Returning to the ANBU base in the village, Yagami entered Yellow Dog's office.
"Commander, the setup against the Special Jonin Shinma has failed."
Yellow Dog looked up in surprise; Fox rarely failed. "Why?"
"Shinma is quite capable and held his own against the Sand ninja. I was originally prepared to move in for the kill and assassinate him, but the Transparent Release Bloodline Jonin, Moonlight So, suddenly appeared," Yagami said with a tone of regret.
"After assessing the situation, I abandoned the assassination. Moonlight So earned the title 'Shadowless Assassin' long ago and possesses the unique abilities of the Tōton. I suspect that after finishing his previous mission, he secretly traveled from the Kikyo Port docks to the vicinity of Kikyo Pass. The ANBU's actions against several Special Jonin may have alerted the smarter individuals among them. Killing Shinma isn't difficult; the difficulty lies in the struggle with Moonlight So afterward. If he noticed anything and managed to escape, the cost of the mission would have been too high. Therefore, I returned to the village to prepare for a second attempt."
Yellow Dog realized the situation. So, Moonlight So had appeared and rescued Shinma. He said:
"I've been keeping a careful eye on Sakumo Hatake, guarding against him, but I couldn't guard against his subordinates. Sakumo has a certain degree of personal charisma, and he has many loyal followers. Among the Jonin, Moonlight So, Yamashiro Tera, and Kawa-Tora are all his supporters. Among the Special Jonin, experts like Shinma and Hayama Shirakumo also follow his lead. The matter regarding Shinma is temporarily shelved because the Jonin Council meeting will be held tomorrow."
Yagami was stunned. "Starting tomorrow? So soon?"
As far as Yagami knew, the missions of other squads against various Special Jonin hadn't gone as smoothly as his own. Special Jonin were all quite strong; if things were forced, accidents were inevitable. For instance, when dealing with Shinma, the man could have held out for at least twenty minutes—anything could happen in that time.
Yellow Dog continued: "Tsunade, Sakumo Hatake, and the others are very perceptive; they seem to have sensed something. We have to stop before they go to Lord Hokage and make a scene."
Yagami thought to himself: 'It's because you were too greedy.'
If they had framed a few Special Jonin from the Sarutobi clan or the Ino-Shika-Cho trio as well, Sakumo and the others would have had to endure it even if they had suspicions. But now, they were exclusively plucking feathers from Tsunade, Sakumo, and the Uchiha. They plucked Tsunade until she was thinning and Sakumo until he was nearly bald—even an idiot would know something was wrong. However, the "Five Rising Noble Clans" of Leaf would never agree to sabotage their own Special Jonin.
"Your squad will be responsible for security at tomorrow's Jonin Council meeting."
"Understood."
...
At Sakumo Hatake's home.
Kakashi had just discovered how fun stairs were and was running up and down them frantically.
Yamashiro Tera watched Kakashi's agile movements and said, "When little Kakashi grows up, he'll definitely be a genius ninja. He's only three years old, yet he has such physical prowess. Look at that—five steps at a time, and such great balance."
Sakumo dodged Kakashi as he walked down the stairs. "I'll send him to the Ninja Academy next year."
Tera's expression turned serious. "Sakumo, Shinma has been poisoned. You should go to the Konoha Hospital and check on him."
Sakumo's gaze shifted instantly. After receiving the warning, he had preemptively told Moonlight So to take a detour to Kikyo Pass after his mission, but an accident had happened anyway. He walked quickly as he asked, "What about Moonlight So? Did he make it in time?"
"He did. So escorted Shinma back to the village with extreme caution and immediately sent him to the hospital."
At the Konoha Hospital, Sakumo saw the unconscious Shinma. After a brief hesitation, he turned and headed for the top floor, entering Tsunade's office.
At that moment, Tsunade was comforting Mie Senju. In the medical riot incident, a patient had died on the operating table, and his father had committed suicide in the hospital. The explosive tags had shattered two windows and injured a nurse. Mie Senju's reputation had been damaged; many people, unaware of the truth, were spreading rumors that her medical skills were terrible and that she had killed a wounded ninja.
Seeing someone enter the office, Mie wiped her tears and stood up to leave. Sakumo made way for her, and once she was gone, he asked, "Princess Tsunade, my friend Shinma is being treated here. I was wondering if his life is in danger."
Tsunade had some guesses about Sakumo's visit. She stood up and said, "I'll go take a look."
Tsunade entered Shinma's ward and saw Yamashiro Tera, Moonlight So, and the others. She thought to herself that Sakumo's subordinates were truly powerful. She approached the unconscious Shinma, performed a careful examination, and said, "He's fine. His life isn't in danger. After a few rounds of detoxification treatment, he'll recover."
Sakumo breathed a sigh of relief and followed Tsunade out of the room. In her top-floor office, the two of them looked out toward the nearby Hokage building, just two blocks away.
"I heard several Special Jonin you recommended also ran into 'accidents'?" Sakumo asked.
Tsunade replied: "I recommended three Special Jonin for promotion. One encountered the medical riot—that was Mie Senju, whom you just saw. She's taken quite a hit. Another is being investigated for a mission during the war and is currently at home waiting for an ANBU summons. And the third... an old injury flared up, and they died."
Sakumo said: "I recommended two Special Jonin for promotion. One is Hayama Shirakumo. During the Land of Valleys war, I rewarded him with the Wind Style: Vacuum Sword based on his performance. The Shimura clan now suspects him of stealing their secret Wind Style techniques. Hayama's Vacuum Sword is powerful only because he made some personal modifications, but the Shimura clan doesn't believe it. He's currently under investigation. The other is Shinma. As you saw, he went to the Kikyo Pass fortress for a mission and encountered a large group of Sand ninja. If I hadn't received some intelligence beforehand and known someone wanted him dead, he'd be a corpse right now."
"Intelligence?" Tsunade asked. "So these things really were planned in advance? I heard Special Jonin from the Uchiha and Hyuga clans have also been having frequent 'accidents.' Some have even proactively applied to their clans to withdraw their promotions. When asked why, they make up all sorts of excuses."
"I am certain someone is targeting us from the shadows, Princess Tsunade. To protect my informant, I cannot tell you the specific details," Sakumo said. "A friend of mine once told me: when others suspect you of having a faction, you'd better actually have one. Princess Tsunade, at tomorrow's Jonin Council meeting, I wish to form an alliance with the Senju clan. Much like the rumors of the 'Five Rising Noble Clans' being an alliance, we will continue to suffer if we fight alone."
"The Rising Noble Clans..." Tsunade's eyes were full of disdain. "You're right. I'm sick of their disgusting, underhanded little tricks. Come with me. Just the two of us won't be enough."
Twenty minutes later, word reached the ANBU base that Tsunade and White Fang were walking together toward the Uchiha compound. The base instantly erupted into chaos.
Yagami thought to himself: 'This style of doing things is definitely led by Tsunade.'
Half an hour later, Uchiha head heard that Princess Tsunade and Sakumo Hatake were standing openly under the gatehouse of the Uchiha compound. He was so startled his wooden geta fell off as he ran outside. Uchiha Fugaku trailed behind, clutching the geta and making several attempts to slide them back onto his father's feet. Fortunately, they didn't make fools of themselves in front of the two legendary figures.
***
Read 30 Chapters early on P-atreon.com/Redestro666