77 Chapter 76

Chapter 76

"If it could work, it would bolster our communication abilities tenfold," Inoichi Yamanaka, the head of the Analysis Team in the village's Intelligence Division, said as he inspected the information the Fifth Hokage provided. "But if the enemy forces managed to get hold of it, it would put our village in danger. We needed to keep it top secret."

Kaen couldn't agree anymore; communication abilities were very valuable on the battlefield. So, when he returned to the village, the first thing he started to work on was a seal that could transfer sound. With the new information on fuinjutsu he got from the Uzushiogakure, Kaen was too excited to continue his daily work.

"It is very impressive; I never thought I would be excited to learn something new in my old age," Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a big smile. "It seems you had made me a fool for not inspecting Uzushiogakure more carefully, Kaen-kun. If I knew what awaited beneath those broken structures, I would have come to check it myself."

"It only shows how useless you are," Kaen replied without too much malice. "Anyway, I will leave sorting out the texts to you since you want it so much. See if you can create some basic seals to teach the academy's runts. Also, I need a seal that could help with subjecting the reanimated shinobi that Orochimaru is using."

"I will get right to it," Hiruzen said with a nod, while Inoichi didn't know how to act as Kaen was talking to the Third Hokage so rudely but couldn't say anything as Kaen was the Fifth Hokage.

Once Kaen was left alone, he took out a mask he had gotten from the abandoned Uzumaki Clan's Mask Storage Temple outside Konoha. At first glance, and to the untrained eye, they were just ordinary masks, but Kaen knew what capabilities they possessed. But it wasn't time to use it. He still had a lot to learn and prepare before he used something like that.

Well, it wasn't the time to think about it either. He didn't have much time to begin with. Who knows when the Akatsuki will strike again? Kaen needed to prepare for it. That meant he needed to be able to use his new weapon as he wished. But before that, he guessed he had to show himself to the world. There is no way it was a coincidence that Iwakagure and Kumokagure participated in the same Chunin Exam as Konohagakure.

"Woof!"

Kaen almost jumped when a small dog came in, running into his office. It was one of Kakashi's runts. After taking the message it carried, the dog summon was dispelled. Kaen carefully cleaned the saliva from the scroll, trying not to be too disgusted. It seemed Kaen was a bit too distracted not to notice the runt come in. The report it brought was an account of the encounter with another reanimated shinobi group.

Kaen didn't like it. Orochimaru once again only used a small portion of the power he possessed. He was waiting for an opportunity to go all out. And Kaen might give it to him when he needs to leave for Iwagakure. Since Tsuchikage and Raikage want to meet him so desperately, Kaen couldn't disappoint him. But before he left, Kaen made it his priority to ensure that Konoha would be ready for whatever Orochimaru had planned.

From reinforcing strategic positions to intensifying surveillance efforts, every measure was taken to safeguard the village and its citizens. But amidst the preparations for the looming threat, Kaen couldn't shake the nagging feeling of unease. Orochimaru's cunning and ruthlessness made him a formidable adversary, and Kaen knew that they couldn't underestimate him. And it felt like Orochimaru knew something that Kaen didn't.

Of course, it was easier said than done. There was only so much Kaen could do to prepare. As he pondered his next course of action, a sense of urgency gripped him, urging him to act swiftly and decisively as he wished to do. But politics didn't let him do so. Once again, he needed to be careful about his movements.

Still, if Iwagakure or anyone else started pushing their ambitions of harming Konoha or wanting to stop Kaen from acting up, he would not stand for it. Even if he rather not use it, as it would bring a lot more trouble in the future if discovered, Kaen was prepared to use Shisui's eye. Danzo had done extensive research on the abilities of the eye, and Kaen had the results of it.

As with any other jutsu, Kotoamatsukami has its limits, too. Once used, it will take an enormous amount of time for Kaen to be able to use it again. It could be somehow negated by Hashirama's cells or maybe other methods, but Kaen still needed to be careful when he used it. He is saving the eye for Orochimaru. If Kaen can't discover another method to dispel Edo Tensei, he will be left with no choice but to use the eye on Orochimaru, making him dispel the jutsu.

…

Kaen observed the village from the Hokage Rock. Sitting on top of his sculpted head, Kaen looked at the sunset, basking the village in an orange glow. It always surprised Kaen how vast the village was. No matter how many times he walked around the village, it always looked bigger from there, to the point where he doubted if he could protect it if the time came to it.

"I have finished my mission, Hokage-sama," Yugao knelt before Kaen.

"Report."

"Karin Uzumaki, thirteen years old, genin of Kusagakure, family none, her mother died three years ago from an unknown sickness. But I suspect I know the true reason for her death. The high-ranking shinobi of Kusagakure were using their blood to heal their wounded. Karin probably took over after her mother died of exhaustion."

"Hmm, anything else?"

"Before Orochimaru infiltrated Konoha, he was watching Kusagakure, and the body he took over to join the Chunin Exam was also from Kusagakure. There is also an abandoned hideout of Orochimaru near the village. It is too much to be called a coincidence."

"It would seem it wasn't only me who had an interest in a Uzumaki."

It would make sense, but why would Orochimaru need a Uzumaki? Unless he also knew of her abilities. It was Kaen's mistake to forget her existence. If Kaen hadn't been thinking of the late sensors, he might not have even remembered about Karin. She had everything that Kaen needed now. But how did Orochimaru know of her existence?

