[Border Gorge, Western Front]
Two months.
In the past two months, I had manipulated the battlefield, cutting the enemy's supplies to give the upper hand to the Konohagakure forces, yet leaving just enough for Iwagakure to keep pressing their enemies.
In other words, Ihad created a stalemate, and was profiting from it.
"Danzo-sama, it has been two months already. We are going to be rich!", Yukiko celebrated silently.
Although the rest of the Shimura clan was oblivious to the grand scheme of things, Elder Itoru and Yukiko were fully aware of the web of schemes I had set for his enemies and allies. In the past eight weeks of deployment, compensation rose from 100 millions Ryo into 180 millions. However, this gigantic sum did not account for the convoy plunders. Iwagakure was growing more and more impatient, giving increasingly more resources to the front, fearing the fall of Ishizo, the stone titan.
However, all those supplies were plundered by the Shimura clan. The worn-off Shimura swords were replaced with the masterpieces of the Iwagakure village. Actually, the Kenjutsu corps was now fully equipped with C-rank katanas, an upgrade from their previous D-rank iron swords they had purchased from konoha's blacksmiths. The chunins had priority on the good stuff, though, and most close-range fighters had gotten their hands on B-rank blades, usually reserved for jonins.
In possession of the futon chakra blade techniques, the chunin Kenjutsu specialists were now on par with regular jonins in close combat. Refined in the battlefield and the teachings of jonins, these chunins had gone through a transformation. But it was not just the chunins. Genins grew stronger too, their array of jutsu widening on a weekly basis, their chakra reserves expanding after each fight.
However, perhaps the biggest change happened in tactics. Although the formation was a bit clumsy in the first ambushes, repeating attacks on convoys allowed them to sharpen their individual skills. Growing in strength overall, the effects on the formations were duplicated. Regular chunin-level convoys stood no chance, even if the jonins and I stood by.
'This is the power of platoon commands over skirmish units...Less maneuvrability but more impact...', I analyzed.
*BOOM*
The earth trembled. Not from wind or blade, but from something primal.
"Danzo-sama!" Yukiko's voice crackled in my ear, strained. "Chakra signature—off the charts! It's…not human"
I didn't need her sensors. The air itself curdled, thick with malice, breaking through the stealth tags of the cave we had settled in.
Ahead, the latest Iwa convoy had stopped. Escorts entered a triangular formation, foreheads showing their signature: Iwagakure shinobi, again. A lone figure strode forward. A boy—no older than me, red hair and eyes like smoldering coals. Roshi, the Fourth Tail's vessel. I didn't know he was the same age as Hiruzen or me.
What I knew, however, was the fact that Onoki truly lived up to his name. I initially hoped to continue this stalemate for a good month, but his impatience gave in.
"So this is Konoha's ghost?" His voice rasped, raw from swallowed fire. "You're smaller than I imagined."
I raised a hand. The Shimura Wind Corps hidden in the cliffs, nocked wind-infused shurikens. Kenjutsu squads melted from shadow to stone, blades humming.
"Formation delta" I shouted.
The canyon erupted. Shurikens streaked down, spiraling on gusts to pierce Roshi's heart, throat, eyes. He didn't move.
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
The arrows melted inches from his skin, dripping slag.
"Futon users!" I barked.
Six clansmen unleashed Great Wind Breakthrough[C-Rank], shredding the ground toward him. Roshi yawned. A flick of his wrist, and magma geysered upward, swallowing the huge gushes of wind whole.
Katon: Lava Flow [A-Rank]
"Pathetic," he muttered.
I clenched my jaw. He was not any jonin. He was a monster. A volcano in human's skin. A jinchuriki. I did not need Yukiko's sharp senses to alert me. Even I could feel a monstrous aura from miles a way.
"Scatter!" I roared.
Too late. Roshi's palm slammed the earth.
Doton: Volcanic Fissure [S-Rank]
The gorge split. Molten rock fountained, swallowing three kenjutsu squads. Screams cut short. Yukiko's genjutsu map in my mind flickered—eight chakra signatures were harmed. Not dead, thank god, but harmed. However, they had been saved thanks to the seal. If he struck again, they would not luck out again.
My hands flashed. Futon: Vacuum Shuriken [C-Rank]. A shuriken of condensed air condensed immediately, with no hand signs, grazing his cheek. Putting his hands on his face, he seemed both angry and shocked at the danger I posed to him. Surely, he thought nobody was capable of harming him upon coming here.
'His reaction time is impeccable, but how will you react against it?'
I hurtled toward him, close enough to see the cracks in his skin, glowing orange.
Perfect.
Substitution at the last second. A boulder replaced me, vaporized by Roshi's molten fist. I reappeared above, hurling a tagged kunai.
Explosion Seal: Wind Array [B-Rank]
B-rank explosion tags were not produced in Konoha. I had gotten them from Iwagakure, and I must say they didn't disappoint!
The blast scattered ash, blinding him. I did not wait for reinforcements. The Shimura was trained to obey orders, especially when they came from me. My achievements in the past two months had not just solidified my presence. I had grown into a trustworthy leader, capable of everything. Sharp, lethal, stealthy like a shadow.
However...
Roshi's chakra spiked. Two crimson tails exploded from his back, incinerating the sand.
Yukiko's voice trembled. "What is this chakra signature??"
"Good. It's been a while since I wanted to test this" My fingers wove seals. Sixteen, to be exact. This was why I'd come. Why I'd let Hiruzen dangle me on this mercenary string. Money was a nice addition. Training the Shimura clansmen was definitely part of it.
However, in the depths of my skins, I wanted to face monsters. I wanted to harvest them like in a game, to earn experience and grow stronger. I knew for sure that it was no game, no fiction. The goosebumps on my arm and my trembling legs screamed in horror. Roshi had five- no, ten times my chakra reserves. It was on a whole other level.
How many decades would I need to reach his level? And the man was my age! Not older! My age!
Futon: Vacuum Dragon Barrage [S-Rank]
Twelve dragons of compressed air erupted from my palms. Roshi batted them aside with a tail—each detonation cratering the cliffs. But the twelfth, I guided behind him.
Boom.
The blast knocked him forward. Into my trap. Its teeth dug deep into the jinchuriki, harming him as blood overflew. I knew that it was not enough. A jinchuriki would not fall so easily.
'As expected, S-rank jutsu can harm kage-level figures...Even if Roshi is probably somewhere between an elite jonin and a low kage monster, this is reassuring'
As expected, a third tail grew out of his back, shattering the last dragon I had formed. The backlash was evident, as the shockwave almost made me fly. Thankfully, I cut the connection right before the impact and used a body flicker jutsu to reposition myself.
*GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR*
A primal scream made it clear. Roshi had lost control.