"Give me five minutes then dismiss yourselves," I instructed Space and Phantom with a tiny Katsuyu slug on my shoulder before I was reverse summoned to Shikkotsu Forest. "Thank you for the ride, Lady Katsuyu."
"You're welcome, Akari-sama," she replied as she crawled off my shoulder onto a branch. "You should come here more often to train. You will need that strength one day."
My head tilted to the side as I looked at the small blue and white slug. "Do you see the future like the Toads of Mount Myoboku?"
"No, that is Gamamaru's ability due to his friendship with the Sage of the Six Paths... but I did sense that you were different from others, much like Hashirama. You have only begun to touch upon your true potential."
"Yeah... too bad I've wasted so much time."
"Diligence is the key to strength. There is still a chance to make up for what has been lost," she mused sagely before scooting down the branch.
My brow twitched with annoyance as I was not sure if she knew more than she was saying, or it was just a lucky blow with what my system was. It was a short walk to where Yin was still sitting and meditating in Sage Mode. I sat down across from her and raised a fist towards her. When our knuckles touched, she faded away as her chakra and Nature energy rushed into me. I sped through over two dozen hand signs to use a jutsu that Yin had developed to protect my mind when I overused my clones.
A minute or two later, two floods of memories came crashing into my mind, but thanks to the assistance of Yin Sage Mode, I was not overwhelmed. Normally, I would be overwhelmed by a storm of thoughts, memories, and emotions, but the chakra and energy circulating through my brain, it felt more like a gentle rain. Nothing was mixed up or bled together, allowing me to easily sort through them. Thankfully, Shikaku handled the majority of complex tasks, so my clones were either meditating or delivering messages across the front while I was unconscious.
When I opened my eyes after processing my clones' memories, I stretched and stood up as I looked around. "Lady Katsuyu," I said, noticing a nearby slug, "how long have I been here?"
"One hour," she replied.
"Wow..." I said with a whistle. "And no headache at all; I really have been missing out."
I had not been able to maintain Sage Mode for long after I fused with Yin, but it was enough to negate the initial heavy blow to my mind while the rest of the time was just organizing the memories. I dismissed Yin then summoned all of my clones except for Chrono, who I left behind in camp to assist Shikaku. Nineteen copies of me spread across the small clearing around the hot spring, and in unison, they shifted into Sage Mode.
[Senjustu: Advanced to D-]
I smiled to myself as I dismissed the message from my eyes. Before I allowed my clones to wreak havoc as they trained, I turned to the nearest slug and asked, "Lady Katsuyu, is there a place that my clones could train without disturbing you and your forest too much?"
"To the north there is a small, rocky mountain that you may use," she replied.
"Space, Phantom, go find it then taxi the others over to the spot; I'm going to test some things in the meantime," I instructed.
The two clones nodded, then vanished in a flash of silver. Only my basic seven affinities were at a high enough rank to allow fusion, so my Kekkei Genkais were left out of my testing. I took my time and fused with Water, Lightning, Earth, Wind, and Fire individually, testing out the strength of Sage Mode. Unsurprisingly, D-ranked jutsus were strengthened to the level of A-ranked ones, making my Water Release: Water Gun look like my Water Release: Hydro Cannon. I could only use four or five jutsus before running out of energy to maintain Sage Mode, but I assumed that would increase as my rank increased.
Another bonus for training here was that my clones could instantly shift into shift into Sage Mode so long as they had chakra, but I did not share that ability. I could feel the Nature energy, but for some reason I could not draw it into my body without being fused with a clone. It may have been a quirk of my system or due to my low ranking, but I really could not complain since my abilities were still outrageous.
Since I had finished far earlier than I expected, I had expected to rest while my clones trained, but Tsunade reappeared in the forest looking troubled shortly after I set up a hammock and laid down.
"You're training right after recovering?" she questioned.
"My clones are," I replied, putting my hand behind my head. "What's wrong? You can't really be here to scold me for something like that."
"No," she sighed. "I summoned Katsuyu to send you a message when she told me that you were here... Orochimaru's agents are reporting that the Stone killed the Raikage after three days of constant battle, costing them over an estimated thousand troops."
I whistled with surprise, wondering what had possessed the Legendary Fence-Sitter. He was almost a joke by rarely committing his forces, but it seemed like he had truly gone all in with this maneuver. Attacking my father and Pakura during peace talks and now killing the Raikage. It even made me wonder if I remembered wrongly, and Madara controlled the Tsuchikage rather than the Mizukage.
"Wow... going after three Kages. I didn't think Onoki had it in him," I remarked after a few moments. "Has Konoha been told yet?"
"Orochimaru sent a message with one of his snakes," she confirmed.
