"Alright, send Kagero southeast and have him circle any large cities he spots. That direction," I said, pointing the direction my compass indicated.
Kagero was perched on Kurenai's shoulder as she made a few hand signs to reinforce her link with the hawk and passed on her instructions. She held out her forearm which was covered in a thick leather bracer, and he hopped to it without hesitation. With a fluid motion, she tossed him into the air as he started to flap his wings and climb into the sky in the direction I was pointing.
"My direct connection should last about ten minutes before he is out of my range," Kurenai said.
"That's fine. I'll track his progress regularly, but we should have an hour or two before he nears the Mist Village if my calculations are right," I remarked as I tucked my compass into a pocket.
"How will you get Kurenai's hawk back, sensei?" Shisui asked.
"The same way I pick up my thrown shuriken," I retorted then teleported one of my shuriken to my hand. "I think Kagero is nearly strong enough to form a proper contract and then Kurenai will be able to do it herself."
"I thought you said it would take several years before he would be ready," Kurenai questioned.
"Normally, it would be, but maybe you got lucky. We don't know what summoning animals the Sand Village clans have, so there is a chance that he might have a strong bloodline. Ten minutes of flight is nearly fifteen kilometers which is on par with most of the Uchiha scouts that use crows, right, Fugaku?"
Fugaku looked over to the edge of the boat where the three of us were standing then nodded his head. "When not using the Sharingan, Kuroha can maintain his connection to his crow for twenty kilometers, and his family is responsible for taking care of all the Uchiha crows."
"I'll get Kushina to make you a proper contract scroll the next time that we're in the Village and then you can start developing techniques using him," I said.
"Like what?" Kurenai asked.
"It will depend on Kagero, but for him to come so far so quickly, there is a good chance that he is compatible with your Yin Release. Imagine if you used him to distract your opponent then use genjutsu... you could pull focus with an illusion and, if they try to ignore it, you have Kagero attack for real. If you are preparing an ambush, you could disguise him and have him wait for the perfect opening. The main limitation for all jutsus is your imagination, so it's something you'll have to figure out for yourself," I replied.
"You make it sound easy, sensei," Shisui complained lightly.
I chuckled as I rubbed the back of my head. As my personal disciple, Shisui had been subjected to numerous experiments involving chakra control and transformation. I already knew that I had a major advantage with using elemental jutsu, but it was not until I tried teaching him my nin-taijustu when it was finally put into full perspective. Asuma had picked it up fairly well since he focused solely on Fire and Wind, which were his affinities, but I wanted Shisui to use all five of the main elements, but even with his Sharingan, he could only incorporate Water techniques easily so far.
"It's not like she has to do it all on her own. I'll help her, and there are other people in the Village who can teach her some tricks," I said.
"Most of the Uchiha techniques require the Sharingan, but there are a few that don't. I can have copies made for Kurenai with the condition that they won't be passed on without permission from the Clan," Fugaku added, which drew a few subtle looks of surprise from the other jonin on the boat.
"Thank you, Fugaku," I replied, nudging Kurenai.
"Thank you, Clan Head Fugaku," Kurenai said quickly with a small bow.
Fugaku gave a slight smile as he nodded his head towards me but said nothing else, returning his attention to the horizon. Renji was on the other side of the boat using his Byakugan to scan the surroundings while Inoichi talked to Shinpei Arakawa, jonin who specialized in Water Release, under the covered section of the boat. I led Kurenai and Shisui over to the sitting area where a few cushions were arranged and sat down, pulling out a map.
We had been sailing for over a day, and the main island was just visible on the horizon. There had been no signs of Mist patrols, but that was not completely unexpected. After their assault on the front lines, many of their ships were lost while their army returned fragmented, if at all, so abandoning their outer borders was within Shikaku's calculations. Now that we were nearing the main island, we were bound to see Mist forces, so we were skirting around the edge of the island, hoping to avoid drawing attention from their watchtowers by disguising ourselves as a fishing vessel.
Since we were just nearing the island, I kept a close watch on Kagero's journey. When I was sure that he was over land, I teleported a marked shuriken to his position, though it would fall to the ground and leave a trail for me to follow, if needed. It was not exciting work, especially for Kurenai and Shisui, but both understood the importance of this mission and took it seriously.
An hour had passed and as the second approached, Kagero's path changed slightly, veering off to the north. I did not have my anchors around the island, so it was difficult to confirm that he had found the Mist Hidden Village, but when overlaying his position on the physical map with my mental one, it seemed like he was close. I shut down my mental map quickly since it was still a drain on my chakra, despite advancing my Phantom Realm rank and developing hand signs to support it.
"Kagero may have found the Village, but I need to give him time. Kurenai, be ready to calm him when I bring him here then extract his memories, so that we can confirm if it's the right place," I instructed as I stared down at the map, calculating how long I should wait.
