[S-Rank Mission: Infiltrate Amegakure and obtain the poison from Hanzo's summoning beast, Ibuse] [Mission Members: Uchiha Sakuya, Tsunade Senju, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Dan Katō]
"According to intelligence, when the Amegakure shinobi go on campaign with Hanzo, they all wear gas masks. Even Hanzo wears one."
Night had fallen in the Land of Fang.
Sakuya and the others studied the intelligence. "That tells us even he can't withstand the poison from that salamander. If we can obtain even a little of Ibuse's poison, the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind could work together to analyze it. We might be able to make an antidote. That would give us at least a slight advantage when we face Hanzo on the battlefield."
"But... getting our hands on Ibuse's poison won't be easy."
Dan Katō shook his head. "We're talking about the Demigod."
Since the Five Great Shinobi Villages were established, all shinobi had shared one belief.
Hashirama Senju was hailed as the God of Shinobi, the strongest shinobi of all.
Even the legendary shinobi Madara Uchiha, who was renowned as his equal, was a little inferior to Hashirama.
After the two of them passed away, the man who stood at the pinnacle of the Shinobi World was Hanzo, the Demigod.
Hanzo was powerful in every way.
Even setting aside his highly refined Water Release, the poisonous mists from his summoning beast alone could kill plenty of people before a fight even began.
To use an example from some angsty coming-of-age story, it was like facing Genji Chisaki, who wielded kingly authority: before the battle even started, he could unleash an AOE attack, and only those capable of surviving the first wave had the right to fight him.
In Sakuya's eyes, Hanzo was the sort of boss with a mook-detection mechanism. Unfortunately, the current version of the Shinobi World was still in its early stages, and it had an especially large number of mooks.
And the mission Sakuya and the others had been assigned was to obtain his summoning beast's poison.
It was undeniably a difficult task.
"Hanzo is currently leading a massive army of Rain shinobi in an assault on the Land of Wind. His rear must be wide open. We have to take advantage of this opportunity to infiltrate the Land of Rain."
Tsunade spoke up. "We're not the only ones studying Ibuse's poison. The Land of Rain is researching it inland, too. After all, that creature's poison attacks everyone indiscriminately, even its allies. The Small Nations Alliance fears his poison as well. Without an antidote, shinobi from those other small nations will die from Hanzo's poison, too. In a sense, our position and Amegakure's are actually the same when it comes to Hanzo's poison."
"In other words, we don't actually need to face the Demigod this time. We just need to find the research facility in the Land of Rain?"
Jiraiya murmured.
Only then did he understand the reasoning behind their team's lineup.
Tsunade was the team's backbone. Her Medical Ninjutsu could keep them alive through desperate situations until a chance to turn things around arose. Jiraiya's Senjutsu from Mount Myoboku and Sakuya's Uchiha Clan's inherited Fire Release were just the things to carve a safe path through Amegakure's poisonous mists. Dan Katō's Spirit Transformation Technique was the most discreet way to relay messages, allowing intelligence to slip through layers of security and reach the rear. As for Orochimaru, he was born to be a researcher. His instinct for locating experimental facilities and his intuition for finding information were sharper than anyone else's.
Konoha's team for finding Ibuse's poison was about as perfectly suited to the task as it could be.
"Then let's split up."
The night before they were due to enter the Land of Rain, Dan Katō spoke up.
"We'll divide into three teams and enter Amegakure separately. The village is temporarily under lockdown because of the war, but it's full of factions from the various small nations. We can disguise ourselves as merchants from other countries and investigate while we're inside."
"That could work."
Jiraiya looked around at everyone. "But there are five of us. How should we divide into three teams?"
"I'll team up with Orochimaru."
Dan Katō spoke up.
"My Spirit Transformation Technique can relay information quickly. With Orochimaru, if we find the research facility first, we can immediately send word and study the poison on the spot."
"Sounds good."
Orochimaru nodded.
"Then the three of us..."
Jiraiya looked at Uchiha Sakuya, then at Tsunade, and his heart stirred. "How about you, Tsunade, and I..."
"Heh. Wouldn't it be better for Sakuya and Tsunade to team up, and Jiraiya to go alone?"
Orochimaru glanced at Jiraiya with a quiet chuckle.
"Sakuya is the strongest of the five of us, and Tsunade's Medical Ninjutsu is the most crucial part of this mission. Having the strongest person protect our most important medic makes sense, doesn't it?"
"Orochimaru has a point."
Dan Katō nodded, then looked at Jiraiya.
"What do you think, Jiraiya?"
"Well, actually... I'm pretty strong, too."
Jiraiya lowered his head with a pained expression, though he only offered a mild objection.
At least for now, in his early twenties, his strength was merely that of an ordinary elite jōnin. His Sage Mode from Mount Myoboku was still incomplete, and he was nowhere near Uchiha Sakuya, who had already reached the peak of the Three Tomoe stage.
"Then we'll go with Katō's suggestion. Tsunade, you and I will team up."
Sakuya nodded to her. "Okay?"
"I-it's not like I have to team up with you."
Tsunade had been about to agree, but when she saw Sakuya's calm expression, utterly devoid of excitement, she suddenly felt a little flustered.
"Then can I team up with Tsunade!?"
Jiraiya's eyes lit up, and he asked excitedly at once.
"No. You can go alone."
Tsunade immediately shot him down.
"Hey, how could you..."
Jiraiya instantly slumped.
"Tsunade, stop being so childish."
Sakuya looked at her seriously. "Let's go with Katō's suggestion."
Ever since he'd learned what Tsunade was like, he'd changed his approach and come up with a different way to handle this version of her.
If Tsunade at this age was a little tsundere, then the best way to deal with her was to be direct.
Aside from the simplest, most straightforward approach, he should respond to everything Tsunade did as if he understood her perfectly, but never make the first move.
The key was to keep a tsundere character emotionally off balance.
As long as he kept that tension going until the end of this simulation, everything he'd set up beforehand would bear fruit the moment he died.
That would guarantee completion of the third mission in this simulation.
Under Sakuya's gaze, Tsunade's face grew hot, and she couldn't meet his eyes.
"I-I know."
She pouted as she answered. "Let's go with Katō's suggestion."
Watching her like this, Jiraiya rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
Was this for real? Tsunade was usually so bold with everyone else, practically like a man. But in front of Uchiha Sakuya, she actually became like this?
A woman in love could change so completely that she seemed like a stranger.
He was a little jealous of Sakuya.
If only Tsunade would act like that around him.
Jiraiya, the Sage of Mount Myoboku who had secretly loved Tsunade since childhood, thought to himself.
But unfortunately, the woman he loved only ever looked at other men that way.
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