"Now, as for the immediate agenda," Benihime continued, shifting into a cold, tactical tone. "Onoki will be here tomorrow. I want all Research and Development facilities, the hospital sectors, and the Academy completely secured and locked down. Jugo, Iburi, Hagoromo, Tsuchigumo, Shiin, Fūma, Yota... clan heads, you are dismissed to attend to fortifying these critical areas."
She gave them one final look. "If you want me to bother remembering your individual names... you know exactly what you need to do."
One by one, the clan heads bowed and exited the room, leaving only En Oyashiro behind.
"Yes, Lady Benihime," the seven clan heads chorused in unison as the doors clicked shut.
~~
Sitting on the couch, Kaien allowed a small smile to grace his lips. Watching these, disparate clans gather under the banner of Kumo because of his strategic groundwork brought a profound sense of fulfillment. His grand vision for the village was finally coming to fruition.
Benihime, however, was already looking at the remaining guests. Her gaze landed squarely on the red-headed kunoichi.
"Kushina," Benihime said, her tone with irritation. "What are you still doing here? Shouldn't you be back at your own village, thwarting the impending attacks from the Mist? If Konoha gets wind of your absence, they will undoubtedly force a simultaneous attack to catch us in a pincer."
Kushina tilted her head with a playful, mischievous smirk spreading across her face. "Oh my... mother. Look at you, actually worried about me."
"Who is your mother, you brat?!" Benihime groaned, her veins popping on her forehead. "You want to go at it right here, right now?"
"Are you sure about that, mother?" Kushina replied smoothly as she slowly opened her eyes.
Around the lids of her eyes were a perfectly formed orange pigmentation manifested. "I'm not the same helpless lady anymore. I have mastered Sage Mode."
The playful banter vanished instantly. Benihime's face shifted as she entered Sage Mode herself... three clean, sharp lines marking each cheek with perfect symmetry. With a fluid blinding blur, she summoned her signature Naginata.
The sight of that weapon triggered a wave of vivid, painful memories for Kushina... reminding her exactly how brutally she had been thrashed by the formidable old matriarch when she was still a captive.
The orange pigmentation faded from Kushina's eyes just as quickly as it had appeared. She held up her hands in surrender, letting out a nervous laugh.
"You know what? Maybe not today."
Ignoring Kushina, Benihime reached into her cloak and withdrew a mass of grotesque, human cells. With a flick of her wrist, she tossed the organic matter toward Killer Bee.
"Have the former Four-Tails Jinchuuriki reanimated," Benihime ordered. She turned her gaze slightly, looking toward the shadows. "Make sure he is capable of bleeding. I will leave the modifications to you, Oyashiro. Onoki is quite cunning, and if he suspects anything amiss, he will test Roshi immediately."
Before Bee could respond, Kaien interjected as Kanji flared from his fingertips, weaving through the air to form sentences that hovered.
"For the compensation, we shall demand 10 billion ryo for the 4,000 shinobi of our shinobi they slaughtered and Four tails. Furthermore demand a few S-rank, A-rank Earth Style jutsu and Dust release in exchange for returning Roshi alive, rather than a corpse."
Benihime read the floating text, her eyes narrowing slightly in critique. "Onoki will never willingly part with the secrets of Dust Release," she reasoned. "We need to lower our baseline expectations."
Kaien's fingers moved again, dissolving the previous text and reshaping the Kanji in an instant.
"If we demand Dust Release as a starting point, it gives us leverage. From there, we can negotiate down and settle for a few forbidden techniques, alongside the foundational secrets of their Kekkei Genkai... specifically Lava Release, Swift Release and Steel Release. Meanwhile, we shall have Uncle Bee subtly control Roshi after he returns to Iwa, and extract whatever Iwa's forbidden techniques he can access and any information. We would also have a high level spy in Iwa."
Benihime watched the text fade, offering a nod of approval. "The plan was solid." Turning her attention to the side, she locked eyes with Renga. "Bring in a Konoha prisoner."
~~
When Renga returned, he dragged a gagged Konoha ninja into the center of the Raikage's office. The prisoner's eyes darted frantically between the powerful figures in the room.
Killer Bee stood up, his usual laid-back demeanor shifting into focus. Stepping up to the trembling prisoner slowly, Bee's hands blurred through a sequence of hand signs: Tiger → Snake → Dog → Dragon. With a sharp clap of his palms, he thrust the mass of Roshi's genetic material directly into the prisoner's chest.
A sickening, ash-like substance began to swirl, violently consuming the prisoner's body. Dust and debris coalesced, reshaping the sacrifice into a distinct form.
Slowly, the Reanimated Roshi came to life. His eyes, dark and rimmed with the telltale signs of the Impure World Reincarnation, blinked open.
As consciousness flooded back, Roshi's gaze locked onto his surroundings. He first spotted the massive silhouette of the Eight-Tails Jinchuuriki. "You... you are the one who sealed me," Roshi growled.
Then, his eyes shifted to Benihime, and a venomous rage twisted his features. "And you... you were the one who extracted the Four tails and killed me. I will murder you."
Infuriated, Roshi attempted to tap into the massive reserves of the Four-Tails, roaring to enter his Tailed Beast Mode. But nothing happened as he was no longer a Jinchuuriki.
Bee moved with blinding speed. He slipped behind Roshi and firmly planted a kunai wrapped in a control talisman directly into the back of his brain.
"Talks too much, full of spit and pride... that's exactly why this old man died," Bee rapped. With a subtle flex of his chakra, the command tag took control, forcing Roshi's jaw shut and locking his limbs into a rigid stance.
Benihime reached into her pouch once more and withdrew another grotesque, writhing mass of flesh. "These cells were secreted by Genbu after it absorbed the residual, malevolent chakra of the Four-Tails. Seal this inside him. It should mimic the four tails signature, enough to fool Iwa."
Bee caught the mass, looking at the foul substance. He turned his head toward Kushina. "You wanna do the honors, Kushina-girl? Show 'em how a real Uzumaki seals?"
Kushina immediately scrunched her nose in absolute disgust, waving her hands dismissively. "Eww... no way, you do it! Make sure to use the sealing skills, you forced me to teach you, Bee! And make sure to match it with his previous seal."
As the malevolent chakra mass was forced into his new vessel, Roshi's consciousness back as Killer Bee lose the command. "I will murder you all..." he hissed.
But deep down, he knew he couldn't defeat Bee when he was alive, and he certainly couldn't now. And his gaze drifted over to Kaien, his body involuntarily succumbed to the dark will to take captive of young boy.
~~
A/N: This is the main reason Kumo needed the Reanimation Jutsu to reanimate Roshi and plant him as the spy in the Iwa and the reason they delayed for so long because Roshi was long dead.
Upto 20 Advance chapters available @ patreon.com/aizenDuchiha0