"I understand," Kurenai replied.
I gave her a nod then closed my eyes, so that I could meditate and recover my chakra faster. I was using the Flying Thunder God technique in ways that it was never intended for, so I needed a lot of chakra to bring the hawk here since I was keeping all of my clones in reserve, except for Phantom, who was back at the main camp with Shikaku. They could gather Nature Energy with ease in the Shikkotsu Forest, but outside of there, it was a slow, delicate process that I could not afford to use casually. Sage Mode brought the strength of my individual clones to the level of an elite jonin, but it still could not last long.
About ten minutes later, I reopened my eyes and formed the hand seals to activate my Flying Thunder God network. My mental map overlaid with the physical one in front of me, my various markers twinkling across the main island. I had already developed the habit of color-coordinating my markers, so I knew Kagero by the deep maroon color that was slowly circling a point. I retrieved a shuriken as I watched and waited to be sure as it was several kilometers south of where the map showed Kirigakure.
As he neared completing a circle, I sent the shuriken to his position before pulling him to me through the chain of markers. Kagero flapped his wings in a panic and cried out with alarm, but he was so disoriented that he just flailed around. Kurenai was ready and used her genjutsu on him, putting the bird into a trance. The sound drew everyone's attention and Inoichi walked over as Kurenai placed a hand on the hawk's head. While she extracted his memories, Inoichi used his clan jutsu to connect Kurenai's mind to the rest of ours, sharing the images with us.
It was more rudimentary compared to a human's memory, more instinct than thought, but the bird's vision was incredibly strong. Blue skies stretched around him while blurs of green and gray sped by below, yet the slightest hint of movement drew his focus and snapped the source into crystal-clear detail. Birds, small animals, even people could be seen for a split second in photo-quality precision despite being over hundreds of meters above them. The most disorienting part, though, was that the memories played in reverse as Kurenai extracted them, showing the difference between the B-ranked jutsu that Kurenai used and the Yamanaka clan's secret techniques. Still, playing in reverse also meant that we should be able to see the Village almost immediately, and we did, just not in a state that we expected.
Smoke covered most of the sky, forcing Kagero high into the sky, but his eyes still picked out details in the gaps. Fires on rooftops, ice reflecting sunlight, bone spires standing taller than buildings, and the familiar glow of molten lava. There was no question that something major was going down in their Village.
"The bloodline clans really tried a coup," I thought to myself, though the others heard it too since we were all linked.
"Then, our mission is complete?" Renji questioned through the link.
"Not yet," I said as I stood then motioned to Inoichi to stop his technique. "I need to ensure that whichever side wins, they understand that they need to end this war."
"You're going alone, sensei?" Shisui asked with a hint of concern in his voice.
"It makes things easier with the Flying Thunder God," I replied with a shrug.
"Then you are leaving now?" Inoichi asked.
"Yeah," I said as I pulled out my personal ANBU mask, "move the boat to one of the barren islands and wait for my return. If I'm not back within three hours, sail back to the mainland and report to Shikaku."
"But..." Kurenai started then quieted as all the attention turned to her.
"I've got a lot of ways to survive, including retreating to Lady Katsuyu's domain. Don't worry, I'm fully rested and uninjured this time."
There was still concern in her eyes, but she nodded her head without arguing. I put my mask on then gave her a nod and ruffled Shisui's hair before I teleported away. Without the help of my clones' Sage Mode, I was forced to jump between over two dozen marked shuriken to reach where I had pulled Kagero from.
Unsurprisingly, I appeared on the edge of their Village which was engulfed in chaos. In the distance, I could see civilians fleeing along the roads with a few young genin watching over them from the trees. I could not tell which side they belonged to, but it did not matter to me. Their strength was negligible, or they would not be protecting civilians, so I avoided them and leapt over their walls.
The road I landed on was deserted and relatively intact, though it was clear that I was in a rundown section of the city. I used the Disguise jutsu to make myself look like a normal civilian before I started walking down the street. It would not fool a jonin if they focused on me, but I was banking on them being too busy to worry about an out-of-place civilian.
All I needed to do was follow the sound of fighting to find dozens of Mist shinobi around the Mizukage's Tower. There were Kaguya clan members fighting against the Hozuki ninjas while the Yuki clan's Ice Release was tested against the Terumi clan's Boil Release. There were Karatachi clan members, who almost looked like children, and even some Akamine clan members, who wielded Lava Release.
I had no way of telling who was on what side as it seemed more like a free-for-all than some organized attack. From the vantage point of an apartment building roof, my eyes scanned the crowd as I looked for Yagura. He may have lost his chance to become the Three-Tails jinchuriki, but he was already respected in the Mist Village and had proven to be annoying during our few exchanges over the last year.
