Mist Village must be losing its mind by now.
If not for the fact that this intel came directly from Jiraiya, Nara Shikaku would have thought someone was trying to prank them with a fabricated report. The details sounded unbelievable.
After staring blankly for a long moment, Nara Shikaku finally murmured, "Is this real, sir?"
Takuya had successfully infiltrated Mist Village, completely leveled the Mizukage's office, and destroyed several other important buildings. Mist Village was left in shambles, with numerous casualties and extensive damage. Even the Third Mizukage's life status was unknown. This was beyond impressive—it was an outright miracle.
"You doubt that Takuya could pull this off?" Orochimaru chuckled, seeing Shikaku's utter disbelief.
Shikaku, still reeling, opened his mouth and finally gave a weary smile and nodded. He knew Takuya's abilities were exceptional—so exceptional that even powerful figures like Hanzo of the Salamander were wary of him. But for someone to single-handedly enter Mist Village and cause such chaos? That took ten lives' worth of luck and skill.
Even if most of Mist Village's strong forces had been deployed to the front lines, the remaining forces alone should have been enough to overwhelm anyone who dared invade. Yet, Takuya had accomplished the impossible, leaving the village in chaos and escaping as if he'd simply taken a stroll.
"I entrusted this mission to him because I had full confidence he would succeed," Orochimaru replied with a calm smile. He was perhaps the only one in the village who truly understood the depth of Takuya's power. Not even Tsunade was as familiar with it, as she would never go out of her way to analyze Takuya's true capabilities.
But Orochimaru did.
Since aligning with Danzō, his interest in Takuya's potential had only grown.
"Transmit this intelligence back to the village and make the results public," Orochimaru commanded.
"Yes, sir," Shikaku replied, stepping out to fulfill the order. Orochimaru gave a small, eerie laugh.
"Very good, Takuya," he muttered to himself. "I find myself more and more eager to see what you'll do next."
Once upon a time, Orochimaru's interest in Takuya had been solely as a respected senior observing a talented junior. If anything, his fascination was only because of Takuya's staggering talent and power. But since his collaboration with Danzō and after receiving certain research specimens, Orochimaru's interest in Takuya had grown far more intense.
Meanwhile, the Mist Village's command ship still floated on the open sea, constantly on the move to avoid enemy detection. Despite the late hour, Yagura, the front-line commander, was still deep in his work.
"Sir, an emergency report just arrived from the village," an intelligence officer announced, rushing into the command room without even knocking.
"Hand it over," Yagura replied, overlooking the intrusion. Urgent intelligence meant something significant had happened.
The intelligence officer delivered the scroll and waited respectfully to the side. Standing on an elevated chair because of his small stature, Yagura spread the scroll out on the desk to read it.
"Crash!"
The next moment, Yagura's hand trembled, knocking a cup off the desk and sending it rolling across the wooden floor into a corner without breaking.
"This… this can't be real!"
Yagura shot to his feet, grabbing the scroll with both hands as he re-read the contents. His face darkened, his lips trembled, and his grip on the scroll grew so tight that the edges began to tear.
"Bang!"
He slammed the scroll onto the desk, fury boiling over as he roared, "Takuya Yagami!!!"
The intelligence officer shrank back like a frightened dove, trembling in the corner as Yagura's wrath filled the room. He feared the blood-stained commander might lose his temper and strike him down.
Yagura's shout echoed across the command ship, waking everyone. Even the ninja on the surrounding ships sprang to attention, thinking an enemy had infiltrated.
"Sir!" A group of ninja charged into the command room, taking in the scene. They saw the frightened intelligence officer in the corner, the cracked desk, and the nearly torn scroll, and they wondered—what could have triggered such fury in their leader?
Most of them had never seen Yagura, a man infamous for cutting down his own comrades, lose his cool like this. Curiosity piqued, they leaned in to glimpse the scroll on the desk.
After reading just a few lines, they collectively gasped.
Could this be true? Would Konoha dare do something this insane?
Meanwhile, as Yagura raged, the report was also transmitted back to Konoha. The Intelligence Division's network was able to relay the information from the coastline camp back to the village in record time.
The Third Hokage, who had only just gone to bed, quickly dressed and hurried to his office. Even though he was exhausted, any report of an emergency from the front demanded his immediate attention.
Am I just not getting enough sleep… or am I really getting old? He smiled ruefully, lighting his pipe and taking a deep drag to shake off the fog of fatigue.
Once upon a time, he could stay up for days without batting an eye, but age was finally catching up with him. As soon as things calmed down a bit, he thought, he would take a well-deserved break.
With a plan in mind for a future respite, the Third Hokage broke the seal on the scroll and opened it.
"Clatter!"
After just two lines, his pipe fell to the desk. The Third Hokage shot to his feet in shock, rubbing his eyes to make sure he wasn't imagining things.
No mistake. This was real.
"Summon the Council and my advisors immediately. And bring Tsunade as well!"
"Yes, sir," replied the Anbu operative, who hurriedly departed, still unaware of the scroll's contents.
"Damn it! Can't a girl get a decent night's sleep around here?"
How long had it been?
Tsunade grumbled, half asleep, as she dragged herself out of bed. Ever since the war started, she couldn't remember the last time she'd enjoyed a proper rest. Day in and day out, the endless mountain of work from the logistics department weighed on her, draining her energy and constantly keeping her overtime.
Just when she'd finally managed to sneak home for some well-deserved sleep, Anbu came knocking.
In times like these, even the most patient person would be irritated, and Tsunade was not known for her patience.
After enduring a barrage of her curses, the Anbu operative could only force a smile and explain, "Lady Tsunade, this is an order from the Hokage. Urgent intelligence from the front has arrived, and the Hokage has requested your immediate presence in his office."
"Fine, fine, I get it," Tsunade grumbled as she got dressed, her hair a mess and dark circles under her eyes. Scratching her head, she muttered, "Damn that brat Takuya…"
If not for him, she would never have been saddled with this thankless, exhausting job.
It was enough to make her want to scream.