Chapter 62

"No, we will not follow such a cruel method. This is something that was proposed by the Fuin grandmaster, so please go through it. If it's agreeable, we can proceed with the plan." Hiruzen passed three folders to the three elders, who started going through the plans laid out for the future of the Bijuu.

Everyone was intrigued when Hiruzen mentioned the fuin grandmaster. He has been an enigma to everyone within the village, except for a couple of people who knew his identity. And a plan proposed by such an individual would not be trivial. The folder that Hiruzen had passed over did not only contain the plan for the bijuu but also the plans laid out for the new village defenses. Kazuki had already handed out the schematics to Hiruzen before he departed for the frontlines. As it was a huge endeavor, it would take them a couple of years to fully implement the new defenses and integrate them into the village. So, Hiruzen wanted to know if it was feasible to start the project while the war was progressing.

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Tsuchikage office, Iwagakure

"Iwagakure suffered a significant setback in the recent clash with Konoha, losing the momentum gained after taking control of Takigakure. With Konoha now holding the Tenchi Bridge, the imminent capture of Kusagakure by Konoha seemed inevitable.

"What were our losses?" Tsuchikage Onoki questioned the elder in charge of the information. Although Onoki's voice remained neutral, the anger seethed beneath the surface. He had already replaced the commander of the Konohagakure battlefield, and the fate of the former commander remained unknown.

"Tsuchikage-sama, we lost a total of 4,013 shinobi. This includes 42 elite jonin, 187 jonin and special jonin, 603 elite chuunin, and the rest being chuunin and genin," the elder reported. Out of the 10,000 troops mobilized, four-tenths of Iwa's Shinobi forces had perished. Han's intervention had prevented even greater losses by facilitating the retreat of Iwa troops.

"How about the Konoha troop casuality count?" Onoki maintained his neutral tone but pressed for information.

"That... Tsuchikage-sama," the elder hesitated to reveal the numbers.

"Are you deaf? I asked for enemy casualties. Are you suggesting we couldn't gather such basic information?" Onoki's anger flared, evident in his eyes.

"Tsuchikage-sama, from our estimates, Konoha lost close to 500 ninjas. We have only been able to confirm three elite Jonin kills on the enemy side," the elder finally shared, hesitatingly.

"Sigh, so you're saying we lost eight of our Iwa shinobi for every one of theirs and also lost ten times their elite Jonin numbers, is that right?" Onoki sighed in frustration. The battle was over, and the outcome was unchangeable. Now, he could only focus on the broader picture of the war.

"Yes, Tsuchikage-sama. But some shinobi who took part in the battle may have found the reason for the enemy's low casualties," the elder continued, as some Iwa shinobi had witnessed the medical scrolls used by Leaf ninjas. These scrolls resurrected supposedly fallen comrades within minutes.

Onoki's interest was piqued. "Have we managed to procure these scrolls?"

"Yes, Tsuchikage-sama. Some of these scrolls have been retrieved, but the issue is that these scrolls seem to be different from the ones used by the Leaf elites," the elder replied. He handed over a few scrolls to Onoki, who began examining them.

"How many were you able to procure? Can we use these? Has our fuin team started working on decrypting them?" Onoki pressed further, realizing the significance of these scrolls in Iwagakure's recent defeat.

"Well, we were only able to get a total of seventeen scrolls. Our fuin team seems to have hit a roadblock, Tsuchikage-sama," the elder admitted. The head of the fuin team added, "Tsuchikage-sama, we might be able to decrypt them for one-time use, but recreating them would be impossible unless we obtain the original schematics. The complexity of these fuinjutsu seals may match or even surpass that of Uzushiogakure."

The mention of Uzushiogakure visibly soured Onoki's expression. "Send an elite infiltration team to locate Konoha's camp. If possible, find the production method for these scrolls. Why were we not aware of such a strategic item held by the Leaf Village before the start of the war?" Onoki scowled and turned to the elder in charge of intelligence.

"Have Han redeployed to the Konoha battlefront. I don't want to lose any more ground; we've lost more than we can afford already. Send out small teams to keep harassing the enemy ranks; I don't want the enemy feeling too comfortable after the recent victory. And place a bounty on the head of the fuin grandmaster. Also, increase Tsunade Senju's bounty. Let the mercenaries and bounty hunters provide the enemy with some trouble while we work on reestablishing ourselves in Kusagakure.

"Tsuchikage-sama, Senju Tsunade already has a bounty listed for sixty-five million ryo. Do we increase it? And what about the supposed fuinjutsu grandmaster? We do not have any details regarding the person whatsoever. If so, what amount would you like listed for each?" The Iwa ANBU head respectfully questioned, as it was his duty to publish the new bounty in the underworld black market.

"Let's see, increase Tsunade's bounty to a hundred million ryo, and for the fuin grandmaster, set it to a hundred and twenty million. By the way, don't forget to increase the Hyuga clan head's bounty by 5 million as well. All these issues started with that one. Whether the mercenaries and bounty hunters achieve it or not is none of our concern; all we need is to make sure that these people who love money create enough trouble for the Konoha side. If they kill them, well and good." Onoki made a calculation and wanted to distract the enemy side by using a third party because, even during war, for the amount listed as a bounty, quite a few missing-nins would either be brave or foolish to try their luck.

