usatvline Chapter 497: Some Sins Must Be Borne By Me Alone
Chapter 497: Some Sins Must Be Borne By Me Alone
After leaving the Hokage's Office, Yōkō returned to the Anbu Headquarters and summoned White Ram.
As soon as White Ram entered the Minister's office, he immediately sensed a chill.
White Ram understood this chill wasn't directed at him, but that the Minister had made some kind of resolution—to kill, to purge someone.
He glanced around the room. Assistant Purple Cat was not present with Minister Fox, indicating the task the Minister was about to assign was highly secretive.
Yōkō took out a Flying Thunder God Kunai. On the bandage wrapped around the hilt was drawn the trident emblem of the Three Gods Religion.
After the Three Gods Religion was made public, Yōkō no longer concealed his connection to it, as this helped Konoha Village accept the religion.
In the eyes of ordinary Konoha ninja, the Three Gods Religion was just a strange organization established by the village's higher-ups.
Handing the Flying Thunder God Kunai to White Ram, Yōkō said:
"White Ram, go secretly and alone to the capital of the Land of Fire. After entering the capital, input chakra into this Flying Thunder God Kunai, and I will instantly appear."
White Ram, puzzled, asked, "Lord Fox, is it to assassinate someone in the capital? My Insect Clone is very proficient; I can infiltrate anywhere silently. If we need to assassinate someone, Lord Fox need not intervene. I can handle it."
After a pause, White Ram added, "Even if it's the Sarutobi Guardian Ninja Captain!"
Thinking as big as he could, he still only believed Lord Fox wanted to kill the Guardian Ninja Captain. In Konoha, assassinating a few of your own wasn't that big a deal; White Ram was psychologically prepared for that.
Yōkō said, "It's not that I doubt you, nor that I distrust you. It's that some sins can only be borne by me; you cannot bear them. Do as I say, White Ram."
Hearing this, White Ram understood the assassination target was extremely significant, more important than the Guardian Ninja Captain. Could it be? He took Minister Fox's Flying Thunder God Kunai, turned, and left the Anbu Headquarters.
For safety, he used an Insect Clone to leave the Anbu headquarters, his entire body dissolving into a swarm of insects that vanished through a ventilation shaft.
Only after leaving Konoha Village did the scattered insects recombine into White Ram's body.
He hurried quickly towards the capital of the Land of Fire.
After sending White Ram away, Yōkō summoned Purple Cat.
Purple Cat and White Crane would represent the Anbu, stationed with the Barrier Corps.
Both Sarutobi Hiruzen and Yōkō would leave the village, leaving Uzumaki Kushina as the only Kage-level ninja in the village. Uzumaki Kushina could sense malice and could hold off powerful enemies for a while.
If Uchiha Obito and others remained undeterred and invaded Konoha again, Uzumaki Kushina would delay them, and Purple Cat would immediately notify Yōkō, ensuring the village's absolute safety.
After sending off Purple Cat and White Crane, Yōkō summoned the Kika Squad.
"Let's go, Kika. We'll go to the Divine Hall first, then to the front lines."
When Yōkō arrived at the Divine Hall, he saw Sarutobi Hiruzen with his one hundred subordinates, ready for departure.
With a complex look at Sarutobi Hiruzen, Yōkō said:
"Hokage-sama, I will go to the Land of Grass front to deal with the Iwa-nin. You go to the Land of Hot Water front against the Kumo-nin. I hope everything goes smoothly and we can end the Third Great Shinobi War within three months."
Sarutobi Hiruzen adjusted his wrist guard and said, "I hear Namikaze Minato has performed exceptionally well on the Land of Hot Water front. With the help of a rising star like Namikaze Minato, I'm confident we can secure the Land of the Moon."
Sarutobi Hiruzen and his men entered the Divine Hall's courtyard first.
The altar in the courtyard glowed with the light of cursed seals, and Sarutobi Hiruzen and his subordinates vanished.
Yōkō also led the Kika Squad into the courtyard. Not long after, the Uzumaki ninja completed preparations for the Flying Altar Technique, and Yōkō and the Kika Squad disappeared.
