"Guan Ze, secretly summon every Konoha Ninja in Kusagakure at once. Be careful not to alert the Grass Ninja!" Akaseki told Guan Ze immediately after reading the confidential letter.
Seeing his reaction, Guan Ze understood that something urgent must have happened, but he still asked for confirmation. "Including Jonin Yamanaka Sansan's squad?"
"Everyone," Akaseki stressed.
There were currently eighteen Konoha Ninja in Kusagakure. Across the entire Land of Grass, excluding Kannabi Bridge, there were fewer than thirty, with the others carrying out missions or inspections elsewhere. At Kannabi Bridge, Konoha maintained an outpost of thirty-six men—
At that moment, these were all the forces Akaseki could mobilize.
That included four people who technically were not under his command—the Yamanaka squad, which had come to the Land of Grass on a mission, led by Yamanaka Sansan.
Because they had to assemble in secret, it took a little longer. Half an hour later, the other seventeen Konoha Ninja had all arrived at Akaseki's quarters.
Yamanaka Sansan wore the gravest expression of them all—
Akashi Uchiha had actually summoned even him in secret, despite his not being a subordinate. That suggested two possibilities: either Akaseki had important intelligence to share and needed his cooperation, or this Uchiha had lost his mind and wanted to throw his weight around as a superior.
Considering that the man was "Konoha's Akaseki," Yamanaka Sansan thought the former was more likely.
Sure enough—
Akaseki revealed the contents of Orochimaru's confidential letter.
Every ninja present was shocked!
But at a gesture from Akaseki, none of them broke into a noisy discussion.
Yamanaka Sansan raised his hand before asking, "Then... what are Commander Orochimaru's orders?"
Yamanaka Sansan was also a Jonin, and he and Akaseki had met before. Back when they were with the supply force in the Land of