Chapter 308 - A Tense Night

The Hidden Leaf Village.

Around two hours before midnight Kakashi and his team reached the village. The patrol squads they had met on the way had sent word back to the village and a team from the interrogation department personally led by Ibiki and Inoichi were already waiting for them at the gates to receive the prisoners.

The Jonins handed their prisoners over and the Yamanaka clan head escorted them to the T building. Ibiki came near Kakashi and his team. "Inoichi will prepare them for a mind walk. In the meantime, follow me. Lord Hokage wants to see all of you."

The group of Jonins quickly made their way to the large tower in the middle of the village. Since it was late in the night there weren't many people around the streets but the movements of several patrol squads of Chunin and Genin roaming the village could be seen.

Soon Kakashi, Genma, Asuma, Guy, Anko, Daichi and Ibiki were in the Hokage's office.

"Kakashi, what happened?" Hiruzen asked.

"Orochimaru has employed delaying tactics. We couldn't find any traces of him or Lady Tsunade that would lead us to their location. He's created false trails to waste our time and throw us off his scent. Even though it might be false trails, I've tasked the other three to look into it."

The Hokage sighed when he heard that. "Just as I feared. He's not taking any chances… What about the prisoners you captured."

"On our way back to the village we encountered them attacking Genma's team." Kakashi replied and Hiruzen turned to Genma.

"They ambushed us several kilometers away from the Capital. Their target was Daichi. There were nine people and they were determined to capture him alive." Genma spoke and Hiruzen looked at the Genin standing in the room with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, you've certainly caught Orochimaru's attention if he's willing to spend so much effort on you. And the fact that he's taking such a bold move at this time means you're related to whatever he's planning."

Daichi stood silent as the kage gazed at him.

"What can you tell me about them?" He asked, turning his attention to Genma.

"The woman uses the rare bloodline ability crystal style. And she's the leader. The rest were her followers. They wanted to capture Daichi badly enough that she was willing to sacrifice her people."

Ibiki spoke at that moment. "Anything more you can tell me about them? Might make my job a tad easier."

Genma was silent and turned to Daichi. "Daichi, were you able to find anything about her during your fight?"

The gamer ninja quickly shared the information he learned. "That woman's name is Guren. For whatever reason, Orochimaru tasked her with capturing me alive with as minimal wounds as possible. From what I understand, she's a true Orochimaru loyalist. And her strength... Based on my estimates, she can go toe to toe with Kakashi sensei if pressed."

Some of the people in the room were surprised to hear that. "She's that strong?" Ibiki asked.

Daichi nodded his head. Kakashi, who was standing nearby, had no reason to doubt Daichi's words.

"Normal interrogation tactics won't work on her. She's even willing to sacrifice her own life for that madman. That combined with her rare bloodline and strength. I think she might be a ninja in Orochimaru's inner circle. I'm betting she has valuable intel on what that snake wants with Tsunade sensei and where she might be."

The Genin looked at Ibiki and spoke. "But before that, I would start with the man with the dark brown hair. His name is Rinji. He's worked for Orochimaru and looks up to him but I'm not sure he's truly loyal to him. All the rest were just pawns."

Ibiki looked at the kage and Hiruzen gave a small nod. The large ninja left the room and Hiruzen looked at Genma. "Were you able to find anything at the location Mizuki gave you?"

"It was a trap. Ko Yamanaka was killed over a week ago and his body was placed inside a scroll and rigged with a booby trap." The Special Jonin replied with an awkward sigh.

"We went to the Capital to investigate Nam but he vanished. No one's seen him in a few days." Anko spoke.

"Another dead end." Hiruzen sighed and leaned back.

"Dad, were you able to find anything based on the information from the Analysis team's reports?" Asuma asked.

"I've sent several squads to follow up on that. They will send a report back in a few hours." Hiruzen held back the urge to sigh again and looked at the documents in front of him. "So we still have no idea where they are huh?"

