Chapter 47.4- Gamer of the Desert

“I take it that you succeeded in the mission” Their immediate Commanding Officer said in greeting as they appeared in the command tent and executed flawless salutes in unison. All around them, the tent was abuzz with motion as dozens of chunin and genin scrambled to perform various administrative tasks. Sending a whole nation to war was not the easiest of things to do, and required so much administration that it hurt even Neji’s genius mind to consider.

“Yes we did. All who saw the encampment now rest in the halls of Naraka” His partner, Sasuke, said. Neji leaned heavily on the emotional control that had been quite literally beat into him to prevent himself from rolling his eyes at his partner’s need to use the most dramatic phrasing for every sentence. Neji was the Hyuga here, and Sasuke clearly had even him beat in terms of sheer dramatism.

“Perfect. We must be ready to move in the next 12 hours. Go get some rest and prepare yourselves. Your roles in the invasion are of paramount importance” The Yamanaka said, blond hair flipping over his shoulders as he turned to the rest of the room after dismissing them. He was one of the few hundred shinobi that Neji had seen appear out of nowhere in the aftermath of Danzo’s ascension as Kage and take up positions of authority within the village.

If he gave the whispers in the wind any iota of serious consideration , then he’d believe the rumours that Danzo-sama had been in charge of some secret division of Anbu that were out of the control of Lord Third, and only after taking over the position had he decided to integrate them in the standard hierarchy. The idea was stupid beyond stupid, and he’d told TenTen so the moment she’d made mention of it. Lord third was undoubtedly the gretest Hokage that Konoha had ever had, and it was ridiculous to suggest that he’d ever be foolish enough to allow a whole division of special operatives beyond his control.

It was much more likely that Danzo was pulling his people from the more obscure areas of Konoha’ military and promoting them to replace the people that the previous Hokage had relied on. It was reasonable, as well.

“Neji” He heard from besides him as he walked out of the tent. He turned to his new partner and teammate, Sasuke Uchiha.

“Hm?” He grunted at him, waiting for the Uchiha to explain what he wanted.

“I’ll be at the stream if I’m needed” he said before disappearing in a shunshin. Neji wondered why he’d been told. Did the Uchiha honestly believe that there was anywhere in the vicinity of the camp that he would have gone to that Neji would not be able to locate him in a matter of seconds. Putting the thought from his mind, Neji jumped upwards to one of the large trees that hid the camp from view. One of the commanding officers, a man by the name of Tenzo, with the rare ability to use the First Hokage’s kekkei genkai had created the cover that their entire camp relied on.

He was another example of commanding officers that had come out of the woodwork after Lord Fifth’s ascension. It was a strange thing. To think that a kekkei genkai as storied as the wood release would have managed to lay under the radar so thoroughly.

Tenzo was no Senju, Neji knew this for a fact. Even as a branch family member, his lessons were comprehensive enough to tell him that there were no more Senjus beyond Tsunade, Hashirama’s granddaughter. As a display of the kind of unity he wanted from the village, lord First had enacted two policies for his clan that saw them more tightly integrated into Konoha than any other. First of all, Senju clanswomen, more than any other, intermarried with the other clans, and even the civilians. At this point, virtually every clan that called the village home had some manner of Senju blood in their head line. Not the Hyuga, but that was because of strict breeding requirements the main branch mandated to maintain the purity of the byakugan. The second policy was that the Senju, more than any other, ocvcupied the front lines when it came time for war. Not even the Uchiha had as many clansmen on the lines for the First two great shinobi wars.

When the Second Great War went as far as it did, it was Senju genin that were sent out first. Famously on Lord Second’s orders. Neji admired the selflessness and devotion, but the Senju clan was no more. Whatever he had against the main branch, he could not imagine a world without the Hyuga clan. 
“I heard you and Sasuke would be part of the first charge” Tenten said as a manner of greeting. He acknowledged her presence with a nod, before thinking over her statement that was really a question.

“Indeed. Lord Fifth wants us to gain valuable experience fighting shinobi from a hidden village. As the Village Hidden in the Grass is not one of the Great Five, even their Jounin would be nowhere near as powerful as the ones from back home” He said in explanation, answering both unasked questions.

“But what I really can’t see is why we’re even doing this in the first place. Iwa were the ones who broke faith during the Chunin exams and conspired with Orochimaru to destroy the village and Suna were the ones who snuck their Kage into the village and blew up most of it. If we were going after either of those two, I’d understand. But why are we going after Kusa?” She asked, looking genuinely confused. Neji weighed his options. What he knew had been told to him in confidence, but he’d also never been told not to divulge the information to others. As a fellow Chunin of Konoha, did Tenten not have as much of a right to know as he did?

“Iwa is gone. For the most part, at least. The Kazekage led a team of Jounin there, and in a fight with both of Iwa’s Jinchuriki managed to destroy the bulk of the village. They are rebuilding but aren’t going to be a threat for years. Suna, on the other hand, are strong. The Kazekage fought off the fully manifested Yonbi without sustaining any injuries. It goes without saying that we don’t want to risk fighting Gaara of the Desert in the desert until our position is as strong as it could be. Taking Kusa is just one of the first steps in a longer war effort. We’ll be in position to quickly advance on Iwa if they prove a threat, and it also lets us warn Suna that we won’t sit idly by while they make moves” he explained.

“Suna is in the entirely other direction” She said, and Neji struggled to find the words that explained why their actions here would matter to Suna miles away. He wouldn’t have understood it if not for years of lessons with the clan, and now with Danzo. He looked at his old teammate’s face, black hair framing dark eyes and was saved from replying by a whistle.

“Change of plans” Someone shouted at him from below.

He acknowledged the summons and nodded to Tenten before leaving her side to the command tent.

A/N; Yeah, that’s what Konoha is up to. This isn’t spell checked yet, but its the last addition to the chapter. I’ll edit everything before uploading it all in one package tomorrow or the day after