"How many rebel forces are still left?" Everyone looked at Fujin, wanting to know the answer, too.
Fujin answered, "According to Kusagakure's estimates, the rebels initially had around 1,500. However, they recruited various rogue ninjas, either through money, the promise of power or through Iwagakure's manipulation, increasing their numbers to beyond 2,000.
The two forces have been clashing constantly and Kusa had two major victories, which eliminated around two-fifths of the rebel forces. However, Kagero, the rebel leader, is still at large and they still have around 1,200 ninjas. Our job would be to eliminate at least 800 ninjas and eliminate their leadership entirely."
Fujin pushed a note forward and said, "These are their current leaders. Kagero is their leader and Tsuchiro is his right hand. He has four more competent ninjas under him, who lead the armies. They are Reiko, Hisato, Shizuma and Ganku."
Hoka muttered, "This is the first time I'm hearing about them… How strong are they?"
Renjiro replied, "They are formidable; otherwise, Kusagakure wouldn't have lost hundreds of ninjas and so much of its territory.
Kagero used to be the rival of Hiroshi, the current leader of Kusagakure. In terms of strength, he is slightly stronger than Hiroshi. However, he lacks in other aspects and hence couldn't become the leader. His strength is at the Elite Jounin level by our standards.
Tuschiro is like a brother to him and always stays by his side, even during wars. He wasn't Elite Jounin level but was very close to it before they betrayed Kusagakure. Considering that it has been years since then, he too should be considered as an Elite Jounin level threat. The other four are Kagero's students. Each one of them is a formidable Jounin."
Hoka replied, "Two Elite Jounins… No wonder Kusagakure struggled so much."
Fujin agreed, "Yeah, even though they have twelve Elite Jounins, only three could have that rank if they were in Konoha. Even among those three, only Hiroshi could compete with stronger Elite Jounins like Sensei. Anyway, I heard quite a bit about Kagero during my Anbu days, but I never saw him in action. How does he fare against you, Sensei?"
Renjiro thought for a bit and replied, "It's difficult to say. I shouldn't have any issue in fighting him, but killing him will be difficult. For you, he should be rather easy to kill."
Fujin sighed and replied, "Yeah, but that'd be rather boring…"
All four of them looked at Fujin with a deadpan expression. Fujin chuckled and replied, "It is what it is. If I fight, then it won't be a war and our army won't get any practice. So, I'll be staying back and will only interfere if our losses cross a certain threshold or if Iwagakure decides to reinforce the faction they nurtured."
Before anyone could reply, Fujin looked at Hoka and said, "Hoka, you'll be responsible for taking out Kagero. You won't receive any assistance from me or Sensei, but you can use your division's help. Illumi-san, you'll be dealing with Tsuchiro."
A glint appeared in Hoka's eyes. He realized that Fujin was giving him an opportunity to establish his reputation. Killing someone like Kagero would make Hoka very famous throughout Konoha and even make other villages take note of him.
While Fujin had asked Hoka to maintain a low profile earlier, things had changed. Hoka had performed splendidly during the assault, making everyone, especially the Hyuga clan, take note of him. So, Hoka was understandably worried about Hiashi making a move on him in the dark.
However, if Hoka's performance was amazing, Fujin's performance was downright terrifying. Hoka knew that Hiashi wouldn't do anything foolish enough to attract Fujin's ire. After all, not only was Fujin's strength terrifying, but he also had a fearsome reputation for acting in the dark.
Fujin's deterrence along with the fact that Hoka had already exposed his strength meant that Hoka had no reason to continue acting conservatively. Instead, he had to go all out and build his own reputation.
Hoka immediately nodded, "Alright, I'll take care of him."
Illumi nodded as well and said, "This should be interesting. Don't worry, I'll take care of Tuschiro."
Konomi asked, "Who will I deal with?"
Fujin replied, "I have some other ideas for you and your division, but I haven't finalized them yet. Let's wait for the scrolls to arrive from Konoha. For now, ask the communication unit to pass a message to Shikaku-san. Inform him that we'll stay here till it is dark. So, he can send the messenger birds here. Also, inform him that we'll need more medical ninjas. 30 won't be enough for this campaign."
