socalfunplaces Chapter 331 Troublesome Little Devil
Chapter 331 Troublesome Little Devil
Chapter 331 Troublesome Little Devil
"Will I die?"
"It won't die completely, but it will lose its plasticity."
Kabuto pushed the microscope aside, picked up another record, and said, "It could maintain its activity for at least 48 hours two days ago, but now it only has less than 24 hours—unless," he trailed off.
Jugo asked, "Unless what?"
"Unless there is some higher-level interaction between these individual White Zetsu."
"You mean they influence each other?"
"Not each other."
Dou squinted, "It's more like we're all being regulated by some source."
Jugo was completely confused: "You suspect that Black Zetsu is controlling them?"
"Black Zetsu might not be able to achieve that level of detail." Kabuto tapped his fingers lightly on the table. "But if White Zetsu's cultivation system itself has a parent entity or some kind of central node, then it makes sense."
Kimimaro, sitting not far away, slowly flexed his wrists. Hearing this, he looked up and asked, "If such a thing really exists, would it be in Black Zetsu's possession?"
"Eighty percent."
Kabuto smiled. "Or rather, even if it's not in Black Zetsu's hands, it must be somewhere it knows about."
Jugo frowned: "You're not thinking of stealing it again, are you?"
"Rob?"
Dou pushed up his glasses. "That's too crude. I prefer to figure things out first before I start."
Jugo stared at him: "But you've already released three waves of snakes in the last few days."
Kabuto's expression remained unchanged: "That was just normal intelligence gathering."
"You even deceive yourself?"
"Um?"
"You've clearly already set your sights on Black Zetsu."
Dou looked at him and suddenly smiled even more deeply.
"Is it that obvious?"
Jugo remained expressionless: "It's very obvious."
Kimimaro listened quietly for a while, then suddenly spoke up: "If you go to see Black Zetsu, I'll go with you."
Dou shook his head: "You just had your eyes replaced, and your body is still recovering, so there's no rush."
"I'm not doing this for the eyes."
"Why is that?"
Kimimaro paused for a moment.
"In order to clarify things."
Dou looked at him, then smiled after a moment: "You're surprisingly naive."
Kimimaro did not refute.
Dou didn't say anything more, but turned around and continued to adjust the culture tank.
For the next ten days or so, Konoha's rhythm remained intact.
The training became more intensive each day, the patrols more frequent, and the intelligence sent back from the border increased.
The coalition forces are indeed assembling.
The three daimyo seemed eager to show off their numbers, recruiting ninjas while spreading propaganda about "slaying the righteous thugs" and "eliminating the scourge from the ninja world." Rumors were even circulating among caravans that the Land of Fire's good days were over, that Konoha was about to be crushed, and that the Land of Fire's food, minerals, and trade routes would be redistributed.
Strangely, when these words reached Konoha, they did not cause the panic that was expected.
Some were angry, some sneered, and some secretly cursed those big names for being delusional.
But most people just kept their heads down and continued doing what they were doing.
The clanging sounds from the forging shop grew even louder.
The shifts for medical ninjas at the hospital have become a bit longer.
The special task force trains during the day and conducts midnight raid drills at night.
Even the children at the ninja academy were given extra basic physical training under the supervision of their teachers.
Two weeks later, late one night, the Hokage's office lights were still on.
Tsunade sat behind the table, a stack of newly delivered border reports piled up in front of her. Shizune was already asleep on the small table next to her, breathing softly, with a pen still clutched in her hand.
The moonlight outside the window was faint, and the only sound inside was the rustling of paper.
Just then, there was a very soft knock on the door.
Tsunade looked up: "Come in."
The door was pushed open, and Uchiha Ikezumi walked in.
He didn't come to see her openly during the day as usual, but chose this time, and even deliberately kept his footsteps very light.
When Tsunade saw his expression, her brows immediately furrowed.
"I knew it."
Chi Quan gently closed the door: "What do you know?"
"I knew you'd come looking for me in the middle of the night; it couldn't be anything good."
Startled awake by the sound, Shizune groggily looked up and said, "Lady Tsunade—Ikezumi?"
Tsunade waved her hand: "Go rest next door."
Shizune glanced at the two of them, seemed about to say something, but held back. She picked up her notebook and walked out, closing the door behind her.
Once the door was closed, Tsunade leaned back in her chair and stared at Ikezumi.
"Tell me, what are you planning now?"
Chi Quan walked to the table but did not sit down.
"I am prepared to lead the team to take the initiative."
