"And once we do this, a lot of attention from Konohagakure will be on us. That means our survival will become much harder."
Yuki paused for a moment before continuing.
"But at the same time, fighting against Konohagakure's ninjas will also weed out some of our own, which might actually make us stronger in the long run."
"I've made up my mind. Let's do it."
Dou looked around before finally speaking to Yuki.
"Alright. First, we need to find a safe place to settle the children. That way, even if we don't make it, they'll still be the hope for our future."
As he spoke, Yuki pointed to a spot on the map, marking a suitable location.
"Got it."
Dou nodded in agreement.
This wasn't an all-out war, so there was no need to involve the children.
Giving them time to grow and letting them take on less dangerous missions was the best choice.
"I have a request—can I stay with the children? I think they'll need a capable ninja to watch over them. What do you all think?"
At that moment, Kakuzu spoke up.
"You're right—the children do need someone strong to protect them. But wouldn't having a ninja as skilled as you take care of them be a waste of your abilities, Kakuzu?"
Yuki chuckled as he questioned him.
"It's fine. Someone has to do it, and I think I can handle it."
Kakuzu smiled slightly as he replied.
"Kakuzu, your skills could be put to better use elsewhere."
Yuki's tone was still lighthearted, but there was a stiffness creeping into his voice.
Sending Kakuzu to a safe but important place? Neither Yuki nor Dou would ever feel comfortable with that.
"Alright then, forget it."
Kakuzu sighed, sounding indifferent as he backed down.
But at that moment, the thought of leaving had already taken root in his mind.
Of course, he didn't say it out loud. In the ninja world, joining an organization was easy.
But leaving one… was a different story.
Yuki simply smiled and nodded before turning to look at Dou.
And in that instant, Dou caught a fleeting trace of killing intent in Yuki's eyes.
Without reacting, Dou pretended he hadn't noticed anything.
But in his heart, he understood Yuki's message loud and clear.
Kakuzu wasn't truly one of them.
They were like lost souls drifting through the ninja world, held together by nothing but sheer will.
They had made it this far because of their shared belief.
But Kakuzu wasn't like them. He was just a ninja on the run, hunted by Konohagakure, looking for shelter.
He had no reason to stand with them against Konohagakure.
But he couldn't let him go.
Kakuzu… knew too much.
"Once the kids are settled, we can't stay together anymore. If we group up again, we'll be too easy for Konohagakure to track down.
So, we have to split up. We'll only contact each other when absolutely necessary."
Yuki spoke to the other ninjas.
They all nodded in agreement. No one objected.
This kind of strategy was one of the most common in the ninja world.
For ninjas who had been trained as assassins from a young age, this was just standard procedure.
…
Konohagakure, Raijin's house.
"Tsunade-sama, is Raijin at home?"
Early in the morning, Namikaze Minato, looking exhausted, spotted Tsunade watering the garden.
A sincere look of envy flashed in his eyes.
It must be nice…
"Raijin is training. What do you need him for?"
Tsunade paused slightly, looking at Minato.
When she noticed the deep fatigue in his eyes, she pursed her lips awkwardly.
"This morning, our Konohagakure patrol found Kakuzu's body near the village…"
"Ah, Raijin is inside. Go find him."
Tsunade blinked in confusion and cut Minato off mid-sentence.
"Did you do an autopsy?"
Minato paused, pressing his lips together in slight frustration. Just as he was about to head inside to find Raijin, Raijin had already stepped out, hands behind his back.
"The body was thoroughly dealt with. But there's no doubt—it was Kakuzu."
Minato told Raijin.
This could be a small matter, or a big one.
To Konohagakure, Kakuzu wasn't much.
But to the ninja world, he was a rare and formidable warrior.
For someone like him to die so quietly, Minato felt there was more to this than met the eye.
Normally, Anbu would step in to investigate.
But Anbu didn't take orders from him, which was why Minato had come to Raijin.
"Ah… I see…"
Raijin nodded, already having a good idea of who was behind it.
"Notify Uchiha Motohide from the Konohagakure Police Force, Senju Osamu from Anbu, and Nara Shikaku, the leader of the Jonin squad. Hmm… also call Nawaki and his Team 7."
Raijin instructed Minato.
The Nara clan had always led the Jonin squads in Konohagakure.
Nara Shikaku, who was in the same generation as Minato, had been pulled into work by his father a long time ago.
Now, he had become the captain of Konohagakure's Jonin unit.
Like all the previous captains, he was highly capable.
"Alright."
Minato was briefly stunned but then nodded.
At first, he thought he just needed to inform Raijin and let the Anbu handle the investigation.
He didn't expect that so many people had to be notified.
After all, these were the kind of people who, with just a nod in the Hokage's office, could make the entire shinobi world tremble.
"Alright."
Even though he had some doubts, Namikaze Minato didn't show them.
Whether it was necessary or not wasn't the point.
Even if Raijin-sama just wanted to evaluate the Jonin unit, the Konoha Police Force, and the Anbu, what was wrong with that?
Nothing at all.
"Wait a moment."
Just as Minato was about to leave, Raijin called out to him.
"Do you need something else, Raijin-sama?"
Minato paused and turned back to ask.
"You've been working hard lately, haven't you?"
Raijin chuckled, shook his head, and took a couple of steps forward. He placed a hand on Minato's shoulder.
"It's alright. I think I can keep going."
Minato smiled bitterly in response.
