104 Konoha's losses
After the revelation that the conspiracy of Sunagakure was driven by the traitor Orochimaru, who ended up fleeing the village after taking the life of the Third Hokage at the cost of a significant injury to his arms, Konoha focused on tallying its losses and tending to the wounded.
But the ninjas of Konoha were distracted and nervous, even after the events had concluded.
Remembering the giants that appeared and reduced the Yamanaka clan patriarch to nothing as if crushing a fly, they couldn't help but shiver down their spines and curse the man in their minds for provoking those individuals.
And he had to do it in the midst of the Sunagakure attack!
They knew nothing about the orders he received from the Third Hokage, and those who did know died at the hands of Ameyuri, so the Yamanaka clan not only lost its leader due to what seemed like an impulsive action but also had to bear the burden of being blamed for seeking trouble with Seimeigakure instead of defending the village and generating unnecessary enmity.
It didn't take long to discover the absence of orders from above, and after sending people to investigate, they found not only the likely deaths of the Third Hokage's two advisors at the hands of Sunagakure but also that Danzo seemed to have disappeared into thin air to the point that even his Root was bewildered.
In the absence of people in charge, Shikaku Nara had no choice but to take command despite his reluctance, as he was the closest in status as the chief strategist of the Third Hokage, and his reputation backed him as competent.
He found some inconsistencies in the information that passed through the makeshift table to read reports and issue orders.
Danzo's disappearance was strange, especially considering that his men didn't even help during the attack and were temporarily detained until the matter was clarified.
Among the few deceased, apart from the advisors, he was struck by the death of the remaining son of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Asuma, which was identified late because... he was missing his head.
Shikaku grimaced; it seemed that little Ino was going to suffer a shock of devastating proportions by losing her father and teacher on the same day. He should remind his lazy son to spend more time with her; he couldn't face his friend if anything happened to his daughter under his watch.
Even if he was sure that what Inoichi did was on orders from the Third Hokage, there were simply no proofs or records to demonstrate it and clear his name!
So troublesome...
Once he finished the part about human losses, he moved on to material losses.
Fortunately, the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki managed to get Gaara out of the village; otherwise, the losses would have been astronomical. He seriously doubted that the war shelters designated for civilians could withstand an attack from a tailed beast.
Not that the Third Hokage used the best materials to build them, to say the least...
Some residential buildings were damaged by widespread techniques and cracked streets, nothing that a month of work couldn't fix for a capable construction company.
—Has there been any response from the Sannin, Jiraiya? —Shikaku asked, taking the next document.
—Yes, we received a toad that informed us that he was on his way to the village.
—Do we know how long it will take?
The village was at a vulnerable point, and they needed all the available deterrent force.
—With his speed, it will be three days at most.
That was an acceptable margin.
—Hm? —Shikaku raised an eyebrow before lowering it again and merging it with the other— Are you sure that what's here is correct? —he asked with a grave tone.
—Shikaku-san, we checked it twice to be sure, within our capabilities —confirmed the Anbu ninja.
Although the information in their hands should only fall into the hands of the next Hokage, they were in dire need of someone to take charge and give orders to coordinate everyone temporarily.
—It says here that the vaults of the Shimura and Sarutobi clans have been attacked and emptied, leaving behind nothing more than a hole that seems to have been sanded with sand —recited Shikaku with a voice that was anything but happy— That the Scroll of Seals, which has been in Konoha since its founding and had forbidden techniques desired by the whole world, has disappeared because someone opened the seals and took it. Isn't it supposed that only the Hokage knows them? —he rubbed his forehead with exasperation as he continued— A large number of scrolls covering techniques from rank D to rank A from the hidden reserve, sensitive medical material such as new hybrid plants or recently developed equipment, the Uchiha heir has complained that the library of his family has been raided without leaving anything behind, banks are crying because the emergency gold reserves for times of war have vanished into thin air, Ichiraku Ramen reports that someone stole their family recipe book, half of Tenten's family's weaponry disappeared (kunais, explosive tags, shurikens, senbons, special weights, special sealing ink...), the Beniko erotic clothing store is left without a single piece, the new books from the public library disappeared, the Aburame clan reported that many species of insects and animals from the Forest of Death have disappeared, the Hikari music store in the central square no longer has its best instruments, the practice dummies of the Ninja Academy were stolen, the Matsumoto liquor store declared that their barrels with the best sake, wine, and shochu are no longer there, Nyoko Cuisine's rare and valuable spices were all looted, and... have all the dango in the village disappeared?
Shikaku looked at the Anbu ninja with an expression as if he was being teased, and the latter could only shrug. It wasn't him who had made the report and mixed the important things with the trivial ones.
With no other option, Shikaku decided to act maturely and hit his forehead against the table, letting out a grunt of frustration as a stream of tears fell like a cascade from the table.
For things like this, the Nara clan didn't want to get involved in such troublesome matters!
He just had to endure three days, and he could throw everything at Jiraiya; so let's delay the unnecessary things for three days, and he would take care of it.
Far from Konoha, the so-called wise toad felt a chill down his spine that made him lose his balance and fall flat on the ground from the treetops, where he was jumping from branch to branch.
He looked left and right while covered in leaves, dust, and dirt.
Why did he have a bad feeling?
...Meanwhile, in Seimeigakure...
After a few days, they had held a mourning ceremony for Mikoto, and now time was going to be the best medicine for people like Haku and Fu, who were more sensitive.
The island was on its way to the capital of the Land of Fire, where they intended to meet with the Daimyo and do some business.
Pakura left her abundant loot throughout the sky island in their respective areas, so it could be utilized, and everyone could be distracted. And indeed, everyone was busy with different projects to keep their minds occupied.
Even Enel ended up almost exhausted with a slight weight loss, as he conducted a careful and energetic "quality control" every night with the simultaneous help of Pakura, Anko, and Ameyuri when they decided to test the endurance of certain new clothing in a private nighttime fashion show.
