Chapter 295 - Point of no return

Danzo Shimura held a cold gaze as he made his way up the steps of the Hokage tower. His mind was on the events that would take place in the next few days.

'I'm doing what's best for the village. If we remain passive the other villages will take action and destroy us… Yes. This is for the best.'

Danzo only went to the Hokage tower after he had confirmed that Hiruzen had met with the spy he embedded in Root.

'Hiruzen will no doubt be confused. But with this information his forces will be stretched thin and I can initiate my plan.'

Danzo soon reached the door to the Hokage office and took a deep breath of air. 'This is it. My point of no return. If this fails… I'll be executed. But if it succeeds I'll be the next Hokage. Only a few will remain a problem. Once I deal with Hiruzen I'll have to deal with Jiraiya as well. Hmph. No matter how strong he is, Kotoamatsukami will put him under my control.'

Just a moment later the door to the office opened and two Aburame and a Hyuga Jonin walked out. Danzo looked at their body language and saw that they were tense and he knew it was not because of him.

'I wonder what's happened…? No. Now isn't the time to worry about that.'

Danzo quickly moved forward and stood in front of the old leader. "I have what you asked for Hiruzen."

The Hokage merely leaned back in his chair and looked at the one eyed man in silence. He remembered the information his spy sent him a short while ago. 'Let's see what your game is Danzo.'

The old war hawk put the scroll on the desk and activated it. Several papers and maps appeared and Hiruzen quickly began going over it. His eyes widened as he saw the information on it.

"These are…"

"Orochimaru's secret transportation channels, approximate location of his base of operations. And an estimate of the man power he would have under his control."

The Hokage quickly went through the information and his eyes narrowed. "According to these, Orochimaru has around 7 bases of operations built in the Land of Fire."

"Yes. He's been busy the last few months. He was very careful about it but he couldn't move such large shipments of materials and people without me noticing it." Danzo replied as he stood stoically.

Hiruzen raised his head and looked at the commander of Root. "I've been keeping an eye on Orochimaru's movements but I didn't find anything… So how did you come across such information?"

"I have my methods, Hiruzen. You have what you asked for."

The old kage was silent as he looked at the information on his desk. "I'll need to investigate and make sure this information is accurate before I take action."

Danzo only nodded his head.

"This information… Do your agents know about this?" Hiruzen asked while keeping a calm expression.

"They knew a few details but not much. All this information is kept classified and under lock in my vault. I've sent my men to investigate 3 locations to make sure I'm not wrong and Orochimaru isn't leading us into a trap."

Hiruzen nodded and soon dismissed the man.

Danzo was expressionless on the outside but his heart was beating faster than normal. 'The information I gave you is all true. You'll need a large force to attack Orochimaru's hideouts. Once you make your move, the village won't have much force to defend you and then I'll take charge. The sleeper agents I've sent to infiltrate your ranks will soon help me take control… I'm the one who will lead this village into a new era.'

The Hokage watched the man leave with a calm gaze but as soon as Danzo left the old leader's expression turned cold.

'I need to verify this information before I take action.'

"Sparrow."

The Hokage called out and the next moment Anbu appeared and stood before him.

"Take all this information to the intelligence department for analysis. While they go through the data I want you to assemble seven long range tracking and reconnaissance teams. There are several locations marked on the map. We need to search and confirm them all. Right now our priority is rescuing Tsunade and her apprentice."

The Anbu with the mark of a sparrow on its mask nodded. "I'll take charge of this operation. I'll assemble the teams for this mission."

Hiruzen nodded. "We need to find Orochimaru's hideouts, confirm the layout and assess the strength of the enemies before I send in the assault teams."

"Yes Sir. I'll have the teams ready for departure in less than an hour."

"Good. I'll leave this to you."

The Anbu vanished and the old Kage got up from his chair and walked to the window. 'Things are about to get chaotic. It seems the time is near…'

(10:30 am - Several Chunin and Special Jonin tracking teams leave the village.)

—-

Kakashi's Team.

Around the time the chunin teams left the village to investigate Orochimaru's hideouts, Kakashi and his team reached the location mentioned in the note.

