Chapter 191: Handling the mess (Part 2)
"Yes, that base in itself could damage Konoha's economy more than all other bases combined," Hiruzen said, no longer letting his mind be controlled by emotion.
"I recommend sending Shisui for that mission, obviously not alone, but a group of highly agile jonin led by Shisui should be able to deal with that base swiftly," Fugaku suggested.
"Good idea. We have an ANBU squad full of jonin-level ninja and some more highly agile jonin from other squads on standby. Lord Third, we should send all of them to that base first. Considering their mobility, all of them should return in 3 days at most, so they could handle other situations as well after this one," Shikaku added.
"Fugaku, call Shisui to my office now. Other bases can be handled by other ninja. Everyone else, go back to your clans. We will send a message if we need your assistance. Fugaku, Shikaku, Inoichi, and Hiashi Hyuga, come to my office," Hiruzen said. The situation was so critical that there was no more time for meetings.
Everyone nodded and did as asked. In such times, the orders from the Hokage were absolute. Not having to do anything from the shadows was actually very helpful for Hiruzen. Now he could employ thousands of clan ninjas for handling this issue.
In just 5 minutes, all four were in Hiruzen's office.
"Inoichi, how many Root ninjas are present in that Root base in the Land of Iron?" Hiruzen asked.
"That base is the most guarded one, protected by 40 Root ninjas. Ten of them are jonin, and the rest are chunin. The base also has 50 scientists and around 100 captives – some civilians, some ninjas, and some samurai. Apparently, Danzo was trying to find some way to make civilians as powerful as ninja using ninja blood, and also how that technique affects samurai. So far, there have been no significant achievements," Inoichi reported.
'That insane bastard. Not only did he set a hidden base in the Land of Iron, but he was also experimenting on samurai. I don't even know whether to consider him brave or foolish,' Shikaku thought, a sentiment shared by all five ninja present in the office.
"Shikaku, how many ninja do we need to send for handling the Land of Iron base?" Hiruzen turned to Shikaku for the plan.
"Considering the general level of strength of Land of Iron samurai, I'm sure the Root ninja placed there are not the top strength of Root. Since we're already sending Shisui, an elite jonin, I think sending just 8 more jonin-level ninja should be able to handle that base. Since they will have all of the information and an element of surprise, they should be able to manage. I also think we should send a jonin specializing in Earth-related jutsu. We will have to remove every trace of the Root base and any connection of that area with Konoha," Shikaku said.
"We will also need a Hyuga jonin. Byakugan range will come in handy during this mission," Hiruzen added.
"I will arrange an elite jonin as fast as I can, Lord Third," Hiashi said, maintaining a noble-like attitude as the leader of the noble clan of Konoha.
"We would need many more than just one Hyuga ninja, Lord Third. I mean, one for every base is the bare minimum," Shikaku pointed out.
"I understand, Shikaku. I will send every chunin and above ninja for those missions to ANBU Headquarters. You can handle the assignment of the missions to them. I just hope they will be compensated by the village for their trouble," Hiashi said.
Even though he was angry at Danzo for what he had done to Konoha shinobi, especially Hyuga ninja, since all of them were from the Branch family and their Byakugan were destroyed, there was little Danzo could have done. That's why Hiashi didn't have the same level of hate for Danzo as Fugaku and the Uchiha in general. He wasn't going to give his ninja for free, even if he wouldn't take advantage of the situation. There was no way he was going to spend clan money for this.
"Don't worry, Hiashi. They will be paid according to the difficulty of the mission," Hiruzen assured.
Shibi and Fugaku still didn't ask for any monetary reward; just getting rid of Danzo was enough for them.
"I expect you two will do the same?" Hiruzen asked Fugaku and Shibi.
"Yes, Lord Third. I will also send all of the available ninjas to ANBU Headquarters," Fugaku said. Since the Uchiha were responsible for village security, he couldn't send many Uchiha all of a sudden for missions, but Fugaku still had quite a reserve of jonin he could deploy.
Shibi also agreed. After that, they went toward their clans.
"What do you think will happen next?" Hiruzen asked.
"After we take care of this whole mess, the council will start pointing fingers at you too, Lord Third. As you know, you had given way too many powers to Danzo and covered up for him many times. If you had taken action against him before, many lives could have been saved. Though those claims will not affect your position other than reducing your reputation among the clans, we can handle that for civilians and civilian ninja by placing all of the blame on Danzo," Shikaku said.
"You also think it was my fault, right?" Hiruzen said, leaning back in his chair and taking a puff from his tobacco pipe.
"With all due respect, Lord Third, yes. I know Danzo was important for the village, but you had forgiven him way too many times and had given him more power than necessary, like making it compulsory to join Root if asked and not requiring him to share information about his organization completely. These were the main reasons Danzo had the courage to do those reckless stunts," Shikaku said.
(A.N: Kind of like how Naruto wanted to bring Sasuke back even when he went rogue and killed so many ninjas... friends)
"I think you're right. I am not fit for this position anymore and should pass it on now," Hiruzen said with a sigh, exhaling smoke.
"I don't see that happening unless Lady Tsunade or Master Jiraiya agree to take this position," Shikaku said with a smile.
"Let's handle the situation at hand first, and then we can discuss other things," Hiruzen said, and Shikaku nodded his head in agreement.
(A.N: The story will not have Kaida for some time, since next chapter will have some high level shit where a genin can't get involved, but they will be interesting for sure ^~^)
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