Chapter 356: Expansion
Watching Ishiro's dazzling series of operations, the dozen or so Anbu were filled with awe. They now understood the source of Ishiro's confidence in clearing the area. A high-level figure who could intimidate people with S-rank sealing jutsu right off the bat was not someone chunin like them could fathom. The S-rank seal that Ishiro had placed was indeed far more secure than having a few chunin stand guard duty.
The only thing was, this way, the Anbu headquarters was now completely cut off from the outside. It would be impossible to get intelligence or supplies from it.
"Alright, where do you all plan to go now?" Ishiro asked the group of a dozen after finishing the seals.
After some thought, one of them said, "Lord Sei, we have to return to our squads. Since we're no longer on duty, we must report back to our squad leaders."
Ishiro nodded. "Alright, those who have a clear destination are dismissed. The rest of you will follow me in a moment."
"I am currently based on the western edge of the village. If your squads don't know what to do, you can also come find me," Ishiro said to the few Anbu who were still part of a formal squad, before leading the remaining seven away.
The Anbu left behind looked at each other. One of them said, "Let's report back to our squad leader first. We can't make a decision on a matter like this."
The others nodded, and the group dispersed.
On the other side, Ishiro brought the seven still-dazed Anbu back to the temporary base.
Ai, Aome, and Sky had already heard the commotion and came out to greet them. Seeing that Ishiro had brought back seven Anbu ninja after just one trip out, the three of them were savvy enough not to ask too many questions.
"We'll arrange lodging for them tomorrow. For now, clear out a place for them to rest. I have to go out again in a bit," Ishiro said to the three.
"Yes," the three replied obediently.
While the three went to tidy up, Ishiro had the seven new members enter his room one by one for a detailed self-introduction. After dealing with the four of them, Ishiro left the temporary base once more.
Ishiro walked for a while in Kirigakure before entering an unremarkable civilian house.
"Lord Ninja, is there something I can help you with?" the middle-aged man in the room asked in a panic.
Ishiro flashed a set of hand signs and then took off his mask.
"L-Lord Tsuchikage?" the man exclaimed in surprise.
This man was precisely the intelligence ninja Iwagakure had planted in Kirigakure: Karasu. Karasu was also Iwa's only permanent intelligence agent in the Mist. It was the intelligence that Karasu had sent back to Iwagakure that had brought Ishiro here in the first place.
Ishiro said, "Karasu, put on this Mist Anbu uniform. From now on, you can mold your chakra. Your identity is a member of the Third Mizukage's direct Anbu. Your codename is still Karasu. Your direct superior is me. My codename is Sei. Understood?"
After Ishiro finished speaking, Karasu reacted quickly, hurriedly putting on the Anbu uniform while saying to Ishiro, "Lord Sei, do you have any orders?"
Ishiro took out a scroll and said, "This is the data I obtained from the Mist Anbu headquarters. Help me sort through it and see what's useful."
"You are an expert in intelligence, so I won't say much about the specifics. Focus on information related to Tailed Beasts and ancient legends. Also, compile all information regarding the Third Mizukage for me."
"When you're finished with the contents of this storage scroll, come find me on the west side of the village. I will give you the other scrolls then."
"Also, send a message back to the village. Have them send two Anbu squads over here. Remember to have them change into Mist Anbu disguises. From now on, our contact will use the fourth set of secret codes."
"Yes, Lord Sei," Karasu hurriedly agreed.
After giving his instructions, Ishiro returned to the temporary base.
However, there were now significantly more ninja around the base than when he had left. On the surface, a full Anbu squad was waiting at the entrance, and there were three other ninja hiding in the surroundings, conducting surveillance.
Ishiro ignored the three intelligence ninja and walked straight towards the overt Anbu squad.
Upon closer inspection, Ishiro immediately recognized two of them as the chunin who had previously guarded the Anbu headquarters' logistics warehouse.
Ishiro's gaze fell on the squad's leader. This person should be the squad leader with the codename Noboru.
As expected, when the man saw Ishiro looking over, he took the initiative to step forward and introduce himself. "Lord Sei, my codename is Noboru. Two of my subordinates mentioned earlier that you could accommodate us here. I wonder if that's true?"
Ishiro was taken aback. Someone has come to seek refuge already? But Ishiro wasn't in a hurry; he held the initiative.
Ishiro sized up Noboru's squad of four. It was a very ordinary Anbu squad. The squad leader, Noboru, was a special jonin, and his three subordinates were chunin. Their overall strength was far inferior to the former Captain Ki's squad. He figured as much; if the squad leader had been a jonin, he probably wouldn't have come seeking refuge so quickly.
Ishiro remained silent for a moment and then said, "You can join if you want. There is a chunin 50 meters behind you, and two chunin 70 meters to your right. If you can take down two of those three, you can join."
