Just like the leader of the Grass Village, Aipu Wei, when Yakushi Nono walked into the Konoha military camp and saw the Mist ninjas, even though she had already heard from Kakashi about the Konoha-Mist alliance, she couldn't help but feel deeply surprised.
After Kakashi's squad defeated the tracking team of Munya, they immediately escorted Yakushi Nono away while avoiding the pursuit and search of Iwa's border defense forces and looking for a safe route out of the Land of Earth.
During the past two days, Yakushi Nono had temporarily lost her mobility due to the side effects of taking too many soldier pills. Kakashi, not wanting to confront the Iwa ninjas head-on like before, aimed to find a safer route for departure.
However, before they could find a gap in Iwa's defensive line, the Iwa ninjas suddenly withdrew their forces from guarding the extensive border, concentrating them instead. The previously tight defense line instantly became empty, allowing Kakashi and his team to leave the Land of Earth without much trouble.
Though they had to take a detour, the area between the Land of Earth and the Land of Grass was reinforced by the Iwa ninjas with a defense line several times stronger than before.
Kakashi and his team had no choice but to go through the Land of Rain and then into the Land of Grass. Once there, they found their contact and learned that Jiraiya's army had already arrived in the Land of Grass. For some reasons, they did not return to Konoha but sought out Jiraiya.
Inside the large tent, only Jiraiya and Nara Suzaku remained to welcome Kakashi and his team.
The politically astute Hozuki Mangetsu, without needing Jiraiya's instruction, took Ringo Ameyuri outside, leaving space for Konoha's ninjas to communicate.
"Kakashi."
Seated in the main position, Jiraiya looked at the fully intact Kakashi standing before him with a joyful expression. His gaze passed over Kakashi and glanced at Yakushi Nono. Although he didn't know her personally, he had seen her photo before. "Well done!"
"You flatter me."
Kakashi scratched his head, feeling no sense of pride, just a bit of awkwardness.
"Um… Jiraiya-sama, Yakushi-senpai doesn't plan to return to the village for now. She wants to stay on the front lines to help out, but I can't make that decision." Kakashi spoke with some reluctance, as he understood Nono's situation emotionally, though logically she was supposed to return to Konoha as a spy dispatched to Iwagakure once her mission ended.
"Stay on the front lines?"
Jiraiya blinked in confusion. "Why not return to Konoha?"
"It's because of 'Yakushi Kabuto.'"
"…I see."
Jiraiya paused, glancing at Yakushi Nono, who stood quietly, and felt a headache coming on. He was well aware of the situation; Danzo had caused a mess, and then died, leaving everyone else to clean up.
"Yakushi Nono, are you staying to save that child?"
Kakashi moved aside, and Yakushi Nono stepped forward to face Jiraiya directly.
"Yes, Kabuto. I didn't expect that bastard Danzo would… I have to save him, no matter the cost."
"It was indeed Danzo's fault."
Jiraiya didn't want to criticize Hiruzen-sensei, but he had no reservations about calling out Danzo. He had never liked that sinister guy. In Jiraiya's view, Danzo's influence had pushed Orochimaru further down a dark path.
Jiraiya shifted his focus back to Nono, whose expression was resolute. This situation was tricky!
Initially, Danzo had threatened Nono with the children at the orphanage, particularly Kabuto, to make her continue serving as a spy. However, Nono overestimated Danzo's moral integrity. After she left, Danzo took Kabuto from the orphanage and trained him as a spy. He even sent photos of someone who resembled Kabuto to deceive Nono.
Everyone who read the records in the confidential "Root" files was stunned by how utterly shameless Danzo's actions were.
Nono, a hero who had risked her life for Konoha, was being manipulated so unfairly. Moreover, Danzo had planned to eliminate her using Kabuto as a pawn, though that plan hadn't yet been executed.
Regardless, Danzo was now dead, leaving his mess behind. The current Hokage was struggling to handle the situation. Though seasoned in war, Akimichi Torifu couldn't bring himself to follow Danzo's ruthless plans. He felt that Nono deserved better.
How to address the situation remained uncertain, but Torifu had decided that rescuing Kabuto should be prioritized, leaving other matters to be dealt with later. Before Kakashi's departure, he had briefed him and Suzaku on the situation, advising Kakashi to be open with Nono about Kabuto.
And now—
Here they were.
After learning the truth from Kakashi, Nono had remained silent for a long time, her fingernails cutting into her palms. She couldn't even count how many times she had mentally dismembered Danzo in fury. Once she regained her strength, she informed Kakashi that she would not return to the village and needed to see Jiraiya.
According to Kakashi, Kabuto had been sent to Iwagakure earlier that year on Danzo's orders.
Perhaps they had crossed paths multiple times in Iwagakure, but due to the swapped photos, Nono hadn't recognized him. This left her anguished, and the fear and guilt prevented her from taking a single step back toward Konoha.
She had to save Kabuto! No matter what it took.
"There's no point in discussing Danzo now. In fact… you probably know the situation in Iwagakure better than we do. Due to internal strife, their intelligence network suffered significant losses, not only in Iwagakure but also in Kumogakure and Sunagakure."
