CH_6.27 (198)

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In the building designated as the 'War Room,' Toridasu and Shirakumo, along with one of their chunin each sat with Benzou and two of his Hidden Steam chunin. The meeting was to finalize the responsibilities of the teams for the Gojiro Gold Mines operation. Finding the right people to execute the operation was just as important as planning it.

"These are the recommendations from our side," Shirakumo said to Benzou, sitting opposite him on the large circular table.

Benzou was reading a file with the Hidden Leaf team profiles and their recommended positions and responsibilities in the upcoming operation. Camp Banana being controlled and staffed entirely by Hidden Leaf shinobi meant that the entire planning for the Gojiro gold mine operation fell entirely on them with Benzou and the Hidden Steam having minimal involvement.

"The teams are going to follow these responsibilities," Toridasu said as he fanned himself with the folding fan. "We know what's best for our shinobi; it would be wise to go with the recommendations."

Benzou glanced up at Toridasu.

It wasn't as though Benzou and Hidden Steam didn't want to be involved. The Hidden Leaf simply "insisted" they could handle the operation independently without input from the Hidden Steam. Benzou was given the orders to leave it to the Hidden Leaf—he had to reluctantly obey as the Hidden Leaf (in turn, Camp Banana) was using their own resources for the operation without an ounce of investment from the Land of Hot Water and Hidden Steam.

But it wasn't as though Benzou was completely shut off. He had the last call and could cancel the operation if he didn't like what was going on—and his position as the Hidden Steam liaison for Camp Banana meant that the Hidden Leaf jonin had to respect his opinions and suggestions as they were operating in the Land of Hot Water.

The message was clear from Toridasu. He wanted Benzou to give his approval straightaway and not interfere with the operation.

Benzou didn't like the Toridasu one bit.

"I see no problems with the plan," Benzou said, and the corner of Toridasu's lips lifted, but Benzou continued, "and I would give it the approval after one small alteration."

Toridasu's smile faded; wrinkles creased on his face as he narrowed his eyes.

"…And what may that be?" he asked.

Benzou tapped on the file with team profiles. "I want this Team-9 headed by Chunin Mitarashi Anko to be part of the extraction unit." He looked up at Toridasu, "I'm sure you don't mind. This team is under your command; I'm sure they're competent."

Toridasu responded with a flat smile. "Of course, every Hidden Leaf shinobi is a tier above their peers. However, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. The responsibilities given to Team-9 were based on their skill set."

"I feel like the extraction unit suits their skill set better." Benzou turned to Shirakumo. "I don't feel my suggestion as the representative of the Hidden Leaf is too heavy. Do you think so, too, Jonin Shirakumo?"

Shirakumo gave Toridasu a look. The latter frowned for a moment before sighing unpleasantly.

"As you wish… Team-9 will be part of the extraction unit," said Toridasu before taking his leave from the War Room with his chunin.

The meeting, for all intents and purposes, was over with Toridasu's leave. Benzou stood to leave as well. Before he could exit, Shirakumo asked, "May I ask why Team-9? Yes, I can see they're suitable with two members able to mask their chakra—but the teams in the original line-up would be just as good as the new line-up."

Benzou answered while he gathered the files and documents. "I didn't doubt the competency of your original suggestion. I simply wished to have someone. It was purely based on personal preference."

"Is that so? Are you acquainted with Chunin Mitarashi?"

"I can't say I am." Benzou smiled, "However, the idea of destroying the mines came from Team-9. I firmly believe that the team will perform better."

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"I expect all of you to be on your best behavior," Anko said to her team.

Takuma hid a smile. The evening after the initial briefing, Team-9 received the confirmation that they would be in the Evacuation Unit. Anko hadn't hidden how elated and excited she was about the assignment. While Takuma had not known Anko for long, it was easy to tell that being on the excursion unit meant a lot to her. He could only imagine her struggle with the stigma known as the Snake's student attached to her—and how it must have been a hindrance every step of the way.

Benzou hadn't disappointed, and now Team-9 was part of the Evacuation Unit. Takuma wasn't sure if his ploy would work as Benzou was from Hidden Steam and Camp Banana was a Hidden Leaf base—but it seemed that the Tokubetsu Jonin still had some weight he could swing around.

They were about to meet the other three teams assigned to the Evacuation Unit. They assembled in one of the abandoned buildings reserved for meetings as the outdoors were soaking wet from the rain. Two of them were from Shirakumo's ranks with Anko, and the last one from Toridasu's ranks. Team-9 was the first to arrive as Anko wanted to arrive early; they waited ten minutes before the first team arrived.

"Mitarashi," the chunin greeted.

"Ikeda," Anko nodded back.

Ikeda was a slender man with long limbs. His tall stature made it look like the man had been stretched lengthwise. Ikeda was from Shirakumo's ranks. Ikeda's team had the function of advanced reconnaissance. They were tasked with moving deep into active battlefields to survey and explore points of advantage, enemy movement, and inspect the combat situation so the base could prepare and plan accordingly for relevant operations.

