Chapter 70

The moment Onoki got the news, he blasted a hole in his office and assigned various elite teams to hunt down the enemy responsible for the tragedy. The entire Iwagakure was filled with various emotions. What hit them was not just the number of deaths, but also the way their shinobi died. The vivid details of the Iwa shinobi's deaths prompted Onoki to directly write to Tsunade, demanding that she hand over the shinobi responsible for the Iwa massacre in exchange for a temporary ceasefire.

The Senju princess simply tore Onoki's letter, sent a two-word reply, 'twenty-three', and sent it back to the Tsuchikage so that he could understand the gravity of the situation. Twenty-three was the exact number of large-scale kinjutsu the Iwagakure had used against the Konoha army.

After getting the news from the frontlines, even Hiruzen wrote to Tsunade, wanting an explanation for using such a large-scale kinjutsu and asking her to avoid deploying kinjutsu in the future. However, Tsunade almost tore the messenger's ear with her shouts because her sensei had shown no response or taken any action when the Iwagakure army used such large-scale Kinjutsu on the Konoha army and sent the messenger back, stating that she was the commander and she would be the one to decide the actions on the Iwagakure battlefront.

Even at the other battlefronts against Konoha, the enemy showed restraint and moved cautiously due to the fear of Konoha resorting to such kinjutsu again. Even the Kirigakure army, which was relentlessly attacking the Konoha army, showed restraint as Obito was still recuperating from his recent loss at the hands of Uchiha Shisui. So his control over Yagura had loosened a bit as he couldn't use his Genjutsu with full power until he recovered completely.

*********************************************************************************************

Raikage's office, Kumogakure.

"Raikage-sama, are you sure you want me to recall the Nokizaru mercenary group and cancel the contract? We will incur a loss if we do so, as they don't refund once the contract is established." Dodai, who was surprised by the Raikage's sudden reaction to the recent news of the Iwa massacre, couldn't help but reconfirm.

"Dodai, not just them, any mercenary group that we have established a contract with known for Kinjutsu—recall them. Do not cancel the contracts; just redeploy them to the Iwagakure front. Konoha has already taken a stance against Kinjutsu. If we still try to use Kinjutsu on the Konoha army again after what Iwa went through, I fear it will be worse when they retaliate against us. Let's stick to conventional tactics against Konoha. As much as it pains me to admit it, their kinjutsu knowledge is much more dangerous than ours. So let's not poke a sleeping bear." Raikage was feeling fortunate because he had also originally wanted to use Kinjutsu against the Konoha army after they held an advantage due to their medical scrolls, but due to various constraints, the plan got delayed, and Iwagakure felt the full extent of Konoha's wrath.

"Heh, Raikage-sama, Onoki surely took a hit on our behalf too. He must be currently frothing from his mouth due to anger." Dodai couldn't help but comment because he felt that Kumo had escaped a tragedy.

"Enough, Dodai. I am much more worried about how many more Trump cards Konoha holds. The more time passes, the more dangerous they are becoming. I never expected Konoha to hold so much strength even after the Third Shinobi War." Raikage's estimation was accurate because, after the Nine-Tails attack, without Kazuki's intervention, there would have been no way Konoha would have been ready for the Fourth Ninja War.

His presence alone had elevated Konoha's fighting prowess up a few notches in the form of Tsunade, and the fuin scrolls also acted as a major game-changer in this war. And now that Konoha was ready to retaliate against Kinjutsu with a more potent Kinjutsu, they had to find a new way to counter Konoha's miracle scrolls.

"I understand Raikage-sama. I will make the necessary arrangements. Would you like to change the deployment of Yugito and B?"

Dodai wanted to know now, after recalling the mercenaries from the Konoha front, if the Raikage wanted to redeploy their strategic forces.

"What are the current Konoha numbers on our front?" Raikage questioned, still worried about the recent influx of enemy Shinobi. When he first heard that Tsunade had redeployed close to five thousand Shinobi, he thought for a moment that the Sannin must have gone crazy because she was originally facing close to twenty-five to thirty thousand Iwa Shinobi after Onoki made a mass recruitment of mercenaries after their first loss. The Senju, after sending out reinforcements against all odds, was still able to push back the Iwa troops slowly but steadily with just ten thousand Shinobi.

However, what the Raikage was unaware of was that while the Senju princess was leading from the front, two elite teams of Konoha were wreaking havoc for the Iwagakure Shinobi. One team consisted of sixty elite Leaf Shinobi led by Hiashi Hyuga himself, who had become a nemesis on the Iwa frontlines as they had become veterans of hit-and-run tactics. Anytime a large enough army tried to encircle them when they were at a disadvantage, Tsunade herself, with close to the full Leaf army, would descend on the enemies to engage in a full-scale battle.

Even Han had no idea how to stop the Senju princess because, during their fourth clash, the Senju almost ended up killing him. If not for his resilience due to being a Jinchuriki, he would have been buried that day. Onoki wanted to join hands with Han to restrain the Senju princess multiple times. However, a second threat, much closer to home, made him act cautiously.

And the second elite Konoha team with only six Shinobi, led by Kazuki, was responsible for Onoki's caution. It has been more than a month since Kazuki and his team completed the Iwa massacre, and in this month, they have been acting as a phantom squad deep behind enemy lines. The Iwa Shinobi had no concrete idea about who exactly their enemy was or their numbers.

In just a single month, Kazuki and his team had been responsible for more than two dozen high-value assassinations, destroyed three more supply depots, and destroyed multiple Iwa outposts. All these were being carried out deep within enemy lines. It was like Kazuki's team simply vanished after completing their objective. They were a true embodiment of what a ghost squad represented.

