V

━━━━━━┓༻❁༺┏━━━━━━

Arc V Chapter 4

━━━━━━┛༻❁༺┗━━━━━━

Shikaku observed the map. He gave the most logical response, “The world?”

“Correct, the world.” Asami guided him. “And what more?“

“The five great shinobi nations?” Shikaku looked up.

Asami smiled. “Ten points for Shikaku.“

”How are these five nations ... organised? From a political perspective, who stands with whom? Two alliances emerged from the ashes of the Third Great Ninja War.” A sense of danger lingered in the air.

Shikaku stared at the map.

“Danger looms on the horizon, Shikaku. Have you never thought about the strategic implications of the chunin exams?”

Shikaku leaned back in his chair and brooded. Alliances, chunin exams, strategic implications. He didn't understand.

His eyes wandered across the map, from Iwagakure to Kirigakure, Iwa’s traditional ally. Both villages shared similar interests and the same enemy, Konoha.

Kumo would join the war on Iwa's and Kiri's side just like in the previous war. Together, Konoha and Suna stood outnumbered against …

Shikaku's eyes widened. He saw the whole picture. Asami's words connected. Everything made sense.

His body slumped together as realisation struck. Reality shattered.

He waited for the shock to pass, but Shikaku was lost for words. Minutes passed undisturbed. Neither Shikaku nor Asami uttered a word.

Konoha would lose her sole ally. Konoha stood alone against four hidden villages, alone against a traitorous Suna, a hostile Kiri, a revanchist Iwa, and an expansionist Kumo.

Konoha in a four front war, isolated, without allies, surrounded from all sides. The moment Konoha showed weakness, her enemies would fall upon Konoha like a pack of wolves.

“We stand alone, don't we? We against the world.” Shikaku folded his hands.

Asami merely nodded. She agreed. Trying times awaited Konoha even if they repelled the invasion. Not that Asami was worried, a war against all four hidden villages promised to be ... interesting.

“Ahem.” Fumihiko cleared his throat.

Asami turned her head. “Yes?”

“I have a question.”

“Sure. What's the matter, Fumihiko?”

Fumihiko summarised Konoha’s position with irrefutable brevity, clarity. “So if I understand correctly, does that mean we are fucked?”

Asami chuckled. ”Absolutely, we are most definitely fucked , and not the pleasant kind of fucked. But don’t worry, rescue is on the way.”

Or to be more precise sitting in the room in the form of a certain girl with an unhealthy fetish for the pseudo-colour black.

Shikaku blinked. ”And who might be this mysterious saviour, Asami?”

“Isn’t that obvious?” Asami grinned and pointed at herself. “It's me.”

“You? I guess we are doomed.” Shikaku despaired.

Asami crossed her arms and pouted. ”Your lack of faith disappoints me, Shikaku. I expected more.”

”As long as the village relies on me, Konoha's future will be assured.” No guarantees given.

Shikaku and Fumihiko exchanged looks. They stared at their little princess and into their eyes, princess, eyes, princess, eyes, princess, eyes, princess, eyes, princess, eyes.

Normally, they would have broken out in laughter. A little girl with fluffy cheeks told them she would save Konoha from destruction like a shining hero from a fairy tale. Ridiculous, right?

But neither Shikaku nor Fumihiko laughed. Their stoic faces didn't move. Asami was serious, and they took her seriously.

Fumihiko took her seriously because he was convinced an entire army was needed to bring his princess down.

Shikaku because he read her ANBU reports. Her estimated body count was staggering. The girl had a body count that put even veteran jonin to shame.

Granted, the majority of her kills were the product of collateral damage, but her body count was nevertheless remarkably high considering Konoha's grim reaper had only served a year.

Entire Iwa, Kumo, Kiri squads disappeared by her hand, never destined to report back again.

Shikaku maintained his poker face. ”You might say so, but I have a hard time believing you.”

”With all due respect to your capabilities, I don’t see you accomplishing such, Asami.”

Asami chuckled. ”You might be surprised, Shikaku, but I came to the same conclusion. But fortunately, I am not alone. I can rely on Konoha and our ninja. They will be crucial to our plans”

Shikaku listened. ” Care to explain?”

”They will be crucial to solving our strategic dilemma. We need to strike fast. We need to strike hard. We will knock out the enemy in a pre-emptive campaign, or incapacitate them to such a degree that they won’t pose any threat int he future.”

” Fumihiko, if you would be so kind.”

Her secretary obeyed orders. He passed Shikaku three folders, three folders with three different colours.

Shikaku studied the files. A red folder, a white folder, a blue folder lied before him, awaiting his decision. Serene black letters bored into his mind.

Shikaku didn’t need to be a genius to figure out their meaning. Three colours, three options, three targets, three villages.

Did Asami comprehend what she proposed? She did, which frightened Shikaku. Asami understood precisely what she was about to unleash.

Outwitted and outmanoeuvred, a sigh escaped Shikaku. ”You planned this from the beginning, didn’t you?”

Asami tilted her head and played dumb. ”Oh my, really? Did I?“

“You are quite late to notice that, my friend.”

━━━━━━┛༻❁༺┗━━━━━━