The room fell silent for a moment.
Tsunade's eyes suddenly sharpened: "Say that again."
"I said, I'm prepared to lead the team to take the initiative."
"Lead the team?" Tsunade sneered. "Didn't you say just two weeks ago that you didn't need to change anything? Now you suddenly come to me in the middle of the night saying you want to take the initiative. Do you think I'm just a figurehead?"
"The reason things didn't change for the first half of the month is because they hadn't yet established a firm foothold."
Chi Quan's tone remained calm. "Things are different now."
Tsunade stared at him: "What's different?"
"The coalition forces were more than half assembled, their momentum was growing, and the communication between the daimyo of various countries was becoming more and more frequent. At this stage, their primary concern was to continue expanding their armies and maintaining a facade of unity, rather than guarding against a preemptive attack."
Tsunade tapped the table: "So you want to attack before they can react?"
"right."
"Where to hit?"
"It's not about directly attacking the main base of the allied forces of the three kingdoms."
Chi Quan pointed to the map on the table, "First, attack their forward assembly lines, supply rendezvous points, and several relay stations responsible for connecting the forces of smaller countries."
Tsunade narrowed her eyes as she watched where his finger had landed.
"Have you already seen the latest map?"
"I've seen it."
"When?"
"Just now."
'
'
Tsunade took a deep breath. "You really don't hold back at all."
Chi Quan didn't respond to the joke, but continued, "The biggest problem for the allied forces right now isn't their numbers, but their bloat. The direct troops of the three kingdoms, the ninjas cobbled together by smaller countries, and the temporarily recruited ronin, samurai, and mercenaries are all mixed together. If this allied forces are suddenly cut off from supplies, their command is disrupted, and panic is created, they will collapse much faster than we think."
Tsunade said in a deep voice, "So you're planning to personally break through their defenses?"
"I'm not fast enough on my own."
"Didn't you always say you were enough on your own?"
"One person is enough when facing a direct confrontation."
Chi Quan looked at her, "But taking the initiative is different. What I want is to create chaos in several places at the same time, so that they can't figure out how many people Konoha has sent, where the main force is, or where they will attack next in the shortest amount of time."
Tsunade frowned even deeper: "So, who do you mean by 'leading the team'?"
Chi Quan paused for a moment.
"Select a group of people from the Special Mobile Unit, and then draw some elites from the Anbu, the Security Force, and the Jonin Class."
Without a second thought, Tsunade replied, "No way."
Chi Quan seemed to have expected her to say this, and his expression remained unchanged: "Reason."
"reason?"
Tsunade almost laughed in anger. "Your reason is that you're taking Konoha's strongest fighters out of the village to launch a surprise attack on the enemy's assembly line! Do you know what the consequences will be if you get bogged down? Do you know that the Allied Forces are currently eyeing the Land of Fire's border? With such a large operation, do you think they won't notice?"
"It's too late to figure it out."
"Chiquan——
'
"Tsunade."
This was the first time Chi Quan had directly interrupted her in such a situation.
Tsunade paused, then looked up.
Chi Quan stood in front of the table, the lamplight falling on his shoulders, casting a long shadow.
"If we wait a month and proceed methodically, the battlefield will be prolonged, the border will be repeatedly stretched thin, and the people within the Land of Fire will begin to panic. Even if we win in the end, there will be many unnecessary losses."
Tsunade stared intently at him, without saying a word.
Chi Quan continued, "But if we fight now, everything will be different."
What makes you so sure?
"Because there are too many of them, and they're too diverse."
Chi Quan pointed to a spot on the map. "This is the meeting point for personnel from the Land of Earth and several smaller countries. This is the route used by the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning to transport ninja tools and supplies. This is the transit zone where friction is most likely to occur between the Land of Wind and foreign mercenaries."
His finger moved down again.
"If things happen in these places at the same time, chaos will break out within them first. The daimyo of the three kingdoms will suspect each other, the daimyo of the smaller kingdoms will suspect that they are being used as cannon fodder, and those who are temporarily recruited will be the first to think about running away. The more people there are, the faster chaos will break out."
Tsunade said coldly, "Easier said than done. How are you going to achieve 'simultaneously'?"
Chi Quan looked at her: "That's why I came to find you."
"You still know you came here to see me."
"I need your authorization."
Tsunade was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly stood up, walked around the table, and went to the map.
Tell me your entire plan.
Chi Quan nodded.
"First, keep it quiet and make the changes secretly. The selected people will continue to train and take turns as usual, and the overt arrangements will not be changed until the day of departure."
