Chapter 702 : A New Moniker! (Patreon)

A worried expression appeared on Hiruzen's face as he asked, “Are you sure Fujin would accept this role without any complaints?”

Shikaku replied casually, “As troublesome as that boy is, he doesn't have the ego that most other rank S ninjas have. You can't imagine how thankful I am for that. So, it shouldn't be an issue.”

Hiruzen didn't reply but complained internally, ‘Sure he doesn't have an ego, but he makes me pay for any injustice he suffers, even if that injustice is imaginary! Sigh, I hope Shikaku is correct. I don't want to spend money to craft another sword.’

Shikaku suddenly said, “That said, this will likely be the first time Fujin will fight in the open in front of everyone. Or rather, it'll be the first time after he became a rank S ninja. Even though he fought Orochimaru twice, that battle wasn't witnessed by many. Considering the role he'll play, it is also a good time to give him an official moniker.”

Hiruzen snapped out of his thoughts and nodded. He replied, “True. The Spectral Swordsman can't be used openly. And, even if we deny it, it'll be troublesome if our enemies keep calling him by that name for decades as it could drive a wedge between us and our allies. Do you have any thoughts on a new moniker for Fujin?”

Shikaku smiled and said, “Considering what his missions have been, what his role would be in this battle and his current moniker, it's a rather simple answer. I can't think of a more appropriate moniker than Konoha's Sword.”

Hiruzen chuckled and said, “That's very fitting. Konoha's Sword, a sword that cuts through our enemies. It perfectly indicates what he has been doing for the past few years. At the same time, it also carries a word from his current moniker, reminding everyone of the threat he could pose. Alright, propagate this moniker after the situation is dealt with.”

Shikaku nodded and replied, “Sure. Anyway, who do we call first?”
Hiruzen replied, “Well, Jiraiya is busy training Naruto and Kakashi is training Sasuke. Guy is with his disciple as well. The only one who is free right now is Fujin.”

Shikaku couldn't help but sigh enviously. He thought, ‘When Hokage proposed bringing Fujin into the council, I thought I could finally have some revenge for all the work he put me through. However, why is it that I'm still buried in work while he is on a never-ending vacation?’

Poor guy shed a few non-existent tears as Hiruzen sent an Anbu ninja to call for Fujin. In a few minutes, Fujin entered Shikaku's office. He looked at the maps on Shikaku's desk as well as the envy in Shikaku's eyes. With an innocent smile on his face, Fujin said, “Impressive, Shikaku-san. You're already done with the planning.”

Shikaku's expression became slightly dark, understanding the taunt behind Fujin's words. Hiruzen coughed to distract him and said, “Take a seat, Fujin. Shikaku will explain the plan and your role.”

Fujin obliged as Shikaku began explaining, “Before I tell you about your role in the war, let us first discuss who our enemies could be.”

Fujin nodded as Shikaku began explaining the situation to the person who knew more about what was about to happen than even the planners of the war despite the changes that could occur in the future. Shikaku said, “As you know, our opponents could be Sunagakure and Orochimaru. In addition, I also considered Kumogakure.

From the news we received, Kumogakure's Elder Inazuma announced his resignation and accepted the blame for everything that went wrong. This was something I considered. This means that the Raikage's position will stay stable for the time being. Even though their forces have been severely hit, it gives him more flexibility than what I had initially estimated.”

Hiruzen replied, “Yeah, that was a brilliant move. The Third Raikage left a good card behind to bail his son out.”

Shikaku nodded and said, “Yes. Even though the Fourth Raikage is strong and courageous like his father, he lacks in terms of scheming and is quick to lose his temper. That said, even though he was bailed out of trouble, he is still on thin ice. I'm confident that Kumo wouldn't join hands with Sunagakure and Orochimaru considering the risks involved. Of course, I'll prepare our forces just in case they do something completely out of the blue.”

Hiruzen replied, “Good. Let's turn our attention back to Orochimaru and Sunagakure.”

Shikaku nodded and looked at Fujin. He said, “You should be very well aware of Suna's forces. So, I won't go into too much detail and just focus on what we may have to deal with. That would depend on how they attack us. It'll be in one of the two ways we discussed earlier.

Either they'll send a small group of elites across the Land of Fire to attack us sneakily during the final round or they would invade the Land of Fire with a large army at that time.

The second case is unlikely as Suna's forces are far inferior as compared to ours. If they decide to confront us in this way, it'll mean that they're either banking on Orochimaru to engage in guerilla warfare against us and cause us heavy losses or they have convinced Kumogakure or Iwagakure to attack us from multiple fronts.

I have made contingency plans for all scenarios, but I'll explain them later as we'll have time to respond in case of a full invasion.”

Fujin nodded as Shikaku continued, “Our second opponent is Orochimaru. From the intel we received from Jiraiya-sama, Orochimaru was very active in the Land of Rice. There is a high chance that Otogakure is under his control. So, we'll be assuming that all of Otogakure's forces will be participating as well.”

Hiruzen added, “Even if that village isn't under his control, it'll be foolish to think that Orochimaru doesn't have a few highly capable shinobi under his command. Kabuto being able to escape from Kakashi is enough proof for that. It is difficult to say how many capable shinobi he raised over the last decade.”

Shikaku nodded and said, “So, our enemies will include two rank S ninjas at the minimum alongside several dozen or even hundreds of well-trained ninjas.”

Fujin nodded and said, “I figured as much. Both are rather troublesome to deal with. Will I be dealing with Orochimaru again?”

Hiruzen replied, “No. Even though you forced him to retreat twice, he'll come prepared next time for everything you showed. The battle will be completely different. I'm not underestimating you and perhaps you might still win, but it is too risky. Jiraiya will be responsible for handling him.”

Fujin replied, “Alright, that makes sense. Will I be dealing with the Kazekage then?”
A frown appeared on Fujin's face as he said, “I'm not too sure how effective my jutsus will be against the Kazekage's gold. If he can maintain his control over his gold against my Wind jutsus, then he'll be difficult to deal with. Do you know whether fire would work on it? Perhaps I could melt his gold particles.”

Hiruzen chuckled at Fujin's idea. Even though Rasa was undoubtedly the weakest Kage currently and perhaps even in history, he was still a rank S ninja. Dealing with him wouldn't be a child's play.

Shikaku replied, “Unfortunately, fire doesn't work much. If it did, he wouldn't have still been alive. I'm not too sure of your wind jutsus, but it doesn't matter. You won't be facing him either. He'll be sitting next to Hokage-sama in the final round. If he plans on attacking us, then he'll definitely sneak attack Hokage-sama in an attempt to take him down quickly. So, he'll be the one to deal with the Kazekage.”

He glanced at Hiruzen and added, “You'll have to be careful. As Fujin said, his gold can be troublesome.”

Hiruzen nodded and said, “Don't worry, I'll keep my guard up. Knowing his arrogance, he might attack me without any backup. If that's the case, I'll focus on killing him quickly. It should result in the Suna ninjas surrendering or fleeing.”

Fujin nodded but was confused. He wondered, ‘So what's my role in the battle? Take down Gaara? Deal with any unknown factors that might pop up? Or does he have something special in his mind?’