Hokage Tower.
Time:2:00am.
Hiruzen, Shikaku and the Anbu commander codenamed Ox were looking over several reports sent by the reconnaissance teams. The old kage had his eyes focused on the reports Danzo had sent earlier. He was in deep thoughts as he looked at all the information.
'Even though I've had people look into Orochimaru and his movements, I haven't gotten as much information as Danzo. Does that mean his Root network is more extensive than I anticipated or is it possible that Orochimaru is able to completely avoid my Anbu.'
Hiruzen took a puff from his tobacco pipe and leaned back in his chair. 'No. The ones I've assigned to this task aren't incompetent. Then why is there such a big gap in the information I have on him?'
The old Kage turned to two of the highest commanding shinobi under him. "So what do you think?"
It was the masked Anbu commander who replied first. "Seven locations. Three of them near towns and two of them near areas with somewhat open terrain and two others near the mountains region with several tunnels going underground. All of them have around two dozen mercenaries guarding it. Based on the observations made by the Hyuga and the Inuzuka on the teams, many of them have Chunin level chakra. And some have shown the usage of Orochimaru's Curse seal with strange powers. So there is the possibility that there are more hidden among them with similar abilities."
"But no one could confirm the presence of Orochimaru himself or Tsunade or her student in any of those locations?" Hiruzen muttered with a sigh.
"No sir. There are barriers blocking the sensor ninjas and the Hyuga. Even the Aburame's insects aren't able to get in." The head of the Anbu division replied.
"These seven hideouts are spread across the Fire country. So we can't have a single heavy attack unit attack each base and move on to the next. That's too inefficient. It'll take too long." Hiruzen said, looking at the map marked with the location of the enemy bases.
"And if we try to attack all seven at the same time, that movement will be too big to conceal and there will be a lack of manpower in the village. It will leave the village vulnerable." The Anbu commander found the problem with the second way of attack.
The Hokage nodded agreeing with him. 'If I didn't have to guard against Danzo this wouldn't be such a headache. I need to have an understanding of all variables before I make my choice.'
Hiruzen crossed his arms and then looked at the other ninja present in the room. "Shikaku. You're silent."
The head of the Nara clan turned to the Hokage with a grim face which put the old kage on alert. "What is it, Shikaku?"
"I think I know why Danzo was able to gather more information on Orochimaru than us... Because he didn't."
The Jonin commander had the attention of both the Anbu head and the Hokage.
Hiruzen slightly narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean? That Orochimaru gave him that information?"
At Shikaku's silence both ninjas were shocked.
"Wait! Are you implying that Danzo is still in contact with Orochimaru?" The Anbu asked.
Shikaku shook his head. "No. Not necessarily. I believe that Orochimaru found out about Danzo spying on him and then fed him all this intel without Danzo realizing it."
"What makes you say that?" Hiruzen asked.
Shikaku took several papers and handed them to the kage and the Anbu. "I've been analyzing all the data and information compiled with the analysis teams all day. Danzo's report was meticulous. It showed when and where his agents got the intel on Orochimaru's movement. Individually, there is nothing abnormal about it. But if you put all of them together then an irregularity shows. It's small and even I would have skipped past it on any other day."
While the old kage and the Anbu were looking over the documents Shikaku continued.
"It's not easily detectable. But the timing and the way Danzo got all these details. It just didn't sit right with me. I've been thinking about this from Orochimaru's perspective. If he decides to abduct Lady Tsunade then he knows that we will retaliate. So he needs a way to contain us without using up too much of his resources. The best way to do that is to make sure we have a bigger problem than him at that time."
It only took a few seconds for Hiruzen to figure out what Shikaku meant. His eyes slightly widened in shock. "Danzo."
Shikaku nodded. "Yes. Orochimaru would know of Danzo's ambition to take your position. So he's creating an opportunity for Danzo without the man even realizing it."
The Anbu commander was also starting to understand the snake sannin's plan. He looked over the documents again and he was starting to see what Shikaku saw. "Orochimaru was leaving breadcrumbs for Danzo to follow. If the bait was too obvious then Danzo would suspect something. But if it was too small his Root agents would miss it."
