Teammate A and Enemy B (1)

Anbu Squad Leader San Xiao gritted his teeth, then said to Tsunade, "I'll send one team of Anbu back to explain the situation to the Third Hokage, but the remaining twelve must stay behind as... as Lady Kushina's guards!"

He knew what kind of punishment his actions would bring, but as long as he remained an Anbu ninja, he could not abandon his current mission.

Tsunade also knew it was unlikely she could drive these people away. Besides, Kushina truly did need guards. Her face icy, she said, "I won't interfere with your mission, but stay out of my line of sight!"

San Xiao withdrew as though he had been granted a pardon. Their mission had been to protect Kushina in secret anyway; there was no need for them to show themselves. As long as Tsunade allowed them to remain, her other demands meant nothing.

Because of that Anbu's mistake, the safest choice for Kushina at this moment should have been to leave immediately and return to Konoha.

Even Tsunade began to doubt the decision she had just made.

But Kushina still insisted on staying. After all, the chance of her information being leaked merely because of a single remark from an Anbu was not very high.

This was, after all, the Frontline Command Post, guarded layer upon layer by elite ninja. It was nearly impossible for a spy to infiltrate.

What puzzled Kushina was that Hagoromo seemed to know quite clearly that she was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki... However, she had no intention of getting to the bottom of where he had obtained that information. From the very beginning, she had known that her disciple was someone with ideas of his own. Though young, he handled matters with remarkable maturity.

After several months together, it was hardly strange that he could have guessed her identity. Kushina was not so guarded about being a Jinchuriki around people close to her. Perhaps she had carelessly let slip a word or two at some point, and Hagoromo had pieced it together from there.

In any case, she was quite touched that her disciple had defended her. More importantly, even though Hagoromo had long known she was a Jinchuriki, his attitude toward her had not changed in the slightest. He had shown none of the fear, hostility, contempt, or pity people felt toward Tailed Beasts.

For Kushina, Hagoromo's attitude—being the same as he had always been—was simply the most correct one possible.

Hagoromo was not originally a resident of this world, so his view of Tailed Beasts was essentially, "Tailed Beasts = rare beasts." He was merely curious about those chakra monsters. Besides, anyone with intelligence and reason above the average level should understand that a Jinchuriki could not be equated with the Tailed Beast itself. Most people had simply been blinded by fear and hatred.

Jinchuriki were human, and Tailed Beasts were Tailed Beasts. The former were indeed vessels that sealed the latter, but beyond that, they were ordinary humans as well.

That was what Hagoromo believed.

After the two Anbu had both left, Tsunade said to Hagoromo, "Kamishiro Hagoromo, you did well. I'll remember your name."

It was an expression of appreciation. Hagoromo's willingness to directly attack an Anbu just now had earned her praise and goodwill.

Ninja were regarded as emotionless killing tools. Or rather, emotionless killing tools were considered the standard model of a ninja. But as long as one was human, no one could completely erase their feelings. Those close to you were close, and those distant were distant. Kushina had not actually needed Hagoromo to stand up for her, but he had been willing to step forward for his teacher. Tsunade was very satisfied.

And so, Kushina and Hagoromo's activities on the front lines began.

In Hagoromo's view, there was not much difference between being at the Frontline Command Post and being in Konoha. Other than the more tense atmosphere, everything else was much the same. If he had to name a difference, it was that without any specific mission, he was even more idle than he had been in Konoha.

So he began using every spare moment to improve the Reverse Four Symbols Seal. He had also asked Kushina to teach him the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, the most extreme Sealing Technique, but this time, Kushina absolutely refused no matter what...

A person's character had many sides. A dozen or so lines above, Hagoromo had been described as mature beyond his years, but that did not mean he lacked a lawless side. Otherwise, he could not have accompanied Kushina in committing certain offenses.

In truth, whenever Kushina came up with one of her reckless plans, he would only make a token attempt to stop her before eagerly joining in... How could Kushina, now that she understood his personality, possibly teach him something like the Dead Demon Consuming Seal? It was not because she selfishly hoarded the technique, nor because Konoha's higher-ups forbade it—this was originally a Sealing Technique of the Uzumaki Clan, beyond even the Hokage's authority.

She was simply afraid Hagoromo would misuse such a certain-death Sealing Technique. Was that really something Hagoromo would not do? If she searched her heart... people came to understand one another. After Hagoromo had come to understand Kushina, Kushina had also gained a rough idea of what kind of person he was. She felt that, when the time came, her disciple really might be capable of doing it.

The front lines were still the front lines, and Kushina restrained herself considerably. It was hard to imagine someone as restless as her quietly accompanying Tsunade as she handled documents, yet that was exactly what happened.

Kushina understood her own circumstances as well. Staying at the command post was already her limit. If she wanted to go to the very front lines, Tsunade probably would not agree.

Konoha's defensive line against Sunagakure was arranged in three layers. The first line was located within the Land of Rivers, sixty kilometers from Konoha's command post. This line stretched loosely across the landscape and appeared quite thin overall, with only six hundred people in total. Though it stood at the very front, its main purpose was to provide warning and surveillance.

The second line was located twenty kilometers behind the first and had 1,500 men. These ninja were arranged in clusters and formed Konoha's primary mobile strike force. Once the first line was breached by Sand Ninja and the direction of their attack was confirmed, the forces on the second line would swiftly mobilize to reinforce the first, charging straight at the enemy.

Konoha's final line of defense was the Konoha command post itself, located thirty kilometers directly behind the second line. It was Konoha's frontline command center and stockpiled vast quantities of war supplies, as well as important facilities such as a Field Hospital. Five hundred ninja directly under the command post were stationed there as guards.

This deployment Konoha had established took both lateral coverage and vertical depth into account. At a disadvantage in troop numbers, they could only allocate their limited forces this way. For the time being, Konoha did not have the conditions needed to launch a full-scale counteroffensive into the Land of Wind.