It made sense for them to be involved as the team specialized in stealth, which was required for the operation.

There was an awkward silence between the genin of both teams. The chunin made small talk with each other, doing nothing to break the ice between their teams. Seeing that, Takuma drew close to Kameko to whisper,

"We should take the lead to introduce ourselves."

Anko was the chunin lead of Team-9, but Kameko was the unofficial "leader" among the genin. She moderated the discussions; if the team had a shared opinion, she relayed it to Anko. It was only proper for her to approach the other team first and get a conversation started.

Kameko nodded and initiated the conversation without hesitation.

Camp Banana was small enough that everyone knew everyone. They might not have talked, but everyone knew each other's name and teams. Takuma recognized all five genin from seeing them in the mess hall or roaming around the village. He had even been on the same shift as one of them on guard duty. Once Kameko initiated, the ice shattered, and the two teams started chatting. The four teams were going to work together as the Evacuation Unit and needed some resemblance of cooperation to get the job done.

During his time in the Police Force, Takuma had collaborated with other departments and teams for information, competencies, and on-ground operations. The key to a functioning relationship was to ensure that the other party never felt like they were being taken advantage of—there were simple steps to accomplish that—transparent and proper communication about requirements, a pleasant collaborative environment, and giving credit where it was due.

Because the Narcotics Taskforce was such a young team, Takuma had done many things to create positive ties with other teams. He had credited people on official reports even when it wasn't necessary, taken people to lunches to express appreciation, and doled out praise by the bucketload as long as he got what he wanted.

It was exhausting and consumed time he didn't have, but Takuma understood its importance.

As they were talking, the other two teams arrived. With the four teams assembled, they immediately started the meeting. Everyone sat down with additional mission packets, especially for the evacuation with necessary information. The one to lead the meeting was Chunin Oeda from Shirakumo's ranks.

Oeda started, "The Evacuation Unit is in-charge of evacuating the mine workers safely before the battle starts in earnest. We have to ensure that they are clear before the assault starts." He asked everyone to flip to a page in the mission packet. "From the collected intel, the mining operation is only live during the hours of sunlight. They start at sunrise and retire to their dormitories at sunset. As you can see, all workers stay in the same dormitory building."

There were a few maps in the mission packet with extensive legends that marked the points of interest. Everything from active tunnels to rail tracks, everything was properly marked on several maps to make it legible.

"Because workers only return to the mines after the day's work, we can only evacuate them during the dark hours. That also means the entire assault will occur before dawn," Oeda said, gazing at the entire group.

Takuma exhaled deeply. Fighting in the dark was never optimal. He had personal experience during the assassination attempt—at least, there were street lights in the Hidden Leaf. According to the mission packet, the lighting infrastructure was scant in the pit.

'A large-scale battle makes it worse,' Takuma mused.

With more than a hundred shinobi involved, the darkness would make it difficult to observe the surroundings. With sight hindered, the danger would jump up several levels as the two shinobi fought against each other.

The thought of dying from an unseen attack was terrifying.

Oeda swiftly moved on, "The dormitory is nearer to the edge, which is to our advantage. However, the scouts were able to verify that there is a sensory-nin in the enemy ranks—but we don't know their range or sensitivity. So, only those capable of chakra-masking would first proceed to the dormitory and clear out the guard before escorting the workers, while the remaining will hang behind as backup."

Out of the four teams, all four chunin knew how to mask their chakra; it was a pre-requisite for the chunin to mask their chakra for their team to be part of the Evacuation Unit. Other than chunin, nine of the twenty genin knew chakra masking. The entirety of Ikeda's team was capable of chakra masking because of their sub-role, but chakra masking was uncommon among genin.

While Takuma was learning chakra masking, he wasn't one of the nine genin.

Oeda then asked the room to turn to another page.

"These people in this section are our priority," he said.

The section in the mission packet had several people's profiles with portrait photographs. Takuma's brows furrowed as he wondered what made these people special—but then he read the short profiles below the images, and he realized what made the people priorities.

'Of course…'

The miners were all criminals who were serving their punishments in the mines—but a gold mine couldn't be run by criminals. The people declared as a priority were the ones in charge of managing the mines. The people who weren't criminals.

Takuma raised his hand.

"Yes?"

He asked, "Is their living status verified?"

Oeda replied, "From what we know, the shinobi were all killed. The remaining people are high-ranking, important civilians, who hold valuable technical knowledge regarding mining operations. The Land of Hot Waters doesn't want to lose these people, so we have to make sure that they get home safely."

'The civilians in the know-how were left alive so the mines would remain operational,' Takuma thought.

"Moving on..."

Takuma turned more pages and saw many more photographs… but all those people weren't the priority.

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