"Yes." Shikaku then looked at the Hokage and told his theory. "I believe Orochimaru anticipated you going to Danzo for more information on him. You'd find out about the seven bases in Fire country and investigate. Then once you have all the information you'd launch an attack on those bases all at once. Orochimaru wants us to be uncertain of Lady Tsunade's location. It's why he went to the trouble of creating barriers that impair the Byakugan and block sensor ninjas."
"But why? It seems too wasteful and pointless. This whole strategy is only costing Orochimaru. Why would he build seven bases just to offer it as a sacrifice? Even if it's to stall us, there are far more efficient methods." The Anbu asked the Nara clan head.
"That's because Orochimaru didn't build those hideouts to stall us. He built it to give Danzo an opportunity." Hiruzen answered the question.
Shikaku turned to the Hokage and nodded. "Yes. It's what I was thinking. Time is not on our side. To attack those bases individually is impractical. Our best option is to quickly launch an assault on all of them. Right now, we've increased our border patrol and tightened security around the country. And it's stretched us thin. On top of that, if we launch an all out attack on Orochimaru's seven bases it would leave our village with lack of manpower… Well to be precise it would leave you 'Lord Hokage' with sufficiently less shinobi. You'd be at your weakest."
"And that would be too tempting of an opportunity for Danzo to not do anything. He'd launch a coup' and fight for this seat." Hiruzen was shocked as he didn't expect such cunning from his student. 'Move your enemy without being moved by them. Danzo thought he had an upper hand on Orochimaru all the while Orochimaru was playing him like a puppet.'
Hiruzen took the pipe and crossed his arms. He leaned back in his chair and let out a smoky breath. "An internal strife would keep us occupied and give Orochimaru more than enough time to accomplish whatever he's planning."
"Yes. I believe that's also the reason he let Tsunade's pet escape." Shikaku spoke. He saw the Hokage's gaze and explained. "It's been bothering me. Orochimaru would take so many precautions but let a small pet escape his clutches that would have valuable intel and have us on guard against him? No. Orochimaru wanted it. He let that happen so we would do as he anticipated."
"The one thing I have a feeling he didn't count on, is me being so on guard against Danzo." Hiruzen let out a breath and said.
"But for this plan to work, Orochimaru must be sure that Danzo would take the opportunity to attack you. How can you be certain of this?" At the Anbu captain's question, Shikaku looked at the kage.
Hiruzen sighed tiredly and replied. "Danzo has sleeper agents among the forces. All of them are in key areas and there are some even amongst the Anbu. I only told Shikaku about it a few hours ago."
The Anbu commander was shocked at that intel. He understood the need for the kage to keep something like this a secret. 'He must have had someone carry out an extensive investigation on this matter. Even I must have been under scrutiny.'
The masked ninja then glanced at Shikaku. 'Orochimaru's strategy is to use Danzo to wreak havoc in the village. I couldn't have figured this out on my own. To understand and deduce Orochimaru's plans with only this much information... His intellect is truly something else. But now there's a bigger problem.'
He turned to the leader of the village. "Sir, what do we do about the sleeper agents?"
Hiruzen was silent for several seconds before he spoke. "I believe I have a solution to our troubles. I have tasked Snow with investigating any spies hidden among our ranks. I finally have the identities of all them."
Hearing that, the Anbu commander realized why one of his best agents was missing all these years.
Hiruzen looked at the two with a hardened gaze. "We're going to use this opportunity as a clean up."
"You want to use the sleeper agents to attack the base and then neutralize them." Shikaku and the Anbu captain immediately understood the Hokage's strategy.
Hiruzen stood and walked to a nearby shelf and made several seals. In a puff of smoke a scroll appeared. He handed them to Shikaku and the Anbu ninja.
"The list contains all of Danzo's agents embedded in our ranks. From Genin to Anbu."
As Shikaku and the Anbu commander were going over the list of spies, Hiruzen spoke.
"We're going to attack all those locations. We'll use Danzo's spies in the front. For all those Chunin and above on that list, make sure to disperse them among the seven teams. And it's imperative that only the captains or the second in command of the seven teams know that their task is two fold. Kill or capture the enemy and eliminate the Root ninjas."
"To eliminate them without much loss on our side, we'll need this to be a joint operation between Anbu and Jonins." The Anbu spoke.
Hiruzen nodded. "Yes. You two will be overseeing this operation."
"Sir, but what about Danzo?" Shikaku suddenly asked.