Two days after the new bounty was listed in the underground black market, a new bingo book was released, making all the missing nin, mercenaries, and bounty hunters restless. What caught everyone's attention was that two bounties were listed with nine-figure marks: one for the legendary Senju Princess and the other for an unidentified individual. What confused these aspirants was how to locate and identify the second target with no name, picture, etc.

The black market responsible for bounties provided no explanation and classified it under a special category. This was to avoid the situation where a bounty hunter would submit a random individual and claim it to be the fuin grandmaster. Under the special category, the one who wants to submit the completion will have to provide ample proof and agree to declare to the world that they were the ones responsible for the kill. This arrangement deterred anyone from making false claims.

No matter how monstrous the odds were, the bounty offered was quite substantial. Various mercenary groups and missing-nins started moving in the direction of Kusagakure.

In the Konoha command tent, only Tsunade and Kazuki currently occupy it. She had personally requested his presence and dismissed the rest. Kazuki had a dumfounded look as he perused the latest bingo book delivered by the ANBU. Meanwhile, Slug Sannin was laughing heartily, pounding the table with clenched fists, unable to contain her amusement.

"Kazuki, it seems like your head's worth more than mine. Haha, it took me so many years to get such a bounty, and look at you; all it took was one battle, haha," Tsunade laughed about the blind hunt that she was sure the fence-sitter had initiated.

"Sensei, do you hate me that much? This doesn't seem that funny, you know. Who knows when my head will be lopped off?" Kazuki said, sulking as he observed Tsunade's reaction to the Fuin grandmaster's bounty.

Tsunade composed herself. "Kid, stop your sulking. For all I know, getting your head might be much more difficult than getting mine, and who would even believe if someone told them that the Fuin grandmaster was a little kid? Even if you were to personally admit it, I don't think anyone would believe you."

"That aside, kid, with this, we will have a lot of flies looking for an opportunity. We might need your barrier earlier than anticipated. How long will you need?" Tsunade was not afraid of these bounty hunters, but they would unnecessarily lose their shinobi if they were to confront them without preparation.

"Heh, they want to take my head, right? Fine, I will show them what a Fuin master can do. It should be ready within two weeks. Sensei, can I use these pests? I might need some humans to test a few things," Kazuki inquired softly, probing carefully since he knew this was a sensitive topic for his sensei.

Tsunade, who was jokingly laughing, abruptly stopped at Kazuki's words and glared at him directly without wavering. "Have you done human experimentation before, Kazuki?" A subtle hint of threat was evident in her voice, but she calmed down again as Kazuki denied any involvement with human subjects.

"I have used mice and pigs; no human subjects, Sensei. I know this brings up moral questions, but I feel these kinds of people who are after our lives have lost their privilege," Kazuki explained, wanting to know if he could get Tsunade's consent to involve human subjects because his study of Edo Tensei and Yin-Yang Release had hit a bottleneck, and human subjects were the easiest way forward to break these shackles.

"No, Kazuki, you will not get involved with human experiments yet. You are too young. I will not make the same mistakes as Sensei. Orochimaru started like you; his original intentions were pure and done in pursuit of knowledge, and look where that ended up. I am not outright denying your request, but what I am saying is that you need to get older, and I will personally oversee such experiments. I will need to discuss this with your uncle and my sensei. Is that understood?" Tsunade's voice was stern.

She knew that her student was studying Edo Tensei, and she had personally procured some of her grandfather's cells hidden by Root, providing them to Kazuki. She understood that with the kid's prowess, if he really wanted, he could conduct such experiments behind her back. Still, she believed that Kazuki would heed her advice.

"Fine, Sensei. It was just an idea because I have hit a bottleneck. If you say it's early, then so be it. In that case, I will concentrate on other matters for the time being." Saying so, he passed a scroll over to Tsunade. "Sensei, this has the medical scroll supply for the week. I am going to work on the barrier. See you later." Kazuki left the tent, leaving behind Tsunade, who was quietly contemplating how to mold her prodigious student so that he wouldn't be led astray in the future.

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The Fourth Shinobi War had been on hold for almost a month since the loss of Iwagakure, with only minor skirmishes due to the exposure of Konoha's medical scrolls, as both Kumo and Iwa wanted to first know how to counter these scrolls. The exceptions were the Kumo-Iwa battlefield and the Konoha-Kirigakure battlefield. The current Mizukage had been adamant about continuing the assault on the Uchiha Shinobi despite the advice of the elders and advisors. The Kiri Shinobi found themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place, as the Mizukage declared that any Kiri Shinobi who retreated would be declared traitors and will be hunted down.

"Kisame, don't you think our Mizukage's recent actions seem odd to you? Since the start of this war, he has been acting way too differently. These missions are nothing more than suicide," one of the Kiri elite Jonin questioned his colleague as they moved through the forest. They were on their way to intercept and destroy a supply run made by enemy ninjas, but the problem was that the mission was too deep into enemy lines, and anyone with a sense of logic could say that such a mission during wartime was nothing less than suicide.