Chapter 67

"I don't think Sensei would agree to this; he has always wanted to avoid unnecessary conflicts, and your idea is only going to create more conflicts." Tsunade, although understanding the merits of Kazuki's words, knew that the current Konoha was nowhere strong enough to handle such a conflict. If every major village targeted their village with all their might at the same time, Konoha would be in ruins. Now she couldn't help but realize her grandfather's folly, but she would never outright agree to that with her apprentice.

"I don't care what that old man thinks. I want to know what you think, Sensei. I want your honest opinion." Kazuki looked right at Tsunade, waiting for her answer.

"Fine, if you are so adamant about it, then so be it. I will back you up completely. How confident are you about doing what you have proposed? Catching more bijuu will also cause unrest within the village about who will own these bijuu in the future." Tsunade consented to Kazuki's idea because she knew that the kid had mentally fixed himself to execute his idea, and he would do so even without his support, so it was better to support him and keep an eye on him.

"Well..." Just as Kazuki was about to share his plans regarding the bijuu, a Leaf ANBU approached the commander's tent.

The ANBU entered with Tsunade's permission and handed over a scroll. Just when Tsunade was about to open the scroll, Kazuki unsheathed his blade and, with one clean motion, beheaded the ANBU.

"KAZUKI!!!" Tsunade was shell-shocked by the unexpected action of her student, but she was too late to stop Kazuki's lethal attack.

Within moments, a dozen Leaf Shinobi flickered and arranged themselves around Tsunade, enclosed in a defensive formation. Every Shinobi in the tent eyed Kazuki with a cautious eye, but none took action as he was the Senju's student, so they were waiting for her orders.

"Kazuki, what is the meaning of this? Why did you attack a fellow Leaf Ninja? Have you gone crazy?" Tsunade was now fuming because she thought Kazuki was taking out his anger on fellow ninjas. Tsunade recognized that the ANBU ninja was from the Sarutobi clan.

"Calm down, Sensei. Do you think I am crazy? I just had to dispose of a rat that had bypassed our defenses. It seems like it was an oversight on our part. We might need to add a few more features to the perimeter defense, I suppose." Just as Kazuki was trying to explain the situation, the now-fallen ANBU body quickly transformed into that of a White Zetsu clone.

Everyone was taken aback by the abrupt transformation. Tsunade was surprised and shocked because she was not able to detect the enemy that had approached her, and the ANBU guards were ashamed because they had let an enemy approach their commander.

"What exactly is this? It's not human, but the chakra signature it emitted before death was an exact match as the ANBU," a Hyuga clan member who was assigned to guard duty couldn't help but exclaim in shock.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes to catch Kazuki's eyes, wanting an explanation. However, Kazuki simply shook his head, not wanting to explain at the current time because he was worried that Zetsu might be observing from somewhere nearby. His worries were not unfounded because just outside the barrier, a few miles from Tsunade's tent, Zetsu merged with a tree and detected that the connection with the clone was lost.

"Tch, it seems like the clone's camouflage technique still has some flaws. I would have liked to know what exactly the leaf was planning. Well, nevermind. I will have other chances. It's better I retreat for now. I am not sure if that technique can detect my presence. It's better not to push my luck," Zetsu thought to himself and used the Mayfly technique to vanish into the ground.

Tsunade quickly ordered the Sensor Ninja to try and detect any intruders that might have slipped past the barriers. Kazuki accompanied Tsunade to scour the entire camp to make sure that there were no more Zetsu clones. As his Kekkei Genkai's detection range was short, he had to search every nook and cranny. After scouring every last inch, he realized this was just a probe from Zetsu.

However, Tsunade was now in a state of confusion because what she hadn't shared with others was that she clearly detected her grandfather's Chakra signature after the dead ANBU transformed into a white Zetsu form. She chose not to question Kazuki now because she knew Kazuki knew more things than he let out. But the most important thing now was to safeguard the camp from such sneak attacks. So, Kazuki had left right away to tweak the barriers under the guise of a fuin grandmaster.

It had been more than a week since Zetsu had tried to infiltrate the commander's tent. Tsunade had shared this detail with the other commanders but had chosen to keep it from other Shinobi because it might cause unwanted panic, and there was no efficient way to detect the camouflage as Kazuki was still working on it.

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Hokage's office, Konoha

Within the office, Hiruzen was seated, going through a scroll in deep contemplation, while the other elders were waiting for him to speak.

"Hiruzen, is there something bothering you? Have you made a decision about what to do about the Seven Tails yet?" Koharu asked, questioning Hiruzen as he was still contemplating the letter before him with a frown.

"Hmm, originally, I had made a decision to keep the seven tails as a chip to bargain at the end of the war. But now it seems the option is not feasible. It seems like our plans to play passive on the Kumogakure battlefront has backfired," Hiruzen said, passing the scroll he was reading over to the other elders, who quickly went through it.

