Hatake Sakumo was willing to forgo the position of Vice Commander and participate as a regular Jonin?
In the Hidden Leaf, status mattered. Sakumo had served as a battlefield Vice Commander; any Leaf ninja who saw him had to address him with respect. A Vice Commander's single order could decide the lives of dozens. He could request to go to the front as a common Jonin, but the high-level leadership couldn't actually allow it. The moment he stepped onto the battlefield, they would be forced to give him a high-ranking post, or the chain of command would descend into chaos.
Nara Shikaku explained:
"Sakumo, the Hidden Stone is retreating under the combined pressure of the Leaf and the Cloud. The war in the Land of Earth is nearing its end. However, the Hidden Cloud is extremely bellicose. Once they are free from the Stone, they may launch a strike against the Leaf. We must maintain a reserve force to counter a Cloud raid and the potential reopening of the Land of Hot Water front. You, Sakumo, are the village's trump card kept in reserve for the Cloud."
Hearing Shikaku's explanation, Sakumo had no choice but to sit back down.
Sarutobi Hiruzen pressed down on his Hokage hat, hiding the complex look in his eyes as he glanced at Sakumo. Since killing the Sand's genius puppeteer, Camel Thorn, Sakumo's prestige had reached new heights. Many ninja returning from the River front expressed their adoration for him in various settings.
The village's bathhouses, Taverns, barbecue shops, and parks were filled with Anbu eyes and ears. These reports of worship were compiled into scrolls and placed on Hiruzen's desk. He could not allow Sakumo's prestige to grow any further, or the man would become impossible to control.
The day after the Jonin Assembly, Tsunade led 1,000 Leaf ninja toward the Land of Whirlpools. The Land of Whirlpools was a narrow strip on a peninsula, roughly 300 kilometers long and 30 to 50 kilometers wide.
The Mist ninja could land on any coast they pleased. If met with resistance, they could simply retreat back to the sea or to the Land of Waves. After the destruction of the Uzumaki clan, the Land of Whirlpools fell to the Land of Fire, while the Land of Waves, formerly part of Whirlpool territory, became a vassal of the Land of Water under the jurisdiction of the Hidden Mist. Near the ocean, Water Style users held a crushing advantage.
The Leaf was fighting a grueling battle. Unlike the smooth campaign in the Land of Rivers, the Whirlpool front was turning into a chaotic quagmire. The Leaf was suffering heavy casualties without being able to effectively annihilate the main Mist forces; the initiative remained firmly in the hands of the Mist.
Passing the ruins of Whirlpool Village, Tsunade ordered the main group to continue while she stayed behind with several Senju clansmen outside the village.
Yellow Dog whispered to Yagami: "Fox, follow Tsunade. Observe her mental state and facial details. Gauge how much of the truth she actually knows."
Yagami vanished in a Body Flicker. He arrived at the highest mountain peak outside Village ruins, using the rocks for cover while observing Tsunade in the distance through a telescope. The setting sun cast long shadows over the ruins. On the collapsed walls along the Uzushi River, one could still see the tattered crests of the Uzumaki clan.
The peak where Yagami stood was the very spot where Danzo and his Anbu had hidden during the clan's destruction. When the village was breached, the Anbu didn't move. When the south bank was slaughtered, the Anbu didn't move. Only after the Uzumaki Clan Head and the Third Mizukage took each other down did Danzo lead his men down the mountain.
Through the lens, Tsunade's expression was desolate, her eyes lowered. Nearly every Senju child had lived in Uzushiogakure for a time; the two clans were constantly visiting relatives. Tsunade's grandparents, aunts, and cousins had all lived here. They were her childhood.
In the ruins, shrubs had reclaimed the spaces between houses, and human traces were fading. In a few more decades, the forest would swallow it whole. The collapsed homes and pitted walls bore the scars of ninjutsu devastation. Weeds grew between roof tiles, adding to the misery.
Tsunade looked at a street on the south bank where she had once queued for dango with her cousin. She looked at the wall of the Clan Head's estate on the north bank, where they had snuck out at night. Her cousin was so lively; Tsunade didn't even know where she had died. Her cousin had liked Senju Kashi and wanted Tsunade to play matchmaker, but Kashi had also died on the Grass battlefield.
There wasn't a single body left in the ruins. The Cloud and Mist had taken the Uzumaki corpses as war trophies.
Tsunade suddenly thought of the Leaf Anbu. They possessed Uzumaki sealing techniques now. 'Hmph, they aren't even trying to hide it anymore.' The Anbu had clearly scavenged the bodies. Especially the Root—she heard their lab materials were so rare that even Orochimaru couldn't refuse them. Those "rare materials" undoubtedly included Uzumaki corpses.
Tsunade had heard fragments about the Root labs from Orochimaru. The Root was the cesspool of the Leaf—studying Senju secrets, Uzumaki seals, and Uchiha Sharingan. They had a strange persecution complex, as if everyone in the village was trying to overthrow them, driving their hunger to hoard every secret in the Leaf.
Tsunade's gaze left the ruins and scanned the surroundings. She had once built a sand model of the Leaf for her cousin on the nearby shore. She had once been on the mountain outside the village...
'Hmm?'
Tsunade vanished and bolted toward the mountain peak. Seconds later, she slammed onto the summit with enough force to shatter the ground, sending rocks flying—but she found nothing.
'What a fast Body Flicker...'
Yagami was already at the foot of the mountain, disappearing into the river with a Water Body Flicker. If she could catch him from that distance, his growth would have been for nothing. He had no intention of making contact. Uzumaki Yuka and the others were safe in the Land of Rain; there was no need to expose himself to Tsunade yet. Yuka was easy to fool, but Tsunade was a different story. Who knew if the legendary medical ninja would detect the anomalies in his body?
Rejoining Yellow Dog, Yagami whispered:
"It's hard to tell how much Princess Tsunade knows. She was mostly reminiscing. But Commander, I feel her strength has increased; she detected me from a great distance. Her speed when she charged was like a rampaging rhino."
"I see," Yellow Dog said. "Put Tsunade aside for now; the aftermath of the Uzumaki clan is the Foundation's business. Gather intel on the Mist quickly. Our target is the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist."
Yagami blinked. 'The Seven Ninja Swordsmen?'
'Yellow Dog, buddy... I know you're in a hurry to be Vice Minister, but isn't provoking the Seven Swordsmen a bit much?' Yellow Dog and his two Jonin against the Seven Swordsmen seemed like a suicide mission.
***
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