While the Mist's hit-and-run tactics were annoying, they either struck at a rapid pace across multiple locations or attempted to breech with force, which my strategy perfectly countered. Five months of regular harassment along the coast had taught the Mist to flee at the color purple as I left a wake of only genin alive once my clones or I appeared in the field. After that point, the Mist added a few strike teams made up of the Hozuki Clan, which traveled up the rivers to strike small settlements. Some adjustments of our soldiers to the field map, and more signal rods, allowed us to settle back into another stalemate that stretched out another six months.
Fugaku, Pakura, and even Shisui had joined me on numerous reinforcement missions, allowing their own reputations to grow as well. It also was a good representation of how our forces were working and melding together. The Uchiha began integrated into the different groups and teams as people were rotated through outposts and strike teams. The Sand's reputation in the eyes of merchants was improving, but the prices and requirements undercut the 'true' cost of hiring such a strong team, especially during wartime, so our future should not be too badly affected; a win-win situation for the alliance, and the people of the Fire Country.
During that time, when not in the field, I was fully devoted to my training, only clocking in around six hours of proper work which I split between Shikaku's updates and teaching Shisui. I managed an average of eight hours of sleep and ten hours a day training which I focused on creating my fusions first. While I struggled at first with the combinations, I was able to form each clone within four or five days of using the heavy schedule; I could have managed more hours for training, but I also had four clones going at most times for other practice, so resting my mind was important.
Once I had unlocked all ten elemental-combination clones, I unlocked another new feature of my system, Foundation Resonance. Now, when I, or my clones, used a fusion element, I would gain experience for both that element and the two base elements that made up the fusion. It would even work with my three, four, and five fusion elements, once I developed them, which my System Guide explained after unlocking the feature.
Obviously, this freed up my training cycle of clones to focus on fusion elements in order to get the maximum value for my time. I paid extra attention to those still not at the B rank, so I could use Clone Fusion with them as soon as possible. Lightning was the first that I focused on, being the closest, followed by Water. Yin, Yang, and Space-Time were getting close since I could focus on the trio together, but the shortest needed over two months while the long needed a good six or seven months, and all of that required using my three Space-Time linked clones constantly in use during those training days. It had been a lot of work, and I still had much more ahead of me if I wanted to draw out the full strength of my system, but my affinities were looking good.
Fire: B
- 3,541,626 / 200,000,000
Wind: B
- 3,383,928 / 200,000,000
Water: B
- 455,031 / 200,000,000
Lightning: B
- 460,107 / 200,000,000
Earth: B
- 3,648,113 / 200,000,000
Yang: B-
- 6,839,271 / 40,000,000
Yin: B-
- 7,246,783/ 40,000,000
Space-Time: B-
- 6,425,239 / 40,000,000
Lava: C+
- 144,728 / 8,000,000
Scorch: C
- 163,604 / 1,000,000
Phantom Realm: C
- 82,963 / 1,000,000
Boil: C
- 133,558 / 1,000,000
Wood: C
- 121,372 / 1,000,000
Chrono-Vitality: C+
- 30,947 / 8,000,000
Magnet: C
- 46,970 / 1,000,000
Explosion: C
- 113,073 / 1,000,000
Tempest: C+
- 250,931 / 8,000,000
Laser: C
- 111,983 / 1,000,000
Storm: C
- 114,015 / 1,000,000
Ice: C
- 140,382 / 1,000,000
Fuinjutsu: B-
- 249,879 / 40,000,000
Taijutsu: B-
- 10,492 / 40,000,000
Shurikenjutsu: B-
- 1,972,861 / 40,000,000
On the lowest level of my personal bunker, Shisui stood across from my Phantom Realm clone while I stood against a far wall to stay out of the exchange. The two stared at each other with intensity, yet otherwise, they seemed perfectly relaxed. Once I was ready, I tossed out a small stone, and the sound of it hitting the ground was their signal to start.
A pair of two-tomoe Sharingan flared to life in Shisui's eyes, having gained his second while on a reinforcement mission with me, as he drew his tanto which poked over his right shoulder. Phantom retrieved two handfuls of shurikens from her waist pouches and threw them just as he started to move. He closed the distance and slashed at her in less than a second, yet the blade just passed through her smirking face.