"Secondly, the number of people is small, but they must be fast enough. Instead of a large-scale advance, they will be divided into several small teams, each with its own objective."
"Third, I will personally lead the main force to cut directly into the most difficult point. The other squads will only be responsible for disrupting, amplifying panic, and cutting off communication, and will not engage in a deadly battle with a large force."
Tsunade crossed her arms: "Tell me the specific structure."
Chi Quan looked at the map, his tone frighteningly steady.
"I need the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan for reconnaissance, the tracking of the Inuzuka clan, the long-range interference of the Aburame clan, the control of the field of the Nara clan, and a few Jonin who are fast and good at surprise attacks. I will select a group from the Special Mobile Unit, not too many people, between a dozen and twenty."
Tsunade sneered, "You've certainly picked a wide variety."
"Not all, just right."
"What about the village itself? What about the border?"
"The border remains under defense as usual, and the village continues to operate as usual."
Chi Quan looked up at her. "What I'm taking away are people who can fight quickly, not everyone. What Konoha needs most right now isn't people to defend, but people who can disrupt the rhythm of this war."
Tsunade stared at him for a long while before saying, "You've been thinking about this for half a month, haven't you?"
Chi Quan did not deny it.
"Yes."
"Then why did you deliberately make me wait for half a month?"
"Because the timing wasn't right then."
Tsunade gritted her teeth: "You really know how to pick your timing."
Chi Quan said calmly, "Right now, the allied forces are most confident and most relaxed. As they actually begin their advance, they will naturally enter a state of war, and it will be much more difficult to catch them off guard then."
Tsunade did not answer immediately.
The wind outside the window gently rustled the pages of the paper, and the lamp on the table flickered slightly.
After a long pause, she spoke in a low voice, "Do you know what your going means?"
"Know."
"If you win, the allied forces will be scattered by your punch before they even enter the Land of Fire."
"Um."
"If you lose"
"I will not lose."
Tsunade's temple twitched.
What annoyed her most was Chi Quan's kind of answer.
It's not just empty talk; I genuinely believe that "not losing" is something that doesn't need further explanation.
She stared at him for a long time, but in the end she just let out a heavy sigh.
"You draft the list of candidates, and I'll approve it."
Chi Quan's eyes flickered slightly.
"You agree?"
"Did I have any other choice?" Tsunade looked at him irritably. "You've already planned out the route, the key points, and the formation, and you only come to me in the middle of the night. Aren't you just afraid I'll yell at you in front of others during the day?"
Chi Quan paused for a moment.
"That's something we've considered."
Tsunade almost punched him.
"You're honest, aren't you?"
Chi Quan nodded gently: "That's an advantage."
"Shut up."
Tsunade turned around and went back behind the table, pulled out a new task sheet, dipped it in ink, and said, "List, give it to me before sunset tomorrow."
Also, I must see the complete battle plan before we set off.
"Can."
"in addition."
Tsunade looked up at him, her gaze deep and serious. "Since you were the one who suggested taking the initiative, then you'd better remember one thing."
Chi Quan looked at her.
"None of the people you take with you can be abandoned."
The room fell silent.
Chi Quan looked at her, and after a moment, he spoke: "I know."
Tsunade stared at him: "It's not about knowing, it's about doing."
"----good."
"Also, no one is allowed to leak this information now. Don't even tell Jiraiya yet."
Chi Quan nodded: "Understood."
Tsunade wrote a few strokes, then looked up and asked, "When do you plan to make your move?"
"In three more days."
"So fast?"
"Speed is what matters."
Tsunade snorted coldly: "You really don't leave anyone any room to breathe."
Chi Quan turned to leave, but just as he reached the door, Tsunade suddenly called him back.
"Chiquan."
He stopped and turned around.
Tsunade sat behind the table, the lamplight casting a deep shadow on her expression.
"This proactive attack wasn't just about fighting the coalition forces, was it?"
Chi Quan was quiet for a moment.
"no."
"I knew it."
Tsunade stared at him. "You still want to use this battle to make the entire ninja world understand that absolute justice cannot be stopped by simply piling on numbers."
Chi Quan remained silent.
Tsunade, however, had already gleaned the answer from his silence.
"—What a troublesome brat."
She muttered a curse under her breath, but didn't stop her anymore.
Chi Quan stood by the door for a moment before speaking: "Tsunade."
"What's wrong now?"
"Thanks."
Tsunade was taken aback.
By the time she came to her senses, the door had already been gently closed.