As his vision shifted, Yōkō appeared inside a Divine Hall in the Land of Grass.
An Uzumaki ninja, a believer responsible for this hall, was there. This hall had distinct characteristics of the Land of Grass.
Four tents formed a courtyard, with an extremely large main tent in the center. Inside the main tent were three statues of deities with blurred features.
Outside the main tent was the altar of the Three Gods Religion.
The Uzumaki ninja said, "Lord Fox, the frontline command post is about ten kilometers from here."
"Good, we'll head there now."
Upon arriving at the front lines, Yōkō entered the command tent.
Behind the long table at the front of the tent sat three commanders: Commander-in-Chief Tsunade, and Deputy Commanders Orochimaru and Jiraiya.
Tsunade and the others were very surprised to see Fox, unsure why he had come to the Land of Grass front.
Yōkō said, "Ōnoki, the Raikage, and the Akatsuki launched a three-pronged surprise attack on Konoha. The Third Hokage-sama delayed them for a while. Princess Kushina and I used the Flying Altar Technique to rush back to the village and fought the enemies. Advisor Tsunade, Ōnoki is dead, and the Raikage fled."
"This is our chance. Taking advantage of Ōnoki's recent death, we launch a general offensive to end the war as soon as possible!"
Tsunade looked at Fox in astonishment. Beside her, Orochimaru was the first to stand up, staring intently at Fox.
Yōkō knew what Orochimaru wanted. He took out a scroll and unsealed Ōnoki's corpse.
"The Yamanaka clan has already read Ōnoki's memories from before his death; we've obtained all possible intelligence. As for this body..." Yōkō said, "Ōnoki was a respectable enemy. After the war ends, we will return Ōnoki's body to Iwagakure. Lord Orochimaru, you may temporarily preserve Ōnoki's body, but you must not obviously damage it."
Orochimaru's eyes gleamed with excitement. This was Ōnoki's corpse, a Kekkei Tōta corpse.
Yōkō did not tell Orochimaru that he had already 'developed' Dust Release; Dust Release was now Yōkō's trump card.
Tsunade said, "Since you're here to support the Land of Grass battlefield, Fox, we should immediately locate the main Iwa-nin force and seek a decisive battle!"
The intelligence ninja all left the frontline camp, scouring the vast grasslands of the Land of Grass, searching for the large Iwa-nin force.
A few days later, the intelligence ninja sent back messages; they had found traces of the main Iwa-nin force.
All ninja from the Konoha camp gathered outside. The command assistants began assigning troops.
While waiting for troop deployment, Tsunade explained to Yōkō:
"Iwagakure has dispatched 20,000 ninja, a massive force. They excel at combination ninjutsu. When defending, they use Myriad Earth-Style Walls; when attacking, they jointly use the Earth Release: Rock Iron Gun Technique. Both are difficult to deal with."
"They have four Kage-level ninja: Ōnoki's son Kitsuchi, the Explosion Release clan head Bakura, the Four-Tails Jinchūriki Roshi, and the Five-Tails Jinchūriki Han."
"Konoha has dispatched over 5,000 ninja. My idea is for you, Fox, to command 2,500 ninja alone, while Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and I command the remaining 2,500."
"We will split into two forces, entering the target area in a pincer movement, advancing while encircling the main Iwa-nin force, forcing them into a decisive battle with us."
The Sannin were about ten years older than Fox. Fox respectfully addressed Orochimaru and Jiraiya as 'Lord', but the Sannin all understood that even combined, they might not be Fox's match.
With Fox commanding one force alone, even if encountering multiple Kage-level ninja, he wouldn't be at a disadvantage.
And with the three Sannin combined, they weren't afraid of Iwagakure's Kage-level ninja either.
Yōkō said, "Good, I'll comply with the command's arrangements. Ninja are like apex predators in the food chain; their numbers cannot be too large."
"The shinobi world cannot support so many ninja. Iwagakure has too many ninja, which is why they are so warlike, why they are so desperate to use war to divert internal pressure. It's just right to help them reverse their policies during this Great Shinobi War."
(End of Chapter)