defeat him.
"Besides, something similar has happened before, hasn't it? Like when he went to the Land of Wind to search for summoned beasts?"
Kurenai deliberately spoke in a relaxed tone.
Although she said that,
Kurenai also felt somewhat uneasy.
She had always suspected that Yuu's previous operation in the Land of Wind had been carried out together with Pakura. She had simply never found any evidence to prove it.
This time…
there should not be another similar situation, right?
After all, Kirigakure did not seem to have any young female ninja present. Most of them were fierce-looking men.
Some even made people question whether they were human, such as Fuguki Suikazan, who stood nearly two and a half meters tall…
Of course,
strictly speaking, whatever Yuu did had nothing to do with Kurenai.
And if she truly considered the matter, the "enemy" she should be most wary of was not someone like Pakura, but Rin—the childhood friend who had grown up beside Yuu.
Still, Kurenai could not help allowing her imagination to wander.
"Um…"
After a moment, Kurenai pulled herself out of her thoughts and said,
"Rin, let me help you organize the medicines."
"Mm? You can recognize these different types of medicine too?"
Rin looked somewhat surprised.
"More or less. Since both you and Yuu are skilled in medical ninjutsu, I borrowed several pharmacology books from the library some time ago and read through them.
"I should be able to recognize more than half."
As Kurenai spoke, she stepped forward.
Rin thanked her and moved slightly aside.
Then the two girls stood beside one another and silently began organizing the medicines.
…
"Whoa, it's huge!"
At the summit of Eagle Peak,
Yuu stopped among several rocks sheltered from the wind. He found a clean stone, sat down, and drank several mouthfuls of cola to recover the stamina he had spent climbing.
One had to admit, this mountain was truly enormous.
Although its elevation difference was only around two thousand meters, the mountain range extended across dozens of li in every direction.
Furthermore, clouds and mist surrounded the summit, which remained covered in snow throughout the year. Visibility was extremely poor.
After reaching the top, Yuu could not even distinguish north from south, much less search for his intended contract target.
All-Spirit Perception was not particularly useful either, since its detection range extended only five hundred meters.
There were many living creatures within that range, but most were ordinary animals such as peregrine falcons and mountain goats.
Their body sizes and chakra intensity were limited, failing to meet Yuu's standards for summoned beasts. They were not worth subduing.
With no other choice,
Yuu could only ask a certain ethereal girl for help.
[Summoning Technique: Huh? You want my help again?]
[Summoning Technique: Tsk, tsk. Although I'm also happy to gain a few more summoned beasts, shouldn't this be your own responsibility? You never give me any skins, yet you're always asking me to work for you. Seriously.]
"…"
At this moment, the Clone Technique could no longer resist jumping out to make her presence known.
[Clone Technique: Skins? What skins? How did you know Little Mikami already gave me three skins? Sigh, I've told Little Mikami many times not to be so biased, but he insists on spoiling me. Honestly…]
[Summoning Technique: …]
Yuu: "…"
Fine.
Theoretically, Yuu truly did possess one skin he could give to the Summoning Technique early—
the Reanimation Jutsu he had copied from the Scroll of Seals.
Although the technique was S-rank, it was still relatively crude in its current stage of development. Setting aside its ethical issues, the quality of the technique itself was closer to A-rank.
Therefore, unlike the Flying Thunder God and Water Severing Wave, which required affection near ninety before they could be gifted, Reanimation Jutsu could be given once affection exceeded fifty.
However, the Summoning Technique's current affection was still only in the forties.
Furthermore, Yuu actually wanted to wait for Orochimaru's improved version of Reanimation Jutsu, so he did not plan to gift the technique yet.
For now, he could only offer a somewhat dry explanation.
Only then did the Summoning Technique's mood brighten, and she agreed to help him locate the ninja hawks.