"Damn, now I have to be responsible and tell Shikaku," I complained as I stood up.
Tsunade tossed me a scroll and explained, "It's for Shikaku and has a copy of everything Orochimaru knows about it."
"Thanks, I guess," I said, tucking the scroll into my belt. "At least there is a chance that everyone is tired of fighting after all of this."
"I hope so, brat, I hope so."
I gave her a smile before disrupting the reserve summoning with my chakra. In a poof of smoke, I reappeared in my personal bunker then I teleported myself up to the command center. Shikaku and Chrono looked over in surprise, but I passed him the scroll before explaining.
"Let's leave the explanation of how I'm back so quickly to a new technique, but Tsunade brought me that and a message; the Raikage is dead."
Shikaku had been opening the scroll but stopped and looked at me when he heard what I said. "The Raikage?"
"That's what she said, and that's a copy of Orochimaru's notes on it," I replied then sat down at the map table.
He fully opened the scroll and started reading. His expression turned more serious and thoughtful with the more he read. When he placed the scroll aside, he rubbed his eyes and sighed loudly.
"Of all the Kages to kill... The Cloud is never going to end this war now," he said after a few moments.
"What about an alliance? The Stone went after my father, so A and I have some common ground," I suggested.
"That might work with most Villages, but not the Cloud. Accepting an alliance so quickly after his father's death will mar the rest of A's time as Raikage, and he hasn't even officially taken on his father's mantle yet. Any hint of weakness right now could plunge the Cloud into a civil war."
"And the Mist can slink back to their islands, making us waste resources defending against an attack that may never come," I sighed, realizing that I had been too hopeful for a quick end.
"Exactly. The only Village that has anything to gain from an alliance, and clarity mind to consider it, is the Stone, but aligning with them will make the Cloud even more aggressive against us."
"What if nuke the Stone Village? I've got enough war credits to claim the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags jutsu from the Scroll of Seals, and my clones are perfect conduits, especially Space, Phantom, and Chrono."
"There is a big difference between a heavy assault against a war camp than against a Hidden Village," he chided, rubbing his temples with a hand. "The amount of civilians that would be caught up in the blast... not to mention, every Hidden Village would likely consider you an S-rank threat after doing that."
"So, the Stone gets to attempt to kill my father and the Kazekage in our Village, and we just let it go?" I snapped with anger.
"A head-hunting strike team is different than a wide-scale attack," he insisted.
I huffed with annoyance, even if I knew that he was right. A thought came to my mind, but before I voiced it, I dismissed my Lightning clone then resummoned at my side. Just as I had hoped, she was in Sage Mode with a big grin on her face. Shikaku's eyes widened as he could sense the invisible pressure that my clone radiated.
"So, I could take out the Mizukage without you complaining?" I asked with a smirk.
"I thought it was the Stone you were mad at."
"I am, but the Mist aren't my favorite after attacking us with the Six-Tails and sealing the Three-Tails inside of Rin. If killing the Mizukage can end this front, we could reinforce the Stone and Cloud front, and hopefully, they'll stick to fighting each other," I said, dismissing my Lightning clone.
Shikaku did not respond right away and looked down at the map table as he rested his chin on his hands. "The Mizukage won't be well liked after this major loss, but that doesn't mean replacing him will end the war."
"But it could give them an excuse…"
My words were cut off by a poof of smoke as Hana appeared. Her silver fur was still a bit singed from my Laser Release, but otherwise, she looked okay. She reached into her scarf and pulled out a scroll with the Hokage's seal on it.
"Your father sent you a message," she explained, holding out the scroll.
"Thanks, Hana," I replied as I took and opened it. After a quick read, I sighed and said, "My father was Rin, you, and I to return to Konoha for a strategy meeting."
"Keeping a new jinchuriki on the front lines is dangerous," he remarked.
"And inside the Village is so much better? She doesn't have Kushina's background, and the seal I placed is still technically experimental."
"But Kushina is still the best person to help guide her."
"Really?" I asked with a deadpan expression. While I loved my best friend, I also knew that she did not have the patience to be a proper jinchuriki; even the future Naruto was only able since he was the reincarnation of Asura.
"She was trained by Mito and is the only other jinchuriki that belongs to the Village," he replied without directly looking at me, which was the closest that he would come to agreeing with me on something like this.
"Fine, there's no point in arguing anyways... Dad gets what he wants. Chrono, tell Rin and Kakashi to gather their things and meet us here, and then grab Fugaku, Inoichi, and Choza."
Chrono nodded then teleported away with a flash of silver.
"Why are you bringing Kakashi?" Shikaku asked.
