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Chapter 773 : The First Shocking News!
🕑 Added 2024-10-14 15:49:37 +0000 UTCReiko and Hisato collapsed to the ground. They were knocked out cold! Even though they possessed the strength of a real Jounin, they were completely outmatched by Hoka. Not only did they fall short in speed and abilities, but they were also under heavy pressure and had to act constrained to avoid attracting any attention.
These factors made the battle even more unfair. To make matters even worse, Hoka wasn't arrogant due to his various advantages and hid a Shadow Clone underground even before the duo reached that area. So, the poor souls stood no chance.
A few ninjas appeared behind Hoka, looked at the two unconscious ninjas and exclaimed, “You already got them, General?”
Hoka nodded and ordered, “I have sealed their chakra points, but add proper seals on their bodies and bring them to the commander.”
Hoka's subordinates immediately got to work. Before they could leave, a squad led by Konomi appeared as well. She looked at the unconscious bodies and said with a smile, “Good work, Hoka.”
Hoka smiled and replied, “It's all thanks to your and Illumi-san's divisions establishing a perimeter.”
The two interacted cordially while the captured rebels were brought to Fujin. However, Hoka overlooked one thing, though it could be attributed to how good Konomi was at controlling her expressions. Even though Konomi interacted cordially, she successfully hid her jealousy from Hoka.
She sighed internally while thinking, ‘No matter at what level we are, people in power always prefer to give control and credit to their friends and family. Even though I couldn't kill Kagero, I could have captured these two with ease and improved my reputation. Yet, this task was also given to him. I can't even say anything as they take 3 spots from the 5 leaders and even have a good relationship with Illumi.
Sigh, I hope that Fujin has some plans for me other than just supporting these two. Otherwise, I'll have to work hard by myself once again…’
Since Konomi was a ninja from a civilian background, she hoped that she would finally receive more opportunities from Fujin, who was the council member representing all civilian ninjas. Unfortunately, she was only disappointed so far.
“What is the current status?” Ashigaka Hiroshi asked grimly. Due to the sudden disappearance of several ninjas, Kusagakure was on high alert. They immediately convened a council meeting.
An elderly man answered, “Currently, 41 ninjas are missing. All were patrol groups operating to the South of the village. I suspect that this is Kagero's scheme. He might be planning an attack from this direction.”
Another countered, “We can't be sure. This could also be a diversion. Perhaps he wants us to focus on the South while he ambushes us from the North. Even though we won the last clash, we must not underestimate him!”
The elderly man replied, “It doesn't matter what his plan is. Don't forget that we have asked Konoha to eliminate them. We only need to maintain our defensive position and we will win. However, we need to take steps to check what happened to our ninjas and also ask for Konoha's help for the same. Hiroshi-sama, did Konoha accept the proposal?”
Hiroshi frowned and said, “I still haven't heard from them.”
The mood in the council became solemn. If Konoha didn't accept the proposal, this troublesome situation would be the least of their worries as it would signify that Konoha had weakened and Iwagakure could drastically increase their support to the rebels!
Suddenly, three knocks were heard. Everyone gazed towards the door as Hiroshi said, “Come in.”
An Anbu ninja walked in, handed Hiroshi a scroll and reported, “Hiroshi-sama, we have received a message from Konoha. They have accepted the proposal.”
Sighs of relief were heard throughout the council room. A huge pressure had been lifted off their shoulders. One council member exclaimed, “That's great news! Who did they send? Is it Suzuki Fujin?”
Hiroshi nodded and said, “Yes. As we expected, they diverted their 3000-strong army here. Suzuki Fujin is leading it along with his Sensei, Senju Renjiro. With them here, they can't start a war against Sunagakure suddenly.”
Hiroshi glanced at his Anbu and nodded. The Anbu immediately left. Hiroshi turned his attention to the council members and said, “We'll co-ope…”
He was suddenly interrupted as another Anbu ninja broke into the council room! Unlike the previous Anbu ninja, who knocked politely, this one directly rushed into the room with zero regard for anyone's authority. Yet, instead of being angry at the lack of manners, every single Council Member became serious. Entering in this manner signified that the Anbu had news that had to be reported immediately! Even a second's delay couldn't be afforded!
Hiroshi asked, “What's the matter?”
The Anbu ninja answered, “We received an urgent message from our base outside Tsuchioka! A Konoha platoon appeared and said that Konoha's army had eliminated the rebel camp in Tsuchioka. 350 rebels were killed while Reiko and Hisato were captured alive!”
The eyes of every council member, including Hiroshi, widened! In order to maintain the element of surprise, Fujin had asked Shikaku to delay accepting the proposal. As such, Fujin's army had already dealt with the first enemy group several hours before Kusagakure knew that Konoha had accepted the proposal.
