Hokage's Office.
Tsunade reviewed documents while listening to Kakashi's report.
"The first team, under my command, has developed several tactics to counter Hiruko, raising the win rate from 17% to 26%. Asuma's second team, tasked with facing Ranmaru, has made no progress. Ranmaru's Transparent Release and unique dojutsu still lack effective countermeasures."
Tsunade's expression darkened.
After so many days, the win rate against Hiruko was still only in the twenties, far from satisfactory.
What frustrated her more was that the second team, tasked with Ranmaru, had barely advanced.
Of course, she understood Ranmaru was a tougher challenge.
His Transparent Release alone was already a handful, with only the Byakugan-wielding Hyuga clan able to counter it in the village.
Unfortunately, Ranmaru was also a Hogan Bloodline Limit shinobi, and the Hogan's ability to create chakra illusions perfectly countered the Byakugan, making it its natural enemy.
As a result, the entire village was at a loss against Ranmaru.
Kakashi continued, "The third team, led by Gai, targeting Kakuzu and Hidan, has developed several mature tactics. After multiple drills in Takamagahara, their win rate exceeds 50% and is still being refined."
"Good!"
Tsunade's furrowed brow finally relaxed slightly.
Kakashi went on, "The fourth team, led by Yamato, found through Takamagahara combat drills that the demon Moryo not only controls an Undead Legion but can also absorb negative emotions, rendering most sealing techniques ineffective. Its partner, Shinno, who developed Zero-Tails, has abilities comparable to a slightly weaker perfect jinchuriki, so the fourth team's progress is very slow."
Tsunade sighed, rubbing her temples.
Some Akatsuki members relied on bizarre secret techniques, like Kakuzu and Hidan.
Without knowledge of their abilities, even Kage-level shinobi could easily fall to them. But once their intel was known, countering them became much simpler.
However, some Akatsuki members were outright monsters!
Take the demon Moryo—it was a true monster, even more destructive than most tailed beasts.
Then there were Hiruko, who boldly fused multiple Bloodline Limits through rituals; Ranmaru; and Shinno, a mere human audacious enough to create a tailed beast. Calling these Akatsuki members monsters was no exaggeration.
Seeing Tsunade sigh, Kakashi paused before continuing, "The fifth team, led by Kurenai, has made no progress either. She's tried numerous times in Takamagahara and found her genjutsu skills can't compete with Uchiha Itachi. The rest of the genjutsu squad is the same—they're completely outmatched in Takamagahara with no way to fight back. So, she's requested Yakumo's assistance."
Kurenai's clan was a renowned genjutsu family in Hidden Leaf.
Before facing Itachi in Takamagahara, she was confident her genjutsu prowess could at least challenge a Mangekyo Uchiha.
But after clashing with the simulated Itachi, she realized the vast gap between their genjutsu skills.
Not just her—the entire genjutsu squad was similarly crushed by Itachi in Takamagahara, utterly powerless.
This was why Kurenai thought of Yakumo.
As the heiress of the Kurama clan, Yakumo was recently famed for her Wood Release in the shinobi world, but Kurenai knew her true talent lay in the Kurama clan's Bloodline Limit, Five Senses Manipulation.
"Yakumo…" Tsunade mused, then shook her head. "Tell her to find another way. Yakumo is a vital asset to the village and should be reserved for more critical roles."
Kakashi suggested, "Should we have Sasuke join the fifth team?"
Before the Uchiha clan's massacre, a saying circulated: Only an Uchiha can counter an Uchiha. Having Sasuke, who harbored hatred for Itachi, join the fifth team might accelerate the development of tactics against him.
After a brief consideration, Tsunade nodded. "Approved."
Kakashi acknowledged and continued, "The sixth team, targeting Sasori and Deidara, has made no progress. According to the intelligence team, Sasori has taken the Fourth Kazekage's body and may turn it into a human puppet, just like the Third Kazekage, so…"
His tone grew heavier toward the end.
Relying solely on Hidden Leaf to counter the entire Akatsuki was proving too difficult. This was just a portion of the Akatsuki's members—the most troublesome ones, like the Akatsuki leader and the group led by A, hadn't even been assigned counter-teams yet.
"We're still short on manpower!" Tsunade sighed, then suddenly asked, "The shinobi from the other villages coming to experience Takamagahara should arrive soon, right? Once they're here, assign some of the tasks to them. We'll focus on handling Hiruko, Ranmaru, Kakuzu, Hidan, Uchiha Itachi, and Juzo Biwa!"
After Kakashi's report, Tsunade abandoned any illusions. Even with Shinji's Takamagahara, Hidden Leaf alone couldn't take on the entire Akatsuki. She quickly adjusted her strategy: since Takamagahara was already being shared, they might as well distribute the tasks of countering Akatsuki members too.
"Yes!"
Kakashi responded.
If they could offload some tasks, it would lighten his burden significantly. Hidden Leaf was already handling six Akatsuki members—nearly a third of the organization. The other four villages could reasonably share the remaining two-thirds.
Kakashi understood why Tsunade selected these targets.
Kakuzu and Hidan were manageable, as Hidden Leaf had developed effective tactics against them, so there was no need to hand them over to other villages. Hiruko and Itachi were Hidden Leaf renegades, making it their duty to deal with them. Ranmaru and Juzo Biwa were their partners, almost always acting together, so they had to be handled as a unit.
As Tsunade assigned tasks to Kakashi, an Anbu knocked on the door and entered with a document.
Tsunade glanced up. "What is it?"
The Anbu placed the document on her desk. "This is a request from Uchiha Shinji. He wants to conduct a special interrogation of Orochimaru to address the issue of the Cursed Seal troubling Uchiha Sasuke."
Tsunade frowned. "Interrogate Orochimaru?"