Chapter 58: Emergency Summons

Chapter 58: Chapter 58: Emergency Summons

By the time Hyuga Kagami arrived at the Hokage Building, he discovered that the place was already packed with shinobi.

At a rough count, there were nearly a hundred of them, and every single one was either a chunin or jonin. There wasn’t a single genin among them.

The fact that the Third Hokage had suddenly assembled so many elite shinobi left no doubt as to the seriousness of the situation.

Without saying a word, Kagami made his way toward Team Eleven, who had gathered in a corner.

Guy greeted him casually. "What took you so long? We’ve been waiting forever."

Kagami didn’t bother explaining that he’d rushed over all the way from the Forest of Death. Instead, he asked the others, "What’s this emergency summons about?"

Everyone in Team Eleven shook their heads.

Clearly, even their captain, Kakashi, had no idea why they’d been urgently summoned.

Shisui speculated, "Maybe it has something to do with Iwagakure."

Kakashi nodded in agreement.

Team Eleven’s battle with Iwagakure’s Beheading Unit in the Land of Bears had undoubtedly given Iwagakure the perfect excuse to make trouble for Konoha.

Because of that, everyone had already been mentally preparing themselves for something like this over the past few days.

Because of the gag order, the four of them didn’t continue discussing the subject and instead began chatting about other things.

Before long, the Third Hokage arrived, followed by the two advisors, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, the three clan heads of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans, and Hyuga Hizashi of the Hyuga Clan.

The moment the Third Hokage appeared, the entire gathering fell silent.

Taking a step forward, the Third addressed the assembled shinobi. "Two hours ago, we received a report from the border. Three days ago, Kumogakure launched a surprise attack on the Land of Fire’s border."

The moment those words fell, the previously silent gathering erupted into an uproar.

Kumogakure’s invasion immediately reminded everyone present of the Third Shinobi World War, which had only recently come to an end.

The sheer brutality of that war was enough to send a chill down their spines just thinking about it. It held far too many painful memories, memories that the vast majority of the shinobi present had no desire to revisit.

The four members of Team Eleven, meanwhile, were both shocked and confused.

Guy muttered under his breath, "Wasn’t it supposed to be Iwagakure? How did it turn into Kumogakure?"

Kakashi’s brows knitted tightly together. "This is bad!"

Shisui lowered his voice. "Kumogakure and Iwagakure haven’t joined forces, have they? If that’s the case..."

Shisui didn’t finish his sentence.

There was no need to.

Everyone understood that, given Konoha’s current condition, there was virtually no chance the village could withstand a combined assault from Kumogakure and Iwagakure.

Briefly recalling the memories of his previous life, Hyuga Kagami shook his head. "Things aren’t that bad. The Third Raikage died at Iwagakure’s hands. Kumogakure would never ally with Iwagakure, and Iwagakure wouldn’t trust Kumogakure either. So even if Iwagakure had been planning to attack us before, now that they’ve seen Kumogakure make the first move, they’ll probably choose to sit back and watch, waiting for Konoha and Kumogakure to bleed each other dry."

From what Kagami remembered, Konoha and Kumogakure had indeed fought a conflict of moderate scale after the Third Shinobi World War.

Later, when Kumogakure’s delegation came to Konoha to sign a peace treaty, the incident occurred in which Kumogakure’s Head Ninja attempted to abduct Hinata, only to be killed by Hyuga Hiashi.

And it was that very incident that ultimately led to Hizashi’s death.

Because of this, Kagami believed that while the coming conflict with Kumogakure might be significant, it probably wouldn’t escalate into another Shinobi World War.

After hearing Kagami’s analysis, the members of Team Eleven relaxed slightly.

At that moment, the Third raised a hand, silencing the discussions throughout the gathering, and continued, "According to the intelligence we currently have, Kumogakure’s commanders are the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer B, and Aida, a jonin who possesses the Storm Release Kekkei Genkai. In addition, the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, Yugito Nii, is also among their raiding force."

Hearing that Kumogakure had actually deployed two Jinchuriki at once, the Konoha shinobi present were both furious and deeply worried.

Seeing that everyone had been intimidated by the sheer weight of Kumogakure’s two Jinchuriki, the Third declared in a tone that brooked no argument, "You will be organized into an advance force. Your mission is to intercept Kumogakure’s invasion."

"Yes!"

Under the Third’s commanding presence, the Konoha shinobi seemed to regain some of their confidence. As one, they bowed and accepted their orders.

The Third continued, "Shikaku, until Jiraiya arrives, you will temporarily serve as commander of the advance force. Hizashi, you will serve as deputy commander."

Nara Shikaku and Hyuga Hizashi immediately stepped forward and accepted the Third’s appointments.

Sweeping his imposing gaze across everyone one last time, the Third said, "ANBU, remain behind. Everyone else, go make your preparations!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

At the Third’s command, figure after figure flickered out of the gathering hall.

Before long, the hall that had just been packed with people was left with only the Third Hokage, the two Hokage advisors, and sixteen ANBU, including the members of Team Eleven.

At that point, the Third took four scrolls from Homura Mitokado beside him and handed one to each of the four ANBU captains.

"Your respective missions are recorded in these scrolls. The safety of the village depends on them, so you must give them everything you have!"

The sixteen ANBU kneeling before the Third answered in unison, "Rest assured, Lord Hokage. We will complete our missions!"

The Third nodded. "Team Eleven, stay behind. The other teams, go make your preparations."

After the other three ANBU teams had departed, the Third personally led the four members of Team Eleven to the Hokage’s office.

Lighting his pipe and taking a deep drag, the Third finally spoke in a measured tone. "According to regulations, an ANBU shinobi can only apply to learn an advanced ninjutsu after serving for a full year. However, this mission will be extremely dangerous. Therefore, in my authority as the Third Hokage, I am granting each of you special permission to apply to learn one advanced ninjutsu."

The Third’s special dispensation was directed at Hyuga Kagami, Guy, and Shisui.

As for Team Eleven’s captain, Kakashi, he was already a veteran of the ANBU, so he wasn’t included in this special dispensation.

Kagami hadn’t expected there to be a perk like this. After thinking it over for a moment, he asked, "Lord Hokage, what level of ninjutsu are we allowed to apply to learn?"

The Third held his pipe between his lips. "Some A-rank ninjutsu, and the vast majority of B-rank ninjutsu."

Hearing this, Kagami fell into thought...

At the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain.

Accompanied by the cry of an eagle, a magnificent Konoha messenger hawk swiftly soared through the valley, flying toward the Land of Rain.

This messenger hawk had been specially trained by Konoha. As a bird of prey, it was not only extraordinarily fast, but also unafraid of the vast majority of other predatory birds. With virtually no natural enemies in the sky, it was one of Konoha’s last-resort methods of communication, reserved specifically for urgent messages.

Suddenly, a shuriken shot out from an unknown location and struck the messenger hawk with perfect accuracy despite its high-speed flight.

Thud...

The messenger hawk immediately plummeted from the sky and crashed heavily onto a high cliff.

At that moment, the space atop the cliff began to distort.

A swirling vortex formed, and from within it stepped a mysterious man wearing a single-eyed mask.

The mysterious man leisurely picked up the dead messenger hawk, removed a small scroll from the strap tied around its leg, and casually opened it for a look.

Then, with a mocking tone, he said, "Looks like Jiraiya won’t be getting this message."