Upon arriving at the Hokage building, Hyuga Kyo found the place packed with ninjas. A glance revealed nearly a hundred, all Chunin and Jonin, with not a single Genin in sight.
The seriousness of the situation was evident from the Third Hokage summoning so many elite ninjas.
Silently, Hyuga Kyo walked towards the corner where Team 11 was gathered.
Gai greeted him boisterously, “You’re late. We’ve been waiting for you for a while.”
Hyuga Kyo didn’t bother explaining that he had come from the Forest of Death. Instead, he asked the group, “What’s this emergency assembly about?”
Everyone in Team 11 shook their heads.
Even their captain, Kakashi, was clueless about the reason for the emergency gathering.
Shisui speculated, “Maybe it’s related to Iwagakure.”
Kakashi nodded in agreement.
The battle between Team 11 and the Iwagakure decapitation squad in the Land of Bears had undoubtedly given Iwagakure the best excuse to provoke Konoha. Everyone had been mentally prepared for this over the past few days.
Due to the gag order, they didn’t continue this topic and instead chatted about other matters.
Not long after, the Third Hokage, along with advisors Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, the heads of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, and Hyuga Hiashi, began to appear one by one.
With the arrival of the Third Hokage, the venue quickly quieted down.
The Third Hokage stepped forward and announced to the gathered ninjas, “Two hours ago, we received a message from the border. Three days ago, Kumogakure launched a surprise attack on our Fire Country border.”
Upon hearing this, the previously quiet venue erupted into chaos.
Kumogakure’s invasion immediately reminded everyone of the recently concluded Third Ninja War.
The brutality of the Third Ninja War was enough to send shivers down anyone’s spine. It contained too many painful memories, and most of the ninjas present didn’t want to recall that war.
The four members of Team 11 were shocked and confused.
Gai mumbled, “Wasn’t it Iwagakure? How did it become Kumogakure?”
Kakashi frowned deeply, “This is bad!”
Shisui said in a low voice, “Could it be that Kumogakure and Iwagakure have formed an alliance? If that’s the case…”
Shisui didn’t finish his sentence, but he didn’t need to. Everyone understood that in Konoha’s current state, it would be nearly impossible to withstand a joint attack from Kumogakure and Iwagakure.
Hyuga Kyo, recalling his memories from his previous life, shook his head and said, “Things aren’t that bad. The Third Raikage died at the hands of Iwagakure, so Kumogakure wouldn’t ally with Iwagakure, and Iwagakure wouldn’t trust Kumogakure. Even if Iwagakure had plans to attack us, seeing Kumogakure act first, they would choose to hold back and watch us and Kumogakure weaken each other.”
In his impression, there was indeed a small conflict between Konoha and Kumogakure after the Third War.
Later, when Kumogakure sent representatives to Konoha to sign a peace treaty, the incident of the Kumogakure ninja trying to kidnap Hinata and being killed by Hiashi occurred.
This incident led to the death of Hizashi.
So, Hyuga Kyo believed that while the current conflict with Kumogakure might be significant, it shouldn’t escalate into a full-blown ninja war.
Hearing Hyuga Kyo’s analysis, the members of Team 11 breathed a sigh of relief.
At this moment, the Third Hokage raised his hand to calm the discussions and continued, “According to the current information, the commanders of Kumogakure’s forces are the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki Killer Bee and the Storm Release Bloodline Limit Jonin Aida. Additionally, the Two-Tails Jinchuriki Yugito Nii is also part of the assault force.”
Hearing that Kumogakure had sent not one but two Jinchuriki, the Konoha ninjas were both indignant and worried.
Seeing the crowd being intimidated by the presence of Kumogakure’s two Jinchuriki, the Third Hokage declared in an unquestionable tone, “You will be formed into a vanguard team responsible for intercepting Kumogakure’s invasion.”
“Understood!”
In the authoritative tone of the Third Hokage, the Konoha ninjas seemed to regain some confidence and all bowed to accept the orders.
The Third Hokage continued, “Shikaku, until Jiraiya arrives, you will temporarily command the vanguard. Hiashi, you will serve as the deputy commander.”
Nara Shikaku and Hyuga Hiashi immediately stepped forward and accepted the Third Hokage’s appointment.
Finally, sweeping his gaze across the crowd, the Third Hokage said, “Anbu units, stay behind. The rest of you, go prepare.”
With a swift motion, figures began to flash out of the venue.
Soon, the venue, which was previously crowded, was left with only the Third Hokage, the two advisors, and the sixteen Anbu members, including Hyuga Kyo’s Team 11.
At this time, the Third Hokage took four scrolls from Homura Mitokado and handed them to the four Anbu captains, ordering, “Your missions are detailed in these scrolls. They are crucial to the village’s safety, and you must give your all!”
The sixteen Anbu members kneeling in front of the Third Hokage responded in unison, “Yes, Lord Hokage. We will complete the mission.”
The Third Hokage nodded, “Team 11, stay behind. The others, go prepare.”
After the other three Anbu teams left, the Third Hokage led the four members of Team 11 to the Hokage’s office.
Lighting his pipe, the Third Hokage took a deep puff before slowly saying, “According to the rules, Anbu members can only apply to learn advanced ninjutsu after serving for a year. But given the severity of this mission, I am granting you special permission to apply for one advanced ninjutsu.”
This special permission from the Third Hokage was directed at Hyuga Kyo, Gai, and Shisui.
As for Kakashi, the captain of Team 11, he was already a veteran in Anbu and not included in this special permission.
Hyuga Kyo hadn’t expected such a benefit. After thinking for a moment, he asked, “Lord Hokage, what level of ninjutsu can we apply for?”
The Third Hokage, puffing on his pipe, replied, “Some A-rank and most B-rank ninjutsu.”
Hearing this, Hyuga Kyo fell into deep thought…
On the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain.
With a screech, a majestic Konoha messenger hawk swiftly flew through a canyon toward the Land of Rain.
This messenger hawk, specially trained by Konoha, was a raptor in the air. Not only was it swift, but it also feared a few other birds of prey, having almost no natural enemies. It was Konoha’s last resort for urgent messages.
Suddenly, a shuriken shot out from an unknown direction, striking the swiftly flying messenger hawk with precision.
With a thud, the messenger hawk fell from the sky, crashing hard onto a high cliff.
At that moment, the space on the cliff distorted, and a mysterious figure wearing a single-eyed mask emerged from the swirling vortex.
The figure leisurely picked up the now-dead messenger hawk, untied a small scroll from its leg, and, after a casual glance, mockingly said, “Looks like Jiraiya won’t be receiving this message.”
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