Twelve illusions of Phantom appeared, standing over the shurikens that she had thrown out, while the one in front of Shisui faded away. The illusions threw out more shurikens to hide the real ones that Phantom threw. Shisui did not let her go unchallenged and dashed between the illusions as Phantom kept switching with them to stay out of his range, carefully weaving traps with fuinjutsu.
Finally, Shisui steeped in the wrong place and activated one of the fuinjutsu traps. Phantom drew kunai and stabbed at him as blue chakra chains held his body still, but just like he attacked her illusions, her attack simply passed through his body. Two more Shisui appeared in a triangular form around Phantom, just as she struck at the trapped Shisui, and swung their tanto at her.
The real blade passed through Phantom just as the chakra chains broke, and three more Phantoms appeared around the Shisuis. Only someone with the Sharingan could follow the brawl that broke out next from the outside as fists, kicks, and blades passed through illusions without dispelling any of them.
The real Shisui stumbled back as Phantom landed a solid kick on his chest, but it came at the price of a kunai piercing her shoulder which was enough to dispel my clone. His illusionary clones were also disrupted by the kick, emptying the room. He was breathing hard, despite the short exchange, but there was a smile on his face as I walked up to him.
"Do you think suicide tactics will work on the battlefield?!?" I scolded harshly, crossing my arms.
"Sensei... it's the only way to fight that clone of yours!" he complained.
I chuckled and ruffled his hair, saying, "That's fair. It seems like you've perfected your Ghosts; I didn't even see you cast the jutsu. Now, you just need to keep refining it, so that you can make more Ghosts."
"It's all thanks to you, sensei! You helped me develop this technique based off your own!"
I smirked and shook my head with a hint of bitterness. Not only had I stole the idea of the technique from his 'future' self, but my clone was still struggling with it, relaying on Flying Thunder God marks to act as anchor points, while Shisui had polished the technique to the point of freely using two illusion clones that he could freely use around his body at any moment. It was clear that even with my system, matching true genius was nearly impossible, but his path was different from my own, so I did not mind too much. He named the technique Ghosts
"I just showed you what I can do and told you about my hopes for it in the future; you're the one that has put in the work and made it your own," I replied. "Now, let's have some lunch."
"Are we having grilled mackerel again?" he asked with a bit of excitement.
"And squid... Water has really gotten better at fishing," I answered since I knew he liked squid too.
Unsurprisingly, Shisui and I had gotten close over the last year since he was practically my shadow throughout camp. He was nearly as close to me as Asuma, and I considered him like a little brother as much as I did my protegee. Since I sent out my clones daily to hunt or fish to help with the burden of my increased hunger, there was always fresh and smoked meat and fish with every meal, which was a true luxury in a war camp. I also made monthly trips to Konoha, by way of a clone with Space-Time affinity, to submit reports, check-in with Kushina, and purchase dry goods that I would ship to myself at the front using Hana as a go between.
Kushina had kept her word and spent a good portion of her time working on the idea of a physical Flying Thunder God map and signaling devices. A true map linked to specific points was still a long way off, but she had solved the problem of making moving images on paper. Her signaling devices were where she had some real success, creating a wrist device that allowed the wearer to easily transmit the number of enemies they found and the direction that they were moving, and a way for someone to send a written message back to my location, giving me the spatial coordinates to transport the message to me or a clone. Unfortunately, I still needed to do the bulk of the fuinjutsu on the devices since they needed to link to my network, but Kushina had done the heavy lifting by giving me a blueprint, so I only had to copy it onto the pieces. The number of these devices out in the field was small but were already proving useful by allowing us to respond even better to the Mist raids.
After lunch, I sat down with Shikaku to go over field reports. It was my least favorite activity of the week, further cementing that I did not want to become Hokage in the future, but it needed to be done, nonetheless. The information gave me a window into the dynamic of the battlefield and how our people worked together as a whole. There had been some difficulties at first, but over the months and switching of personnel, the clan divides that had been apparent in the beginning of this campaign had faded away, allowing the Uchiha to integrate properly into the army just as I had hoped. It also gave me the chance to check up on my team, which was now Kurenai's.
