The following day, the three assembled in the command center. Ready for them, Shikaku Nara promptly handed each a scroll. Orochimaru, seated in his chair, turned first to Nawaki.
"Nawaki," he began, "I need you to lead a small team in a critical interception mission. All the task details, including your teammates, are recorded in the scroll. Take it and locate your team."
"Yes, sensei." Nawaki nodded, taking the scroll before departing.
Orochimaru then looked over to Minato. "Minato, with your Flying Thunder God Technique, you're equipped to return to camp quickly if needed. I'd like you to join the intel-gathering team from the Anbu and assist in collecting intelligence. Your priority is to relay any findings back as swiftly as possible."
"Yes, sir." Minato replied, knowing the Anbu would find him once he left.
Shikaku handed a cup of hot tea to Takuya, who looked surprised.
Isn't he supposed to be getting a mission? What's with the tea? Was his mission to sit here, sip tea, and chat with Orochimaru? As if Orochimaru had the time for that!
Noticing Takuya's confusion, Orochimaru gave a slight smile. "Your mission is different from Minato and Nawaki's," he explained, spreading a detailed map on the table and pointing to a specific area.
"The Land of Bears—familiar, I imagine?"
Takuya's eyes narrowed with intrigue. "Yeah. It's a small nation with a peculiar shinobi village. The leader there even calls himself the Kage."
Only Hoshigakure, among minor villages, dared give its leader the title of "Star Kage." That they stuck to their secluded region with no ambition to expand was all that kept the Five Great Nations from reacting. If Hoshigakure had shown any desire to join the ranks of the major villages, it would have been crushed.
"Is the Land of Bears aligning with the Hidden Mist?" Takuya speculated.
Orochimaru chuckled. "They wouldn't dare. Unless they're hoping to be wiped off the map."
Taking a sip of tea, Orochimaru interlaced his fingers thoughtfully. "From our intel, a group of enemy forces entered the Land of Bears a couple of days ago. Their intent is to infiltrate the Land of Fire and disrupt us from behind. I need someone to go in and intercept them. If possible, eliminate them."
"When did they slip in?"
"About two days ago."
Orochimaru had evidently put effort into gathering this intelligence. The moment the enemy crossed over, he had taken measures.
"How many are we talking about? And how many can I bring along?"
Takuya didn't worry about Orochimaru's methods, only the resources at his disposal. If there were too many enemies, tracking them solo would be a hassle.
Orochimaru simply held up three fingers, shaking them slightly.
"Three hundred?" Takuya asked, raising an eyebrow. Was he referring to the enemy numbers or the number of ninjas Takuya could take?
It seemed more likely to be the enemy count. If Takuya were given a three-hundred-strong ninja unit, Orochimaru wouldn't bother sending him personally. And with the camp's manpower stretched, sending that many from the camp was infeasible. The Leaf's strategy focused on deploying elite forces to minimize casualties, so most in the camp were seasoned family ninjas and strong civilian shinobi. They had enough to hold their own but not surplus numbers for large-scale assignments.
"Here we go again," Takuya muttered, rolling his eyes openly at Orochimaru, who seemed amused and gave Takuya a knowing look.
"I'm counting on your understanding, Takuya. The village has only dispatched a limited number, so reallocating too many could disrupt other missions."
"Spare me," Takuya shot back. "You gave me the same line back in the Land of Rain, and here we are again years later."
Orochimaru, realizing this was true, laughed briefly. But the situation did put him under pressure. Compared to Konoha's elite approach, the Hidden Mist had deployed far more troops. While a force of elite ninjas was advantageous, insufficient numbers posed challenges. And with two camps to staff, Jiraiya's team had already drawn from their resources.
"Haha," Orochimaru chuckled dismissively, unbothered by Takuya's protest. "While a large force isn't feasible, I'll assign you capable allies for this mission. Don't worry; they'll be worth their weight."
"Better hold to that." Takuya nodded, accepting that he couldn't request a large contingent. Still, he needed competent allies. Pursuing enemies through the Land of Bears solo was risky. Takuya could handle himself, but without Minato's teleportation speed, corralling fleeing enemies would be difficult. Even the Third Raikage would struggle if the entire enemy force chose to flee.
"Of course." Orochimaru smiled and nodded.
Even if Takuya hadn't raised concerns, Orochimaru had no intention of sending him solo or with a small squad. He wanted full annihilation of the enemy force, not a partial rout.
"Head to the camp entrance, and they'll meet you there."
Orochimaru didn't reveal who Takuya's teammates were, his enigmatic grin hinting at something.
"Of course, a mystery," Takuya muttered, leaving the command center.
After he left, Orochimaru dismissed Shikaku and pulled out a map dotted with red markers, chuckling softly as he studied it. "Yagura, I wonder how you'll respond. The Mist can't afford this kind of attrition."
Orochimaru's schemes were none of Takuya's concern. He could take any regular mission as long as it didn't endanger him unnecessarily. Once he had the scroll secured, Takuya made his way to the camp entrance, trusting Orochimaru to send his team.
Meanwhile, within the camp's Uchiha sector, Fugaku Uchiha received orders to lead a group of Uchiha shinobi on the mission. However, to his surprise, he was not appointed as the mission lead.
"Fugaku, this is absurd!" one Uchiha protested. "They want us to send dozens of our people and won't even let us lead?"
_____________Offer_____________
We have some time left and more to do. Are you going to work for the remaining Power Stone just like last time, or just leave it?
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(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read up to chapter 380+ at Patreon com/ Emik01.
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