Four days later
Land of Fire border
Kirigakure main base
As soon as Kaito stepped into the main tent of Kirigakure's main base, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Yukito, Zangetsu, and Kaza the head of the Kaguya Clan knelt on one knee in unison.
Kaito smiled at everyone present and gave them a slight nod.
"You all may raise."
Upon hearing Kaito's command, Yukito and the others stood up as Kaito moved toward the chair and took his seat.
He glanced at them and gave a small, approving nod.
"You all performed admirably in the recent clash with Konoha. From now on, our village's reputation will rise higher."
Yukito, Zangetsu, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, and Kaza smiled faintly upon hearing Kaito's praise.
Without any warning, Raiga erupted in a fit of maniacal laughter.
"Hahaha! Rest assured, Mizukage-sama. When I face those Konoha bastards again, I'll show them the true essence of a funeral. It will be magnificent—a masterpiece of death, a true work of art."
Everyone sweatdrop at his words, followed by a collective sigh at Raiga's antics, while Fuguki's brows knitted in irritation.
"Raiga, shut your mouth, show respect to Mizukage-sama."
Kaito chuckled at the interaction between Fuguki and Raiga, but suddenly, three puffs of white smoke appeared beside Yukito—and from them emerged three tiny polar bear cubs.
"Yukito-sama, a sizable group of ANBU had just departed Konoha, led by an elderly man whose face was half-hidden beneath bandages—they must be reinforcements."
Another polar bear cub took over and, without missing a beat, continued saying
"Yukito-sama, their chakra scent is exceptionally strong. Judging by it, those ANBU must be high Chunins, Special Jonins, and perhaps even elite Jonins."
Then the last polar bear cub said.
"The ANBU masks they wore were completely white, without a face."
Listening intently, Kaito and the others' expressions grew serious, and he addressed the polar bear cubs.
"What does that old man look like?"
One of the polar bear cubs looked at Kaito and answered without hesitation.
"The old man had black, shaggy hair, and his right side of his face was hidden behind a bandage. An X-shaped scar marked his chin. He wore a white shirt under a dark robe that draped from his feet to just above his right shoulder, concealing his bandaged right arm."
When Kaito, Yukito, and Fuguki heard the polar bear cub description, all three muttered under their breath in unison.
"Danzo Shamura."
Kaito scowled in disgust, his voice ringing out sharply.
"Perfect. That old fool has finally delivered himself to his death."
However, one of the polar bear cubs looked at Yukito and said.
"Yukito-sama, Konoha is dispatching supplies through all the three routes you asked us to monitor, with each carriage escorted by ten shinobi."
Yukito's eyes widened in shock at the news.
'This makes no sense. Every single route leads to Konoha regiment base. Why would they use all three? What could Konoha be plotting?'
The polar bear cub continue his report saying.
"Based on the chakra scent coming from the Konoha shinobi escorting the supplies, it appears their escort teams are made up largely of chunins, with a handful of genins and a couple of Jonins."
Yukito nodded, settling cross-legged on the ground, and spoke gently to the polar bear cubs.
"Thanks for all your work. You three can leave now."
The polar bears cubs bowed respectfully to Yukito and in the next moment they all vanished in a white puff of smoke.
"PUFF!, PUFF!, PUFF!"
With a frown, Yukito dragged his thumb through the dirt, sketching a shogi board. When he finished, his eyes fixed on it with unwavering seriousness.
Looking at Yukito, Kaito addressed him while the others watched.
"Yukito, speak your mind."
Yukito sighed and looked seriously at Kaito.
"Mizukage-sama, Konoha's choice is quite confusing. Delivering their supplies through all three routes is unnecessarily risky. Had they relied on a single route, they could have deployed more shinobi for protection, making our plan to poison their food supplies far more difficult."
With thoughtful nods, Kaito and the others reflected on what Yukito said. After a moment, he lifted his gaze and spoke.
""It doesn't matter what Konoha is scheming, Yukito. For now, we'll continue executing your strategy. If anything unexpected occurs, you can simply adjust it."
"Keep this in mind, Yukito. Wars are never predictable. You must always prepare backup strategies. Since the First Ninja War, I've seen many carefully crafted strategies rendered useless by unforeseen events."
Yukito nodded solemnly at Kaito's words. Reaching into his vest, he took out a blank scroll and started carefully writing on it.
Once he completed writing on the scroll, he flicked it toward Fuguki and spoke.
"Fuguki-sama, these are the shinobi I recommend for the upcoming mission. It is a high A-rank mission to poison Konoha's food supply. Its success could shift the trajectory of this war in our favor, though it may escalate into an S-rank mission."
Fuguki scanned the list of names on Yukito's scroll. His eyes narrowed for a moment when he noticed Yukina's name among them, yet he chose not to voice any objection.
Without a word, he nodded to Yukito and handed the scroll to Kaito, who glanced over the listed names.
Kaito gave a nod then looked at Zangetsu after tossing the scroll to him.
"Zangetsu, summon at once every shinobi listed on this scroll."
With a swift motion, Zangetsu caught the scroll, gave Kaito a respectful nod, and departed the main tent.
As soon as Zangetsu left, Yukito glanced at Kaito and spoke up.
"Mizukage-sama, I believe it's time Rengo enters this war."