I could not find any trace of him, but it soon made sense as the headless body of the Third Mizukage hit the ground in the center of the square. Now standing on the top of the tower, Yagura wore the ceremonial Mizukage hat that had blood streaked across it as he looked down on everyone. The fighting stopped fairly quickly, except for the Kaguya members, but since their opponents were Hozuki clan members, they used a water jutsu to flood the street around them and the Yuki clan froze them in place. It was comical watching them fight the ice creeping up their bodies, but it was enough to cool the mind of their elder who called for the Kaguya clan to stop attacking.
My distraction from watching the Kaguya clan nearly proved dangerous as Yagura fired a jet of high-pressure water where I had been standing. Thankfully, I did not completely let down my guard and jumped to another rooftop before the attack could hit. Chuckling, I dismissed the Disguise technique and summoned Boil, Ice, Tempest, Laser, and Chrono then took off my ANBU mask.
"That was rude. I was going to congratulate you and thank you for handling my dirty work," I remarked, looking up at Yagura.
"Sarutobi... Akari... You were very foolish to come here," Yagura said somewhat quietly, yet his voice seemed to echo as all the Mist shinobi stared at me.
"Meh, even I don't get to pick all of my missions," I retorted with a causal shrug. "I would say that you should have expected it after sending the Six-Tails to attack my camp and sealing the Three-Tails into one of my shinobi, but I guess there have been other matters on your mind."
Yagura's eyes narrowed, though he didn't seem particularly surprised by my admission. "Then you crossed the sea for nothing."
"I wouldn't say that. It probably would have taken weeks for our spies to report the change of leadership," I chuckled.
Some of the ninjas on the ground were slowly circling the building that I stood on, though I expected as much. I was an enemy, standing in the heart of their Village, as I talked casually with a brand-new Mizukage. If no one had moved to attempt to contain me, it would have been insulting to Yagura and shown how little support he had despite his fancy new hat.
"You seem remarkably unconcerned for someone surrounded by nearly a hundred shinobi."
"Being surrounded is a relative term when you've got a space-time jutsu in your arsenal. That's why your shinobi flee at the sight of..."
My words were cut off by a Kaguya ninja, who fired five bone bullets at me with a raised hand. I did not even turn my head towards the attack as my Ice clone cycled through a few hand signs to form a wall of solid ice and blocked the bullets. The effect was chilling. All the Mist shinobi stared at me with shock while those from the Yuki clan looked enraged.
"Why do you have the Yuki clan's Ice Release?" Yagura asked coldly.
"The Yuki clan may have a natural advantage with their bloodline, but that doesn't mean bloodlines are required to fuse Water and Wind, or are you going to question my Lava Release next?"
"You expect us to believe that with all of the forbidden techniques that the Second Hokage wielded?" an old man, standing on a balcony of the Mizukage's Tower, shouted. His scarred face was unmistakable, so I recognized Genzo Shiranami with ease. He was an elder that had lived during the reign of the First Hokage, so he may have faced off against a few of the jutsus that he mentioned.
"Then what if I show you something unknown?" I asked teasingly as Laser raised her hand toward him, pointing two fingers like a gun.
A red laser fired from the tip of her finger and pierced the wall of the Mizukage's Tower, next to his head. She swept her finger aside, slicing through the stone as easily as butter.
"Enough!" Yagura bellowed with anger.
I chuckled and raised a hand, signaling Laser to stop. Genzo watched me for a moment before inspecting the damage next to him. I knew from experience that Laser Release left behind specific evidence, a precise molten cut, unlike the widespread melting that Lava caused, or the broad blackened residue of Scorch Release.
"I don't care about your claims of developing bloodline techniques. You're an enemy of this Village, and you entered with orders to assassinate the Mizukage. Surrender now, and we will ransom you back to Konohagakure," Yagura ordered.
"That's a generous offer, but I didn't come here to be the Mist's bargaining chip. I came to end the war, one way or another," I replied, summoning Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Lightning as well. "One versus ten roughly... those odds seem a little fairer."
The Mist shinobi did not seem to appreciate my humor. Their formation tightened instead, drawing their weapons as attention shifted between me and my clones. I was already known for using clones, so no one looked down on me for splitting my chakra between the ten around me. Of course, my clones did not need my personal chakra, though they were more restricted than a traditional clone which was why I had not shown off the other tricks yet.
Yagura studied us from above. "You believe ten clones are enough to defeat everyone here?"
"Nope," I admitted with a shrug. "But that's not my goal."
"Then what exactly do you intend to accomplish?"
My smile faded slightly. "To show you why you don't ever want to piss me off."
A/N: Sorry for the delay, readers. I've been obsessed with playing Aska, which is a great game if you like civilization builders and sandbox survival games!