The next morning, at the crack of dawn.
With Uchiha Yue attending him, the just-awakened Uchiha Jin stretched lazily, feeling refreshed from head to toe.
By the time he finished washing up, Uchiha Yue had breakfast ready.
Jin looked perfectly relaxed; after a quick meal he strolled straight to the Hokage Office.
Fugaku, Kakashi, Tsunade, Shikayasu… every core leader of New Konoha was already there.
'Hokage-sama!'
'Mm, take a seat.'
Jin merely waved. Once he settled behind the desk, everyone except Tsunade sat on the reception sofas.
As for—Tsunade?
As Jin's secretary, she naturally had her own place in the office.
'Shikayasu, you first.'
Jin lifted his teacup, tone casual: 'How is the screening of Old Konoha civilians progressing?'
'Hokage-sama, three-fourths finished!' Shikayasu replied respectfully. 'Civilian Ninja and their families are cleared; the rest of the civilians will be done within an hour.'
'Those left are either street thugs, recent arrivals in Old Konoha, orphans, or current orphanage children and staff.'
'This segment is the hardest. Thugs aside, civilians who joined recently have a high chance of being spies.'
'As for the orphanage itself, it was Root's breeding ground.'
'That makes screening toughest, yet I guarantee completion this afternoon.'
'Even those who pass should be monitored by Anbu and the Police Force for a while.'
In ability and planning Shikayasu surpassed even Shikaku; though pressed for time, he handled everything impeccably.
That fact
was acknowledged within the Nara clan.
Jin nodded at once.
'Good, proceed that way.'
'Fugaku, Kakashi—have the Police Force and Anbu cooperate.'
'Next—Tsunade!'
'How is the encirclement of Old Konoha proceeding on Choza's side?'
Tsunade frowned.
Her face darkened, but after a sigh she reported: 'The siege goes smoothly. Last night the Utatane and Mitokado clans tried to break out, yet Choza forced them back.'
'However, Intelligence scouts bring bad news.'
'Orochimaru has returned!'
'And the Four Great Shinobi Clans spent last night digging up graves across Old Konoha's cemeteries.'
'I've a very bad feeling about what that snake might…'
Tsunade's expression grew colder still.
Naturally,
last of the Senju, granddaughter of Hashirama and Tobirama, she had seen the Forbidden Scroll.
Perhaps Intelligence scouts didn't know what Hiruzen and Orochimaru were up to, but how could she not guess?
Yet the problem was—
she truly didn't know how to say it!
Part of her longed to see former kin, but fear and sorrow weighed more, for those kin would likely become enemies.
Meanwhile,
hearing her report, Jin blinked in surprise.
Orochimaru?
He hadn't expected that rogue's return—let alone mass grave-robbing.
Seeing Tsunade's conflict, he set down his cup and spoke slowly: 'So Hiruzen and the remnants of Old Konoha have chosen Edo Tensei as their final card.'
'And with Orochimaru the scientist, the jutsu's likely been refined and improved.'
Edo Tensei?
At the mention, almost everyone present looked blank.
Indeed!
The jutsu might be common knowledge among transmigrators, but to these natives it was unknown; yet any technique that gave Old Konoha hope—and involved digging graves—was frankly creepy.
Tsunade stared. 'Jin, you know it?'
'Ah, of course!' Jin nodded. 'Your grand-uncle was a genius.'
'Using the deceased's genetic data as an anchor, retuning the summoning nodes to the Pure Land, then offering a sacrifice to bring the dead back to earth.'
'Looks like we'll soon face an army of the undead!'
Gasp!
At Jin's words everyone drew a sharp breath—
followed by rage!
They dreaded the jutsu's horror, but fury burned at the grave-digging.
Damn it—
no need to guess!
Those bastards were exhuming the strongest dead of every clan.
For a moment silence hung heavy.
No one knew how to face it; even Tsunade's eyes turned icy.
Seeing this, Jin chuckled and spoke up.
'All right, don't panic!'
'Edo Tensei has flaws—they're only undead.'
'Sealing Jutsu is a perfect counter!'
'Before battle begins, Tsunade, work with the Barrier Team to design a sealing technique that can seal Edo summons as fast as possible.'
'And mass-produce sealing scrolls; give them to our strong fighters who don't know sealing, so they can use them on the undead in battle.'
'As for the strongest—First and Second—I'll handle them myself!'
'But for the undead to wield their former power, the sacrifices must be of high quality.'
'And you all know Old Konoha's situation: they'll have to use their own strong shinobi as sacrifices.'
'Among the Sarutobi and the other three clans, numbers may be large, but true elites are few; Edo Tensei will siphon off another batch, leaving those clans no better than pigs for slaughter.'
'So when war begins, after we count their Edo elites and assign opponents, the rest must capture members of the Four Clans at top speed.'
'Catch one, detain one!'
'Use our numerical advantage; even if we can't seal every Edo, once we hold their clansmen as prisoners, they become our hostages!'
'Do you all understand?'