Yukito's words made Fuguki and the others' eyes grow wide.
"Oi, oi, pretty boy! You can't be serious!. If the Jinchuriki loses control in battlefield, he's going to be nothing but liability to us."
Many nodded in agreement at Raiga's words, but Kaito's gaze sharpened as he looked at Yukito and gave his order.
"Explain your reason Yukito."
Yukito gave a brief nod and then began explaining.
"Even if Rengo loses control and goes berserk, using him against the Root ANBU will inflict severe damage on Konoha and significantly weaken their Root ANBU."
"This will be very beneficial for us not only in this war but in the future too."
Kaito and the others exchanged smiles at Yukito's words. Without a second thought, Yukito pulled a Kunai from his pouch and tossed it at the shogi board sketched on the ground.
"If we successfully poison Konoha's food supply, their forces will be weakened, and we can launch a full-scale invasion to eliminate them once and for all."
"By that stage, the war will shift in our favor."
A wicked smirks spread across Kaito, Fuguki, and the rest as they considered Yukito's strategy, and Raiga erupted into laughter.
"HAHAHA! Well, well, pretty boy, you're one sly son of bitch. I like you."
"SLAP!"
With a sharp smack to Raiga's head, Fuguki yelled in anger.
"Shut up, Raiga, or I'll kill you, show some respect to Yukito and Mizukage-sama."
Ignoring their petty quarrels, Kaito turned to Yukito, his gaze filled with appreciation, and asked.
"Do you believe the shinobi you selected for this mission can successfully poison Konoha's food supply?"
After Kaito asked his question, Fuguki and the others fixed their gaze on Yukito, who exhaled deeply before speaking.
"Honestly, I can't say for certain, but our chances look good because the three teams I formed are well-balanced."
"Should this mission fail, we'll need to devise a new strategy for the remainder of our war with Konoha."
Kaito and the rest nodded in agreement.
_____
With Yukina
"BZBZBZBZBZ."
"Lightning Release: Lightning Ball Jutsu."
"BOOM!, BOOM!, BOOM!, BOOM!"
Yukina trained relentlessly in Lightning Ball Jutsu at a secluded spot away from Kirigakure camp.
Pulsing orbs of crackling blue lightning hurtled through the air one after another, smashing into tree trunks and detonating on impact.
Not far from Yukina, Mei, Yagura, and Koko—who had just transferred from border security—stood watching as she practiced the Lightning Ball Jutsu alongside Ameyuri.
Yukina had made remarkable progress in mastering the Lightning Ball Jutsu, now requiring far fewer hand seals than before.
Ameyuri stood beside Mei, admiration shining in her eyes as she watched Yukina practice the Lightning Ball Jutsu.
"Yukina-chan possesses incredible talent in ninjutsu—mastering the Lightning Ball Jutsu in few days to such a degree without even having an affinity for lightning chakra is proof of her exceptional talent."
Mei, Yagura, and Koko exchanged glances with Ameyuri before nodding in agreement.
At that instant, Zangetsu appeared behind them using shunshin, causing Yukina to abruptly cease her Lightning Ball Jutsu the moment she sensed him.
Zangetsu offered a gentle smile to Yukina before letting his gaze sweep over the others.
"Perfect, everyone is here. You've all been called to the main tent for an urgent mission. Come with me."
Yukina nodded in sync with Mei and the rest, and they all shunshined toward the main tent.
______
In the main tent
As Yukina and the others shunshined into the main tent, she froze, her eyes growing wide at the sight of the Mizukage.
She, along with Koko, Yagura, Ameyuri, and Mei, quickly lowered her head in a respectful bow.
Kaito straightened up and gave a welcoming smile to all the shinobi gathered inside the main tent.
Yukina's eyes scanned the crowd, noting the presence of the seven ninja swordsmen apprentices, Kisame, Hiro, Ichiro, Kotaro, numerous chunin, and a few Jonin, including Kengetsu.
Kaito cast a sharp glance at the thirty Kirigakure shinobi assembled before him and began to speak.
"You are to depart from our base and undertake a critical A-rank mission. The outcome of this mission will decide how the war with Konoha unfolds in the future."
Yukina and the others listened intently as Kaito spoke, then he turned his gaze to Yukito and said.
"Yukito, start briefing them on the mission."
Yukito nodded, then stepped toward the Land of Fire map and gestured to it with his thumb.
"Right now, Konoha is delivering their supplies through these three key routes. Your objective is to poison their food supplies."
"We are not certain that all the supplies Konoha is delivering are food. If you discover that any of the supplies are not food, you must destroy them immediately."
"You will all be split into three teams of ten, with each team assigned to cover a specific route and target Konoha's supplies."
"But be warned, based on the intelligence we gathered, each of Konoha's escort team consist of ten members, mostly chunin, with a few genin and a couple of Jonins."
Yukina's lips curled into a bloodthirsty smirk when she heard Konoha escort teams compromised of couple of Jonins and many chunins.
'Oh, this mission is going to be so much fun.'
While Yukina's eyes sparkled with anticipation, the rest of the Kirigakure shinobi fixed Yukito with grave, unreadable stares.
"Go ahead and make your preparations; you will be leaving in 15 minutes."
_______