Prepare for War

"Ah! I had the same reaction when I first heard this news, but..."

Jiraiya scratched his head, then paused abruptly at a turning point in his sentence, seemingly gathering his thoughts.

"However, after the investigation, it was confirmed that this Akatsuki Organization has nothing to do with the current Amegakure. Well, that's not the point. Anyway, I went to the Land of Stone Land of Rice to conduct on-site investigations, and I didn't expect to actually make some discoveries."

Stop keeping me in suspense and tell me already.

Orochimaru's murderous eyes were fixed on Jiraiya.

"... Okay, I encountered two Akatsuki Organization members in the Land of Rice. They were both absolute freaks. One of them survived after I killed him three times, and the other I killed eight times in total. I even chopped off his head, but he still didn't die. In the end, both of them escaped."

Jiraiya skipped the lengthy preamble and went straight to the point, clicking his tongue somewhat sheepishly as he spoke.

He had planned to capture at least one of them and bring them back to the village, but both turned out to be more troublesome than he had anticipated... No, to be precise, one of them was a complete fraud. His Ninjutsu was useless, and his Taijutsu was mediocre. He was only at the level of a newly- Jonin. Even if he was immortal, if the other person hadn't been there, Jiraiya have had a hundred ways to deal with that fraud.

Unfortunately, the other Waterfall Ninja was truly difficult to deal with. He exhausted so much effort, and was just short of using his ultimate technique, Senjutsu Mode.

"These two missing-nin, one from Yugakure and the other from Takigakure, travel between different countries, hunting down skilled individuals with bounties on their hands in the black market for money. They've amassed a considerable fortune, and their goal... is to hunt Jinchuriki from various villages."

A variety of gazes lingered around Katsuki.

"Hey, hey, what are you all looking at me for? I don't care what kind of bastards come, I'll kill them one by one, and I'll slaughter them in pairs."

Katsuki said, his voice filled with murderous intent.

Everyone smiled knowingly, having no doubt about what Katsuki had said.

Look at this person's growth experience; it's practically a living history of war. From his emergence in the Second Shinobi World War, where he slaughtered his way through the land, to his single-handed dominance in the Third Shinobi World War, bringing Konoha one glorious victory after another.

Only after stepping over the bones of thousands upon thousands of corpses did Katsuki finally ascend to the position of the number one Shinobi World.

They couldn't imagine anyone benefiting from such a powerful natural disaster.

Perhaps if Madara Uchiha, known as the God of Slaughter, had personally intervened at the very beginning of Konoha's founding, there might have been hope. However, it is a consensus that Madara Uchiha was clearly unable to move freely.

"However, the Jinchuriki... does that mean we're going to fight Five Great Ninja Villages at the same time?" A layer of frost settled on Kuyue's beautiful face. "Does this Akatsuki Organization... have that kind of strength?"

As the Anbu Chief, responsible for external intelligence work, he received absolutely no information; to put it bluntly, this constitutes dereliction of duty.

"Little girl, who are you...?"

Jiraiya's gaze lingered on Kuyue's meager chest for a moment, then he pursed his lips. Although she was pretty, he had no interest in children; he preferred mature women.

"Anbu Chief, Yuki Kuyue, I humbly request your Lord Jiraiya."

His icy gaze pierced Jiraiya.

She noticed the rude gaze. If the person standing in front of her hadn't been Sannin, Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannin, anyone else would have frozen him into a lump of ice long ago.

"The Anbu Chief?" Jiraiya and looked at Minato, only to receive a look of confirmation. He clicked his tongue in amazement.

How old is this little girl? She's already the head of the Anbu! But I did hear three years ago that Katsuki stepped down as Anbu Chief and recommended her personal disciple to succeed her...

"Katsuki, your apprentice?"

"That's right! Jiraiya- senpai, please don't lay a hand on my apprentice... or I can't guarantee what I might do..."

Although I know that Jiraiya is all talk and no action, and that if he really needs something, he'll only go to a respectable place, he's charming but not lewd.

But having gotten used to being a teacher, he still subconsciously treated Jiraiya, this lecherous guy, as a dangerous individual.

"Ah, Katsuki, you're joking, kid..." Seeing Katsuki's forced smile, Jiraiya stopped talking, abruptly changing the subject. "Commander-in-Chief Yuki is truly young and promising! To be able to assume the position of Anbu Chief at such a young age, his future is limitless..."

Looking at Jiraiya's grinning face, Kuyue's eyes twitched. How could one of the legendary Sannin look like such a monster?

Look at how composed and reliable the Lord Hokage Lady Tsunade of absolute authority and commanding presence in the medical department—unlike this glib-tongued old man before us...

"Cough cough!"

Noticing the increasingly disdainful gaze of Kuyue, Jiraiya cleared his throat, suddenly adopted a serious expression, and spoke solemnly.

"The Anbu couldn't detect the existence of the Akatsuki Organization isn't due to their incompetence, but mainly because of the Akatsuki Organization's structure..."

"How so?"

Seeing Jiraiya become serious, Orochimaru also perked up.

"According to my intelligence, the Akatsuki Organization is divided into two main groups: internal members and external members. The internal members all wear those long robes with black backgrounds and red clouds, and they are highly skilled, not someone that the Anbu members can handle."

"The number of external members is large, but what's interesting is that they don't know who or what organization they are serving. They simply accept tasks, complete them, and then receive payment. They don't even know what the person who posted the task looks like."

Jiraiya paused, waited three or four seconds, and after everyone had absorbed the information, continued, "Ordinary members of the Anbu have no chance of survival against the core of Akatsuki Organization, and even if you capture the outer members, you won't get anything out of them through interrogation."

As a result, the Anbu) failed to discover the existence of this new Akatsuki Organization in more than ten search operations.

"Akatsuki Organization..."

Katsuki murmured the name, clicked her tongue, and thought, "Is this just the inertia of history? I can't bring myself to laugh."

"Kuyue, this isn't your fault. You've only been in charge of the Anbu for three years. I managed it for over a decade and got absolutely nothing... The opponent is that Madara Uchiha. It's normal that you can't figure it out. It would be a problem if you could figure it out easily!"

After offering a few words of comfort to his disciple, Katsuki turned to look at Orochimaru.

"Lord Hokage, based on Jiraiya's investigation and the attack on the cemetery, it seems that the Akatsuki Organization, or rather Madara Uchiha, is likely about to launch their operation."

"In this regard, I think it is very necessary to make war preparations in advance... Although more than ten years of peace is wonderful, the younger generation has also lacked sufficient qualities as a result. After all, war and combat are completely different concepts. If war really breaks out, more preparation means a higher chance of victory." (To be continued)