Chapter 78: The Mission
Letting go of Kael's neck, Jade turned to Watanabe Musashi and nodded.
"According to our intelligence, the rumors about Danzo dispatching Root shinobi to infiltrate our village and seize the Leader's position have already spread throughout the Land of Fire's capital. As for Konoha itself, while we can't plant our own people there, their intelligence network has almost certainly picked up the news by now."
Watanabe Musashi's expression grew grim. He looked at Kael. "Although our original assessment was that Konoha would try to quiet things down to avoid internal conflict, we must still be prepared."
Jade's voice became grave. "With the elite shinobi I've assigned to you, combined with the high mobility of your Summoning Beasts, the safety of the Land of Hot Water's border is in your hands, Kael. You will lead this mission, and you must not fail. Do you understand?"
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Kael's expression turned solemn. "Yes, Lord Leader!"
"Time is short. Although you aren't familiar with the ANBU shinobi yet, I trust you will be able to get along with them and bring them back safely. Enough said. Go back and prepare. You are to depart for the border between our country and the Land of Fire no later than noon today. Prevent any invasion from Konoha. Go!"
"Yes, sir!"
Although Jade's order was to leave by noon, Kael prepared to move out immediately.
He went home and refilled his long-unused ninja tool pouch. He skipped the shuriken, exploding tags, and medical bandages, but packed plenty of military food pills.
When he stepped out of his room, he found his summons already prepared, standing in two rows in the yard, watching him silently.
The two largest summons were the most conspicuous.
The Earth Dragon, its brown body nearly twenty meters in diameter, was coiled up like a massive serpent. Even coiled, it stood over fifty meters tall, an impossible-to-miss landmark in the spacious courtyard.
The Thunder-Wind Eagle stood with its wings tucked at its sides, its powerful talons dug deep into the earth. Just standing, it was nearly half the Earth Dragon's height. It was easy to imagine the sight it would make with its wings fully spread, blotting out the sun.
Kael nodded in approval, walked past the behemoths toward the gate, and said calmly, "Those afraid of heights, go with Little Dragon. The rest, with Little Wind. Follow me discreetly, don't be seen, and be ready for combat at any time."
The moment he finished speaking, the Ironclad Hedgehog and Goldie scurried over to the Earth Dragon. The Earthen Beetle, carrying the Blazing Ant Queen's nest on its back, quickly crawled up its body as well.
The Explosive Flies, Kun Kun, and Little Gray all opted to go with the Thunder-Wind Eagle.
RUMBLE...
The Earth Dragon's massive, coiled body began to corkscrew rapidly into the ground like a giant serpent's tail, disappearing in seconds and leaving only a massive, circular pit in the lawn.
Not to be outdone, the Thunder-Wind Eagle spread its wings and launched itself into the sky.
BOOM!
A thunderclap exploded from the ground. A visible ripple in the air expanded outwards, only dissipating after it had passed the courtyard walls.
Although they had seen the Thunder-Wind Eagle's power once before, the Hidden Hot Water shinobi waiting outside couldn't help but stare in awe. They craned their necks, watching the eagle shoot straight up into the sky, leaving a faint contrail in its wake.
In a forest within the Land of Hot Water.
A squad of seventeen shinobi, led by Kael, was leaping through the treetops.
While riding the Wind Eagle would have been much faster, Kael felt his new team was still unfamiliar with each other. A long-distance run was the perfect opportunity to drill their coordination and establish a chain of command.
Early spring had covered the land in green. The Land of Hot Water was bursting with life.
Seventeen members... exactly the size of a Konoha ANBU division. As for combat power... that remains to be seen, Kael thought, leading from the front.
At the same time, a dark cloud of worry hung over him.
In the original story, Konoha under the Third Hokage's later rule was known for being stable, even "soft." But Kael knew that Danzo was not the type to take a loss and let it go. And given Sarutobi's limited control over him, it was highly likely Danzo would ignore his orders and send more men to make trouble for the Hidden Hot Water Village.
A sense of urgency began to build in Kael. The Hidden Hot Water Village had no hope of openly opposing Konoha. The most frustrating part was that Danzo had set his sights on their tiny village so early in the timeline, long before Kael had time to "lay low and power up."
Since we're already enemies, any hope of remaining neutral is impossible. I can't be careless. Our border with the Land of Fire is long, which is going to put a lot of pressure on this mission...
Kael's squad reached the border of the Land of Hot Water by noon.
He hadn't had time to synthesize a dedicated communication-type summon yet, so he had no choice but to spread his ANBU members thin along the border. He stationed one Chunin every five miles. Even so, his forces weren't nearly enough to cover the entire border; it was a drop in the ocean.
Kael had to deploy his army of Explosive Flies to act as his sensory network. They not only covered the entire border with the Land of Fire but, at his command, tens of thousands of them also spread deep into the Land of Fire's territory.
Kael began to cycle through the flies' vision, one by one.
The Land of Fire hasn't changed much since last time. The only difference is... the atmosphere seems much tenser.
Kael sat leaning against a large tree, muttering to himself. Through the eyes of his flies, he could see that the number of Konoha patrols on their side of the border was far greater than when he had passed through on the escort mission.
He switched his vision to another fly, and his expression froze.
A forward operating base for Konoha!
He quickly commanded the fly to descend toward the large encampment, avoiding the main gate, which was bustling with shinobi. He guided it to the largest tent in the center. He could feel a powerful chakra signature emanating from within, so he didn't dare fly any closer. He landed the fly on the ground, crawled under the tent flap, and went inside.
When a fly stops flying and making that annoying buzzing sound, it becomes one of the most inconspicuous things in the world. Even if someone noticed it, they would never imagine it was a ninja's summon.