Learning an A-rank Jutsu

After grumbling inwardly about White Fang's disregard for the bigger picture, Hiruzen Sarutobi began accelerating the recall of shinobi scattered everywhere.

At the same time, with the cooperation of several advisers, the work of assembling armies on every front quickly got underway.

The other four major shinobi villages had all suffered severe losses in the Second Shinobi World War, but Iwagakure's Ninja Academy had developed the fastest, so more manpower needed to be deployed there.

Sunagakure was the most aggressive. Powerful fighters had to be sent to intimidate them. They had puppet masters, so Tsunade should have led the team, but unfortunately, she had developed hemophobia. Jiraiya would have to go instead.

Jiraiya had happened to go to the Land of Rain again not long ago, and it was not far from the Land of Rivers.

Kirigakure could be set aside for now. A small number of shinobi would be sent to monitor them first. Once the other three major shinobi villages had been dealt with, Konoha could focus on resolving the Kirigakure problem.

As for Kumogakure...

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced once more at the letter he had set aside, and anger rose in his heart.

He had already figured it out. White Fang's affair had been Kumogakure's scheme from beginning to end.

Kumogakure must have colluded with Danzo!

It had to have been Chiba Shun from that Ninja Academy exchange delegation last time.

Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure had reacted so quickly because Kumogakure had informed them in advance!

But how had Kumogakure guessed that White Fang would commit suicide?

Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered for a long time but still could not make sense of it.

Could Kumogakure have seen through White Fang's personality long ago?

But during the Second Shinobi World War, White Fang had mainly operated on the Sunagakure battlefield. When had Kumogakure ever come into contact with White Fang?

Hiruzen Sarutobi could not figure it out, but there was no need to think about it now. He had to make a decision.

A moment later, he called back all the advisers, including Danzo, and said, "Danzo, you will lead a team to the Land of Grass border to guard against Iwa Shinobi."

"I will have Jiraiya head to the Land of Rivers, Orochimaru go to the Land of Whirlpools border, and Tsunade remain behind in the village."

After a pause, he said, "I will personally head to the Land of Moon and form an alliance with the Third Raikage!"

Utatane Koharu said, "Hiruzen, isn't it excessive to send Kage Level fighters to the battlefield right from the start?"

Utatane Koharu's thinking was still stuck in the era of the First and Second Shinobi World Wars.

Back then, each village had only one Kage Level fighter, who often needed to remain behind to guard the village. As a result, major frontline battles were fought between ordinary shinobi.

A jinchuriki would occasionally appear.

But the situation was different now.

Hiruzen Sarutobi saw it clearly. Though the four major shinobi villages appeared to be coming in force, they were all paper tigers.

As long as Konoha displayed enough strength, it could quickly frighten them into retreating.

After all, everyone was still licking the wounds left by the Second Shinobi World War.

But if Konoha failed to appear flawless from the start, it might amplify every side's ambitions. Then the Third Shinobi World War might truly break out.

Konoha could send one Kage Level fighter to each of the four battlefields, but it currently had no jinchuriki capable of fighting at full strength.

The other villages, however, had jinchuriki in addition to their respective Kage. Konoha could not possibly fight one against four.

They had to crush every village's ambitions at the very beginning.

Danzo was deeply dissatisfied with Hiruzen Sarutobi's arrangements. He did not want to go to the front lines; he wanted to remain behind and guard the village.

If he could stay in Konoha while Hiruzen Sarutobi was away, there would be far too many things he could manipulate!

But Hiruzen Sarutobi would not give him that chance.

Hiruzen Sarutobi would rather leave the hemophobic Tsunade behind than trust him.

Danzo was furious and was about to retort, "Hiruzen..."

But Hiruzen Sarutobi interrupted him. "White Fang's trusted subordinates will all be placed under your command."

Danzo immediately shut his mouth. It was a windfall from heaven.

When he had negotiated with Chiba Shun last time, he had already been considering those people.

At the time, he had thought that it would be perfect if he could win White Fang's subordinates over after suppressing White Fang.

But now, the situation seemed even more perfect. He could force those people into Root openly and legitimately, then plant each of them with the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal!

Danzo's Root had only just begun developing and did not have many powerful fighters. Otherwise, Chiba Shun could not possibly have survived the previous assassination attempt.

But with the addition of White Fang's trusted subordinates, Root's strength could immediately undergo explosive growth.

Of course, Danzo's ambitions would expand right along with it.

After using White Fang's trusted subordinates to win Danzo over, Hiruzen Sarutobi's will was quickly put into effect.

Konoha's shinobi were swiftly mobilized. Even the peace faction within the Uchiha Clan sent people to support Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Meanwhile, Kumogakure had reached the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Water even before Konoha began mobilizing.

However, Kumogakure remained restrained and did not send its army directly into the Land of Fire.

After all, the Third Raikage's letter to Hiruzen Sarutobi had made it very clear that they had come to sign an alliance treaty.

Of course, he could not restrain his subordinates completely. If a few small-scale clashes occurred, Hiruzen Sarutobi surely would not make a big issue out of them.

Only then did Chiba Shun learn just how severe Kumogakure's losses had been during the Second Shinobi World War.

