Chapter 74

"Moreover, even with such a skillful hospital director, clans continue to lose people, albeit not as quickly as we anticipated," shrugged Danzo. "The process is nearing completion with the end of hostilities, and the military influence of the clans will significantly weaken, increasing the Hokage's power."

"The main thing is not to rush too much, otherwise the Naras themselves might uncover the true motives behind all this, and we'll all be in trouble," Hiruzen exhaled smoke from his pipe. "Then we can also deal with the emergence of competitors. Sakumo himself has gained considerable political weight during the war with Sunagakure and could well vie for my seat with the support of at least a third of the clans."

"I'll take care of that," promised the head of "Ne." "Not right away, of course, and maybe not within a year, but I'll be able to prepare an operation to eliminate him or at least tarnish his reputation."

"Better the latter, since removing an S-rank shinobi could turn out to be too troublesome and costly, and you already have too few well-trained people," added Homura.

"Alright, we'll soon humble the Senju a bit, so get ready to press Hatake," nodded the Hokage, "but even the lowest genin shouldn't suspect your involvement in the setup!"

"The operatives won't be able to say anything to anyone," nodded Shimura, "I guarantee it."

***

We reached our destination approximately five hours later, without encountering any potential enemies along the way. If I'm not mistaken about the distance, we were on the territory of Kusagakure, having left Takigakure behind, not far from which the main camp was located. Honestly, a couple of small unkempt buildings clearly erected hastily with earth-style techniques, and a cluster of tents didn't impress me.

I could only be glad that this outpost (barely a hundred people) had some kind of wall, albeit one and a half times smaller than the abandoned Konoha troop position. Judging by the tense guards and another Hyuga at the gates, periodically using the Byakugan, attacks here seem to occur quite often. In any case, they didn't keep us at the "gate" for long, clearly recognizing the leading Jonin.

Our entire group headed towards the largest structure, obviously serving as the command headquarters and residence, trying not to pay attention to the indifferent-tired looks of the people nearby. It's quite obvious that participating in a war instills such indifference even in rookies, if they manage to survive. Gesturing for us to wait, the shinobi pushed aside the curtain at the entrance and slipped inside.

"Ikki-san, reinforcements have arrived!" Despite the quiet muttering of the companions and the muffled sounds echoing off the walls, I heard our guide clearly.

"Meat has arrived? Let them in."

However, I didn't like the response at all—it meant that the losses among the inhabitants of this outpost were numerous and frequent enough to treat reinforcements this way.

The shinobi who appeared again in the doorway beckoned us to follow. Naturally, no one objected, and we entered the local headquarters. Or rather, the room trying to pass for it, because stone furniture (consisting of a large table and a bunch of chairs) and bare walls didn't make an impression. The only attraction was another Jonin sitting at the table, sorting through a small stack of papers.

Probably reconnaissance reports or something similar. The shinobi himself didn't stand out in any particular way from other thirty-something killers I had already seen, and if not for his missing right ear, it would be difficult to remember his face in just a couple of days.

However, this didn't apply to the shinobi's chakra—the local commander turned out to have an impressive reserve, just slightly short of Kage size. This led me to quite definite thoughts. Quickly inspecting the man's clothes, who was also scrutinizing us attentively, I found the Meido clan patch.

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