Chapter 54: Plan for Iwagakure

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Deep within the forests of the Land of Grass, Shuuzawa and his team advanced rapidly in a defensive formation, heading straight for Kusagakure. 

The previous battle hadn't left any real impact on them. 

Sure, Sasori and Kakuzu were troublesome opponents, not easy to handle, but unfortunately for them, they'd run into two overpowered monsters. 

The Mangekyō Sharingan was simply out of their league in this era. Of course, that didn't mean Konoha had no countermeasures. 

With geniuses like Tobirama Senju, it was nearly impossible for Konoha to be unprepared. Even so, don't overestimate the Mangekyō. 

In the future, when Sasuke awakened, he first fought Killer Bee and then stirred up the Five Kage Summit—only to get smacked down every time. 

So no, unlocking the Mangekyō doesn't automatically make someone unbeatable. 

As powerful as its dōjutsu may be, there are always ways to counter it, like facing someone stronger or just dragging the battle out. 

After all, the Mangekyō drains stamina heavily. Against someone like Sasori, whom Shisui already had battle intel on, the fight was manageable. 

As for Shuuzawa, he was in a league of his own. 

His Wood Release and Flying Thunder God were impressive enough, but he also had his own power-boosting Curse Seal and Yin Release, along with a remarkably strong body. 

Not to mention, he had detailed intel on Kakuzu. With that kind of advantage, it wasn't shocking at all that he took Kakuzu down. 

If anything, the duo was just plain unlucky. "But I really do need to figure out Kakuzu's payment going forward…" Shuuzawa thought as they ran. 

He wasn't made of money, but Konoha was. Honestly, he felt their task force should have a whole support team just for outsourcing grunt work.

After all, intelligence had to be passed around somehow, right? 

Paying 300,000 ryō a month sounded like a lot, but for a core member of the Akatsuki? It was a pretty fair price. 

Whether Kakuzu would try to pull some double-dealing down the line was another story. 

Worst case, Shuuzawa could just send him off for good next time. But Kakuzu wasn't on his mind now. 

The one who had given him the real gift this time... was someone he barely interacted with: Tobi.

"That White Zetsu body…" Just thinking of the sealed scroll in his ninja pouch made Shuuzawa grin. 

He had no intention of injecting White Zetsu's cells into himself. 

He wasn't a real Senju—sure, he was strengthening himself in that direction, but he understood the difference. 

White Zetsu's body was modified from Hashirama Senju's cells. 

Even with upgrades from Black Zetsu and Uchiha Madara, it was still poison to ordinary people. Shuuzawa wouldn't risk it. 

He wasn't a Senju with natural compatibility, nor a Uchiha with Mangekyō and Yin-Yang Release to balance out the backlash.

Who knew if there were any remnants of Ashura's chakra in those cells? Hashirama had long since died, after all. 

"Still, studying them for future reference might not be a bad idea. Maybe I could use this as leverage to earn a favour later on." 

Shuuzawa was always thinking a few steps ahead. Who knew what the future held for the Uchiha? 

But if someone trustworthy ever came to him in need, and he believed in them, he'd help. 

Besides, with Tsunade—his "teacher"—at home, maybe he could explore other medical experiments down the road.

"What are you thinking about, Shuuzawa?" Yuugao asked softly from beside him, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"We're almost there. What's our next move?"

"We're close already?" Shuuzawa looked up at their surroundings and smiled. 

"Sorry, just thinking about next steps. But with you guys here, I'm not worried."

"Let's stick to the mission," Kakashi cut in, not in the mood to watch them flirt. "We're likely walking into a complicated situation. We need a solid plan."

"Yeah, we haven't actually done anything yet," Yamato agreed with a nod. The mission had been smooth so far—too smooth. 

As someone raised in Root, he wasn't used to this much ease. It didn't sit right with him.

"Exactly. We should start taking action," added Itachi, eager to contribute. He didn't want to slack off—not with his father's mission on the line.

"That so?" Shuuzawa was pleased to see everyone motivated. Then he tilted his head. 

"But isn't it simple with Kusagakure? If the border patrol just keeps closing in, wouldn't that do the job?"

"Wait—are you trying to start a war?" Kakashi blinked in surprise, then quickly caught on.

"No, that's not it. You're trying to loosen their internal defences, aren't you?"

"Exactly. This whole operation really isn't that difficult." Shuuzawa nodded. They had backup—plenty of it. 

It would be a waste not to use that support. Plus, Shuuzawa didn't just want to capture Kurotsuchi's father—he wanted to earn himself some breathing room. 

So, if he could stir things up while completing the mission and get a better evaluation? That was the plan.

"With all the reinforcements we've got, we should start thinking bigger—figure out what benefits Konoha most."

"What benefits Konoha most?" Yuugao echoed, a bit confused. Even Shisui leaned closer. 

They'd seen this side of Shuuzawa before—it brought back memories of their mission in Sunagakure.

