Konoha: Naruto of Sekiro

Chapter 75: Chapter 75: Sunagakure's Puppeteers



Once they understood that Naruto's departure was an inevitable fact, the group didn't waste any more time on it.

Just as Naruto himself had said, before he left, squeezing out his remaining labor value was the way to go.

"So? What's all this?"

Naruto asked, looking at the table laden with food before him.

"Squeezing out your remaining labor value, what else?" Yahiko scoffed.

"Konan said it's a farewell meal for you," Nagato, wearing an apron, placed a dish on the table.

It was worth mentioning that Nagato, aided by his Rinnegan, was the best cook among them.

"Hey, let me ask, who among you is even twenty yet?" Naruto's eyelids twitched wildly as he looked at the sake Yahiko had neatly arranged on the table.

"Are you a man or not?" Yahiko slung an arm around his neck, his spirit towering like a giant in that moment.

Naruto: "…"

Perhaps it was due to their experiences as orphans, but even now, holding high positions, Yahiko and the others didn't have the habit of many ninja families where one dish served multiple people.

Compared to individual trays, they much preferred the atmosphere of sharing food from the same pot.

The dishes on the table weren't delicacies like dragon liver and phoenix marrow or unparalleled gourmet food, but mostly common home-style dishes and specialty foods they had experimented with during their time as wanderers: things like salted squid, deep-fried tempura, miso soup, pickles… and most importantly, rice.

At the dinner table, no one mentioned the impending separation. It was mostly idle chat and lighthearted banter.

The parting was already set in stone. Rather than wallow in self-pity, it was better to cherish the time they had now.

Konoha Village, Hokage's Tower.

The sudden outbreak of war had caught even Hiruzen Sarutobi, the 'God of Shinobi' who had experienced the Second Great Shinobi World War, somewhat off guard.

Although the relationship between Konoha and Sunagakure wasn't exactly good, it definitely wasn't the worst among the Five Great Hidden Villages.

Especially since, just a few days ago, Konoha had been preparing to welcome the Third Kazekage and sign an alliance treaty.

Just when all Konoha ninja, including Hiruzen Sarutobi, believed that in the upcoming Third Great Shinobi World War, they would finally not have to fight one against four…

Abruptly, a huge black pot was slammed onto them by Sunagakure.

Assassinating the Third Kazekage?

Were they so full they had nothing better to do than look for more enemies?

Konoha wanted to prove its innocence, but Sunagakure gave them no chance. They declared war just like that, and attacked the Land of Fire's border just like that.

Even children squabbling would exchange a few verbal threats first…

In the Third Kazekage incident, Konoha had become the biggest victim.

Though they wanted to cry foul, the most urgent matter at hand was to arrange manpower to resist the invasion.

"Danzo, you will be responsible for the Sunagakure front," the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, said, looking at his right and left hands.

"In the initial stages, focus on defense. Let's observe the situation with the other hidden villages first."

Defense required fewer troops. Konoha could be fighting on multiple fronts against other hidden villages at any time. If they were too aggressive on the Sunagakure front and caused a shortage of troops elsewhere, the situation would become dire.

The situation on the western front was complex. Besides strength and seniority, the commander's overall strategic view was also crucial. Danzo, as one of the few in the village who possessed a Kage's mindset, was undoubtedly the best choice.

"Time is pressing. Assemble your team and depart now."

"I understand." Shimura Danzo nodded slightly, rose, and left.

"Sunagakure has made its move. Kumogakure probably won't sit still either," Koharu Utatane said. "Who do you plan to send to the north?"

"Orochimaru and Jiraiya."

Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado exchanged a glance and nodded slightly, having no objections to his arrangement.

Two Kage-level combatants were sufficient to deal with Kumogakure's war maniacs, whether for defense or offense.

"As for the remaining Kirigakure…" Hiruzen Sarutobi took a drag from his pipe. "Homura, I want you to go."