"Because he would be useless here while he worried about her, and Rin will be more comfortable and calmer with him around... besides, I need a guinea pig to test out another usage of my new technique," I chuckled darkly.
"Poor kid," he chuckled as he stood up then created a Shadow Clone and passed over his tasks to it.
Fugaku and Inoichi arrived first, both carrying a few fresh scars, though they seemed well. When they saw me, they both looked surprised by my condition, but it made a lot of sense once Choza appeared. Half of his body was still covered in bandage, and I could smell the familiar scent of jade aloe which treated acid burns.
"You've recovered?" Inoichi asked.
"Yes, though that's not why I called you here. Konoha has requested that I bring Rin and Shikaku back... There has been a possible major development between the Cloud and Stone, but we're still waiting for more confirmation," I explained.
"We'll leave clones behind, but you three will need to keep a closer eye on things while we're gone," Shikaku added.
"Understood," Fugaku replied.
"What happened?" Choza asked.
I glanced at Shikaku, unsure of how much to tell currently, so he sighed and replied, "We don't have final confirmation yet, but it seems that the Stone had bigger ambition than we knew."
"How long will you be gone?" Fugaku asked.
"Unsure... it could be a day or two, possibly longer," Shikaku replied.
"I'm honestly not as helpful as he is in these types of conversations, so if it feels like things are dragging, I'll return early," I added.
"You just can't stand the elders," Shikaku remarked.
I chose not to respond, but I had never really hidden my distaste for the pair. They were my father's old teammates like Danzo, yet they had not offered to lead a front. True, Danzo had 'mysteriously' died while fighting the Sand, but even before then, they had no intention of putting themselves in danger.
Kakashi and Rin had good timing and entered the command center carrying a small pack each. He was actually looking pretty good, well-rested and about as calm as I had ever seen him. She also looked to be in fairly good spirits, though I noticed the faint redness of her eyes and paleness in her complexion, which was no doubt due to the stress of her new status.
"Rin, you have been recalled to Konoha, so in my last act as your commander, I assign Kakashi as your personal guard," I said, standing up and walking over to the pair. "Now that formality is out of the way, this will help keep you two safe, and you'll be staying with Kushina, who can help you with your new companion."
Rin lowered her gaze and replied quietly, "I understand, Commander. Thank you for saving me."
"I'm sorry that I couldn't come sooner, but being a jinchuriki isn't a bad thing. Tailed Beasts are powerful if you can learn to use their power, and the Three-Tails is calmer than most. I promise, the Village will help support you through this."
"Thank you, Commander."
I summoned my three clones with Space affinity, two of which were in Sage Mode already, drawing everyone's attention with the strength they were radiating. "Kakashi, I'm sending you first with a new technique, so give my clone some feedback before she dismisses herself."
Kakashi paled slightly at the memory of the last time one of my clones teleported him, but he still stepped forward and nodded his head. I motioned for Phantom to take him, so she stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. They vanished in a flash of silver while Shikaku discussed a few things with Fugaku, Inoichi, and Choza quietly. Within a few minutes, memories from Phantom entered my mind, and I chuckled as I resummoned Phantom, who still had Sage Mode activated.
"Well... this is going to help if the Mist wants to try another major offensive. You ready, Shikaku?" I asked.
He sighed and walked closer. "Yes, I suppose I am."
There was a small smirk on Fugaku's face since he was the only one who regularly teleported with one of my clones. I waited until Phantom had taken Shikaku away before I had Space place her hand on Rin's shoulder.
"Don't worry, Kakashi wasn't left as sick as the last time my clones teleported you," I said encouragingly.
That made Rin smile a little as she nodded her head. Space teleported her and Rin away in a flash of silver. I gave Chrono and the others a nod before I teleported away as well. With Sage Mode, my clones could make the entire journey back to Konoha in two jumps while I would have taken over a dozen, but Space met me partway and brought me the rest of the way.
Space brought me just outside of Konoha, overlooking the Village, where Shikaku, Kakashi, and Rin were waiting. From our vantage point, I could see the remaining damage from the Stone's attack, though most of it looked to be under repair. People could be seen in the streets, but it was fewer than normal, and a certain gloom could almost be felt coming from the city. Even with our victories on the fronts, there was little that could repair the morale here aside from the end of this war.
"Go find my father and the elders; I'm going to take them to Kushina first," I said.
Shikaku had a slight scowl on his face as he stared out at the Village, but he nodded his head and replied, "Understood."
He dashed off with the body flicker, heading straight into the heart of the Village, while I directed Kakashi and Rin to the main gate. I could have teleported us straight there, but I wanted to get a better feel of the Village. Rin also needed a chance to feel normal before word got out that she was a jinchuriki, and people let their fear decide their friends.