Ishiro didn't answer Noboru's question, instead directly stating his requirement.
Noboru was stunned. His assessment of Ishiro immediately rose several notches. The four of them were not without vigilance, yet they hadn't discovered a single hidden ninja. This made Noboru's face burn behind his mask.
His original plan had been to check out the situation on Ishiro's side before making a decision, but now his thinking had completely changed. Regardless of whether they joined or not, he had to at least show his skills in front of Ishiro and demonstrate his value.
He turned and gave a few instructions to his three subordinates. The four of them then split into two groups. The two who had previously guarded the warehouse formed one group and quickly turned back to deal with the chunin behind them. He himself, along with his last subordinate, rushed towards the two chunin on the right.
Seeing this, Ishiro paid them no more mind and walked directly into the house.
"Lord Sei," inside the room, the three from the original Squad Ki and the seven who had joined later had already heard the commotion outside. They just hadn't gone out without Ishiro's command.
Ishiro nodded. "Ai, if that squad outside captures two chunin, let them join. This room is getting a bit small. Check the surroundings tomorrow for any other unoccupied houses and find a place for them to stay."
"Yes," Ai replied.
Ishiro returned to his room and, similarly, took out a storage scroll and began to look through it. However, Ishiro hadn't dealt with such a large volume of text in years, and his speed at picking out useful information was not very fast.
By the time dawn broke, Ishiro walked out of his room to find six more people in the main hall: Noboru's squad of four and two captives.
Ishiro glanced at the two captives, then nodded at Noboru. "You four, come in for a moment."
Following the same procedure as before, Ishiro had the four of them remove their masks and gave him a detailed account of their service records. Finally, Ishiro said, "You will maintain your original squad structure for now. You will temporarily serve as a combat squad and await orders."
"Yes." Intimidated by Ishiro's presence, Noboru threw all his original plans to the back of his mind, leaving only the impulse to obey.
"Which faction did those three chunin belong to?" Ishiro asked after Noboru's squad had joined.
Noboru said, "Lord Sei, we've interrogated them. The one acting alone was sent by Elder Genshi. The other two have pledged allegiance to the Minazuki clan. It's just that when I went to capture them, one of them got away."
Ishiro frowned. No one from Yagura? Is it because of White Zetsu's existence that they don't need to send intelligence ninja? But I've already used my sensory ninjutsu multiple times within Kirigakure and haven't found any trace of a White Zetsu clone.
Could White Zetsu be disguised as a Mist ninja? But doing so would be too risky; it could easily expose the fact that Yagura is being controlled.
What Ishiro didn't know was that Yagura's current situation was much more difficult than he imagined. Although Yagura still held the title of Mizukage, after the surprise attack by the Kaguya clan, his loyal subordinates had suffered heavy losses, and he had few he could command and trust. Although Yagura had forcibly pulled some ninja to his side by virtue of his status as Mizukage, he didn't dare to send these ninja out on missions alone, fearing they would leave and never return. Every time a group under Yagura went out, one of his confidants would lead the team to prevent non-combat attrition.
It was precisely because they saw Yagura's predicament that the Minazuki and other bloodline clans dared to openly confront him. Elder Genshi had also rallied so many small and medium-sized clans for this reason, refusing to obey Yagura's commands.
"Release them. Tell them to inform Genshi and Minazuki Gyō not to send any more people over. Otherwise, I'll kill as many as they send," Ishiro ordered, then said, "Alright, you can go and rest now."
After Noboru's squad left, Ishiro suddenly thought of something. The Mist Village had a Byakugan, which was in Ao's possession. But which faction did Ao belong to? The original story only mentioned that Ao used his Byakugan to reveal that Yagura was being controlled by genjutsu. But the one who ultimately rose to power was Mei Terumī. Mei possessed two Kekkei Genkai and should have come from the bloodline clan faction. From this perspective, it seemed that Ao should be on the side of the bloodline clans. However, Mei's rise to power in the original story also seemed to be inseparable from Elder Genshi's support, so it was also possible that Ao was serving Genshi.
Thinking of this, Ishiro walked outside again and asked Noboru, "Noboru, do you know where the village's Byakugan is now?"
"The Byakugan?" Noboru thought for a moment. "The Byakugan seems to have been obtained by a ninja named Ao. After returning to the village, Lord Suikazan Fuguki suggested to Lord Mizukage that the Byakugan be given to Ao for his use, so the Byakugan is with Ao."
"Ao's family is a medium-sized ninja clan in the village, and they have now pledged allegiance to Elder Genshi. With the Byakugan's special ability, Ao is likely one of Elder Genshi's right-hand men."
"Ao is one of Genshi's men. Understood," Ishiro thought to himself.
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