76 Chapter 76

The matter of the higher-ups withholding the core fuinjutsu scroll was sent back to Tsunade by Hiashi, who had already sent the other fuin scrolls provided to him as backup. Hiashi chose to take Tsunade's side because he believed that choosing the Sanin would help himself and his clan in the future.

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

Time flew by, and three more months passed as the war progressed. Kazuki's ghost squad had become more infamous because, till date, Iwagakure was not able to discover any information regarding this squad. No matter what kind of precautions they took or traps they laid, the ghost squad managed to slip through their nets. This was a slap to the old Onoki's face.

Even the famed Kakuzu, the bounty hunter who had helped them easily breach the Takigakure defense, was helpless in tracking down the infamous ghost squad. The new mercenary organization called Akatsuki didn't take the contract because Pain believed that the squad was being led by the fuinjutsu grandmaster of the Leaf. Although he was confident in his strength, he did not want to expose himself so early. Fighting an unknown fuinjutsu grandmaster was simply looking for trouble, and Madara had advised him to stay away from getting involved in the war for the time being.

And once the rumor of a fuin grandmaster leading the ghost squad spread, most of the missing nin and bounty hunters faltered because trying to hunt someone like that was simply suicide. Onoki, though, didn't think it was a rumor but firmly believed the ghost squad was headed by the fuin grandmaster. If not, there was no way that he couldn't have found them after all this time. He knew the fuin grandmaster must be somewhere close to Iwagakure village, and the moment he left, the enemy would strike.

Onoki had no idea how right he was, as his caution had kept Kazuki from causing chaos within Iwagakure. The ghost squad's current base was only a day's worth of travel from Iwagakure. However, one thing had the fence-sitter confused because he had no idea how the Leaf was able to gain the allegiance of such a master that he was even willing to fight on the front lines.

A hawk was flying in the air, which was suddenly brought down using a kunai. An Iwagakure ninja squad quickly moved in the direction where the hawk fell.

"Did you find anything?" The squad leader questioned him anxiously as one of the Iwa Shinobi was carefully examining the now-dead hawk.

"Nothing, Captain. It's just like all the other birds that we have brought down," the Iwa Shinobi who had examined the bird commented.

The Iwa captain couldn't help but punch the tree next to him in frustration. "Damn, how? How is this possible? We have been tracking every little chakra signature that we can detect for the past month in this area. How are they able to slip past us? Just yesterday, they took down an outpost about twenty miles from here. Birds, lizards, insects, worms, rodents—anything remotely suspicious—we have checked. How the hell are they even communicating with each other?" He was just venting out because of the blind ghost chase they were on. Previously, before the war, they were revered within the whole village as the best tracking team. However, now they have been reduced to killing birds and digging out worms just so they can find the ghost squad.

Currently, unknown to them, a horn beetle was observing all their actions. The Iwa team was completely unaware that they were being monitored because they couldn't detect the beetle. If one were to observe closely, the entire beetle was packed with fuinjutsu seals. After observing for some time, the beetle left, flying in a certain direction.

The beetle flew through the barriers without any hindrance. Kazuki was practicing his kenjutsu, while Torune was studying an insect that he had recently captured. The moment the beetle passed the barrier, Kazuki was alerted. He sheathed his blade, waiting for the beetle.

The beetle flew towards Torune, who had already pulled out a scroll and placed it on the floor. As the beetle landed on the scroll, some of the seals from its back dissolved and flowed towards the scroll to form a new message.

Torune quickly passed the scroll over, and he started communicating with the beetle to find out the situation outside. Kazuki, who read the message, couldn't help but smile because the day he had been waiting for had finally come. His sensei had sent the message that the preparations on all three fronts had been completed.

Kazuki quickly called for his team to make preparations. If everything went according to plan, then this war would soon be over, and he had to play his part to make sure that they would be able to defend against the backlash that was to come.

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

Konoha camp, Kumogakure front

Currently, a late-night meeting has been called for, and the summons were only extended to a select few within the camp.

"Is everyone here?" Jiraiya questioned, as he had called for a private meeting with Shikaku, Kakashi, Gai, and a few more elite Jonin who represented various clans on the Kumo front. Kakashi and Gai had been called because of their recent status and involvement in stealthily arranging the large array for the past few months.

Kazuki had insisted on Shikaku involving Gai when they were going to confront the Bijuu when they tried to capture it. Kakashi had made a name for himself and had been acknowledged as a genuine Kage-class Ninja. Even his bingo book entry had been updated from Elite Jonin to Kage class. Kakashi had shown a monstrous level of growth in this war, and alongside Gai, he had even clashed with the Raikage a couple of times to hold him back.

However, what surprised everyone on the Kumo battlefront was the gentle blue beast of Konoha. No one ever expected a taijutsu Shinobi could be so devastating in war. Even Jiraiya had to acknowledge that he was no match for Gai if they were to compare solely on Taijutsu alone. Due to his prowess, he had been elevated to the rank of Elite Jonin. Gai in this world had grown more due to Kazuki's constant care and his customized medicines. So none within the meeting had any qualms as these two young men took their places within this private meeting.

