Chapter 56

Meeting with the ANBU 'Root' ninjas took less than ten minutes.

Afterward, these people once again went into hiding, probably only reappearing for official operations to confirm the preparations of both sides.

Arriving at a hidden patch of grass, the three of them sat down in a circle.

"By the way, what is the ANBU 'Root' organization? Is there such an organization within the Hokage's direct ANBU?"

The Hokage's direct ANBU is a subject taught in the ninja academy to prevent future ninjas from mistaking their village's ANBU for enemies. To avoid such awkward situations, all Konoha ninjas have some knowledge of this organization.

Ninjas who can join the ANBU are all experts. The main composition of the ANBU consists of seventy people, divided into four teams, with each team further divided into four squads, totaling sixteen squad leaders.

Each squad leader is at least of Special Jōnin level.

They protect the Hokage's safety and carry out various high-risk secret missions, essentially protecting Konoha in the darkness.

However, Shiraishi had never heard of the ANBU 'Root,' so he began to doubt the identities of those ninjas.

Ayano also shook her head. ANBU matters are confidential, and most ninjas only know that such an organization exists, along with its team structure and numbers.

As for who joins it and what each ANBU ninja specializes in, these are all secrets.

Ruri furrowed her brow, crossed her arms, and after a moment of silence, said, "I once heard from the elders of my clan about the ANBU 'Root.' It is said to be a direct team of another high-ranking official of the Senju lineage. This team is even more hidden than the regular ANBU, and the tasks they undertake are even more secretive. They follow the principle of 'better to kill a thousand innocents than to let one guilty person go free,' silently protecting Konoha in the darkness."

"Following the principle of 'better to kill a thousand innocents than to let one guilty person go free'? Would the Hokage allow such a thing?"

Shiraishi was puzzled.

If such matters were exposed, it would cause a significant blow to the reputation of the Hokage and the high-ranking officials.

Even after the ANBU captures someone, they must go through an interrogation phase to determine if the person is an enemy or an ally.

But the ANBU 'Root' does not need to do this; they just need to subjectively judge someone as an enemy and eliminate them.

If such an organization mishandles a situation, it could easily cause a significant loss of reputation for the ruling authorities, leading to forced resignation.

"This matter is probably tacitly allowed. If it weren't, the 'Root' wouldn't have grown using the ANBU's power. The ninjas of this organization have no names, no emotions, no past, and no future. They have only the tasks they must complete."

After hearing Ruri's explanation, Shiraishi and Ayano recalled the current mission. The ANBU 'Root' ninjas were preparing to create human bombs to destroy the Sand Hidden Village's supply points, which indeed fit the description of a machine.

Their sole purpose is to complete the mission.

As for the means and sacrifices, those are only considered after the mission, or perhaps not at all.

"What a terrifying group."

Shiraishi sighed.

No matter when, people who are willing to sacrifice their lives for a goal always instill a deep sense of fear.

Without the darkness of the abyss, there can be no beautiful, calm lake.

In any era, there are always people who work silently in the darkness.

"Then, let's get back to the topic. What are your thoughts on this mission?"

Ruri spread out the map given to them by the ANBU 'Root' ninjas on the ground. It was a detailed map of the Land of Rivers, with all locations meticulously recorded, along with distance and environmental information.

Ruri pointed to a region in the center of the Land of Rivers, where the Sand Hidden Village's supply point was located, and where Shiraishi and his team would be attacking.

Shiraishi looked at the map and said slowly, "The supply point is very close to the Sand Hidden Village's camp. According to the marked distance, reinforcements can arrive in just ten minutes. This means we have only ten minutes from the start of the feint attack to the safe withdrawal from the battlefield. With our three people, it's a bit too much to ask."

The plan was clearly divided: Shiraishi and his team would be responsible for the feint attack, causing maximum chaos, and then quickly withdrawing from the battlefield. The ANBU 'Root' ninjas would then take over and self-destruct, destroying the Sand Hidden Village's supplies and completing the mission.

The difficulty of the mission lies in how to cause large-scale chaos within ten minutes, attracting the attention of the Sand Hidden Village's ninjas, creating a reliable attack environment for the ANBU 'Root' ninjas, and then how to withdraw from the battlefield in time to avoid being caught in the explosion.

"Regardless, ten minutes is too short."

Ayano nodded, agreeing with Shiraishi.

The number of Sand Hidden Village ninjas guarding the supply point in the Land of Rivers would certainly not be small, and there would definitely be Jōnin-level ninjas. For such an important area, even more than ten Jōnin-level ninjas would not be excessive.

In addition to Jōnin, the number of Chūnin would not be small either. Completing the feint attack under the attack of so many Jōnin and Chūnin within ten minutes is theoretically an almost impossible task.

"To cause chaos, I can use large-scale fire techniques. And because there are important supplies there, the Sand Hidden Village ninjas won't use large-scale techniques, which is advantageous for us. But getting out of the Sand Hidden Village's encirclement is not easy. I remember you made a lot of useful gadgets before we left."

Ruri glanced at Shiraishi.

"I didn't expect them to be useful so soon."

Shiraishi sighed and took out a scroll from his ninja tool bag, spread it on the ground, and released the sealing technique. A pile of items appeared with a puff of white smoke.

"These are..."

Ayano picked up a smoke bomb-like projectile, showing curiosity.

"Smoke bombs containing potent toxins, with a longer range and duration than regular smoke bombs, and antidotes."

"But if the enemy uses wind techniques to disperse them..."

