The command tent billowed gently against the evening air. Outside, the dust of the skirmishes were beginning to settle. The Ao clones had finally been dispersed with three of them escaping while they dealt with Sakumo and Kagami, the Konoha's reanimation guards had been neutralized by Itachi, Yugito and Kaien.
Yet, nobody was foolish enough to mistake a moment of quiet for safety. The entire battalion knew that the true battle lay ahead... a grueling night attack orchestrated by the Hidden Mist.
Commander Aya stood at the head of the map table, her gaze sweeping across the hand-picked captains and elite operatives gathered before her. Itachi Uchiha, Guren, Jugo, Yugito Nii, and her own son, Kaien, stood among them, each having proven their mettle through the battle.
"Everyone did an exceptional job out there today," Aya began, her voice carrying an authority that commanded silence. "Keep that momentum and morale high for tonight. We still have to brace ourselves for Kiri's surprise offensive. I've already intercepted and dealt with a few of them: Zabuza, Juzo and Fuguki personally, but the stronger ones are still there."
She gestured toward five scrolls resting on the table.
"Our primary high-priority targets are...," Aya continued, tapping a finger near the scrolls. "First, Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage and he has also become Three-Tails Jinchuriki according to the latest news from our sources. Second, Mei Terumi, the dual Kekkei Genkai wielder whose acid and lava releases can melt through entire platoons. Third, Utakata, the linchpin and the Six-Tails Jinchuriki, whose bubble ninjutsu controls the battlefield rhythm. Fourth, Kisame Hoshigaki, wielder of the Samehada shark skin blade. And fifth, Mangetsu Hozuki, the prodigious ghost of Hozuki."
She looked up, meeting the eyes of her captains one by one. "These five are our main targets. Inside these scrolls are intel detailing their abilities, weaknesses, I have prepared. Have your squads thoroughly prepared before midnight."
Even the captains awere nervous at the thought who they werre about to face as these weren't ordinary shinobi; they were legendary powerhouses.
Aya's expression softened as she turned to her son. "And... little one. The problems here are as good as solved, and we have more than enough capable hands to manage. You need to head back to Kumo immediately. Your grandfather needs you, especially with Dan Kato still in the heart of our land."
Kaien stood dumbfounded, his mother was sidelining him, stripping him from the front line just as things were getting critical. But as the his frustration faded, he thought about the looming threat in Kumo, and slowly nodded without a word of protest.
Itachi stepped forward, offering a reassuring presence. "Kaien, do not worry about us. We will take care of things here on the East Coast. Focus on what needs to be done."
Kaien locked eyes with him and he trusted Itachi's decisiveness and judgment implicitly. If Itachi said the East Coast would hold, it would hold and he would give his life for it.
Aya seized the moment to reorganize her command structure. "Since Kaien is stepping away from the void left by Dodai, I am officially appointing Uchiha Itachi as my right-hand man, and Yugito Nii as the Vice-Commander of this battalion."
Guren's jaw tightened, and she clenched her fist hard with unshakeable resolve. She vowed that she would push past her limits, to prove her worth, and to become just as strong, reliable as Dodai-sensei had been.
None of the Kumo shinobi or the captains raised a voice in protest. The skill, tactical genius, and composure Itachi had displayed earlier... not least of all his decisive victory over reanimated Kagami... had earned him the respect of the entire camp. They readily acknowledged his right to the position. As Yugito was already an established powerhouse they were not surprised by her position.
"With that settled, let's disperse and get our squads into position," Aya concluded.
The captains bowed deeply and made their way out of the tent, leaving mother and son alone.
Kaien stayed, waiting until the last curtain flap closed behind. He stepped closer to his mother, his expression laced with concern. "Mother... please don't get reckless out there. There are plenty of dependable shinobi around you. You don't have to bear every burden on your shoulders alone."
Aya blinked, her stern commander persona instantly melting away into a slightly terrifying fondness. "Aww... how sweet. My little one is actually worrying about his mother's well-being. I suppose I can't disappoint you now, can I?" In a split second, she was back to being the intensely possessive and doting mother he grew up with.
Kaien sighed, deadpan. "I am being serious."
"Yes, you are," she teased gently.
~~
Kaien was sprinting heading northwest toward Kumogakure. Under normal circumstances, maintaining his baseline speed without pushing his chakra reserves to exhaustion, the journey should take him roughly half a day. Yet, his mind was consumed by one name: Dan Kato.
"How do you fight a man who doesn't exist physically on the field?" Kaien muttered to himself, leaping gracefully.
Dan Kato was a nightmare of an opponent not because of his strength in fact he was weak... but he was a self-sufficient, hyper-experienced watchman who possessed the Spirit Transformation Technique. Dan neither took on the fight or take over Raikage or Killer Bee. His movement speed in that spirit form vastly outpaced even the Raikage. But what about his reflexes?
"Spirit transformation is fundamentally a high-level Yin-release technique," Kaien analyzed. "If I can time it right, I might be able to catch him off guard with my False Distortion technique since my Sharingan Genjutsu would not work without the cranial nerves. But the catch is its effective range... it caps out at around six hundred meters. That means I have zero room for error.
He landed lightly on a mossy branch, pausing for a moment to think through before leaping again.
"If force won't work, maybe psychological warfare will," he mused. "I could try to sow profound discord by weaponizing the history between Tsunade and Jiraiya perhaps bringing up their son: Saruto Senju. If I drop the right hooks, I might rattle his composure, keeping him agitated and emotionally reactive just long enough for me to set up the distortion jutsu and seal him away for good."
It was a clever idea, but the more he turned it over, the more holes he found in it.
~~
A/N: Upto 20 Advance chapters available @ patreon.com/aizenDuchiha0