Chapter 6: Jiraiya: When did ANBU have such a powerful ninja?
Peaceful times are always short.
Early on the third day.
Just as Kazuya arrived at the ANBU base, he was stopped at the entrance by a shinobi with a powerful aura.
"Captain Kazuya!"
The shinobi said seriously, "Assemble your squads. We have an S-rank mission and are departing immediately!"
This person was the Platoon Leader of the ANBU First Platoon, the Third Hokage's eldest son—Shinnosuke Sarutobi.
He was also Konohamaru's father, a powerful Elite Jōnin extremely proficient in Fire and Earth Release.
Rumor had it that his combat power was by no means inferior to the Third Hokage's right-hand man in the ANBU—Elephant!
"Understood."
Kazuya nodded.
The next moment.
He disappeared from the spot using the Body Flicker Technique.
Inside the office.
Kazuya put on his ANBU gear, a white mask covering his face.
"Kurenai!"
"Go assemble Squad 5, Squad 6, Squad 7, and Squad 8!"
Kazuya issued the orders.
"Yes, Captain Kazuya."
Kurenai responded and quickly went to gather the personnel.
Business is business!
When it came to missions, Kazuya-kun had become her direct superior!
Soon.
On the training ground.
Two full ANBU platoons assembled; the First through Eighth Squads were all present.
Except for Kurenai's Squad 7, all other squads were fully staffed with four members.
First Platoon Leader, Shinnosuke Sarutobi!
Second Platoon Leader, Kazuya!
The two stood in front of 31 ANBU shinobi.
The atmosphere was heavy.
"S-rank mission!"
Shinnosuke Sarutobi said in a deep voice, "Elite squads from the Hidden Mist and Hidden Cloud have infiltrated the Land of Fire. Our mission is to find them and repel them!"
"When engaging, maintain restraint. Understood?"
"Understood!"
The crowd of ANBU shinobi responded.
"Captain Kazuya, anything to add?"
Shinnosuke turned sideways and asked.
"Uh..."
"No."
Kazuya shook his head.
At this moment, the expression on his face was a bit blank, though no one could see it behind the mask.
"So much chakra!"
Kazuya exclaimed in his heart.
His attention was entirely on those golden lights.
[You have picked up 50 Combat Experience points]
[You have picked up 20 Fire Release Talent points]
[You have picked up 20 Earth Release Talent points]
[You have picked up 50 Chakra points]
[You have picked up 40 Chakra points]
...
So many golden lights!
Eight squads of ANBU shinobi, plus the Elite Jōnin Shinnosuke Sarutobi, dropped a full 500 points of chakra.
Adding the 5000 chakra points picked up over the last two days, Kazuya's chakra amount was now:
[Chakra: LV4 (9260/100,000)]
Over 9000 points!
With just over 90,000 more chakra points, Kazuya's level could break through from Kage level directly to Super Kage!
A moment later.
All the ANBU captains followed Kazuya and Shinnosuke out of the ANBU base.
The group sped toward the village gate.
"Elite squads from the Mist and Cloud..."
"Is the Hyuga Hizashi incident about to begin?"
Kazuya was positioned in the center of the formation, a thoughtful expression on his face.
In the original plot, the Cloud Head Ninja kidnapped Hinata but was killed by the Hyuga patriarch with a few moves. Then, the Cloud Village used this to pressure Konoha, and Konoha only settled the matter by handing over the life of the branch family head—Hizashi Hyuga.
Hmm...
Konoha, the victor, was threatened by the Cloud, the defeated party!
This sounded ridiculous.
However, at this moment in Konoha, although the Fourth Hokage had passed away, the Sannin Orochimaru and Jiraiya were still in the village. There was no shortage of top-tier combat power.
To be threatened by the Cloud Village, they must have seized upon a weakness!
Otherwise, an old fox like the Third Hokage would absolutely not yield when he held the upper hand!
What weakness would make the dominant Konoha submit?
Kazuya felt completely in the dark; there was too little relevant intelligence, and he had no leads.
Just then.
The group of ANBU exited the village gate, preparing to head north.
However.
At the village gate, a white-haired man suddenly appeared.
"That is..."
"Jiraiya!??"
Kazuya's eyes flashed.
[You have picked up 100 Chakra points]
[You have picked up 100 Chakra points]
[You have picked up 50 Combat Experience points]
Upon their meeting, three golden lights flew over.
As expected of the legendary Toad Sage, the quality of the golden light dropped was on par with the Third Hokage!
"Lord Jiraiya!"
Shinnosuke Sarutobi stopped in his tracks.
"Last night, the old man told me about the mission. I will be departing with you all."
Jiraiya said solemnly.
"Yes, Lord Jiraiya!"
Shinnosuke responded reverently.
His expression also became somewhat heavy.
Even Lord Jiraiya was mobilized. It seemed the invading shinobi from the Cloud and Mist were extremely powerful.
The other ANBU members also felt the pressure.
Two full platoons, plus Lord Jiraiya. It looked like the enemies they would face this time would be terrifying.
"Another big fat sheep!"
Kazuya, however, was excited.
Even the Toad Sage had come. The opposing side definitely had Kage-level shinobi as well. If he got lucky this time, he would surely be able to pick up extremely high-quality attributes.
Perhaps his strength would see a major breakthrough!
"Move out!"
"Yes!"
The group of ANBU shinobi quickly disappeared from the spot.
"Strange..."
Jiraiya's gaze swept over Kazuya without leaving a trace, somewhat surprised. "Such strong chakra. Since when did the ANBU have such a powerful shinobi?"