Naruto: Chronicles of a Fire Ninja-Chapter 385 - 381: Playing with Fire

In the office of Konoha's leader, two of its most powerful ninja were sitting, both having S-rank strength capable of changing the direction of the war on their own.

Shisui and Jiraiya were called to Hiruzen's office regarding an important matter, which was not disclosed to them till now in the slightest. Yesterday, they were informed that they would be going with the Fire Daimyo to the Land of Mist for a business deal.

But suddenly they were informed of another mission they had to take and had to visit the Hokage's office—the second one which is not in the Hokage building—discretely.

"Since Shikaku is here as well, I assume you guys are planning something again," Jiraiya asked. After Hiruzen, he was the strongest ninja in Konoha.

Well, it was debatable who was stronger between Hiruzen and Jiraiya, but considering all of the experience and techniques Hiruzen knew, as well as all of the information he had about Jiraiya and his fighting style, there was quite a high chance that Hiruzen would win in a one-to-one fight.

So Jiraiya, who could be considered the strongest ninja in Konoha, usually didn't care about formalities at all, especially since Hiruzen was his sensei and almost like his father.

That's why he was questioning the meeting easily.

"Yes, Lord Jiraiya, as you know, we were going to return the favor to Kumo and Iwa. This is regarding that," Shikaku said.

"You're not actually sending me and him on that mission, right? Are we really going to go to war with Kumo and Iwa?" Jiraiya asked, his demeanor becoming serious.

"Not you two, Lord Jiraiya, but someone with almost the same chakra signature as you guys, since you will be going with the Fire Daimyo to the Land of Mist," Shikaku said, barely holding back his smirk.

"We will be playing with fire if we do that," Shisui said, as the meaning behind Shikaku's words became clear in his mind.

"Yes, but that fire will not be able to burn us at all. What are they going to do, tell that the Fire Daimyo is lying? They brazenly declared their ninja as rogues when they were killed during the attack. If we agreed to that because we are not ready for a war, so will they.

Because no matter how unprepared we are for a war, we can handle those two for now. With Suna being an ally and Kiri in civil war, we will only have to focus on two villages, which is doable, and it is known by them as well, so they will not start a war either," Shikaku said.

"But won't it just lead to them attacking more of our outposts in retaliation?" Shisui asked. Being away from the village, he didn't know about the meetings that took place here, while Jiraiya was present so he knew about it from before, and also why these two brains of Konoha agreed to this plan.

"No, if that happens, we WILL be forced to start a war, even if we want to or not. We, as the strongest village and the one with most fertile land and resources, can't take these attacks lying down.

Otherwise, we will become a target to exploit for other villages. Neither Kumo nor Iwa is dumb enough to do that," Shikaku said with absolute confidence in his voice.

"So what do you think they will do when we destroy their outpost? It's not like they will just say, 'Okay, our balance is settled, now let's move on,' right?" This time it was Jiraiya who asked the question.

"Out of all possible outcomes, I assume two to be most possible. First, they might not act immediately, but Kumo and Iwa have long memories. Instead of direct retaliation now, they might bide their time and strike when we least expect it.

Or they might retaliate in a limited, controlled manner—perhaps sabotaging supply lines or ambushing our shinobi—but they won't escalate to full-scale war unless they're prepared for it.

In both cases, there will be no war since we can't pin the blame on them, and we will have two time bombs on our back to always be on the lookout for," Shikaku said.

"Since you guys have already thought this through, there is nothing for us to care about anyway. Just tell us what we are going to do," Jiraiya said, his expression going back to a lazy one.

"Jiraiya-sama, you will be going to..." Shikaku started the briefing of the plan in detail, with the capabilities of the ninja who were going to follow them on the mission, as well as what they were expected to do there. Both Jiraiya and Shisui had different roles, and both were more than qualified for it.

"If you have any doubts, you can ask now," Shikaku said at the end of the briefing.

"Only one: how much can I show?" Jiraiya asked.

"All of your capabilities. That is the whole point of sending you on the mission."

"To show that it's not only them who are the shameless ones?" Jiraiya asked in a mocking tone.

"For my village, I can be the most shameless person in the world," Hiruzen said without even an ounce of hesitation.

"So can we. Since everything is clear, I will take my leave. I have to complete my latest Chapter of Icha Icha Paradise Season 4 before leaving," Jiraiya said, bowed to Hiruzen, and left the room. After this, Shisui could only smile awkwardly.

"You can also leave, Shisui. Since you have to go on two missions tomorrow, take some rest," Hiruzen said.

"Thank you, Lord Third," Shisui said, then bowed and left.

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After both of them left, Hiruzen turned to Shikaku.

"Others are prepared for this, right?"

"Yes, Lord Third. They have been briefed about the mission. Since most of them are ANBU or Elite Jonin who have already worked with them, there is no need for any extra training at all.

Also, since our attack force is not big, the route for smaller squads to reach there without being noticed has been easily planned. With this, all of the preparation is complete," Shikaku said.

"Good. I don't want any mishaps during this mission. Our top elite force is going on this mission—if anything happens to them, we will go back a year in our growth," Hiruzen said.

"Rest assured, Lord Third. The mishap you're talking about will only happen when both Raikage and Tsuchikage move to attack our forces, which is next to impossible. But I still gave signals to our spies to keep on the lookout for any movement of these two or their jinchuriki."

Hiruzen nodded his head. It was not that he didn't know this, but the risk was just that high that he couldn't keep his worry in check.

In one corner, this was happening, while in another part of Konoha, a celebration was going on. Fugaku had made three restaurants in the Uchiha compound free for a week straight, and all of Konoha was invited to eat. He was even planning on throwing a celebration party, which Itachi stopped after many requests.

With three restaurants of the Uchiha compound, and that too with the highest rating, which could be considered 5-star on Earth, being free, the crowd of people that went to the Uchiha compound was no joke. In a sense, this big movement also helped Konoha to hide the preparation of the attack from spies in the village.