"Tell me, what's the biggest value a small nation brings to a Hidden Village?" Shuuzawa smiled casually. Yamato scratched his head.

"I think you said... It's about task quotas for missions?"

"Exactly. Mission quotas," Shuuzawa said approvingly. Kakashi's eye twitched.

"Wait, wait, wait—you're not seriously thinking about doing something to Kusagakure, are you? We don't have the numbers. 

"You're not worried about the consequences?"

"Of course I know Iwagakure's behind Kusagakure." Shuuzawa shrugged. 

"But we've got intel from Lord Danzō. Kurotsuchi's father is in Kusagakure right now, and we're here to investigate one of their research projects." 

"No matter how you slice it, we're going to clash. So why not roll all the objectives into one?"

"We break into Kusagakure during our investigation, capture Kurotsuchi's father, and extract the research data. Then we let the higher-ups negotiate with Iwagakure." 

"As long as we don't kill any key figures, there's still room for diplomacy.

Besides, Sunagakure is Konoha's ally." 

"Ōnoki's been trying to push south for a while now—if Suna plays along, I'm pretty sure the Third Tsuchikage will come to the table."

At that point, Shuuzawa paused. But in his heart, he added something silently—he could even use Danzō. 

Let the man step in, stir up some nonsense with Chiyo, offer up some "benefits," and then Ōnoki would have to negotiate. 

Shuuzawa could even leak Danzō's influence in Suna to Kurotsuchi's father. Let him tell Ōnoki. 

As for how the Third Hokage or Ōnoki would view all this... that wasn't his concern. After all, he was just a worker bee.

Though he didn't say it out loud, his earlier words left Kakashi and the others deep in thought. 

Yuugao and Yamato might not fully grasp the implications, and Itachi—well, he had no say here. 

But Kakashi and Shisui caught on immediately. Shuuzawa wanted to use Suna to mess with Iwa, forcing Ōnoki to the negotiation table—and carving out a slice of influence in the Land of Grass in the process.

And it all hinged on how they handled capturing Kurotsuchi's father. 

The thought made their scalps tingle, and the way they looked at Shuuzawa started to shift. 

Shisui was used to it by now—after the Yakura incident and Shuuzawa's endless "strategy sessions," he could stomach a lot. 

But Kakashi?

Kakashi was stunned. In such a short time, Shuuzawa had tied together their current mission in the Land of Grass, Tobi's plot, and even their prior work in Sunagakure—all to benefit Konoha.

What kind of training did the Hokage's advisor give this guy...?

"But you still haven't told us how we're going to do it," Kakashi finally asked. He was still a bit shaken, but felt something was off, too. 

"We've only got six people. Iwagakure has far more, and even if Kusagakure's distracted by the border, they still have ninja inside."

"Wait a second… Don't tell me you're planning to mobilise the rest of the ANBU squads?"

"You really are Captain Kakashi! Thinking the same as me!" Shigenari Shuuzawa immediately put on a flattering smile. 

"We weren't supposed to act alone in this mission. We've got plenty of squads backing us up." 

"So why not make the most of that and use it to reach our goal? We're all putting in the effort for Konoha, right? I doubt anyone's just going to sit back and do nothing."

Kakashi fell silent. Aside from Shuuzawa suddenly remembering to add the word "Captain," it was also clear now—this guy really was planning to escalate things.

An ANBU assault on the Hidden Grass Village sounded terrifying just thinking about it. If the mission failed, the consequences would be huge.

"Should we report this to the Hokage first?" Kakashi asked in a low voice, clearly torn. 

But as soon as he did, a faint look of displeasure appeared on Shuuzawa's face.

"Captain Kakashi, speed is crucial in warfare. We've already defeated those guys, but who knows if they managed to report back?" 

"That could create a lot of unpredictable situations, and besides, when a mission takes place outside the village, the command structure can shift. Our top priority is to finish the task and end this quickly."

As he spoke, Shuuzawa looked Kakashi dead in the eye, serious as ever.

"Captain Kakashi, please decide quickly. We don't have much time."

He pointed ahead, where the outline of the Hidden Grass Village was starting to appear in the distance.

"..." Kakashi froze. Now it all made sense—why Shuuzawa had suddenly started calling him "Captain." If this whole thing went south, he'd be the one left to take the blame.

"…Something feels off. Why do I have such a bad feeling?" Inside the Hidden Grass Village, Kitsuchi frowned as he looked around, unable to shake the strange sense of unease. 

This operation to "scam" Konoha had him in command—no way his old man would show up personally for this.

"But… are those Akatsuki guys really enough?" Kitsuchi admitted the Akatsuki members seemed fairly competent.

But the real problem was who they were trying to lure out—the one who had captured the Fourth Raikage. 

Even if the Fourth Raikage wasn't quite on par with his father, he was still a Kage. And his father? 

The man fought tens of thousands of shinobi for three days and nights before dying of exhaustion. His son shouldn't be easy to deal with either.

"Forget it, let's just wait for the next report." Kitsuchi sighed. 