"How dare she? Has she gone mad? What makes her think that she can make such a decision without our consent? And why exactly is the fuinjutsu grandmaster getting involved in the village council matter directly? Hiruzen, did you not assure us that the fuin grandmaster will not get involved in village politics?" The Daimyo's advisor questioned because the contents of the letter were a direct challenge to their authority, and it was the Senju princess herself who was taking action. The Daimyo had sent a group of advisors earlier over to the leaf village to oversee the things needed for war.

"I advised you guys not to act so passive. It not only cost us a lot of Shinobi on the Kumo front, but now we have to deal with this new headache. However, you cannot deny that the suggestion that the Senju clan head put forward has some merit to it." Elder Kenji, who was originally from the Uchiha Hawk faction, couldn't help but give his acknowledgment to the Senju's idea.

The letter explicitly stated that the Senju, in retaliation to the recent attacks from the major villages, was planning to capture the Bijuu, stating that the accord formed during the first Kage summit was no longer valid as the other villages had broken the Shodaime's trust.

Hiruzen was now getting a headache because Kazuki himself was endorsing the idea under the guise of the fuin grandmaster. Now he understood why the kid was insistent on him getting a curse mark, so as not to disclose his identity; if not, he could have leveraged it at such a time. Hiruzen could also feel that Tsunade was making a power move to contend for the Hokage position. Although he was okay with his student taking over his position, a small part of him still wanted to retain some power, like he did during Minato's time as Hokage.

"Yes, she wants us to keep the bijuu that we capture within the village. The fuinjutsu grandmaster has fully endorsed her idea and has consented to personally help in sealing the bijuu in the future," Hiruzen shared further details.

"Hiruzen, maybe we can use this to our advantage. We can choose the one who can be a Jinchuriki. This way, we can have better control." Koharu couldn't help but feel excited when thinking that they could use this situation to their advantage.

"Sigh, you don't think Tsunade is so naive, do you? She has already mentioned the suggestion that the bijuu will be assigned based on contributions, and the seven tails will also be assigned similarly," Hiruzen conveyed the additional information that he had with the council. Elder Kenji's eyes glittered at the mention of Tsunade's idea, but Homura and Koharu's faces turned ugly because they could not benefit their clan if such a decision was made.

"It's okay; there is no point in discussing this matter now because I don't think we will be able to capture the other village's bijuu." Hiruzen tried to console himself with these words. He knew how difficult it was to capture and seal a bijuu, and if a Jinchuriki was intent on escaping, not many had the power to stop it. The only anomaly was the Nara prodigy, but he still had to grow, so he was not much concerned. What he didn't realize was that the Tsunade he knew was history. The current Tsunade was even stronger than himself in his prime and had already breached the Super Kage level.

"Hiruzen, no matter what, you cannot let Tsunade go forward with this decision. This is only going to worsen our relationship with the other villages." Daimyo's advisor knew that if he let this matter slide now, then there was a high chance that the Senju princess would disregard their thoughts if a proper command was not passed down. And this might end up jeopardizing so many years of their efforts. The Daimyo always wanted to get complete control of the leaf village, and having Tsunade on the mantle would destroy all their efforts.

"So, what are you proposing? Are you expecting our Shinobi to run away whenever the enemy Jinchuriki takes to the battlefield? Tsunade has clearly mentioned in the letter that she will only be going after the bijuu that attacked the Leaf Shinobi. You can't fault her for defending her comrades, and maybe capturing the enemy Bijuu might put an end to this war." Elder Kenji, who knew what Tsunade's idea was for the bijuu, wanted to push his support because he knew if the village council was to accept such a proposal, then the Uchiha clan would surely gain a bijuu of their own, and it would help their clan's status skyrocket.

"Kenji, don't support the weird ideas of that little girl. Hiruzen, we need to take a stance and pass down an order using your Hokage status. She will not be able to ignore a direct command." Even Koharu, who had recently changed a bit, still wanted to cling to power and look for more concessions that might benefit their clan.

"You guys know how willful she is, and after her victory over Iwagakure, she has been steadily suppressing the Iwa front. If not for our commands to avoid major conflicts, I'm afraid she might have launched another large-scale attack already. Trying to suppress her without proper reason will only harm the village. For the time being, I think we should just wait and see what exactly she is planning to achieve." Hiruzen knew that trying to suppress Tsunade at such a juncture would only prove counterproductive. He knew how cunning the kid next to her was, and he knew that the recent loss on the Kumogakure battlefield must have pissed off Kazuki, as the Nara clan had taken quite a hit due to the council's folly, as Kazuki had already warned him of the possibility of Iwa launching a combined strike with Kumo Shinobi.

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Konoha Camp, Iwa Frontline

"Kazuki, are you sure about this? I can assign more members to the mission. What you are planning to achieve is quite dangerous," Tsunade couldn't help but worry about her student. After the recent loss of Konoha ninjas on the Kumo end, he had become much more resolute about fighting on the front lines, and even Tsunade was not able to hold him back anymore.