"Actually Lord Hokage, I have a theory. I might have an idea as to where they could be." Daichi spoke up and Hiruzen gazed at the boy.

"Where?"

"Land of Earth." Daichi's reply was met with a puzzled gaze from the kage.

"What makes you say that?" Hiruzen slightly narrowed his eyes and looked at the Genin. 'Earth Country? Does he know something that I don't?'

"After an attack on Lady Tsunade and Shizune and with their abduction, it would be foolish of him to stay in this country. Too risky." Daichi spoke and the Hokage nodded.

"I agree. I've been thinking about that as well. But how can you be sure Orochimaru took them to the Land of Earth? Isn't there the possibility of him fleeing to one of the smaller nations, or to the Land of Rice. Maybe even another great nation. So why the Earth country?" Hiruzen asked.

"A few reasons. One is that a smaller neighboring nation isn't powerful enough to stop us should we get any information about him... Hypothetically if you get information that Orochimaru is somewhere in one of the smaller neighboring nations with Lady Tsunade, would you send people after them?" Daichi asked the Hokage and Hiruzen was silent for several seconds as he pondered the answer.

A few moments later he nodded his head. "If it's a smaller nation then yes. While sending infiltration teams would be seen as an act of aggression and might escalate the tensions between nations I'd still do it if it means rescuing her. The benefits outweigh the costs. They don't have the manpower to compete with us and if such a situation happens and the smaller nations retaliate, we could also say that they've been sheltering a known S rank criminal and was holding Lady Tsunade hostage trying to weaken us. Turn the public perception and make them the aggressors."

"Exactly. Not only will Orochimaru not be able to proceed with his plans he'll have to fend off ninjas from multiple nations in that case. So the smaller villages can't protect him. Now only the four great nations remain as an option."

Just then Anko spoke. "You're talking about the situation of the small nations on our border. What if Orochimaru takes them far away? Then the other large villages will be obligated to protect them regardless of what we say and we can't send such a large team to infiltrate or go to battle without anyone noticing if the distance is too large. And if Hidden Villages find Lady Tsunade then who's to say they won't capture or even kill her."

"I think it's because of such reasons that Orochimaru won't go too far and would even hide from other ninja villages. The distance is too large that Orochimaru won't take such a risk." It was Kakashi who replied.

Anko and the others turned to the former Anbu captain. "Orochimaru has hostages with him. Lady Tsunade and her student. If on his way, they were found by any other party, it would be trouble for him. A wrinkle in his plans. So he would need to find the nearest possible stronghold that can guarantee his safety. Is that what you're getting at Daichi?"

"Yeah. Precisely." Daichi nodded and looked back at the Hokage. "Orochimaru won't go to his own base of operations and he won't select a small nation. If we somehow track him and destroy the whole place then his years of effort would have gone to waste."

"So that leaves us with 4 great nations." Hiruzen muttered and recalled the map of the continent in his mind. "The Land of Lightning is too far away. You have to go through the Land of Rice, Land of Hot water and Land of Frost to get there."

"The Land of Water is too far as well. You'll need a boat and it'll take several days." Asuma said thinking about the situation.

"Not to mention the Hidden Mist village is in the midst of a civil war. If they find Orochimaru or Tsunade they'd show hostility. There are too many uncertain factors in that place. That snake wouldn't take that risk." Anko gave her thoughts.

"And the possibility of him going to the Land of Wind is also small. They are our allies and if they find him they'll treat as an enemy." Guy spoke up.

"And that's not taking into account the terrain of that country. Orochimaru must have built a base of operations. It won't be easy to navigate the desert and create a hideout in such conditions." Kakashi agreed with his friend.

"The Land of Iron is a neutral country. Mifune won't tolerate anyone causing trouble there. Especially a known rogue ninja." Hiruzen rubbed his chin and looked at the boy. "So that leaves us with the Land of Stone."