"Most of our spies have lost contact. Before I left the village, that situation hadn't improved. We don't know if they were captured or just temporarily unreachable. In these circumstances, discussing a rescue is exceedingly difficult."
"I understand."
Nono's voice was calm.
"Precisely because I understand better than anyone, I want to stay here and learn about Iwagakure's situation. The best way to do that is through the Iwa ninjas. If necessary, I can infiltrate Iwagakure again." Her words were fluid and indicated she had already considered her next steps.
Convincing her to return to Konoha would be challenging, and Jiraiya didn't want to force her, given Danzo's despicable actions.
"By the way, is there any plan regarding the captured spies?" Nono suddenly asked, seeing Jiraiya's silence.
Jiraiya hesitated. What was there to plan? In the shinobi world, spies were typically executed after their usefulness was exhausted.
"Have they been abandoned?"
Nono deduced the unspoken answer from Jiraiya's silence.
She wasn't disappointed; her composed demeanor showed she had already expected this. For spies like them, any village would treat them as disposable tools.
"Jiraiya-sama, there might be a chance to rescue them."
It was Nara Suzaku who spoke up.
"Explain, Suzaku."
Jiraiya quickly turned his attention to Suzaku.
"Based on our current plans, if all goes well, we might be able to negotiate an exchange with the Iwa ninjas. Just as they've captured our people, our village recently apprehended spies from various nations. It could be possible, as long as those spies are still alive by then."
Nara Suzaku's suggestion wasn't revolutionary but drew from precedent. It involved exchanging spies, though traditionally, such exchanges occurred with war prisoners, not spies. The challenge lay in whether the captured spies had undisclosed secrets.
"This won't be easy."
Jiraiya frowned.
"It's worth a try; it's not entirely impossible!"
Nara Suzaku seemed confident, as if he had a plan in mind.
Jiraiya took another look at Nara Suzaku and then turned back to Nono. "If you wish to stay, you can stay for now. I will report your case to the Hokage, and your fate will ultimately be in the Hokage's hands. Until then, do not act on your own."
"I understand, Jiraiya-sama. Thank you for your understanding."
Nono sincerely expressed her gratitude to Jiraiya.
"Go and rest."
Jiraiya waved his hand.
He didn't feel he had done anything praiseworthy. Compared to Nono's sacrifices for the village, what she received in return was meager. He couldn't help but feel that it shouldn't be this way.
---
*Land of Hot Water,*
Unlike the tense, war-prepared atmosphere in the Land of Grass, the Land of Hot Water maintained a more serious yet not overly anxious mood. The conflict between Konoha and Kumogakure had nearly run its course there. From initial panic to numbness and now to anticipation, the Hot Water ninjas hoped that Konoha would drive away the Kumogakure forces and restore peace.
Initially, Konoha had suffered repeated defeats against Kumogakure, leading many Hot Water ninjas to despair, believing their village would be wiped out. Some even plotted to defect to Kumogakure.
Salt Spring, the leader, was a rather capable man. He quickly sensed the disloyalty among his subordinates and decisively used force to punish that small group. Soon after, reinforcements like Uchiha Shisui arrived and managed to stop the trend of retreating, preventing the war from fully swinging in favor of the Hidden Cloud. This also helped Salt Spring maintain control over the Hidden Hot Water troops.
Now,
Another wave of reinforcements arrived, though their numbers were still small—only about a thousand.
Salt Spring sat in the tent, sighing inwardly.
"If we could just drive away the Hidden Cloud!"
He thought to himself quietly, occasionally glancing at the young man sitting in the main seat who was speaking. The young man was indeed very young, looking to be around fifteen or sixteen. However, according to the Leaf Village ninjas, this young man was already an assistant to the Hokage and also the clan leader of the Uchiha!
When he first heard this, Salt Spring was genuinely astonished. It was already rare enough to have a clan leader at fifteen or sixteen, but being an assistant to the Hokage at the same time was almost unbelievable!
Because of this,
Salt Spring felt a deep sense of respect and awe for the young man. He had interacted with people like Hyuga Hiashi, Aburame Shibi, and Uchiha Shisui during this period, all of whom were formidable figures. The fact that these powerful individuals willingly followed the orders of the Hokage's assistant meant that he must be even more formidable!
In his view,
The weak cannot command the strong.
Only someone stronger can lead the strong.
This logic, while simple, was also very practical.
"...That's roughly the plan. Does anyone have any comments?" Just as Salt Spring was lost in thought, Sougen had finished outlining the plan and was looking around, asking for everyone's opinions.
The tent fell into silence.
This didn't mean that Sougen's plan was flawless to the point where no one could find any issues. Rather, the plan itself was difficult for most present to understand, causing them to unconsciously worry that the Hokage's assistant might be underestimating the situation.
"Ahem!"
Hyuga Hiashi cleared his throat, breaking the silence in the tent. As the highest-ranking officer before Sougen's arrival, he had to speak first. "Well... Hokage Assistant, our forces are not as plentiful as the Hidden Cloud's, so launching an attack at this time might be overly ambitious!"
Indeed,
Sougen's plan wasn't about building an impenetrable defense as everyone had imagined; it was about going on the offensive!
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