"Outpost seven's latest report is on top; it's worth the read," Shikaku remarked as I pulled the stack of reports over to me.
I chuckled and took the scroll he mentioned as it was where Kurenai, Asuma, Guy, and Duy were stationed currently. Since they were always placed in outposts closest to the main base, I visited them twice a month with Shisui to assist with their training, so I knew personally how well they were developing without my constant protection. Asuma and Guy had a few new scars, but their boyish exuberance had finally been tampered down to calm, confident professionalism... at least, when on duty. Kurenai had also improved greatly and shown impressive leadership skills that had been praised by several jonin.
Skimmering through the report, I saw the normal information that I would expect listing supplies reserves, enemy sightings, and personnel reviews. It was when I reached the last section that a smile spread across my face upon finding Kurenai's name.
"This is the third time that someone has recommended her promotion to chunin, no?" I asked.
"Fourth, you aren't counting Nawaki again," Shikaku replied.
"He recommended her in the first week of deployment, and she wasn't ready yet," I retorted.
"If I didn't know that she was the first student that you requested, I might think that you have something against her by denying her promotion for so long."
"I wanted to make sure that no one could claim that I was granting her favors with my position. I'm already bending traditional rules by ensuring that I can train her, and the rest of my former team, somewhat regularly," I explained with a shrug. "But you're right. She has the skill and clear support, so approve her promotion and tell Konoha in the next scroll that we send back."
"Understood."
I continued to work my way through the outpost reports without anything too unexpected popping up. Field promotions were somewhat rare, but I approved four to six a month. Otherwise, I only needed to address behavioral problems, which had not been a problem after the first month, and check the details for any anomalies that Shikaku might have missed, though it was mostly for formality's sake since I was the Commander.
We went over a few more minor things after I finished looking through the scrolls from the outposts then I escaped the command center by teleporting away. I had another meeting in the evening with Shikaku, Fugaku, Inoichi, Choza, and Pakura, but for now, I had a couple of hours to relax... by training. I returned to the lower levels of my personal cave and summoned all of my clones for a short practice session while I worked on finishing more signaling devices.
That evening, after dinner, all of the leaders within the army gathered around the map table. Since we did this weekly, Shikaku started with his usual speech, noting any recent Mist attacks or sightings and the status of the outposts and strike teams. When it was time for everyone to share anything that they had noticed and wanted to bring to the attention of everyone, Pakura spoke up for a change.
"I wanted to alert you of a trend that my people are reporting. It seems that the Mist have not tried to raid merchant vessels in nearly three weeks, and they have heard similar rumors when in other ports as well," Pakura said.
"That's unlike Yagura; he must be plotting something," Fugaku remarked.
"There haven't been any raids in over two weeks now that I think about it," Inoichi noted.
"So, what could the good commander be up to?" Shikaku questioned after taking a drag on his cigarette.
"Tell me, when was the last time that any of their bloodline clans were confirmed to be sighted out in field?" I asked.
"You think that they might have had an internal problem?" Shikaku deduced.
"It would be a good thing for us, and we haven't seen the Kaguya Clan which is shocking considering their nature," I replied.
"That's true. Perhaps there have been some internal issues since they haven't been able to gain much in this war," Choza added.
Shikaku scoffed and took another puff of his cigarette. I knew his annoyance was rooted in our optimism, but I saw no problem hoping for the best as long as we planned for the worst at the same time.
"Well, until the peace treaty is signed, I don't want us to relax since the Mist won't simply give up. Pakura, can you spare a few of your ships to assist ours with patrols? I have a couple of signal devices that I can complete overnight to send out with them," I presented.
"I can arrange that," she agreed.
"Choza, Fugaku, rearrange the strike team to add a squad for scouting the river deeper in our territory. The last thing we ne..." my words died off as I sensed a tugging sensation on my chakra network, but it was not from a Fly Thunder God signal.