The Kusagakure Council Members had just learnt that Konoha had accepted the proposal. Not even a minute later, they learnt that Konoha had already eliminated close to 30% of the rebels and captured two of their leaders! Their shock was justified.
Before they could snap out of their shock, the Anbu ninja continued, “They also said that they captured several other ninjas who they suspect to be from the rebel camp. However, since they weren't sure, they have just captured them and all of them are unharmed. They want to transfer them to us so that we can identify the traitors and deal with them.”
Hiroshi instinctively felt something was off and became suspicious. He asked, “Did they say how many ninjas they captured?”
The Anbu ninja nodded and answered, “45!”
Immediately, every single council member realized what had happened. After the surprise passed, some were bewildered, some were stunned, some became angry and a few chuckled.
One council member cursed, “So that's how our ninjas went missing! That kid still infuriates me!”
Another seriously said, “This must have been their plan. They purposefully delayed informing us so that their army could move stealthily. They likely captured everyone they came across while marching across our country. Reiko's group should have been caught off guard. Regardless, as long as our ninjas are unharmed, we shouldn't take offense.”
A third member said, “I don't know whether I should be happy or be concerned. While the rebel's loss is undoubtedly a piece of joyous news, the fact that Konoha could march across our country secretly is extremely worrisome. They could have marched straight to our village and we wouldn't have known!”
Hiroshi nodded and said, “We can only be happy that they used it against our enemy and not us. Besides, Konoha wouldn't openly attack a minor village. It would be a huge blow to their reputation and soft power. If they have to settle some matters, they'll act in the dark like they always do. We don't need to be concerned about their intentions for the time being.
However, this is a wake-up call for us to improve our capabilities. If Konoha could march across our country undetected, then others could do too. Once the rebels are dealt with, we'll work on improving ourselves in this aspect.”
Everyone nodded solemnly. Hiroshi looked at the Anbu ninja and asked, “Anything else they reported?”
The Anbu ninja replied, “Yes. They said that they'd soon be marching into Kagetani and were predicting that Kagero and Tsuchiro's forces would come together. They have advised us to deploy our forces to the East and South of Midorino to ensure that the rebels don't scatter into our country and create a hidden danger.”
Frowns appeared on several faces as they quickly began analyzing this particular information.
Not far away from the destroyed rebel camp, Fujin and others had set up their camps. Fujin and other leaders sat in the main tent while others rested.
Yamanaka Shin reported, “Commander, Reiko sent four messenger birds to Kagero from the time we attacked till General Hoka captured her, each message providing greater detail. The fourth bird was intercepted by ninjas on our perimeter and I have confirmed that the message in it was the same as her memories.
So, the enemy should know that this camp was attacked by one division of Konoha. Since they wouldn't receive any more communications, they should be aware that their forces were eliminated or captured.”
Hoka sighed, “They were able to send a message despite all our preparations…”
Fujin casually replied, “That's to be expected. They wouldn't have survived so long if they couldn't do even this. Regardless, our tactic was quite successful. To eliminate a force of 350 ninjas and capture their two leaders without a single casualty is an excellent start to our campaign.”
He turned his gaze to Shin and asked, “I suppose the fourth message stated that there are three and not just one division.”
Shin nodded. He was about to speak when Hoka asked, “Why don't we fool them by pretending to write messages? After all, we have their memories.”
Comments
Sully
I feel called out 😂, and it wasn’t a shot at you hex I get that that stuff happens and would always prefer a quality chapter a little later than one just put out there for the sake of it.
Tathagata Das
Said by the most relentless fan, checking every 3 minutes 👏👏
Devil Hex
Not intended to be 🥲 It's just that at times it takes a lot longer than I estimate (like if I get a new idea or have to redo some stuffs or simply hit a block)
Sully
It’s like a bait and switch lol
Devil Hex
Maybe another 30-45 mins (assume 1 hour)
Devil Hex
Nah, I edit frequently. Most should have noticed 😅
Kelevra
Damn, bro changed it and hoped we wouldn’t notice 🤓
Kelevra
👀
Kwabena Kumi
But that proves my point tho...in these cases u have to force ur way in to be noticed..somethin has to stand out even if ur not the best..that takes guts and shamelessness and that's what fujin had....what did he have to lose no family background no clan..jus him so he had to be "cheeky" and shameless to get what he wanted..and he used the will of fire hiruzen preached about against him to get what he wants...no one other than fujin would do something like that...but it got him noticed and he got on shikaku's nerves...he was always on their mind..it was so bad that they sent him on a diplomatic mission to negotiate..but instead ended up threatening them..not including his exceeding expectations..this is all through his effort and ability
Antonio Fazio
it's not like she wanted to raise him. simply fujin was cheeky. He was practically forced to give him that support. (Fujin wasn't the best of his generation. He was just promising)
Kwabena Kumi
I do get ur point...something bout fujin stood out amongst his peers so he wanted to raise him...that's common when u see great potential...but again even if he wanted to raise him up...if fujin didnt meet his expectations he'll choose someone else..but in this case fujin exceeded it by a mile so he got everything he wanted
Antonio Fazio
And konomo is strong enough. But she probably hadn't the same opportunity of clan's members or fujin. Envy is normal. Wrong, but normal. And she want opportunities, not favouritism.