A large area was completely devastated with several craters and uprooted trees. Multiple sharp long bones were sticking out of several places. There were obvious signs of Fire ninjutsu used along with multiple earth jutsu.

Asuma and the others were surprised to see the destruction. "Man they really wrecked the place didn't they."

"Such destruction. What kind of a battle must have taken place here…" Guy couldn't help but exclaim as he looked around.

"We're not alone." The Hyuga in the group spoke in a low voice.

The Sharingan ninja of the group nodded. "Yeah. I know. Something like this is bound to get everyone's attention."

The team was near the Land of Fire and the Land of Waterfall border and they could already see several ninjas from minor villages investigating the area.

"I smell blood." Kuromaru, Tsume's ninja dog, spoke with a small growl.

"Yeah. I do too…" Tsume spoke and the team moved to the center of the devastated land. The team soon reached a certain spot and observed the area.

"The scent is strong here. It's definitely Lady Tsunade's scent. And… Yes… That bastard Orochimaru's scent is also here…" Tsume spoke. There was anger in her tone and everyone could understand her emotion.

The team spread out and searched the area for a while looking for any clues.

"I see several long bone spikes buried in the ground." The Hyuga spoke as he looked around.

"Bone spikes?" Kakashi and the rest were puzzled.

The Hyuga took a few steps and knelt down. He added chakra to his fingers and plunged his hands into the earth. He retrieved a long sharp bone that looked broken.

"Strange. This doesn't seem like a bone in the human body…" Asuma spoke as he inspected the item.

"Hmm…" Kakashi's eyes narrowed as he examined the long sharp weapon. 'This bone… It's created with chakra.'

"In the hidden Mist village, there used to be a clan that used bones as weapons. I've never met them but I've heard stories about the clan." Kakashi spoke as he recalled some information his teacher had told him.

"Wait. Now that you mention it…" Tsume had fought in the war and suddenly recalled seeing something similar. "Yes. You're talking about the Kaguya clan aren't you?"

Kakashi nodded.

"They're a bloodthirsty clan. Always looking for a battle… But I heard that they were all dead and the clan was extinct due to the Mist civil war." Tsume spoke.

"Well, apparently I think one or two might have survived."

"Wait. So Orochimaru has members of the Kaguya clan with him." Asuma and Guy looked at Kakashi and their faces were grim.

"I believe so. He's someone who's fascinated with rare bloodlines. So it shouldn't come as a surprise." The Sharingan ninja replied with a small sigh.

"My insects have spread through the area and found multiple strong scents going in different directions. But something's strange…" Shibi spoke as he looked around.

"What's wrong?" Kakashi asked.

Tsume and Kuromaru also took several whiffs before their faces turned grim. "Yes. I think I know what you're getting at… East, West, North and South. The scents move in these four directions. I think he's trying to confuse us."

"What do we do, Kakashi? Orochimaru should know we'd be tracking him. This most likely is a false trail. If we go these four directions we'll just be wasting time." Asuma spoke as he looked around.

"But not following up on this is also not an option. We need to find something…" Guy spoke.

"We can't not investigate. Ideally I would say split up and follow the tracks but… I have another idea." Kakashi spoke and immediately went through the seals for the summoning jutsu.

Poof.

Pakkun and his team appeared in front of Kakashi. "You know Kakashi, I was just about to relax and have a long nap before you called us." Pakkun spoke in a deadpanned tone. The ninja dogs with him also whined.

"Sorry Pakkun. But this is an emergency."

The ninken immediately stood in alertness as they heard the words. "What's wrong?"

"Orochimaru has attacked Lady Tsunade. Based on the intel we have, he might have abducted her and her student. There are multiple scents leading away from here in four directions. I need you to split up and investigate them."

"Understood. We'll get it done." The dogs disappeared and Kakashi stood up.

"We could have looked into it. Why did you use your summon?" Tsume asked the Jonin.

"Because if I'm right, then those leads won't take us anywhere. I've been following Orochimaru for a while after he defected. I have a good idea as to how he operates. Those tracks are to mislead us. I'm sure of that. But as I said, I can't not look into it either." The Jonin replied with a sigh.

"So assuming those tracks are there to confuse us and waste our time, where do we start?" Kogamu Hyuga asked the man. He was a recently promoted Jonin but his tracking skills are top notch.