To create momentum, even a Ninja Academy desk worker like him had been conscripted to the front lines this time.

Sakai Yushi, who had only recently completed his promotion, had come as well, along with A and Killer B.

Two of A's subordinates had died in the battle where they had been ambushed by Kirigakure shinobi last time, while another was still recovering from his injuries.

So he had brought Chiba Shun and Sakai Yushi along, and he had also dragged in his dear little brother, Killer B.

Last time, Killer B had sparred with Chiba Shun and Sakai Yushi for a long time and used a large amount of chakra, yet the Eight-Tails had shown no unusual reaction.

The higher-ups concluded that Killer B got along well with the tailed beast and possessed the potential to become a perfect jinchuriki.

This operation was also a test for Killer B.

Chiba Shun was delighted to be going to the battlefield.

Because everyone participating in the war could receive supplies from the village.

It could be said that the village would cover all of the shinobi's expenses from here on out!

For example, Chiba Shun had received a large quantity of supplies from the village.

He was already a Special Jonin, so the supplies he could claim were extremely considerable.

He received ten Explosive Tags alone. At three thousand ryo each, that was thirty thousand ryo.

Adding kunai, senbon, soldier pills, and the like, Chiba Shun had received nearly fifty thousand ryo worth of supplies for free.

And beyond those basic supplies, all three daily meals were free.

The food was meant to rapidly replenish what they expended, and there was all they could eat. They could eat as much as they wanted.

On the other side, the Konoha shinobi who had originally been carrying out missions within the Land of Fire had already returned, but that did not mean there were no other shinobi at the Land of Fire border.

In fact, to monitor Kumogakure's army movements, Konoha had sent out several elite reconnaissance shinobi ahead of its main force.

Chiba Shun and the others were targeting those reconnaissance shinobi.

Though Konoha had been the source of White Fang's suicide, its war preparations had fallen a step behind the other four sides.

Therefore, before Konoha's army reached the front lines, elite teams like Chiba Shun's had dispersed and infiltrated the Land of Fire, hunting Konoha's reconnaissance shinobi.

A, Killer B, Sakai Yushi, and Chiba Shun formed a four-man team that continuously searched for and killed Konoha shinobi.

A noticed Chiba Shun's current unusual state, so he took good care of him. In several battles, he created opportunities for Chiba Shun to fight Konoha Jonin alone.

Of course, Konoha Jonin were generally stronger than Kirigakure Jonin. Though Chiba Shun had improved considerably lately, he was still far from being a match for them.

Most of the time, he still needed A and the others to support him.

For instance, this time, A and the other two quickly finished their battle, leaving Chiba Shun to face a Konoha ninjutsu-type Jonin alone.

Konoha shinobi were well-rounded in strength. Though this one specialized in ninjutsu, he also had some skill in taijutsu.

Chiba Shun first closed in and entangled him in close combat, intending to finish him with swordsmanship while his attention was still focused on his three subordinates.

However, though Chiba Shun's Four-Sword Style left his opponent looking somewhat disheveled, it did not defeat him outright.

After Chiba Shun cut several wounds across his left arm, the man successfully broke free from him.

Then came an exchange of ninjutsu.

Because Chiba Shun had spent a long time studying A-rank Jutsu, he had not trained much in other ninjutsu.

The only offensive ninjutsu he knew were several C-rank Jutsu obtained from Konoha, and they required lengthy hand seals. As a result, this Konoha Jonin quickly taught him a harsh lesson.

In the end, A and the other two acted together and quickly ended the battle.

Chiba Shun adjusted his breathing and remained silent.

Strictly speaking, this was Chiba Shun's first real shinobi battle.

The previous fights within Kumogakure and the battles against Kirigakure shinobi had all been sudden and swift.

Chiba Shun had never been too nervous, but after frequently clashing with Konoha's powerful fighters in the Land of Fire recently, his mindset quickly changed.

This was war!

Even if it was only the preliminary probing before a true war, it could not compare to his previous battles against Kirigakure shinobi.

After battle after battle, Chiba Shun's will had finally strengthened somewhat as well.

A was somewhat disappointed by Chiba Shun's performance. He had thought that with Chiba Shun's talent, after so many battles, he should have completed an increase in willpower and become a Jonin.

Yet although Chiba Shun's improvement was obvious, he still had not undergone a direct transformation.

But Chiba Shun's mindset was good. He did not think he was progressing slowly. He had already assessed his own talent accurately. He was not a genius like A; slow improvement was normal.

He closed his eyes and pressed his fingers against the ground, carefully probing the surrounding area.

It was the B-rank Sensory Jutsu he had learned.

He did not actually need to close his eyes to use sensory jutsu, but doing so gave him a wider range of perception.

A moment later, he shook his head and said, "There are no Konoha people nearby."

A considered it and said, "Let's go a little farther."

Killer B said, "Stupid big brother, idiot big brother, any farther and we'll be too deep in."

"It's already been five days. Konoha shinobi will be here soon."

Chiba Shun also said, "Yeah, Konoha must be mobilizing by now. They may have already finished."

"If we go in too deep, it'll be bad if we run into Konoha's main force."

"By then, if we become Konoha's hostages, Lord Raikage probably won't get any benefits when he signs the alliance treaty."