"Even if you can't, I wouldn't give you a break anyway."
Raijin smirked and pretended to sound threatening.
"But… I do think you should start training a few trustworthy people to help ease your burden."
Raijin continued.
"Yeah, once this situation is dealt with, I'll start looking for some reliable people."
Minato nodded.
"I trust Jiraiya's judgment, and everyone recognizes your talent, so I hope you can focus more on your training."
Raijin nodded as well. To be honest, seeing Minato this exhausted made him feel a little guilty.
"Understood."
Minato nodded and smiled.
"How about tonight? Come over for dinner."
Raijin suggested.
"If Kushina is free, she should come too."
Raijin added another comment.
"Alright, then excuse me."
Hearing this, Namikaze Minato nodded and spoke to Raijin.
"Mm, go ahead."
Raijin nodded back, watching as Namikaze Minato left.
"You feeling guilty now?"
Tsunade glanced in the direction Minato had gone, then turned to Raijin with her arms crossed, leaning against the garden fence as she asked with a teasing smile.
"Unlike that Hokage, at least you actually feel guilty."
Raijin shot Tsunade a sideways glance, then leaned against the fence as well, rubbing his forehead.
Guiding natural energy at high intensity for long periods still took a toll on the body.
"Hmph!"
Tsunade scoffed, looking away in annoyance.
She knew Raijin was taking a jab at her—reminding her how, when she was Hokage, she had dumped all her responsibilities onto him.
"Just Kakuzu died, is that really worth notifying so many people?"
After a moment, Tsunade spoke again, questioning Raijin.
"Is the Third Hokage asking her Hokage Guard Captain about village affairs?"
Raijin turned to look at Tsunade, raising an eyebrow with a faint smile.
"Of course not. The Hokage Guard Captain has only one duty—to protect the Hokage."
Tsunade shook her head, then suddenly flipped her hand, lifting Raijin's chin with one finger.
"Right now, I'm asking as your secretary."
Raijin completely ignored Tsunade's flirtatious gaze and brushed her hand aside.
"Our enemies aren't just Jigen. We also have the surviving members of Kumogakure and Kirigakure."
With a helpless sigh, Raijin continued.
"Right now, in the ninja world, the only ones capable of leaving Kakuzu's body near Konohagakure are them. If it really was them, then Kakuzu was just the beginning. Our business associations outside the village, the ninjas on missions, and even our production bases will all face different levels of threats."
"Them?"
Tsunade was momentarily stunned. It had been so long that she had almost forgotten about those people.
It wasn't that she didn't care about them, but the threat from Uchiha Madara and Jigen had been so overwhelming that their presence had completely overshadowed the rats hiding in the dark corners.
"Yeah."
Raijin nodded, a hint of seriousness flashing in his eyes.
The saying goes: "Those with nothing to lose don't fear those who do."
No matter how strong Konohagakure was, they couldn't expect every ninja operating outside the village to be just as strong.
The ninja world was vast, and by using the right strategies, enemies could easily create situations where they had the numbers advantage.
Losses were inevitable.
"But if that's the case, why would they expose their plans so openly? Wouldn't it be smarter to stay hidden and act in secret?"
Tsunade frowned slightly at the words, looking at Raijin with some confusion.
"Is this a show of force? If my guess is right, they've probably already made their move. Maybe the news of Konohagakure's actions and their attack on Konohagakure will come at the same time."
Raijin shook his head, then started walking toward the Hokage's office.
"Shall we go together, Hokage?"
As he walked, he turned to Tsunade and asked.
"Let's go together."
Tsunade nodded and followed him.
— Hokage's Office —
"Sorry for being late."
By the time Raijin arrived at the office, all the summoned shinobi were already there.
"Aren't you going to explain why you're late?"
Uchiha Motohide casually asked.
"Ah… I was just reporting this incident to Lord Hokage."
Raijin grinned and answered.
Saying that, he sat down with Tsunade. His eyes immediately fell on Team 7, standing upright at their first-ever Konohagakure high-level meeting.
He glanced at them but didn't say anything, instead getting straight to the point.
"This situation is urgent, so I'll get right to the decision."
Looking around, Raijin addressed the gathered shinobi.
"The Konohagakure Police Force will leave behind the necessary personnel to maintain order in the village. The Anbu will also keep essential personnel on standby. The rest will be temporarily assigned under Nara Shikaku's command.
Shikaku, your job is to divide the areas based on all of Konohagakure's external operations, covering each point and expanding from there. Make sure our assets take as little damage as possible."
"What's going on?"
Uchiha Motohide was stunned and asked Raijin in confusion.
"I believe the surviving members of Kirigakure and Kumogakure are about to attack Konohagakure."
Raijin answered.
"Hey! This was supposed to be your responsibility. It's been so long, and you still haven't gathered any useful intel?"
Motohide turned to Senju Osamu with frustration.
"They're shinobi. They move around. The Anbu only has so many people—what do you expect us to find?"
Senju Osamu's face turned slightly red. The difficulty was real, but it was also true that they hadn't paid enough attention to the survivors of Kirigakure and Kumogakure.
"Hmph…"
Uchiha Motohide glanced at Senju Osamu with disdain and said no more.
"Namikaze Minato will be in charge of logistics and coordination."
Raijin assigned the task to Minato.
"Understood."
Minato nodded.
(End of chapter)
---
-----
Read +20 advanced chapters on my patreon
patreon.com/GustinaKamiya
---