Just then, he noticed a newly formed squad of Grass shinobi rushing out of the village like something urgent had happened.

"Bunya, what's going on?" Kitsuchi was filled with question marks, so he turned to his companion for answers.

Bunya was a sharp young jōnin from Iwagakure, known for his solid skills and good judgment. He'd been assigned to this mission to support Kitsuchi.

"Konoha's border units are moving again." Bunya's eyes followed the retreating Grass ninja as he spoke quietly to Kitsuchi.

"They're clearly low on manpower, so they're calling for reinforcements."

"Tch, their defence squads…" Kitsuchi scoffed, clearly unimpressed. He'd never held the smaller hidden villages in high regard—except for Amegakure.

To be honest, the major nations never fully conquered these small countries for some rather ironic reasons.

First, they acted as useful buffers between the major powers. No one wanted battles spilling directly into their borders. 

Second, some missions were better left in the smaller nations, like handling bandits. 

That way, the shinobi doing the killing had nothing to do with their own country, and they could still collect a reward while training younger ninja.

What do you call that? A win-win. If I win twice, isn't that a double win?

And then there's the economics: sometimes attacking these villages costs more than what they're worth. 

So why not just drain them slowly, fishing the pond dry over time? As for their so-called defences… what a joke.

"Oh, and one more thing. Did you hear about this?"

Bunya suddenly lowered his voice, leaning in. "ANBU detected a large-scale battle recently inside the Land of Grass."

"The shockwaves covered a huge area and caused some serious destruction. The Grass Village has launched its investigation, and our ANBU has mobilised as well. It's clearly rattled them."

"Really?" Kitsuchi frowned. Could it be that the Akatsuki had already clashed with Konoha?

Then he remembered that uneasy feeling from earlier… could it be that the Akatsuki lost?

No matter how he turned it over in his mind, he couldn't come to a clear conclusion.

All he could do was sigh. "Seriously, those outside organisations are always unreliable. I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

Still, he couldn't help but glance again at the Hidden Grass Village. There was something about them that irked him.

On the surface, they seemed respectful, but it felt like they were hiding something, and maybe even resenting them.

Even after he explained that their purpose here had nothing to do with the village's secret experiments and was purely focused on Konoha, the attitude didn't change. 

That made Kitsuchi increasingly annoyed. "What the hell… we were clear about everything."

"Don't tell me you are secretly experimenting on Senju and Uzumaki remnants?"

"What a bunch of lunatics."

Muttering under his breath, Kitsuchi headed back toward the Iwagakure encampment with Bunya.

He was curious about what the Grass Village might be researching, but his old man had strictly told him not to act recklessly.

So, after thinking it over, he could only obey, albeit reluctantly.

But realistically, what could the Grass Village possibly be cooking up that was worth worrying about? In his eyes, it wasn't even worth the effort.

"What do you think, Bunya? How do you think Konoha's going to respond?" Kitsuchi asked as they walked, casting a glance at his companion.

"And honestly, isn't my old man kind of overreacting? I mean, even if it's Wood Style, the Sharingan, or Flying Raijin—so what? They're not Madara Uchiha, or Hashirama Senju, or even Minato Namikaze!"

Truthfully, Kitsuchi had the same attitude as the Fourth Raikage when it came to legends like Madara or Hashirama. Who knew how strong they really were?

Even if his old man swore the stories were true, Kitsuchi couldn't help but have his doubts.

What if his father was just scared out of his mind back then? 

After all, the things described in those stories didn't sound like anything a human could actually do.

"Well, maybe it's just being cautious about the future," Bunya replied, the corners of his mouth twitching at Kitsuchi's jab at the Third Tsuchikage. 

What could he say? That was Tsuchikage's son. As for Kitsuchi's question, Bunya gave the textbook answer:

"If those people really grow stronger, they could become a serious threat. Better to prepare ahead of time."

"Tch, boring explanation. You're getting more and more dull, you know that?" Kitsuchi curled his lip at Bunya, but deep down, he understood.

Bunya's personality was exactly what his father liked. Kitsuchi's attitude? The kind that invited a beating.

With a sigh, he trudged along toward their base. But just then, he suddenly froze.

So did Bunya, who jerked his head up and glanced around. The ground had started trembling. An unusual chakra was surging from below, slowly building up.

More and more people began noticing the strange phenomenon, and right at that moment, someone shouted—

"Look! What's that?!" Everyone turned in the direction of the voice—

And saw countless bright green sprouts erupting from the earth in the distance, forming an eerie, dense carpet. Kakashi's scalp tingled.

He was at a complete loss. Sending intel back to Konoha would take time. But if the Akatsuki passed along the intel first, the opportunity would be gone.

And if Iwagakure were only trying to gauge Shuuzawa's group without acting yet, then everything would fall apart.

Without capturing Kitsuchi, they had no way of digging deeper into that organisation or getting closer to the truth about Obito. But taking action without reporting it first still felt a bit inappropriate to him.

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