"Orochimaru must have had Lady Tsunade under surveillance to attack her here where no one could interfere."

"I doubt he would have personally taken the time to spy on her. So one of his men must have done it." Asuma deduced and Kakashi nodded.

"We need to retrace Lady Tsunade's steps. Find out where she was before she came here. If we can track the person who was watching her, maybe we'll have a better chance of getting more information on Orochimaru."

The Jonins agreed with the plan. It wasn't long before they found some clues to help them with their search.

"I got tracks." Tsume spoke. "Lady Tsunade and Shizune were coming from the east."

"Let's go."

On Kakashi's orders the team began to quickly follow Tsunade's tracks through the forest.

"What can you tell us?" Kakashi asked the head of the Inuzuka clan.

"Based on these footprints, Lady Tsunade and Shizune were definitely moving in a hurry. It's almost as if… as if they were trying to get away…" Tsume was an excellent tracker ninja. She could tell what the intentions of a person are correctly most of the time just by analysing their footprints and gait.

The Jonins were surprised to hear that. 'What could scare one of the Sanin? Did she find out about Orochimaru before she was ambushed?'

The team hurried and quickly moved through the forest. With each minute they were getting closer and closer to the village Tsunade had spent the day before.

—-

Anko, Daichi and Genma.

The trio was standing several meters in front of an old wooden hut. They reached the location Mizuki gave at around 2pm.

Daichi used Chakra and Mana sense and didn't find anything living in or nearby the area.

"I hope we find something from there." Genma spoke with a serious gaze.

Anko summoned a small snake and had it go near the wooden house. "It's better to be safe."

"Right. Check for any boobytraps."

The snake slithered through the cracks and was soon inside the house.

Daichi looked around the area and his gaze finally settled back on the small wooden building.

'Observe.'

[Secret Cabin]

[This building was created by Orochimaru several years ago as a means to communicate with his spies in the Fire Capital. It was deliberately created to look like a dilapidated building to avoid suspicion. Orochimaru has decided to abandon this cabin and modified it a week ago and made it into a trap in case anyone comes here.]

'A trap huh. Damn it. So he was expecting Mizuki to fail huh. But this was modified weeks ago. Was it just a precaution or… Regardless of the case, I'll need to be carefull.'

The team waited for a while before they saw the small creature returning to Anko and hissing.

"There doesn't seem to be any traps inside." Anko spoke and Daichi couldn't help but frown.

"Are you sure Anko sensei? Since this location is linked to Orochimaru shouldn't there be defences in place?" Daichi asked. He couldn't tell them what his observe told him but he wanted them to be cautious.

"Yeah. Orochimaru is not someone who's careless. But this place looks like it's going to fall apart anytime soon. I don't think he's going to waste his time on this place."

Daichi frowned at Anko's reply.

"I have a simple solution." Genma spoke and told them his plan.

Daichi had a smile. 'Just what I was thinking.'

A few seconds later the ninjas were slowly making their way to the front door. They slowly opened it and looked inside. The cabin had several chairs and a table. And on top of the table they saw a scroll.

The three ninjas looked at each other and nodded. They slowly walked inside as they looked around.

'There doesn't seem to be any traps here. Maybe he really did give up on this place.' Genma thought as he looked around.

The three soon came near the scroll and observed it.

"It looks like a storage scroll." Anko spoke.

"There doesn't seem to be anything around it." Genma spoke as he examined the small scroll.

Daichi used observe skill and immediately found that it was a scroll that contained the body of Ko Yamanaka.

"We should open it." Daichi spoke and the two Special Jonins nodded.

They opened the scroll and out came the body of the dead missing Yamanaka ninja.

"Wait. This is…" The eyes of the ninjas widened as they recognized the person.

But at that instant Daichi and the two Jonins danger senses went off. A seal instantly spread from the corpse and trapped the three Leaf ninjas.

"Damn it. Can't move my legs."

Suddenly they heard a loud hissing sound. And the three immediately recognized what it was.

'Shit. Paper bombs.'

"BOOM!"

The next instant the whole cabin and everything nearby went up in flames in a giant explosion.