"Yes, Jiraiya-sama, everyone who has been notified is here," Shikaku, the vice commander and strategist of the Kumo front, confirmed everyone's presence.

Jiraiya gave a quick nod and then stood up, spreading a scroll on the table in front of everyone present. "I believe those who are here are already aware of some of the upcoming actions, as you guys were directly involved with the plan. As for the rest, I know you have questions regarding our recent actions." Jiraiya surveyed everyone in the meeting room to make sure he had everyone's attention.

"This war has been going on for more than a year now. Unlike the previous Ninja wars, this war has been much more brutal and fast-paced, and we can thank our Senju princess for being responsible for this. Some may call her actions brash, but I believe her approach has merit, and the more we drag this war along, the more disadvantageous position we will fall into, especially on our end. If not for Tsunade's help, we might not have been able to recover the lost ground so easily. So today, I bring before you guys a plan that was personally put forth by Tsunade." Jiraiya knew how important this meeting was because everyone present here was a mainstay within each clan, and their decisions mattered to each of their clans. Having their support would help deal with the backlash.

"Jiraiya-sama, we are grateful for Tsunade-sama's support and for everything she has done for us throughout this war. We know something the Senju head personally proposed must be of great importance. So please go ahead; if it's feasible, then we will support you." Hizashi, who represented the Hyuga clan on the Kumo front, spoke up. Everyone within the Kumo front held deep respect for the Slug Sage, and her actions of sending reinforcements, even to the extent of depriving her own numbers, had only elevated her status.

All the Leaf Ninjas in the meeting shared similar sentiments. Even the representative of the Sarutobi clan couldn't refute. Although originally he held a bit of dissatisfaction in his heart for being sent as part of the reinforcements to Kumo, he had to respect the Senju princess in his heart because she had literally stalled and pushed back the Iwa army these past months, which was three times their numbers, with just close to ten thousand Leaf Shinobi.

With that, Jiraiya quickly started explaining the upcoming plan. When he revealed that they were planning to capture the bijuu to put an end to the war, some couldn't help but question, as everyone knew how difficult it was to confront a bijuu, and what Jiraiya was proposing was an even more daunting task. If a bijuu wanted to run, who could stop it? Most of the current Shinobi world was not aware of Super Kage class Shinobi and beyond; according to current knowledge, only ninjas of Hashirama and Madara's caliber could clash with Bijuu head-on; even their famous Yondaime had been humbled by the legendary Nine Tails, so when Jiraiya mentioned capturing the Bijuu, everyone had doubts regarding the plan.

"Jiraiya-sama, not that I am questioning your decisions, but even if you were to personally intervene, I doubt you will be able to capture the bijuu. So how are we to defeat and capture the Jinchuriki?" One of the clan representatives couldn't help but voice out his concerns.

Shikaku couldn't help but raise his brows in surprise when someone tried questioning Jiraiya's strength, but he chose not to comment. Kazuki had advised him how truly powerful the Toad Sage was. If the man put his mind into it, Shikaku believed that he could even confront the nine tails head-on and come out alive.

However, Jiraiya didn't have any issue with the man raising concerns, so he gave everyone a detailed explanation about the preparations that they have been doing stealthily for the past three months. When the clan representatives got to know that the fuinjutsu grandmaster was personally involved in drafting the plan, everyone's confidence in the plan increased.

Once Jiraiya was sure everyone in the meeting was on board with the plan, they started ironing out the details as Shikaku took the lead in the planning.

Similar meetings were happening on the other two fronts, as Tsunade had planned to strike the very next day at the same time on all three fronts so that their enemies would not have time to react. Additionally, if anyone within their ranks shared these details with their clan elders, who in turn might get in touch with the village higher-ups, no one would be able to intervene, as it would be too late.

The next morning, before dawn broke, on all three battlefronts, the Konoha army simultaneously launched an aggressive assault. The Konoha army, known for defense, suddenly went on the offensive at full scale, sending the enemies on all three fronts into panic. The information was quickly relayed back to their respective camps. Kiri, Iwa, and Kumo, all three villages, used a general strategy to use their bijuu to stall the enemy lines until their troops could be completely mobilized.

On the Kumogakure front, Yugito Nii took the vanguard position to stall the enemy Shinobi. Similarly, on the Kiri front, Yagura himself moved to confront the Leaf Shinobi, as Utakata was still recuperating from the recent clash. On the Iwagakure front, Han had already received orders to harass the enemy lines until reinforcements arrived. However, Onoki advised him to maintain caution because he had a bad premonition, and due to the Eight Tails' presence on the other Kumo front, he could not mobilize Roshi, and he himself was unfortunately pinned due to the Ghost Squad.