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Mastermind of the Akatsuki 190
🕑 Added 2024-10-22 11:00:09 +0000 UTCChapter 190: Are You Ready?
A few days later, the Konoha front faced a large-scale attack from the Cloud ninjas.
At first, Jiraiya, Fugaku, and Kakashi, among other Jonin, thought this was just another feint by the Cloud ninjas, similar to previous feints. The purpose was to distract Konoha’s elite forces and then take the opportunity to assault the Konoha camp.
However, as outposts along the border began to go missing one by one, Jiraiya and the others gradually realized something was amiss—this time, the Cloud ninjas did not seem to be feigning an attack but were genuinely preparing to assault the Konoha camp.
At that moment, a Hyuga Jonin who had gone to scout the front line entered the command room.
Jiraiya noticed the Hyuga Jonin responsible for reconnaissance and quickly asked, “Hiashi, are the Cloud ninjas really on their way here?”
Hiashi nodded. “The Byakugan’s insight does not lie. I indeed saw hundreds of ninjas heading towards the camp, and among them, several leading ninjas possessed immense chakra—they should be the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.”
Jiraiya nodded; he trusted Hiashi’s judgment.
Although this Hyuga Jonin was from the branch family, his strength was on par with the main family head, Hizashi Hyuga. The two were even twin brothers.
At this moment, Shikaku Nara seemed to remember something and asked Hiashi, “Only two individuals possess chakra at the level of Tailed Beasts? There’s no third person?”
Hiashi shook his head, “Only these two since the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, Yugito Nii, is not in the group; she might still be within the borders of the Land of Fire.”
Upon hearing this, Shikaku and Jiraiya exchanged glances, feeling a bit relieved.
On the side, Uchiha Fugaku said, “Hiashi, Yugito Nii is already dead at Shisui’s hands. Its natural for her absence from the group.”
“Yugito is dead?” Hiashi’s eyes widened.
Due to the information being kept confidential for the time being, the news of the Two-Tails Jinchuriki's death had not yet been made public as on one hand, they hadn’t found her body, and on the other, Konoha’s higher-ups didn’t want to provoke Kumogakure.
Jiraiya nodded and then said, “Yugito Nii is indeed dead. This large-scale attack by the Cloud ninjas is likely related to that, but if the Fourth Raikage and Killer B are leading the charge, it’s going to be very difficult for us to win.”
“Very difficult…”
Hiashi fell silent as that was a rather euphemistic way for Jiraiya to put it.
In reality, on the battlefield against Kumogakure, the Cloud ninjas had been at a significant advantage. This was partly due to their larger number of Jonin and partly because the Fourth Raikage and Killer B were incredibly strong together.
At that moment, Choza Akimichi seemed to remember something and asked Jiraiya, “Lord Jiraiya, hasn’t the Hokage sent anyone to support us yet?”
Jiraiya’s expression changed slightly as he shook his head, saying, “The village still has to defend against attacks from Iwagakure and Kirigakure. They don’t have any extra personnel at the moment since the current personnel are already at their limit.”
Hiashi expressed some confusion, saying, “What about Lord Orochimaru? Why hasn’t Lord Orochimaru come to support the front line? With Danzo Shimura and Homura Mitokado on the Iwagakure and Kirigakure fronts, isn’t that enough?”
“I don’t know. Orochimaru seems to have gone missing recently, and there hasn’t been much news.”
Jiraiya was also quite helpless. He had prided himself on his intelligence network, yet he couldn’t locate Orochimaru recently, which left him feeling frustrated and worried.
Hearing that the village could hardly provide support, the morale of the ninjas present undoubtedly dropped significantly.
Without a second shadow-level powerhouse, they might truly struggle against the AB combination.
Although the Ino-Shika-Cho trio could resist shadow-level powerhouses in a short-term engagement, it was merely resistance. The Cloud side also had similarly strong Jonin combinations that could exert pressure on them.
At this moment, Fugaku Uchiha spoke up:
“Commander Jiraiya, although the Cloud ninja side is coming in full force, our village is not without the ability to resist. As for the Uchiha clan, we can at least delay the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki for some time. Moreover, since Shisui was able to take down the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, the Uchiha can handle the Eight-Tails as well.”
Upon hearing Fugaku’s words, Shikaku and the others exchanged subtle glances, but they felt it was not the right time to dampen morale.
True, Shisui had defeated the Two-Tails, but it was under circumstances that had a high degree of outside assistance.
Without Byakuya’s help, how could Shisui possibly defeat and kill the Two-Tails Jinchuriki?
For the sake of village unity, they could hold their noses and acknowledge the Uchiha’s achievements, but the Uchiha had to be aware of the truth in their hearts.
At this moment, Jiraiya seemed to remember something and said, “Byakuya should be nearby the camp. If he is willing to lend a hand, we might have a chance to defeat the Cloud.”
Shikaku replied, “If Amegakure is willing to act, it could naturally change the course of the war but how do you plan to persuade Byakuya? This battle is different from the previous ones.”
“A real man draws in others…” Jiraiya said confidently, “I believe Byakuya will firmly stand on the side of justice.”
Despite Jiraiya’s somewhat dubious statement, Shikaku felt resigned but had to trust him. If everyone truly united and brought in outside assistance, overcoming this crisis wouldn’t be too difficult.
Seeing that everyone ignoring him, Fugaku clenched his fists.
It was precisely because the other ninjas in the village looked down on the Uchiha that he wanted to achieve more merit, become the Fifth Hokage of the village, and take revenge for the humiliation he felt in that moment.
After exchanging intelligence, Jiraiya and the other Jonin began tactical discussions.
If Konoha chose to set an ambush, leveraging the terrain and waiting for the enemy, Konoha should be able to win the first wave of the attack.
However, if the enemy chose to bombard them with Tailed Beast Bombs directly, gathering for an ambush would only make them live targets...
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While Jiraiya and the others engaged in tactical discussions, Konoha’s Anbu found Byakuya outside the camp.
At this time, Byakuya was with Shisui, gazing towards the Land of Lightning, lost in thought.
Noticing the Anbu behind him, Byakuya frowned and asked, “What’s the new assignment?”
The Anbu, aware of Byakuya’s capabilities, quickly nodded and said, “Lord Jiraiya asked me to inform you that the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki are approaching this location. If possible, please assist Konoha. If you feel pressured, Lord Byakuya, you can leave now. There’s no need to get involved in the war between Konoha and the Cloud.”
Byakuya was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, “Jiraiya is still using the goading tactic. Don’t worry. I won’t leave. I was just thinking of fighting the Fourth Raikage to see how strong he really is.”
Hearing this, the Anbu respectfully nodded and then returned to the command room to report the information.
After the Konoha Anbu left, Byakuya turned to Shisui and said lightly, “Shisui, a great battle is about to begin. Are you ready?”
