Chapter 662 : An Opportunity! (Patreon)

Shikaku continued explaining his analysis, “If you lead a small force, you'll be able to delegate tasks to others. Some will ensure that no one runs away. The stronger ones will assist you in eliminating enemy ninjas, ensuring that you don't get overwhelmed or waste too much of your chakra. You can also assign one to specifically communicate with us.

Since you still don't have much experience in leading a force, I'll assign Renjiro to join you. In addition, I'll also send Guy along with you to ensure that no one is able to put up a resistance.

As for the remaining forces, if you choose 25 ninjas, every one of them will at least be a Jounin. If you choose 50, then half will be Special Jounins. And, if you choose 100, then the last 50 will be Elite Chunins.

Considering the nature of this mission and the importance of stealth and rapid movement, a small force of 25 ninjas will be the most optimal. After all, you also have to return safely once the Raikage returns to the Land of Lightning.”

He turned his gaze towards Hiruzen and added, “While I do believe that is the best plan, Lord Hokage believes that you'd be better off by yourself…”

Hiruzen nodded and thought, ‘Under normal circumstances, I would have liked to see how Fujin performs while leading a larger force. It would have been a good practice to improve his leadership skills. However, the Land of Lightning is too dangerous.

A larger group moving together will have a higher chance of being detected. Once they are detected, Ay and others would turn around right away and head back. And Kumogakure will send an army with at least a thousand ninjas to hunt them down.

Though killing them won't be easy unless they run into Ay and Bee, we will lose a good opportunity and the mission will fail. It is better to just let him let loose with his Wind Domain technique and eliminate the entire base.’

At the same time, Fujin thought, ‘Lead a small army with Renjiro and Guy as my commanders? Damn, that would be fun! However…’

Fujin recalled the fact that he had been in less and less battles in recent times. In fact, after he had been ambushed by Kitsuchi, he had never been in a battle involving several strong enemy Jounins. Instead, he just fought against ninjas who were either rank S or very close to it. And, those battles were extremely rare as well.

Fujin thought, ‘This might be a good opportunity to test some of my jutsus that I haven't tested yet. Jutsus that I'd like to keep secret until the time is right. A mission where I have to eliminate everyone and destroy their bodies would be perfect for doing that!

In addition, if I go alone, I could seek out a battle against Ay. However, I'm not sure if I can take him on with my Akura identity. Considering that Bee is with him, I can't take them on even if I go all out… Even with Flying Thunder God, I doubt I'd be able to defeat the two of them at the same time. However, I can always escape…

Oh well, I'll decide after I visit there. Perhaps I could use Darui to sharpen my blade… Even if I don't find him, I'm sure that there are a bunch of strong Elite Jounins to practice my Lightning jutsus on. I'm sure Ay wouldn't mind some mess. If he does, he can always search for Akura.’

Hiruzen and Shikaku didn't disturb Fujin, thinking that he was analyzing what option to choose. Fujin finally looked at Shikaku and said, “I have a technique that is perfect for eliminating a large group of ninjas. In addition, I'll be able to use Wind Instantaneous Body jutsu more effectively to travel faster between the bases by myself. So, it'll be better if I go alone.”

Under normal circumstances, Shikaku would have argued against it. Instead, he just looked at Hiruzen and thought, ‘As I expected. Fujin has a technique that would make this mission easier for him. That is why Third said that he should go alone.’

Shikaku replied, “Alright, as you wish. However, we need to ensure that the communication works properly so that we can contact you whenever required. Since you'll be fighting, you won't be able to carry it on your back all the time. Without it, we won't be able to warn you of the Raikage's movements.”

Fujin nodded and said, “Yeah, carrying it on my back would be inconvenient. I'll store it in a scroll once you inform me to start. After that, we'll communicate with seals.”

Shikaku raised an eyebrow and asked, “Seals?”
Fujin nodded and said, “Yeah, seals.”

Fujin grabbed a scroll, withdrew a few communication seal tags and placed them on the desk. He said, “These seal tags work in pairs. If you damage the first one, the second will be damaged as well.

While it isn't as good as the Chakra Transmission Communication device, it can be used to pass specific messages. For instance, you can destroy the red tag to inform me to abort the mission. You can destroy the blue tag to inform me to activate the communication device as soon as I can.”

Shikaku asked suspiciously, “There are such tags? Where did you find them?”
Fujin replied neutrally, “I created them, of course. I thought you already knew.”
Shikaku replied, “Why would I be asking if I knew? Why didn't you tell anyone about such a useful invention? It'll be very helpful for communicating during missions.”
Fujin raised an eyebrow and asked, “What do you mean by not telling anyone? He knew about them for years.”
Fujin pointed towards Hiruzen while saying it. Shikaku looked at him as well and asked, “You knew? Why didn't you inform me?”
Hiruzen replied as naturally as he could, “Ah, it slipped my mind.”

Shikaku looked suspiciously at Hiruzen and wondered, ‘Did he really forget? Why do I feel like it was something else?’
At the same time, Hiruzen nervously thought, ‘Tell you? And then what? You would have made me ask for those seals from him. Do you know how greedy this boy was back then? Well, he still is, but he at least has some control now. If I had asked it from him back then, everyone in Konoha would be missing a kidney today!’

Thankfully for Hiruzen, no one could read his thoughts. Shikaku shook his head and said, “Leave it. Fujin, can you tell us the way of creating these seals?”
Fujin replied, “Sure.”

Hiruzen sighed in relief that Fujin hadn't made any demand, but was still alert. He prayed, ‘I hope he doesn’t end up asking something absurd like that sword later… Sigh, I’m too old to deal with so many headaches. How long do I have to sit here?’

At the same time, Fujin thought, ‘Even if I don't, it is quite easy to reverse engineer these seals. I'm actually surprised that Hiruzen didn't do that until now. I expected these seals to be pretty popular among the Anbu by now. I wonder why Hiruzen didn't do that…’

If Hiruzen heard Fujin's thoughts, he would have cried tears of frustration. He had that thought but didn't dare to do so fearing how Fujin might respond after knowing his seals had been replicated without asking him. Knowing how greedy Fujin was, Hiruzen knew that the price of whatever he wanted would double if he did that!

Shikaku said, “Thank you. I'll make official arrangements regarding it. Anyway, I've explained the entire plan to you. You'll leave with the decoy squad after 4 days. Prepare in any way you have to. Remember, while we will lure the Fourth Raikage and Killer Bee away, they still have Yugito, the Jinchuriki of Two Tails and Darui. You may have to face them. In ad..."

Fujin cut him off and asked, "Should I kill them as well if I encounter them?"
Fujin thought, 'I didn't think I'd get a chance to go up against Yugito. Getting Two Tails might be easier than Shukaku and wouldn't have many repercussions in the future.'

Shikaku answered, "I'd recommend just using Wind Instantaneous Body jutsu and escape if you sense them. While I don't doubt that you may be able to kill them, considering the nature of the mission, they'll be moving in large groups. It'll be extremely difficult to eliminate a rank S ninja reinforced by several Jounins and Elite Jounins."

Fujin nodded and said, "That makes sense."

Shikaku added, "Reinforcements from Kumogakure are just one factor. The bigger issue is that they might just recall everyone from the bases back to Kumogakure once they realize that someone is targeting them. So prepare accordingly. Keep the fact that you've destroyed some bases hidden for as long as you can. If you have any doubts or want to exchange any ideas or plans, approach me right away.”

Fujin thought for a bit and said, "Alright."