Kusagakure did receive an unnatural amount of interest from Orochimaru. He even had a hideout near the village. Kusagakure was quite secretive, but Kaen didn't think they had anyone who could fight against Orochimaru, so they probably made some kind of a deal with him. Otherwise, Orochimaru would have just taken Karin without much trouble.

"On the way here and back, I noticed that Iwagakure has sent some people to watch Kusagakure. They didn't notice me, but I would like to investigate it further. Iwagakure might be making moves while we are preoccupied with Orochimaru."

"When aren't they doing something shady?" Kaen asked. "I approve, but I can only spare Hana for support. For now, keep further watch on them and get evidence of Kusagakure mistreating Karin. After all, the Uzumaki clan is close to Konoha; we can't let the last members of the clan be treated badly."

Unlike Orochimaru, Kaen ran a legitimate village. He couldn't just go over and take Karin without the other village quickly interfering, but that didn't mean there weren't other ways around it. After finding out that one of the last members of the Uzumaki clan, who was always a friend to Konoha, is mistreated, how could Kaen, the Fifth Hokage, not do anything?

Kaen needs Karin for multiple reasons. First, he wants to test her blood, find the secrets of her healing factor, and see if it is compatible with Hashirama's cells. Second, she is the only Uzumaki who can use Adamantine Sealing Chains. She could help Kaen master his chains a lot. Third, her powerful sensing ability should help him track Orochimaru by using his piece of soul residing in the cursed seal.

…

As much as Kaen wanted to go to Kusagakure, he had other places to be. It would take him about a week to come to Iwagakure, so he had to leave now. It wasn't like he could run to them and get here in a few days. He had to go by carriage. He would need to be checked at the border, and his whereabouts would be known at all times in the Land of Earth.

It was bothersome and time-wasting, but Kaen couldn't ignore the procession. The last thing he wanted was to give that old geezer any reason for him to act against Konoha. Kaen could feel that Iwagakure and Kumogakure were itching to use Konoha's conflict with Orochimaru to gain everything they could from Konoha.

It wouldn't surprise that these bastards even teamed up to pressure Kaen. And that is why he was invited to Chunin Exams. Well, it won't work, as Konoha's genin will squash the other genin. From what Kaen heard, all six of them have gone up to the final exam. Taking almost half of the fifteen possible positions.

"I heard Yugao and Hana had a new mission," Anko said as she rode with Kaen in the carriage. "I am not complaining before you start. I'm just saying that I could have gone with them rather than babysitting you."

"It only proves that you are not in the right mindset yet, as you haven't realized that I will need you," Kaen replied as he meditated. "You are one of the best intelligence operatives in the village. I will need your expertise to gather information from Iwagakure. I will need information on Iwagakure's military and on what they are focusing their military on."

"It would be troublesome for you if they found out what you were doing in their village," Anko said.

"That is why I am bringing you with me."

Kaen wasn't in the business of wasting time. While he is in Iwagakure, he will try to gain as much information about them as possible. And he wasn't going to waste his time while traveling to Iwagakure. He still had to fill his new external chakra network seal on his body with chakra. So, while he sat around, he would concentrate all his energy on gathering chakra.

Despite her initial reluctance, Anko seemed to understand the gravity of their mission and the importance of ensuring Kaen's safety in unfamiliar territory. Kaen noticed how Anko was mentally already planning out her mission and still was ever vigilant. And she wasn't wrong to be extra careful as they neared the border of the Land of the Earth.

Even if they didn't do anything themselves, it wouldn't be the first time they hired other shinobi, like Akatsuki, to do their bidding. Kaen wasn't too concerned and even was quite excited for an ambush even more so if they did hire Akatsuki. Not only would Kaen gain an advantage in politics against the old geezer, but he might be able to get rid of one or two Akatsuki members at the same time.

Well, an attack now wasn't optimal for Iwagakure. They will probably wait until Kaen returns home. And it was quite too bad, as Kaen can't wait to test out his new weapon. But he guessed he had no choice but to wait and hope that the old geezer would do as Kaen expected him to do. As the genin, Kaen wanted to show his power, too, to the rest of the villages.

"Hokage-sama, we have crossed the border of the Land of the Earth," the carriage driver, one of his ANBU, reported to Kaen. "We are being observed by three shinobi, but they don't seem to wish to make a move on us yet."

"Continue to observe them," Kaen ordered, not even looking out of the window of the carriage. "Torune, Fu, I will leave the protection of me to you two. So, only disturb me if there is something you can't handle. And only report me once we reach Iwagakure."

"Understood, Hokage-sama."

Kaen couldn't stop meditating, and he didn't want to stop gathering chakra, as the Adamantine chain usage drained him dry. This was a good test of how Torune Aburame and Fu Yamanaka operated. If not for Shino's sake, Kaen would probably have given these two former Root members some meaningless positions and let them rot in them for the rest of their lives.

But Shino was close to Torune since he was a child, so Kaen couldn't disregard him so easily. And since he let Torune join the ANBU, he as well can take in Fu, too, since they work well together. Inoichi Yamanaka had evaluated them as not being able to betray the village, no matter what. Whatever Danzo did to them, it made them unquestionably loyal to Konoha and, by extension, Kaen. Still, Kaen will make his conclusion once he observed them for long enough.

A.N. As always, If you want more, up to seven advanced chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852. And if you have any requests for stories, I will only take them on my pa treon.