"I'll handle Danzo." The old kage gave a brief reply. 'This matter can no longer be delayed. I need to speak with Tobirama sensei and put an end to this.'
Knock Knock.
"Yes. Come in." Hiruzen ordered and two ninjas entered. Hiruzen was surprised to see them. "Iroha. Takamo. You've returned."
The two ninjas the Hokage assigned to look for one of Orochimaru's specific buildings had returned.
"Does that mean you were successful?" The eagerness to know the answer wasn't missed by anyone.
Shikaku looked at the two Jonin ninjas who were under him. 'Iroha Hyuga and Takamo Aburame. They're good at tracking and reconnaissance. Lord Hokage must have given them a mission regarding Orochimaru.'
"Yes. We found the hideout. That's the good news."
The small relief in Hiruzen's heart dimmed. "What's the bad news?"
"We sensed two powerful presence in that building. Judging from their chakras alone, they're extremely strong." Iroha spoke.
Hiruzen was taken aback by that intel. 'Two powerful chakras? Could it be possible? Is it Tsunade and Orochimaru?'
He noticed the curious gazes of his Jonin and Anbu commanders. "Couple days ago I tasked them to look for one of Orochimaru's hideouts. I got the blueprint of the building from Ko Yamanaka. He sent the information before Orochimaru killed him."
Iroha gave the kage a scroll containing the details of their missions and their reports on what they've uncovered.
Hiruzen looked it over and then handed the document to Shikaku. "Here. Take a look at this."
The Nara looked over the report and noted the key differences between this new hideout and the seven others. "There are several seals placed all around and the defensive measures are much greater. It's much more hidden. An entire 5 storey building underground. And moreover, there is no one guarding this base outside. Only the presence of two strong unidentified chakras."
"Didn't that place have any seals to completely mask chakra?" The Anbu asked.
"It did. But the two chakras we sensed were so powerful that they couldn't be fully concealed." Takamo Aburame replied.
"There is something else." Shikaku spoke, looking at the details and comparing it to the map with the other hideouts marked. "None of the other bases are near it. This is at the South East end of the nation."
"There has been no mention or reports of Orochimaru's movements in that area." Anbu commander spoke as he looked at the intel gathered.
Hiruzen nodded. "It seems we finally found a weak spot in his plan. I'll -" Just then a powerful figure appeared.
Before any of the ninjas could react Jiraiya was in the center of the room. Unlike his usual flamboyant easy going style, this time he had a calm but cold aura.
Except for the Hokage, the muscles on every other ninja was tense due to the sudden arrival. They only relaxed when they saw who it was but they had cold sweats running down their back.
The masked ninja was silent as he gazed at the Toad sage. 'If he were an enemy, I'd be dead right now.'
Iroha and Takamo were just as alarmed at the sudden unexpected entrance. At that moment they were reminded of the vast gap between them and the ninjas renowned as Sannin.
Jiraiya didn't care about his rude entrance or their reaction. His attention was completely on his former teacher. "Is it true? Did he really…."
"I'm afraid so."
At the old Kage's reply Jiraiya became still. "I didn't want to believe it but…" 'It seems he's determined to become our enemy. I won't hold back anymore.'
Hiruzen was saddened as he saw the resolve form in Jiraiya's eyes. 'I'm sorry for making you suffer for my mistakes.'
Suddenly the Hokage, through the use of the reanimation connection, sensed the presence of his teacher in the deep underground chamber. 'Tobirama sensei is calling me. He must have noticed the emergency alert and the heightened patrols. He's not going to be happy when I tell him what happened.'
The kage turned to his student. "Jiraiya. I need you to gather information on Orochimaru's movements and whereabouts in the other countries. Start with the Land of Earth."
Hiruzen didn't forget Daichi's theory and wanted to gather as much intelligence as possible.
"I'll get it done." The white haired Sannin nodded and disappeared.
"Iroha, Takamo. Report to the analysis team and share your intel." The two ninjas nodded and vanished with a body flicker.
Hiruzen turned to the last two ninjas in his room. "Shikaku! You and Ox begin assembling teams to raid the base. And don't forget what we discussed."
"Yes sir."
Once all the assignments were given the Hokage began making his way down the tower.
—-------------
Author's Note.
Plans within plans. A battle is soon coming.
Next Chapter 315 - Tobirama's anger.
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