Antonio Fazio
void jutsu: hiruzen ftg: hiruzen senju renjiro as sensei: hiruzen kenjutsu: hiruzen Literally if hiruzen hadn't wanted to raise fujin he would have been stuck not only politically, but also as a personal strength. Hiruzen helped him when he was just a genin with only a good brain (for what they knew). And not the best genin, with not a incredible strength
Kwabena Kumi
This is also true...but without strength u cant have merits and that's my point...its through strength he was able to attain everything
Antonio Fazio
furthermore, a soldier who does not seek merit in battle is a terrible soldier. She wants to demonstrate her possibilities. and fujin without hiruzen's direct support wouldn't be an s-rank ninja anyway
Kwabena Kumi
That is true but in the beginning he didnt have any of that my point is its through his power that got him those twings.. oh and shamelessness..lol
Antonio Fazio
fujin literally has a compound full of children entrusted to him. he turns with hoka and renjiro and is the first to approach the jinchūriki. perhaps he never wanted power. But in the eyes of anyone with a brain in the village who doesn't know him personally, Fujin is basically a politician leading a new force in the village. With its own faction within the Anbu. We have more information that a common leaf's ninja about fujin
Kwabena Kumi
This is the truth taking someone alive is much harder than killing them...so hoka was a wise choice...especially how easy it was for him to do it
Kwabena Kumi
I do get ur point and that does happen a lot but it is also true that fujin has always been a civilian he never had a circle he built one with his own power...he was noticed with his own power...he never wanted the spot light...jus to get stronger and fight stronger opponents..but they forced it on him cuz his exploits was jus too great they couldnt keep it a secret...what I mean is...even if that is true....she should take a page out of fujin's book and force her way into the circle by showing them her own power and capabilities
Devil Hex
ETA: 5 hours
Antonio Fazio
what he doesn't consider, however, is that a hyuga is simply better suited to capturing the enemy alive, whereas she could have beaten them, but capturing them alive would have been more risky. She is jealous, yes, but hers remains a prejudice. also because she still doesn't know what task she will be entrusted with
Nyd. Studio
Honestly, it's not a problem of abilities but thruth and opportunities. She's complaining that she, too, could take down those 2 and take credit for it, but ultimately, people(fujin in this case) always choose to works with their circle. It's like imagine, a great ninja wars, you're orochimaru and sarutobi choose minato or jiraya as the army commander, where he/them would reap all benefice upon that commander title. You and minato/jiraya are competent enough to do the work, but sarutobi would always chose them over you because they are his circle and he want them to get merits to propose for hokage. That is the real thing. This is why she says 'higher up'. Here she clearly caught up on fujin trying to give hoka merits and make him famous.
Jack Nathaniel Mikhail
Many thanks for the chapter!
Jack Nathaniel Mikhail
Well envy is a pretty common emotion to feel 🥲
Kwabena Kumi
Also she sounds very biased without giving fujin a chance....she should put the responsibility on her for not being powerful enough to kill kagero..instead of focusing on someone else's mission
Kwabena Kumi
This can also be an opportunity to bring a good reputation to fujin from the civilians by giving konomi a proper task...I dont think its jus favoritism...I think it also has to do with trust and confidence in ability...like be said..not one casualty..that's cause he had confidence in the outcome...but shell have her time to shine tho..jus dont get killed in the process
Kelevra
Well well 😅, it’s the first of its kind I’d say, and am hopeful it will either lead to some character development for Hoka or maybe another storyline
Antonio Fazio
"intrigue" she is simply jealous at the moment. fujin will probably give her an important task at some point. If only because it is quite convenient for him and does not require any effort from him
Qweku_v
Thx
Kelevra
Sounds like Fujin 😂
Devil Hex
2nd
Kelevra
Ah some Cunning from Hoka and a bit of intrigue from Konomi, I wonder if Fujin is overlooking that part as well or simply don’t care
