Chapter 65: Shockwaves in the Konoha Higher-Ups
Chapter 65: Shockwaves in the Konoha Higher-Ups
Even without being present, one could sense the peril of such a situation—the concept of an elite squad of nearly thirty shinobi was not lost on those in the room.
Especially on Danzo.
His foundation, the root of his power, consisted of no more than sixty truly elite shinobi, with the majority still in training and not yet considered elite. In other words, Danzo could only scrape together two such forces at best.
Among the great clans, only the Uchiha and Hyuga clans possessed similar strength. Smaller clans would be utterly incapable of standing up to such an elite force.
In fact, forget the clans, even most small hidden villages in the ninja world couldn't assemble such an elite squad even if they pooled their entire fighting strength.
"..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's brows furrowed slightly.
In such a situation, it was likely that Might Guy's ability to open the Eight Inner Gates had turned the tide. However, the use of the Eight Inner Gates meant certain death for the user, and the price of victory—the loss of a unique shinobi like Might Guy and over a dozen others—was steep. Even though they had emerged victorious, it could hardly be considered a resounding triumph.
"The ambush by the elite squad of Iwagakure no Sato put our forces in a dire situation, and casualties quickly mounted. In this critical juncture, Hatake Kakashi used a self-invented Lightning Release forbidden jutsu, consecutively inflicting heavy injuries and killing over thirty Jonin and Chunin of Iwagakure, causing their ambush plan to fail utterly..."
At this point, the voice trailed off.
The entire conference room fell into a heavy silence.
Even Jiraiya, usually restless and unpredictable, wore an expression of astonishment.
Danzo, who had maintained a calm and collected demeanor, now glanced at Sarutobi with a hint of uncertainty in his eyes, as if asking, 'Are you sure about what you're saying?'
"..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen, too, wore an unexpected look of surprise.
Holding the intelligence scroll in his hand, he was so astonished that he couldn't continue reading. He stared at the scroll in disbelief until he reached the end, where he saw the statistics of the battle.
Thirty-three!
That was the number of Iwagakure shinobi that Kakashi had slain!
Among them were nine Jonin, including 'Akatsuchi' and 'Kurotsuchi', two elite Jonin of Iwagakure no Sato who held a certain degree of influence in the ninja world!
In the midst of the silence, Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly lowered the scroll in his hand and looked at the ANBU ninja who had delivered the report. "Is this intelligence from the front lines?"
"Yes." The ANBU ninja replied in a low voice, "The scroll was delivered by Orochimaru's summoning beast."
Then it was most likely genuine.
Sarutobi Hiruzen took a breath. It would be extremely difficult to impersonate or deceive Orochimaru's summoning beast, which came from the Ryuchi Cave, and there would be no point in going to such lengths to deliver false intelligence.
It wasn't Might Guy who had turned the tide with a forbidden jutsu, but Hatake Kakashi, a ten-year-old boy, who had used some kind of forbidden jutsu to reverse the outcome of the battle!
Shocking!
Incredible!
"...He's White Fang's son, isn't he?"
Uchiha Fugaku, sitting to one side with his arms folded, took a deep breath and slowly spoke, breaking the silence in the room.
He was vaguely familiar with the name Kakashi—a young ninja who had been dubbed a 'genius' recently—but that was the extent of his knowledge.
The Uchiha clan had no shortage of geniuses.
A boy who hadn't yet come into his own, even with the label of a genius, wasn't worth the attention of the clan leader.
A ninja with such power could not be ignored or dismissed, not even by the Uchiha clan.
"Unbelievable... He's just a teenager, isn't he?"
Hyuga Hizashi, sitting next to Uchiha Fugaku, couldn't help but gasp, his voice still carrying a hint of shock.
A self-invented forbidden jutsu!
Slaying thirty-three Iwagakure shinobi, nine of them jonin!
Even if there were mitigating factors, even if other Konoha ninjas had assisted and restrained the Iwagakure forces, rather than it being a solo battle, it was still an astonishing feat!
Such a record would make any ninja instantly famous. Years ago, the one known as the Hero of Konoha, the White Fang, had made a name for himself in the ninja world with a similar achievement!
And Feng Ye was how old?!
"Ten years old, not yet eleven," Danzo replied, his eyes narrowing as he turned away from Sarutobi. A faint gleam flashed in the depths of his eyes.
Unforeseen!
Too unforeseen!
Who could have predicted that Feng Ye would possess such strength at the age of eleven? If he had known, he would have used a firmer hand and brought Feng Ye under his control, even if it meant employing more forceful methods!
A ninja of such caliber, when carefully cultivated, would become an incredibly powerful and obedient tool, an ace up one's sleeve. Relying on such a ninja, one could accomplish countless things!
What a pity...
Danzo felt a twinge of regret.
He hadn't paid enough attention to Feng Ye before, allowing him to slip through his fingers and even become Orochimaru's disciple.
If only he had been more adamant, if only he had used more underhanded tactics, taking Feng Ye away from Sarutobi wouldn't have been difficult. But now, it was too late.
"If we can take advantage of the war situation, perhaps we can... The issue with Orochimaru is a thorn, but we can use Sarutobi to resolve it, but it must be done after the war..."
Danzo closed his eyes, concealing the shifting emotions in his eyes. His thoughts raced.
Sarutobi Hiruzen paused for a moment, then raised his head to look at the ANBU ninja. "Convey my orders. Promote Feng Ye to the rank of special jonin, directly under Orochimaru, and allow him to participate independently in missions."
Feng Ye's accomplishments and strength warranted the rank of jonin, but a jonin also needed leadership skills, command abilities, and the capacity to make strategic decisions.
Feng Ye was an unknown factor in these areas.
Until they had a better understanding of Feng Ye, promoting him to special jonin, directly under Orochimaru, and not requiring him to lead a team, was the most suitable decision.
"Yes," the ANBU ninja replied, then disappeared from the conference room.
Sarutobi glanced around the room at Jiraiya and the clan leaders. Seeing that they were still reeling from the previous intelligence, he paused for a moment before continuing, "Alright, let's move on to the discussion of our frontline forces and the personnel issue regarding the Sand Village's full-scale offensive."
Hearing Sarutobi's words, the clan leaders and elite jonin like Jiraiya exchanged glances, took a breath, and suppressed their shock, continuing the discussion about the ninja personnel in response to the Sand Village's impending attack.
(End of Chapter)
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