My pause drew everyone's attention as they expected we were under attack. Instead of explaining directly, I summoned Hana, who had been 'calling' me. She appeared on the table with a poof of smoke and held out a scroll that was clearly from Konoha. I took it and read it quickly, surprised by what it said.
I passed it to Shikaku then explained, "The Stone have asked for peace talks, so the Hokage has asked for the Kazekage to come to Konoha and join the discussion."
"This is good news!" Choza said happily.
"Maybe a Mist spy warned that the Stone were going to surrender, so they pulled out in advance. Their tactics haven't been very effective, so it will become even harder for them once we get reinforcements," Inoichi suggested.
At the mention of reinforcements, my thoughts drifted to Minato's Team Seven. I had no idea if Obito was 'dead', or if Kakashi and Rin would end up here, but fate said they would. Once I altered their futures, there would be no salvaging the plotline that I knew, and I would likely draw Madara's anger if he was forced to abandon Obito, further complicating my own future. Still, I could only wait for our paths to cross before I could do anything.
"Akari, would it be possible for one of your clones to take me to Konoha? It will give me time to arrange my people to ensure that you are properly supported while I'm gone along with the ships to assist with patrols," Pakura asked.
"Sure, it will also give me the chance to get some more information as well. Can you be ready tomorrow evening?" I agreed.
"Yes, I will be."
"Then, you're all dismissed for tonight. Shisui, you're on duty here," I announced.
"Yes, sensei," Shisui replied while the others just nodded and stood up to leave.
I remained seated while they walked out since I did not have a long walk to my room which allowed me to notice Shisui studying me. "What is it?"
"Why didn't you seem excited about the Stone surrendering? Everyone else did," he questioned.
"What about Shikaku? He wasn't excited," I retorted.
"He isn't excited about anything other than relaxing and tea," he countered.
I chuckled, "You win... I wasn't excited for several reasons. The main one is that we are just in talks with the Stone; they won't go as smoothly as the Sand since they truly needed our alliance to stabilize their Kage's position. Also, if you remember, the Cloud restarted our conflict when we settled things with them, so they can only react in one of two ways. Either they, and the Mist for that matter, will rush to make peace with us, or they are going to strike hard before we can adjust our forces. A sane leader might go for the first option, but the Cloud's pride won't let them surrender and the Mist are crazy enough to kill their own people to graduate, so I'm not expecting a lot there either."
"But, why? We are clearly in a winning position."
"Greed, Pride, Envy... The human heart has these dark emotions which leads to the conflicts because the divide of wealth is in the hands of the few. Even if that was not the case, the divide of work, education, culture... whichever label that real power hides behind will eventually lead to war," I sighed.
"Is there really no chance for peace?" he asked, looking sad.
"Ever-lasting peace? All men and women equal? Never... but what kind of future would that be? Everything would grow stagnant as there would no longer be a reason to improve in a perfect, peaceful world. What we can achieve is a time of peaceful coexistence, and perhaps unification if a common enemy appears, but when the balance of power shifts the flames of war could be on the horizon just like it was after the death of the First and Second Hokages. The longer that Konoha can keep producing geniuses like the White Fang, Sannin, Minato, and even you while remaining united, I believe we can weather any storm that comes at us for the years to come."
Shisui regained some of his usual lightheartedness, and remarked, "You forgot to mention yourself, sensei."
I ruffled his hair like usual with a smirk and pulled out a few scrolls. He was used to my silent replies, so he did not mind as I wrote out two notes quickly. I sent one back to Konoha, more specifically my father, with information about Pakura's arrival while the second was for Tsunade by way of Katsuyu just to make sure they tightened their guard, though I doubted that Orochimaru would overlook something so obvious. That was all I could do for the night, so I went to sleep while I could; I could see long days in my future.
A/N: I tweaked the experience levels for the elemental affinities since I noticed some problems with the last time that I listed them. I have a set formula on training now, so hopefully things will be more accurate and consistent in the future.
A/N: Sorry for the delay, but I need to drop back to 1 chapter a week for the holiday season. Whenever I get more than 5 chapter in stock, I'll release 2 on whichever Thursday I decide to do it.