"No problem." Homura Mitokado thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

Since the Second Great Shinobi World War, Konoha had lost a considerable amount of high-end combat power due to internal strife.

Fortunately, their foundations were still solid, and they still had a decent number of capable hands to play.

"How do you plan to deploy Minato?" Koharu Utatane asked.

Minato, who had mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, was essentially their trump card. But the question was, where to play it?

"The western front," Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped the ash from his pipe. "That fellow Onoki is bound to stir up some trouble."

"With Tsunade and Danzo there, it should be enough, right?" Koharu Utatane asked.

Sunagakure's Chiyo and its contingent of puppeteers were skilled in using poison. Tsunade, who had maxed out her medical ninjutsu, was by default tied to the Sunagakure front.

"Danzo's strength is still a bit lacking. He can't handle Onoki's Dust Release," Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head.

Having worked together for so many years, he knew Danzo's capabilities well.

Among Jonin, Danzo might be top-tier, but when it came to the Kage level, he was somewhat insufficient.

"True." After some thought, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado said no more.

The Kekkei Tota, Dust Release, was indeed not something Danzo and Tsunade could handle.

"Then what about Kushina Uzumaki?"

"Let her stay in the village for now." Hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but feel a headache coming on and said resignedly.

Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado looked at each other and tacitly agreed with his suggestion.

They couldn't find a better way to handle that girl either.

"There's one more thing. Do you remember Rouran?" Homura Mitokado asked.

"That small country in the Land of Wind?" Koharu Utatane glanced at him, puzzled. Was such a small country worth paying attention to?

"Not long ago, my informant sent back intelligence that Rouran is suspected to have been occupied by Sunagakure and has become their puppet manufacturing site," Homura Mitokado said. "And they have already produced a considerable number of puppets."

"Is that so…" Koharu Utatane nodded slightly, not questioning the authenticity of the intelligence.

After years of cooperation, they had at least that much basic trust.

"Who do you think should handle it?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked after a moment's thought.

Sunagakure's puppeteers had always been a headache for all the major hidden villages. Unlike Kekkei Genkai, puppet techniques could be widely disseminated. The strength of puppeteers might vary greatly due to operational skill and puppet construction craftsmanship.

But poisoned hidden weapons were equally deadly to lower-ranking ninja.

Especially on the battlefield, you could never be sure if a corpse lying on the ground wasn't a disguised puppet. With lowered vigilance, a poisoned senbon from behind would be unbearable for most ninja.

Such a powerful profession—let alone other hidden villages, even Konoha had entertained the idea of copying it.

But alas, some things looked simple, but when you actually tried to do them, you might not necessarily do them well.

Setting aside puppet manipulation skills—Konoha had plenty of eccentrics and talents; catching up to Sunagakure wouldn't be much of an issue.

But puppet construction craftsmanship was a different matter. That wasn't something you could catch up to just by wanting to.

Sunagakure had been involved in puppet manufacturing since the time of the Second Kazekage. How many years had they been at it to finally bring down the manufacturing costs and popularize it?

If Konoha truly wanted to research puppet techniques, a massive investment of funds was inevitable, and such investment wouldn't see returns in the short term.

So, after trying for a period, Konoha abandoned the idea of copying puppet techniques.

After all, by the time your puppets were upgraded to a battlefield-ready state, Sunagakure would have already come up with something new.

Upon hearing that Sunagakure was mass-producing puppets, Hiruzen Sarutobi's first thought was to dismantle this 'arsenal.'

In the Second Great Shinobi World War, many Konoha ninja had died at the hands of puppeteers.

"I was thinking of having Minato handle it. After all, Rouran is located within the Land of Wind's territory," Homura Mitokado said.

Konoha had many highly mobile ninja, but that was, after all, the enemy's weapon manufacturing base. Sending someone with insufficient strength wouldn't do.

"Minato is indeed the most suitable," Hiruzen Sarutobi agreed with his suggestion.

It just so happened that Minato was already assigned to the western front.

 


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