Chapter 203: The New S-Rank Mission!
'Shimura Danzō, you worthless piece of trash!'
That is what Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to shout. But immediately following the Root ninja's report, urgent intelligence from the other fronts arrived.
Iwagakure had regrouped and was once again invading the Land of Grass, with thousands of ninja. Orochimaru had sent an urgent request for help.
Sunagakure had allied with Iwagakure, and they were jointly applying pressure to the Konoha line in the Land of Rain. Hanzō of the Salamander was ignoring the chaos. Jiraiya had sent an urgent request for help.
And Kirigakure, which had been watching from the sidelines, had suddenly entered the war. In a single night, their forces occupied the Land of Waves and were using it as a staging ground to launch continuous, small-scale raids on Konoha's coastline.
In just a few days, as if by a prior agreement, all four Great Nations had joined the war to encircle and destroy Konoha. The tide of the war had turned against them in an instant.
"What... what is happening?" Hiruzen was completely overwhelmed, unable to make sense of the situation. "Who... who is coordinating this assault against us?"
If it were just the Land of Hot Water front, he could have blamed Danzō's incompetence. Though "Wind beats Lightning" was a common saying, nature-killing counters were still a matter of "chakra dosage." Expecting Danzō's Wind Style to counter the Third Raikage's Lightning Style was less realistic than expecting him to kill the Raikage with a kunai. Hiruzen had sent Danzō there thinking his "scheming" would be effective against the "simple-minded muscle-heads" of Kumo, not to fight the Raikage directly. What's more, the Third Raikage had been busy fighting Iwagakure, so why would he suddenly turn on Konoha?
Combined with the actions of Iwa, Suna, and even Kiri... Hiruzen instinctively smelled a conspiracy. 'Is Ōnoki of Both Scales pulling the strings? He has the motive; he would never let Konoha just take the Five-Tails. But he doesn't have the influence to unite all four villages... unless...'
A shadow of a figure flashed in his mind, but he had no time to think. The combined assault was a massive crisis. But Hiruzen knew that if Konoha could just weather this one storm, the dawn of victory would be at hand.
The Land of Hot Water, the Land of Grass, the Land of Rain, the Land of Waves... He weighed the fronts in his mind. The other fronts were a disease, but the collapse of the Land of Hot Water was a dagger to the heart. If Kumo broke through that border, their high-mobility forces could charge straight for Konoha itself.
"Kagami!" Hiruzen shouted, calling the shadow from the corner. "You and Minato are to proceed to the Land of Hot Water front at once! Harass the main Kumo force and slow their advance!"
Kagami accepted the order and vanished. Hiruzen hesitated for a moment, then grit his teeth. Swallowing his pride and his concerns about Keisuke's reputation, he summoned another Anbu.
"Go to Kikyo Castle immediately, and request the presence of the Shadow of Darkness!"
Nara Medical Research Institute...
"The Third Hokage is looking for me?" Keisuke looked at the Anbu, frowning. "Another urgent mission?"
"Yes," the Anbu's muffled voice came from behind his mask, but his posture was one of utter respect. "Lord Nara, the situation on the front lines has changed. Lord Third has ordered you to the Hokage Tower immediately."
"The front? Which front?" Keisuke raised an eyebrow. "It's not the Land of Grass again, is it?"
The Anbu glanced at Tsunade, who was also in the room, and hesitated before revealing what he knew. "Kumo, Iwa, Suna, and Kiri have all launched a joint attack against Konoha..."
Even just hearing the summary, Keisuke and Tsunade could feel the urgency. And when the Anbu got to the part about "Shimura Danzō being critically wounded by the Third Raikage, half of his body destroyed, leaving him virtually crippled..."
Keisuke just said, "Danzō, that worthless trash."
The Anbu quietly shrank back. Being in Anbu, he knew more than most, and he was well aware of the conflict between the man before him and the leader of Root. A year ago, he wouldn't have bet on Keisuke. But now, the name "Shadow of Darkness" was like the midday sun, while Danzō had been chased out of the Land of Hot Water like a stray dog. This was a fight between gods that he had no place in.
"Nara," Tsunade urged. "You need to go see the old man."
"Then I'm off. My plan to introduce you to the Five-Tails will have to wait." Keisuke sighed and stood up. He instantly created several Shadow Clones, sending them to inform Nono'o, Pakura, and his great-uncle. His original plan for the day had been to take Tsunade to meet Kokuō. If the mood was right, he might have even let them spar. He loved watching Tsunade fight... ah, no, he wanted her to regain her combat instincts. It seemed the meeting of the fat sheep and the great white deer would have to be postponed.
He created a Shadow Creature, pulled the Anbu onto it, and flew straight to the Hokage Tower, bypassing all security.
His team—Shisui, Retsu, and Shizune—was already there waiting. They nodded as he entered. He nodded back, then looked at Hiruzen.
"Nara Keisuke. On the recommendation of several Jonin and after a comprehensive review by the village..." Hiruzen took out an appointment letter from his desk, his expression solemn. "As of today, you are an official Jonin of the village."
Special Jonin, formal Jonin. The title was the only real difference. Keisuke casually accepted the certificate.
Hiruzen had no time to critique his lax attitude. He quickly explained the dire situation on the fronts, especially the collapse in the Land of Hot Water, and took out a second letter.
"Keisuke, Danzō has been critically wounded. At this moment, you are the only one in the village who can bear this heavy responsibility." Hiruzen held out the letter. "By the name of the Third Hokage, I hereby appoint Nara Keisuke as the Supreme Commander of the Land of Hot Water front, responsible for unifying our forces and repelling the Kumo invasion."
Supreme Commander? This time, Keisuke was genuinely surprised. He took the letter and scanned its contents. After the Iwa front, now the Kumo front?
Before he could ask, Hiruzen took out two new mission scrolls. "The situation is urgent... These are your squad's missions." He handed one to Keisuke and one to Shisui.
"Keisuke, because of the Five-Tails, your mission will be separate from your team's. Your duty is to command from the main camp. Shikaku is already on that front and will assist you with the details. Shisui, you are now a formal Jonin as well. Your mission is to lead Retsu and Shizune to support the Land of Hot Water front."
Keisuke accepted the scrolls, passing Shisui's to him. A new notification appeared on his panel.
[S-Rank Ninja Commissioned Mission has been detected!]
[S-Rank Mission: Commander of the Kumo Front]
[Mission Content: Proceed to the Land of Fire border, rally the remnants of the Konoha forces, and fight back against the Cloud-nin army.]
[Mission Reward: S-Rank Shinobi Secret Scroll]
Just as with the previous S-rank mission on the Iwa front, another message popped up.
[This is a Long-Term Faction Mission!]
[During this mission, you are not restricted from accepting other missions!]
'Rally the remnants... what a grim mission description.' Keisuke held the scroll and looked at Hiruzen. "Lord Third, I have a question. Is this S-rank mission for me personally, or... does it require the Five-Tails, Kokuō, to be on the battlefield?"
Hiruzen, who hadn't expected this question, paused for a moment. "Konoha... also needs the power of the Five-Tails," he admitted.
"In that case, according to the rules of ninja missions," Keisuke said, holding up the scroll and fighting for a "perk" for his new partner, "if you are hiring Kokuō, shouldn't he also be paid a relevant mission fee?"
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