Chapter 72: The Unlikely Commander
Eighty chakra signatures. A solid wall of power blocking their only escape route. Kagenori's body tensed, the lightning of his Seventh Form still crackling faintly around his fists. He had to assume the worst. The Konoha ninjas behind him were still catching up, their frantic footsteps pounding the charred earth.
He moved silently, using the cover of the still-smoking trees to get a visual. When he saw them, his eyes, sharp with the Sharingan's clarity, widened a fraction.
Konoha forehead protectors.
Reinforcements? Already?
It was impossible. They were hours ahead of schedule. His mind, honed by paranoia and survival, immediately screamed trap. A Transformation Technique was the oldest trick in the book.
He would not risk his real body. A shadow clone formed beside him and stepped out into the open, into the view of the eighty-strong battalion.
"Identify yourselves," the clone demanded, its voice flat and devoid of relief. "Are you the Konoha reinforcements for the Hot Springs front?"
The battalion shifted, and a man with the distinctive spiky, pineapple-like hair of the Nara clan stepped forward. He looked tired but alert. "I am Nara Shoji, acting commander of this reinforcement battalion. And you must be Kagenori. We've heard of you."
The clone ignored the pleasantry. "Your arrival is ahead of schedule. Explain."
Nara Shoji's expression was grim. "The Hokage assessed the situation in the Land of Hot Springs as critical. We marched with minimal rest, pushing our speed to the limit. Where are Lord Orochimaru and Lord Jiraiya?"
Kagenori's clone didn't answer. Instead, its crimson gaze locked onto a specific shinobi—a man with pale, pupil-less eyes and long, dark hair. "You. Hyuga. Activate your Byakugan. Now."
The Hyuga clansman, Masashi, stiffened, his pride visibly stung. To be ordered around so brusquely by a boy, an outsider with a cursed heritage... he glanced at Nara Shoji for guidance.
Shoji, however, was watching the clone carefully. He noted the blood and grime caking its form, the faint scent of ozone and battle that clung to it even at this distance. This wasn't a request born of arrogance, but of tactical necessity. "Do it, Masashi. Confirm our numbers and composition for him."
With clear reluctance, Hyuga Masashi formed the hand seal. Veins bulged around his temples as his Byakugan activated, its all-seeing vision sweeping over the area. The clone watched the unmistakable chakra flare, the tell-tale physical sign. It was real.
Satisfied, the shadow clone dispelled in a puff of smoke.
A moment later, Kagenori himself emerged from the tree line, his real body finally revealing itself. A murmur of surprise rippled through the reinforcement troops. His caution was extreme, even for a shinobi.
"I am Kagenori, field commander of the Konoha forward unit," he stated, his voice cutting through the whispers. "The Cloud has attempted an encirclement. I have breached their lines, and my forces are retreating along this path directly behind me. You will advance and provide covering support immediately."
This declaration was met with open skepticism and contempt from many in the battalion. A thirteen-year-old commander? With Orochimaru and Jiraiya present? It was ludicrous. To them, he looked like a lone, panicked survivor spinning tales to cover his cowardice.
But Nara Shoji saw past the prejudice. He saw the absolute calm in Kagenori's eyes, the lack of any panic or relief. A fugitive would not have been so methodical in verifying their identity. And he knew of Kagenori's unique position as Orochimaru's disciple. The Hokage's briefings had been clear on that point.
"Your orders are heard," Nara Shoji said, his voice firm. He turned to his troops. "All units! Forward! Provide support and cover for our retreating comrades!"
The Nara's command broke the spell of doubt. The reinforcement battalion surged past Kagenori, their numbers a stark contrast to his battered, tiny force.
The timing was perfect. The twenty-odd survivors of the original force stumbled out of the scorched corridor, their faces etched with exhaustion and terror, only to see a wall of Konoha shinobi ready to receive them. A wave of palpable relief washed over them. Some fell to their knees, tears of sheer exhaustion and deliverance mixing with the dirt on their faces.
The pursuing Cloud ninja, expecting to mop up a broken remnant, instead found themselves facing a fresh, full-strength battalion. Their advance faltered, then broke as organized counter-attacks from the reinforcements slammed into them, forcing a hasty retreat back into the forest.
Kagenori observed the reinforcing troops with a clinical eye. They were good—well-equipped, their movements precise. He recognized the emblems of the Akimichi, the Aburame, the Yamanaka, and of course, the Hyuga and the Uchiha. Konoha was scraping the bottom of the barrel, sending its clan shinobi to the front lines. The power disparity was obvious; these shinobi moved with the ingrained skill of generations of training and secret techniques.
As the immediate threat receded, the survivors began talking, their voices hushed but fervent, telling the newcomers of the brutal fighting retreat, of the near-constant ambushes, and of the lone figure who had carved a path of lightning through the enemy for them to follow. The reinforcement shinobi listened, their earlier contempt slowly replaced by a dawning, unsettled respect as they looked over at the boy leaning against a tree, his eyes closed as if in simple rest.
Finally, he could allow himself a moment of respite. The relentless tension that had gripped him since the assault on Yugakure finally eased its hold, if only slightly.
Orochimaru and Jiraiya arrived moments later, joining the consolidated force. Nara Shoji immediately reported to them.
"Lord Orochimaru, Lord Jiraiya. Your arrival is a relief. The reinforcement is complete."
Orochimaru's serpentine eyes flickered from Shoji to the resting Kagenori. "Your timing was adequate, Shoji-san. The operation is now a complete success."
Nara Shoji blinked. "Success, my lord? The casualties... we heard you started with over ninety. To lose so many..."
Jiraiya, his face uncharacteristically somber, clapped a heavy hand on Shoji's shoulder. "The plan was to shock the Cloud, push the front line, and buy time for the other fronts. It worked. The cost... was calculated."
"Calculated by whom?" Shoji asked, though a cold knot in his stomach already told him the answer.
Orochimaru's thin lips curled into a faint, approving smile as he gazed at his disciple. "The strategy was Kagenori's. I merely... executed the vision."
Nara Shoji felt a chill that had nothing to do with the forest air. He looked at the blood-stained, exhausted boy leaning against the tree, the one who had just been confirmed as the architect of this brutal, high-stakes gambit. He wasn't just Orochimaru's disciple. He was his protégé in every sense of the word. And that thought was more terrifying than any Cloud-nin battalion.