"No problem. I will use fire techniques. If the enemy uses wind techniques to attack, it will strengthen my fire techniques, expanding the range of the fire."

This way, the enemy won't be able to use wind techniques easily, and the three of them can use the toxic smoke to carry out the feint attack and cause chaos.

However, after that, they will face a large number of Sand Hidden Village ninjas. How to escape will require careful planning.

By this time, it was already dark, and the river valley at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers was shrouded in darkness, with cold winds blowing.

"Let's discuss the retreat plan on the way. We need to reach the mission site by midnight, and we only have less than six hours left. Time is tight."

This is a surprise attack plan, so there isn't much time to think of countermeasures. The mission must be completed before the supply point is moved.

Otherwise, once the intelligence becomes outdated, it will be much harder to determine the location of the Sand Hidden Village's supply point again.

◎

Late at night, in the Konoha camp at the border of the Land of Fire, it was so quiet that not even the sound of insects could be heard.

In a tent, the light from a simple lamp was dim, with only the center of the tent illuminated, while the edges were still covered in darkness.

Tsunade was standing in front of a table, organizing a piece of intelligence.

Because this intelligence was of great importance, it needed to be carefully reviewed.

At this moment, a white-haired ninja entered from outside.

"Tsunade, are you still working? It's already this late."

The person who entered was Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, who smiled and greeted Tsunade upon entering.

"It's you, Jiraiya. Is there something you need?"

Tsunade looked up at Jiraiya and then continued to carefully examine the intelligence.

It was clear that she was not in the mood to talk.

Seeing Tsunade's state, Jiraiya sighed and said, "I'm sorry about Orochimaru. If I had been there at the time..."

If he had returned quickly when the Sand Hidden Village and Konoha went to war, and had been with Orochimaru, perhaps he could have prevented Orochimaru's tragedy.

However, the matter was already over, and the dead cannot be brought back to life. Seeing that Tsunade's smile was much less frequent than before, Jiraiya felt both worried and guilty.

"This has nothing to do with you!"

Tsunade's tone was very cold.

Hearing Jiraiya mention Orochimaru, Tsunade felt a pain in her heart, but she quickly regained her composure and did not let this matter defeat her.

She was responsible for the lives of many Konoha ninjas and could not show weakness at this time, lest she be looked down upon.

"..."

Jiraiya stood silently to one side, not contradicting Tsunade's words.

"Since you're back, just do your job quickly. Don't interfere with my work here."

Tsunade's tone softened, but her intention to send him away was clear.

Jiraiya said nothing, but his face showed disappointment.

"Wait!"

Tsunade suddenly called him back.

"What is it?"

Jiraiya was puzzled.

"Is it true that the mission to raid the Sand Hidden Village's supply point is assigned to the Shomatsu team?"

Tsunade suddenly asked a question unrelated to the current situation.

"It is the Shomatsu team. Because this mission is very important, only Shomatsu is suitable to complete it, so the mission was assigned to his team."

This mission to cut off the Sand Hidden Village's supply point is crucial to the future of the war.

If the mission is successfully completed, the Sand Hidden Village will face a shortage of supplies, leading to its collapse without a fight, and Konoha will achieve the greatest results with minimal sacrifice.

At that time, both sides will enter peace talks, ending the war that has lasted for more than two years.

If the mission fails, it means the war will continue, which is not a good outcome for Konoha and the Land of Fire.

The best outcome is to quickly end the war and enter peace talks to end the war through negotiations.

Jiraiya had great confidence in Shomatsu's abilities and, by extension, in the success of the mission.

He estimated that not only he but also the village had already begun drafting the peace treaty between Konoha and the Sand Hidden Village.

Seeing Tsunade's increasingly troubled expression, Jiraiya's heart sank, and he quickly asked, "What happened?"

"The intelligence here conflicts with the plan I and Orochimaru devised. And this is not the usual ANBU contact signal..."

Tsunade took out one of the documents from the pile.

Upon hearing this, Jiraiya's face changed.

"Jiraiya, when you received the intelligence from the ANBU in the village, did you make sure it wasn't tampered with?"

Tsunade frowned at Jiraiya.

Because the matter was significant, the intelligence transmitted from Konoha was delivered to Jiraiya by the ANBU, and Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, personally escorted it to the front lines to ensure its safety.

"It's impossible! I was with Shomatsu's team the whole time, so no one could have tampered with the intelligence!"

Jiraiya snatched the document from Tsunade's hand and read it carefully from beginning to end.

His face grew increasingly grim.

"What is this? The content here is different from what Sensei Sarutobi instructed."

Jiraiya's shoulders began to tremble, unable to believe the information on the document.

"It seems you were tricked. Since there was no incident along the way, there is only one possibility: the ANBU you met in Konoha was not Sensei Sarutobi's subordinate."

Tsunade's words were like a bolt of lightning, making Jiraiya's body stiffen and cold sweat break out on his face.

This is a disaster!

The failure of the mission is secondary; if his carelessness led to the Shomatsu team's demise, the problem would be truly serious.

"I can't let that happen. I must save them!"

Jiraiya, drenched in sweat, rushed out of the tent without a second thought.

"Wait, Jiraiya, don't be impulsive. Even if you go now—"

But by the time Tsunade caught up, Jiraiya had already disappeared into the night, nowhere to be seen.

"That fool, rushing off like that to rescue them, he could easily be ambushed by the enemy!"

Tsunade muttered to herself, helplessly standing at the tent entrance, staring into the darkness.