Chapter 61.1- One Thousand Hands

I buried the urge to bury my head in my hands as I stared at the map of Hi no Kuni and began to consider my next options. Somehow, Iwa had mangled to figure out that we were the ones behind the attack. That was the only thing that could explain their sudden expansion into our borders. I’d spoken a big game about being ready for the war when it came, and now that it was here, I found myself at a crossroads. Kumo was supposed to be the first to strike— that was the whole point of everything. They were supposed to either be attacked by Iwa and forced into the Land of Fire as a result or to lose their patience with the waiting and rush in. Iwa was supposed to wait in every model I’d calculated. Onoki was known as the fucking fence sitter for a reason.

“So what do we do?” Uzume asked to my side. I could already tell that she was spoiling for a fight. I could see it in the glint in her eyes that she just wanted a name and a place, and she’d be off.

“We say fuck it and commence Operation Geneva Convention” I said with a sigh. KUmo had he greater numbers. This would be worlds more effective against them than it would against iwa, and now that Iwa was essentially testing the waters for Kumo, I had to work under the assumption that Kumo would be ready for my tricks.

“I already had those traps set up on the route between Frost and here. It will be even harder to bury traps to use against Iwa since earth release is their whole thing” Uraume said instantly.

“I know, I know. That’s why we’ll only be burying the less important traps. As for Mindbreaker and Soulcrusher, hide them in the trees. We’re the hidden leaf village for a reason, and if we guarantee that they spend all their time looking at the ground for obvious traps then they won’t notice the more insidious means being employed against them.” I said.

She nodded.

“Good, now assemble a team of seven of your best” I said to her. I had never officially granted her the position but I could never forget the way Uraume had walked into this office, seen the condition of things and just decided to take one massive problem off my plate— the Anbu. I still had no idea how she managed to convince those notoriously stubborn arseholes to listen to her. I’d been dealing with a small mutiny within their ranks that disappeared once she got her hands on them. Those loyal to Danzo seemed to have either been forced into anonymity or made to see the error of their ways.