"Yes. There is one more reason I picked that country. Orochimaru ambushed sensei at the border near the Land of Waterfall. From there it's relatively easy for him to get to Earth country. If I'm right then they're somewhere in there but away from the Hidden Stone Village. I don't think the Tsuchikage knows that there are two Sannins in his country."

Hearing Daichi's reasoning the kage became silent and mulled it over. 'If that's true and Onoki finds out then it'll be an even bigger problem. He'll certainly try to spin it to his advantage.'

A few moments later he nodded his head. "It's an interesting theory. I'll look into it."

"Thank you Lord Hokage." Daichi was glad the old kage didn't outright reject his notion.

"You're dismissed Daichi. Head to your training ground. Kakashi will join you soon."

Daichi nodded but before he left, he took a small scroll and unsealed it. A small bottle appeared and the young medic took a small green pill from it. He handed it to the Hokage who held the small spherical pill and curiously examined it.

"You look tired. I have a feeling you're going to be up all night. Take that pill and rest for about 20 minutes. It'll be the equivalent of getting 6 to 7 hours of sleep."

Daichi's words brought a small smile to the old man's face. He didn't doubt the boy's words. "Thank you Daichi. I'm certainly going to need the energy."

The boy nodded and quickly exited the room.

"A pill that can replicate the effect of a 7 hours sleep. That's impressive." Anko said with a grin and whistle.

"Yes. Young Daichi made something like that for my dear Lee as well. It's certainly effective." Guy said with a smile as well.

"Yes." Hiruzen didn't waste another second and downed the pill. He let out a deep breath and looked at the Jonins present. "I have information about multiple hidden operational bases under Orochimaru. I've sent teams to investigate and when they send word back you'll need to be ready to engage. So for now, all of you get some rest."

"Yes sir."

"Kakashi, a moment. Rest of you are dismissed."

The silver haired Jonin stayed with a calm gaze while the others left. "Are you worried about Orochimaru's attack on Daichi?"

Hiruzen nodded with a serious gaze. "Yes. But I'm also relieved. The boy is certainly strong enough to hold his own. But still, we can't take any chances. From this point forward, till this situation is resolved you'll have to stay with Daichi."

"Is it for his protection or to keep an eye on him?" The Jonin sensei asked.

"Both. I can tell that he cares for Tsunade and Shizune very much. The boy is smart but in desperate times even smart people will make dumb decisions."

The Hokage's words made Kakashi frown. "What are you getting at sir?"

"Even during such a tumultuous time Orochimaru tried to go for Daichi. That means the child is more important to Orochimaru than perhaps he realizes. Now that his plan to forcefully abduct the boy has failed he might change tactics."

Kakashi was silent as he listened to the worries of the old leader.

"I don't know if Orochimaru has any other spies hidden deep in the village. But if they make contact with Daichi they might use words instead of fists."

"Try to convince him to go with them for the freedom of his teachers." The silver haired Jonin finished the man's thoughts.

"Yes. Daichi might very well know it's a lie or trap but there is a chance that he might still make that choice. Or he could leave the village and head to the Land of Earth in desperation. This is a very precarious time. I don't want to deal with more on my plate than what I already have."

Kakashi nodded. "Yes sir. I understand. I'll keep an eye on him."

"Good. Dismissed."

Once Kakashi left the Hokage let out a deep breath of air and leaned back in his chair. He felt tiredness creeping in. 'Must be the effects of the pill.'

"I'm going to sleep for about half an hour. Wake me up if anything important comes up." Hiruzen gave orders to the Anbu in the room and shut his eyes to take a power nap.

Training Ground 3.

Daichi was meditating under a tree when suddenly he got new memories and chakra of his clone. The gamer ninja opened his eyes and let out a deep breath of air.

'So he's in place huh. It's time. Let the raid begin.'

—---------------

Author's Note:

If you like my story and want to read ahead, then check out my P.a.T.R.E.0.N page. I've uploaded up to 30 additional chapters there.

Patre on.com/MonkWithAPen (No space)