Arc V Chapter 9
<strong><b>V</b></strong>
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<strong><b>Arc V Chapter </b></strong><strong><b>9</b></strong>
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“Where do we start?” Asami triedto gain some time.Totally unprepared,she recedFumihiko, not thebrightest ideain retrospect.Regretfully, she hadmanoeuvred herself into an unfavourable position.
Her eyes stared at the wall, studyingthe tactical map of Konoha. It was full of unit counters and coloured arrows.The map reminded her ofaboard game,with the onlydifference being that they were ying with the lives of real people,and not of imaginary armies.The loss of asingle counter meant the death of hundreds ofninja. Vanquished, ughtered, but suchhad to be expected. When Konoha called, they answered.
Fumihiko stoodbehind her, followingher stare.“...”
Asami cleared her throat, “Ahem, well, unfortunatelyfor us, the vige council has decided to allocateless resources to this operation than I requested.Instead of eightregr battalions,the council gave us ten, which is a sizeable force. At least, on paper. The problem is six of the ten battalions are reserve units of dubious quality, mostlyposed of fresh genin with minimalbat experience. They are beyond useless, canon fodder at best.”There was dissatisfaction in her voice.
Fumihikochimed in, “Well, that might be true, but look atthe bright side, the Hokage promised us some additional supportin exchange. He promised us two full ANBU battalions.”
Asami didn''tshare his enthusiasm. Her voice remained strained. “The Hokage didn''t promise us anything, Fumihiko. It wasDanzo who pledged his support and decided to mobilise his men. The two battalions are Danzo’s men.”
She had every reason to be suspicious. They were former Root ANBU. They Danzo’s men.Their loyalty was dubious at best.Sheknew Root, and she knew Danzo. Danzo would never offer his help without a reason. The old man was nning something behind her back.The only question was what?
“Danzo’s men? Is that bad?” Fumihiko raised an eyebrow, not much to her surprise. Fumihiko didn''t know Danzo. He didn''t know the rumours, the stories. The people who knew the dark side of Konoha were few outside the ANBU.
Shibi and Tsune, meanwhile, were different. The mere mention of the name Danzo sufficed to make themtense up. They obviously knew more due to theirinvolvement in n politics. They werefamiliar with Danzo and the reputation that preceded him.How much they knew, however, was a different question altogether.
Asami clicked her tongue.“Oh, not at all, Fumihiko, not bad at all. After all, Danzo is undoubtedlya paragon of true virtue.”
“...”Fumihiko blinked. He didn''t understand. Not that she cared.
Danzo,Root, useless genin. So much hassle.The councilprovidedher with plenty of inexperienced genin cannon fodder. Theyckedthe necessary cohesion to hold the linewithout a blocking detachmentbehind them.And now the council gave her two battalions full of Root ANBUwho were about to do whatever behind her back when she wasn''t looking. Wonderful, simply wonderful.What she needed now wasa solution. A good solution.
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