-Chapter 9-

-Chapter 9-

-POV MC-

The journey from the village to the base of Fortress No. 10, the one closest to the border, took us most of the day, but we arrived at Fortress No. 10 without a hitch.

Once we arrived at the fortress, I was extremely impressed by the discipline of the Konoha ninjas, as soon as they saw Danzo, they all lined up. Some even knelt before him, awaiting his orders.

Nothing like my ninjas who were looking at me like idiots. After a few seconds of watching my men, who had yet to decide to salute me, I released my chakra to put pressure on them, which made them quickly pull themselves together and salute me.

"Kusakage-sama"

I snorted coldly to show my displeasure, but I didn’t dwell on the issue because they didn’t know me very well yet, although I was wearing the Kusakage outfit.

With just this incident, I understood how different the Konoha and Kusa ninjas were, not only in terms of quality but also in terms of their sense of belonging.

None of the Konoha ninjas I’ve seen so far could betray their village of their own accord. However, half, if not more, of the Kusa ninjas could stab me in the back for my position, for more wealth, or for special ninjutsu.

“What’s the situation?” I asked the one who seemed to be the leader of the area.

“For now, we’ve finished placing and setting up all the traps on the border zone. If Iwa’s ninjas want to invade the Land of Fire through the Land of Grass, they’ll only have two choices,” said the chief of this fortress.

“Which ones?” I asked.

“The Iwa ninjas will either have to consume our supplies while losing more and more ninjas because of our traps, or they’ll pass through these three zones, which are also full of traps but set with a human detonator,” said the Kusa ninja, leader of the border zone.

“A human detonator?” asked the confused Uchiha who was accompanying us.

“We send a clone to hide underground, and it waits for the troops to blow itself up with all the explosives. The damage is usually very devastating.”

“Not bad, you’ve used the ninjutsu I sent well, but we still have a long way to go before we can avenge the Shodaime,” I said.

The ninja in question nodded, and I immediately followed up by saying:

“I want you to pass the message to everyone in the 10 fortresses: double the guards, build traps and fortifications outside the fortress.”

The chief ninja nodded, and I added:

“Organize yourselves to always have at least one sensory ninja awake at the guard post, and above all, don’t slack off. Be ready to engage in combat at any time. Pay attention to your men’s morale and don’t exhaust them under any circumstances. Give them enough recovery time so they can be at their peak strength. They’ll be tested enough once this war truly begins.”

“Yes, Kusakage-sama,” he said, quickly taking note of all my requirements.

I observed each of the ninjas gathered around us, and this time I addressed them all together:

“Remember that war also means opportunities for everyone. Tell them all that at the end of this war, every ninja who reaches the rank of Jōnin will receive two S-rank bounties and three A-rank ones. All Chūnin-ranked ninjas will receive an A-rank bounty and an S-rank one. All Genin will receive an S-rank bounty and a B-rank one. If you die, your family will receive this bounty in your name. You have my word.”

“Thank you, Kusakage-sama,” said the fortress chief, while I could see smiles forming on my ninjas' faces, probably excited by the reward.

I was about to leave to rest when I heard a cold voice say to me:

“How do you plan to pay all these people?”

“That’s none of your business,” I said, slightly irritated by Danzo’s perpetual interference in my affairs.

‘That’s the cost of an alliance with Konoha,’ I reminded myself to keep from losing my temper in the face of another of Danzo’s remarks.

“I hope you’re not lying to them because that would be the end of the alliance we’ve signed together. If you’re lying about something this serious, not only will you lose all authority, but you’ll also lose any shred of trust they might ever have in you,” said Danzo in a condescending tone before leaving.

‘Seriously, what’s with this guy? Always so unpleasant—it’s like a gift given by the Devil,’ I thought as I entered the room that had been prepared for me, followed by the members of my Oni guard, who took their places around my room, removing their masks and getting comfortable.

“Don’t listen to him. We know who you are, and we trust you,” said Hayate, worried about my reaction to Danzo’s words.

“Don’t worry. I don’t take what he says to heart, but I have to admit, he’s not wrong about everything,” Hayate nodded nonchalantly, acknowledging my point. So, I continued:

“I must get this money during the war because once the war is over, we’ll have no escape and will have to answer for it.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll quickly find a solution,” said Sosuke Uzarima.

I didn’t say anything because I was starting to get an idea, but I wasn’t sure it was a good one. However, my thoughts were interrupted by Rai, who complained:

“But seriously, why did you promise them so much money? We’re not a superpower like Iwa, Suna, Kumo, Konoha, or even Kiri. We’re just Kusa, struggling to feed our people. How are we going to come up with such a sum?”

“We need to act quickly, but I think we can make it,” I said, finally deciding to put my idea into action.

“How?” he asked, surprised at how quickly I had come up with a solution.

“We know that all the geniuses from the village of Iwa are listed in Konoha’s Bingo Book, and some are in those of other ninja villages. Despite their circumstantial alliances, we can select the most lucrative missions, then track them down to claim the bounties placed on their heads. Whether they are Genin, Chūnin, or Jōnin, we’ll hunt them down and collect that cursed bounty,” I told the members of my Oni guard.

“It’s a good idea, but how exactly are we going to do that?” asked Ashina, the most silent one.

“We’ve trained for enemy territory infiltration techniques, so let’s do it,” I said.

“Have you lost your mind?” said Rai, always so direct.

“I know what I’m doing. We’re going to infiltrate Iwa, taking advantage of the high command’s absence to target key figures, starting with the Jōnin, the elite Jōnin, and finishing with the S-rank ninjas who are a step away from the Kage rank,” I responded firmly.

“It’s way too difficult. We’ll never make it,” said Aina in a small voice.

“I’m sure we can do it,” I said, convinced that with the divine tree inside me, I could change things with enough time and caution.

“No, it’s clearly beyond our abilities,” said Fumiko, also against my idea.

“So, you’re against it?” I asked.

They all looked at each other, and finally, Tajima spoke, trying to be gentle so as not to hurt me:

“Listen, we’ve always obeyed you. We’ve never asked you to spare us during dangerous missions, and we never will. We’ll follow you to hell... I still think this mission is a suicide mission, but I know that if we don’t follow you, you’ll go there alone.”

I looked at my ten brothers and sisters to see if they all thought the same as Tajima, and to my surprise, none of them backed down. They all nodded.

“I’m sorry, but I have to give my men a reason to follow me, and for now, money and the promise of a comfortable retirement are the best reasons, and especially the quickest way to earn their loyalty, or at least their trust and gratitude,” I said after making my decision.

Although they didn’t all agree with me, they all nodded and put on their Oni masks. We equipped ourselves as best we could. Each of us took a larger ninja pouch to store our supplies, such as shurikens, kunai, and sealing scrolls containing freeze-dried food that I had prepared myself to prevent food from spoiling in the seals.

I grabbed my master’s katana, and for a moment, I stood dazed, staring at it, remembering that he always told me that if he ever died, I should avenge him with his own weapon so he could take revenge on his enemies in the afterlife. I fully intend to honor his final wish.

I strapped my katana to my waist and equipped myself with at least a hundred explosive tags for added security. Everyone did the same as me, and some added a few personal items of their own making.

Once the preparations were complete, I put on my mask and said:

“Let’s go. We must make good use of the time Iwa is giving us.”

“Yes, captain.”

I disappeared in a blur, and very quickly, I could sense them behind me.