Iwagakure, even after deploying their best hunter-nins, was not able to track the rumored ghost squad. If scouts were to be believed, even Onoki himself had made a personal move more than a couple of times to catch Konoha's ghost squad, but he met with failure every time.

However, what Onoki and the Iwa Shinobi never realized was that they were chasing a fuinjutsu grandmaster, and on top of that, their nemesis was a Nara by birth. That was one of the most potent combinations one could look for in an enemy. If Kazuki intended to run and hide, he was sure that, at the current stage, only Shinobi with peak Super Kage-level ninja abilities would stand a chance of finding and trapping him.

During the previous month of conducting missions within Iwagakure, Kazuki's team became aware that he was the rumored Fuinjutsu grandmaster of Konoha. He couldn't keep such a thing a secret due to being in constant danger. Torune was dumbstruck when he first realized Kazuki's true status, and the ANBU team only had reverence in their eyes when they discovered Kazuki's grandmaster status.

In the Shinobi world, where strength reigned supreme, Kazuki was an enigma—a seven-year-old Fuin Grandmaster. That's the kind of stuff worthy of a legend. So Kazuki's status within the team had skyrocketed to its peak. Everyone from the team had willingly insisted on branding themselves with a curse mark after Torune suggested it to ensure that Kazuki's identity remained secret, even if one of the team members unfortunately fell into enemy hands.

Currently, the ghost squad was hiding deep within a cave close to the Iwa borders. The entire hiding place was layered with so many fuinjutsu barriers with varied functions. Kazuki had decided to use this position as one of their secret bases within Iwagakure because the location was secure and close to impossible to detect. Kazuki was only able to find such a perfect location with the help of his Kekkei Genkai. A lone Shinobi moved quickly towards the hideout, making sure that he was not being tailed. After reaching a certain spot, he simply vanished from perception. It was none other than the elite Jonin ANBU captain who was part of Kazuki's squad. He passed through each barrier without any hindrance. If someone else tried to repeat the feat without authorization, they would have been ripped to pieces.

"Tora, so how was it? Did you confirm the status of our target?" Kazuki, who had already detected the ANBU captain's approach, inquired about the update.

"Ryo-sama, you were right. It was a trap. Both Onoki and the four-tail Jinchuriki are camping around the target to snipe us," the ANBU team, after discovering Kazuki's status, stuck to adding honorifics after his codename, not wanting to drop it even after Kazuki insisted. Only Torune was still okay with addressing Kazuki by name or codename without any honorifics.

"Well then, let them keep waiting. Let's rest for today. Mushi, keep an eye on the situation with your Rinkaichu. However, make sure to maintain distance. Bijuu have heightened senses that can even detect your Rinkaichu at close range. You take the first watch with Tora. We will rotate with four-hour shifts. Myself and Neko will take the next shift." With that said, Kazuki walked towards the interior of the cave, which was more spacious than one would expect, with its own freshwater source and a vast array of fish swimming within it. They could indulge themselves in Kazuki's cooking anytime if they so desired.

As he approached the other three team members, he saw Neko practicing her kenjutsu. Although they were on a long-term mission, Kazuki and Torune kept to daily exercises and training whenever they had time. This habit stuck with the rest of the team, and with Kazuki's vast knowledge, he was able to teach his teammates about things they were interested in. Especially the ANBU captain, who was an elite Jonin, had capitalized on this unexpected boon and started to perfect his fuinjutsu skills under Kazuki's guidance.

Yūgao Uzuki, the Tokubetsu Jonin of the team who also went by the codename Neko within the team, was about the same age as Kakashi and had personally requested Kazuki to guide her in both fuinjutsu and kenjutsu. Kazuki had taught Neko his first form from his sword style, which Yugao was currently practicing.

Yugao was fully immersed in practicing the kenjutsu move that Kazuki had taught her. She channeled her lightning chakra through her sheathed blade, made of the highest-quality chakra metal that Kazuki provided the ghost team at the start of their mission. Neko held her drawing stance as Kazuki and the other two members of the team were attracted by the momentum that Yugao was building. She was channeling her chakra at an alarming rate. Kazuki gestured for one of the Jonins to intervene if she were to go overboard and hurt herself during the process.

Neko still had her eyes closed,and after observing the amount of chakra she was building up, Kazuki understood that Yugao was assimilating all the knowledge about the attack that she had learned till date. Disturbing her now would make her lose all her progress.

"Be careful. Here she comes. Don't underestimate the attack. Put your guard up," Kazuki advised the Jonin, and with a quick nod, the Jonin unsheathed his own chakra weapon, channeling it with the Wind chakra to counter Yugao's incoming attack.

Neko lowered her stance, almost crouching, and her soft voice reverberated throughout the cave: "[Ichi no Kata: Boruto Senkō]" (First Form: Volt Flash). Yugao vanished with a flicker, creating a sonic blast in the process. The Jonin, although surprised, was able to put up his weapon in defense. However, what he didn't expect was that the force behind the clash almost threw him off. If not for Kazuki supporting his back with his palm, he would have been launched onto the cave walls.

"I told you to be careful." Kazuki couldn't help but smile because, as the creator, he knew how potent his Kenjutsu was. Even when someone like Yugao performed the first form, it carried quite a punch.

Yugao, who came out of her trance, was confused at first but then quickly realized what had happened. She quickly apologized to the Jonin and thanked Kazuki for helping her out. Kazuki simply waved his hand and went to prepare a meal for his team.