"So, are you planning to throw us to the rear as well to deal with the enemies?"
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist calmly stared at Yagura, showing no signs of panic.
Though Yagura held great authority and outranked them, he couldn't deal with them recklessly—that was the confidence that the Seven Swordsmen held.
After eyeing the Seven Swordsmen for a long moment, Yagura finally spoke.
"I have a mission for you."
You want to cause trouble, don't you? Want to infiltrate the Land of Fire or even go wild in the Hidden Leaf?
Fine, I'll give you what you want—I'm sending you into the Land of Fire.
With chaos spreading in the rear and Yagura eager to remove those who didn't respect his authority, the Seven Swordsmen were dispatched right after the incident involving Hozuki Sojin.
Their mission, however, wasn't to eliminate enemies—it was to infiltrate the Land of Fire and cut off Konoha's supply lines.
After giving the instructions, Yagura coldly ordered, "Increase our sea patrols. I suspect Konoha wants to use the island chain as a springboard to attack the Hidden Mist, forcing us into a direct confrontation!"
Yagura wasn't in his position for no reason; he had a few tricks up his sleeve, and he knew Orochimaru was up to something.
The talk of attacking the Hidden Mist was just to make things seem more critical.
Orochimaru's true aim wasn't the direct assault on Kirigakure but to force Yagura into an open battle.
Abandon the advantage at sea and rush to fight Konoha along the Whirlpool and Fire Country coastline? Yagura would never let that happen unless he lost his mind.
Instead, he hoped the Seven Swordsmen could throw Konoha's rear into turmoil, forcing Orochimaru into a tricky situation.
Konoha couldn't sever Kirigakure's supply lines—they simply didn't have naval supremacy—but Kirigakure could send people to infiltrate the rear and disrupt Konoha's supply.
The infiltrators, however, would be at great risk. If found, Konoha would definitely send forces to eliminate them and secure the supply lines.
On an uninhabited island, the group was resting. Jiraiya, chewing on some unappetizing rations, sighed in frustration.
"Our next target won't be easy. All of them are key positions heavily fortified by Kirigakure, and the island's forces aren't light either."
"The enemy's pursuit team should also be closing in on us," he continued. "If we engage, there's a real risk of us being surrounded."
"In fact, Kirigakure probably wants us to keep attacking these islands—that way, they'll have the opportunity to surround and wipe us out."
"Lord Jiraiya, whether we continue attacking or retreat, we need to decide soon. Once dawn breaks, it'll put us at a disadvantage," Yūhi Shinku spoke up.
"I know, I know, Shinku, you're always like this," Jiraiya said, scratching his head and trying to reassure him. He then turned his attention to Takuya, who was sitting nearby, chewing on a blade of grass.
"???"
Seeing Jiraiya staring at him, Takuya looked puzzled. "Why are you staring at me?"
Jiraiya's eyes widened, and his voice rose several pitches, "You suggested the changes to our mission and targets, and now you're asking why I'm looking at you?"
Don't even think about washing your hands of this, kid. If Takuya tried to shirk responsibility, Jiraiya might just strangle him—even if he couldn't win, he'd still try.
"Since you made the suggestion, you're the one who has to take responsibility."
"..."
So that's what this is about. I thought Jiraiya was acting strange for some reason.
Takuya spat out the blade of grass, rolled up the map, and handed it back to Jiraiya.
"Take responsibility for what? It's Orochimaru who needs to take charge, not me. I've already had Nawaki send the message back. You're right—we could be surrounded at any moment. The enemy probably hopes we'll keep attacking more islands. If we even reach the Hidden Mist itself, all the better for them. That way, they can pinpoint our location and surround us."
The many islands in the surrounding sea made it difficult for Kirigakure to locate them. Continuing the offensive might be playing right into Kirigakure's hands.
"Uh... When did this happen?"
You sent a message back, and nobody told me?
"After we landed on the island."
"..."
I really am just an extra here, aren't I? What a frustrating position to be in as the leader!
In the command center back at the coastal camp, a small white snake slithered up onto the table, spit out a tiny scroll, and then looked up at Orochimaru.
Orochimaru casually picked up the scroll and read it.
"So it was Takuya's idea after all. Far more daring than Jiraiya. Still, now that the enemy knows, continuing our attacks will likely backfire."
After some thought, Orochimaru wrote his orders on the scroll. The snake swallowed it, and with a "poof," it vanished.
On the other side, Nawaki asked, "You or me?"
"You do it. Biting my finger is troublesome and hurts," Takuya replied.
Truth be told, Takuya didn't enjoy using summoning jutsu, which was why he rarely summoned Manda. Every time he needed to open a wound and use blood for the jutsu—it was just a hassle.
Not to mention, biting himself really hurt.
"..."
You're afraid of pain? What about me?
Though exasperated, Nawaki still bit his finger to perform the summoning.
A small white snake appeared on the ground, spat out a scroll, then coiled up nearby, waiting.
Takuya picked up the scroll and opened it.
"What did Orochimaru say?" Jiraiya noticed the commotion and came over.
Takuya handed the scroll to him.
"He wants us to leave a Flying Raijin marker and evacuate immediately. The enemy may already be surrounding us, but they haven't locked down our exact position yet."
On land, they could track using footprints or other traces. On the sea, such methods were extremely challenging—gathering intelligence was far more difficult.
Even though the sea was Kirigakure's domain, it made little difference.
"Minato, how many times will it take you to move everyone out?"
"If it's not too far, about three trips."
Long-distance teleportation was taxing on Minato's stamina and chakra, and he rarely transported multiple people over long distances, so he couldn't make any promises.
"Then leave the marker and let's start the transfer."
At this point, Minato was still a novice in using the Flying Raijin. In a few years, he'd become an expert, able to jump anywhere as he pleased.
After leaving the marker, Minato took the first group away.
Takuya and Jiraiya stayed behind, covering the retreat as the last group to leave. Thankfully, they weren't heading straight back to the camp, or Minato would've been completely drained.
"Looks like encouraging Minato to learn the Flying Raijin was the right decision after all," Jiraiya said, sitting cross-legged on the ground, ignoring the damp earth beneath him, a proud smile on his face.
You look so smug.
Takuya doused him with cold water, figuratively speaking. "You talk like you actually taught him anything."
"Who said I didn't... Ow!"
Jiraiya, in his enthusiasm, bit his tongue.
Nawaki shook his finger, tutting, "No denying it now. Minato's been with us this whole time. Honestly, it'd be more accurate to say Takuya is his teacher—you just handed over the Flying Raijin scroll and that was it."
Handing over an S-rank jutsu scroll, one that had stumped countless shinobi, and then doing nothing else—that was quite something, even for Jiraiya.
Luckily, Minato was smart and talented enough to figure things out. Otherwise, he'd have just been left staring at a scroll, clueless.
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Next Bonus: 2100 Power Stones. ╰ (´꒳`) ╯
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(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read up to chapter 360+ at patreon com/ Emik01. ಥ‿ಥ
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