[Iwagakure Front, Southern Cave]
Hidden in the depth of a cave that had been located by Yukiko earlier, and hidden by stealth tags, three days had passed already since we went into hiding. The genins were recovering from the shock of their first large-scale battles, while chunins were sharing their insights on the formation I had given them.
Truth to be told, we had killed over a hundred iwagakure shinobi with no human casualties, destroyed their supply routes and stolen millions of ryos' worth of military supplies. Rations, weapons were theirs for the taking. I did not mind sharing the wealth from the plunder to the lucky ones. After all, the stronger the Shimura clansmen became, the more influence I would get.
Of course, strength from numbers was insufficient. I needed to grow stronger myself. Although I was quite satisfied from my experiments, allowing me to turn my ideas and knowledge into two A-rank ninjutsu techniques, namely:
Futon: Vacuum Sphere [A-Rank]
Futon: Successive Wind Explosions [A-rank]
My other attempts ended up as regular C-rank ninjutsus, such as the Futon: Heavenly Wind Snipe [C-Rank].
I needed something stronger, or a way to use my versatility into my strength. Although the two A-rank ninjutsu were fairly strong, they required seconds to form the hand seals, precious timeframe in which I could be killed dozens of times by any skilled kage-level figure. In fact, I was more satisfied by the effectiveness of the Heavenly Wind Snipe jutsu, despite it being only of C-rank piercing power.
The reason why it lacked power was the chakra consumption. A single hand seal limited the amount of chakra I could use. But what if I could summon more chakra?
"Danzo-sama, Elder Itoru wants to speak with you"
I titled my head. Elder Itoru was not an unknown figure in the Shimura clan. Although he should have ascended to the position of the Shimura patriarch, he welcomed my decision to become the chief, and supported all my decisions, including the policies to form independant platoons. Better still, he agreed to the Shimura operation, facing the opposition with promises of opportunities and wealth, which he could not have known beforehand.
In other words, he was part of my loyal followers.
The Shimura clan possessed opposition. I would estimate it to 20% of the clan initially, which was quite low for such a wide structure, but still. With the recent achievements, I assumed that most of the opposition on the battlefield was now in my favour. My strategy, tactics and individual strength inspired respect. Scouring the surroundings, a single glance made the bloodthirsty shinobi cower in respect and admiration. Even the jonins were looking at me like a true commander, despite myself being young enough to be their child sometimes.
I welcomed this feeling, this acknowledgement. The stronger the social cohesion, the better it was for the clan, and the more resistant it was to Hiruzen's influence. He had yet to prove his worth, and unlike me, he did not have that shadow in him. Lastly, with my presence in the clan, whatever action or achievement he would make would be downplayed by my own achievements.
"Itoru-san, huh...Sure, let him talk"
Yukiko fetched him from the side of the cave. As he approached, I nodded. His uniform complemented his rank, his blade seemed well taken care of, and his gaze was resolute. In other words, his experience showed in the way he moved, talked and acted. No wonder he would qualify as the Shimura patriarch in regular times.
I analysed his strength.
Chakra-wise, he now qualified as an elite jonin, the only one besides me, to be truthful. However, his physique seemed a bit lacking, and from what I heard, he was lacking skills in close combat, which is why he was not quite an elite jonin yet. Unless he could solve this attribute asymetry, he would never become a true individual force.
"Danzo-sama, congratulations for the two previous battles. I have been under many commanders, but never once did I see such successful operations, with such little casualties too", Itoru spoke
"Mmh? I appreciate your support, Itoru. Strategy is one thing, execution is what matters the most at the end of the day"
"As expected, your wisdom far exceeds what I am capable of. It was the right decision to become the Shimura patriarch. You could have chosen to become an advisor, or even the Hokage's assistant, but you decided family over influence. This is a debt all clansmen forever owe you"
'Is this how it was perceived? Well, it is true that the original Danzo would have done exactly that but...'
"As such, I would like to serve you better. I witnessed a jutsu that did not figure in the family's library. I am a ninjutsu specialist, and unlike regular jonins, I lack elemental affinities with other elements. However, this is not necessarily a weakness in itself. Could you teach me the jutsu? Its strength exceeds that of regular jonin, so it must be an A-rank technique, right?"
'So it was to become stronger...Well, rewarding loyalty with strength is only natural. I planned to make them official eventually', I thought inwardly
"The vacuum sphere is indeed of A-rank. However, the reason why it is not in the library yet is because I created it"
Yukiko and Itoru gasped.
It was one thing to master a jutsu. It was another to create it. The insights and understanding needed to create a jutsu were very high. It was something that retired elders did to continue contributing to their clans, not something a 20-years-old jonin could do in his free time
"So it was the reason why you delegated the training of genins to elders? You managed to finish the creation of an A-rank jutsu at such a young age?", Yukiko exclaimed
"Not one. Two", Itoru spoke with great respect, "To think the Shimura clan would see its former glory once again..."
However, Itoru spoke too soon.
"Although the vacuum sphere is of extreme lethality, I cannot teach it to you"
Itoru nodded: "I understand. Such techniques cannot be leaked. If they fell in the hands of the hokage, they would not be in the hands of the clan anymore. I will make my loyalty more apparent, and sever all ties with the village before asking you to share the technique with me"
"This is only part of the reason and part of the requirements", I continued, "The Shimura clan has more potential than the other noble families in Konohagakure. Severing ties with the village is the basic requirement to stay in the family. After the Shimura operation on the iwagakure battlefield, I will naturally make sure that everyone, including the lowest genins, obey. However, the reason why I am not sharing the technique with you, uncle, is because it would further unbalance your fighting prowess"
"What do you mean?", Yukiko titled her head, "Mastering stronger ninjutsu makes you stronger, doesn't it?"
I shook my head: "Short term, yes. On the long run, however, it will make uncle Itoru even more reliant on ninjutsu. I will not teach A-rank jutsu to Shimura clansmen unless they reach jonin-level in close combat. Strength in balance. This is our motto, our vitality. If we lose our roots, we will never grow to reach the skies"
Itoru nodded.
"I understand, Danzo-sama. It seems like I was too short-sighted. I understand better now! So I just need to perfect my close combat skills. I will work harder"