Konomi asked, "How many should we ask for?"
Fujin replied, "Just tell him to send as many as he can spare. If he doesn't send enough, let him know that I'll talk with him next."
Illumi raised an eyebrow and asked, "And that'll convince him to send more?"
Fujin casually replied, "Not really. He'll just do it to avoid unneeded headaches."
Once again, Konomi and Illumi were left speechless while Hoka and Renjiro sighed. Konomi wondered, 'Is he calling himself a headache?'
Illumi thought, 'Interesting. I didn't think Shikaku would be traumatized by him of all people. I'm now looking forward even more to how he'll lead the army.'
Fujin said, "We'll end the meeting here. Have your units practice this updated combination for some time before letting them rest. As soon as the darkness sets in, we'll move rapidly and steadily across this country. By the time the Sun rises, we'll be in the Land of Grass! Konomi, let me know how many medical ninjas Shikaku-san sends."
Konomi, Hoka and Illumi nodded before leaving. Renjiro asked, "So, what are the 'other' ideas on your mind?'
A smile crept on Fujin's face.
Back in Konoha, Shikaku thought in annoyance, 'That brat… Did he have to pass that mild threat? That said, he isn't wrong. Even though we have to crush this rebel group, we can't have high casualties. It'll have the opposite impact of what we intend."
Shikaku thought for a bit before deciding, 'Leave it. We have already healed most of the ninjas who had only minor injuries. So, we don't need as many Medical ninjas as we did a few days ago.'
Shikaku ordered another 15 squads of Medical ninjas and trainees to move towards a patrol camp close to the border with the Land of Grass, tripling the number of Medical ninjas in Fujin's army.
While they moved, Fujin finally received the scrolls from Konoha at dusk. The leaders gathered once again in Fujin's tent, along with a few Jounins from the Nara clan. Everyone was staring at the map of the Land of Grass.
After some time, Fujin said, "This makes things very clear. The rebels initially had six provinces under their control. However, Kusa has taken back control of three provinces. The rebels currently have just the Tsuchioka, Midorino and Kagetani provinces under their control.
Kagero is believed to be in the valleys of Kagetani with his main army. Tuschiro is handling the affairs in the hilly regions of Midorino. While Reiko and Hisato are controlling their forces in the grassy plains of Tsuchioka."
Hoka asked, "What's the plan?"
Fujin replied, "Since they are separated, we can't destroy the entire army in one swoop. However, it'll increase our numerical advantage even further."
Fujin picked up a pencil and put a cross mark on the Tsuchioka province. He said, "Our first target will be Tsuchioka. We'll hit them hard and fast and finish off this group before they realize they're under attack. The next move will depend on how they react."
Fujin turned his gaze towards others and asked, "Do any of you have a different opinion?"
Everyone shook their heads. Since everyone agreed, they began discussing the plan of attack. Needless to say, the Nara Jounins handled most of these matters.
In the Fire Capital, most people were talking about Konoha's army that was camped just a dozen kilometers away. Due to the nature of the mission, Fujin hadn't hidden his traces. Instead, the army trained grandly, attracting a lot of attention. Even though no one was allowed close to the camps, many noticed it from a distance as they travelled. Several hundred civilians even made a trip to see a glimpse of the strong Konoha ninjas. However, once the darkness covered the skies, Fujin's army wrapped up the entire camp and stealthily left. No one was aware of their departure.
In the Land of Grass, two ninjas wearing Kusagakure's headband were moving along the grass. One of them yawned and muttered, "Do we have to keep patrolling so early in the morning? After the beating we gave the rebels, they won't dare to step out of that little valley."
The ninja next to him scolded, "Stop being lazy. Even though they're hurt, they still have a lot of force. If we're caught off guard, thousands of people will die!"
The first ninja sighed, "You are too paranoi…"
His words froze as his eyes widened. His partner was shocked too as neither of them could move a muscle. Before either of them could realize what was happening, both were knocked out!
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