III

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Arc III Chapter 6

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A squad of masked ANBU marched through the field camp. The group was led by a single girl, by a girl clad in her notorious black kimono, by a girl freshly promoted to the rank of Captain on merit of her past accomplishments. Her performance and dedication to the cause had impressed the elders despite her age.

 

Wounded ninja filled the camp. They were missing hands, arms, feet. The stench of blood and decay lingered in the air. Corpses littered the ground. Death claimed its toll, and the toll was high among the ninja of Konoha.

 

Crowds of ninja parted, allowing her squad and her to pass. Common sense told them to not block their way because they were busy people, busy people with a mission. A handful of ninja even recognised the girl and her infamous kimono. It was the grim reaper herself, the Black Princess of Konoha, a kunoichi of rising acclaim and fame. Few doubted that the girl would one day enter the pantheon of legendary Konoha ninja, only to mentioned in the same breath together with the legendary Sannin, the White Fang, the Yellow Flash, Hatake Kakashi. But not yet. The day hadn't come yet.

 

Asami strolled through the camp, searching for the command post amidst a sea of green tents and the decimated remnants of an entire battalion, 800 ninja. She wished to speak with the commanding officer and the rest of his incompetent staff. Because Naritomo and his friends owed her an explanation. She and Konoha demanded answers, and she would get her answers, one way or another.

 

His battalion took quite a beating. They somehow managed to lose three entire companies in a matter of weeks. The casualty rates were appalling. His attempts to retake Shimabara failed spectacularly. His assaults proved disastrous and casualties rose.  

 

The entire operation was nothing short of a catastrophe, a veritable meat grinder. Losses piled up, but the fighting still dragged on with no end in sight. Konoha sacrificed three full companies. Nevertheless, they failed to capture Shimabara. The rebels were still holding the city. Their resistance proved stubborn.

 

The majority of losses consisted of useless genin cannon fodder. They died like flies. Fortunately, genin were cheap and easy to train, their numbers plenty, which was the main reason why the village council didn’t intervene sooner despite Naritomo's disastrous performance. Ultimately, genin were expendable. Experienced jonin and chunin, however, weren't.  

 

Konoha besieged Shimbara for a month already, with meagre results, unable to gain even a foothold inside the city. As a result, the Fire Daimyo grew concerned, unsettled by Konoha's inability to suppress a simple peasant revolt. The region suffered from a poor harvest and the burden of heavy taxation. And yet the nobility refused to lower taxes despite poor crop yield. The impoverished peasants were thus left with no other choice than to revolt.

 

The Fire Daimyo and his court feared that the rebellion might spread further across the Land of Fire. His councillors demanded a show of force to quell any existing discontent in the region. The court even contemplated requesting the assistance of another more competent hidden village, considering Konoha's lacklustre performance. That was the last straw. Things needed to change, and they needed to change drastically.

 

That was why the village council dispatched her, a kunoichi renowned for her methods even among the ANBU. She was not merely sent to suppress, but to eradicate Shimabara and set an example for all other cities. She would do as ordered. They deployed her to finally break the stalemate and crush the rebellion no matter the cost, no matter the price. The orders of the village council clears, Shimabara had to be taken.

 

Asami reached a large tent guarded by two chunin, a girl and a boy. They were young, barely seventeen. They gulped, intimidated by her approaching figure.

 

Her steps led her past the guard, inside the tent. Curious stares greeted her. Naritomo and his staff were leaning over a tactical map of Shimabara, discussing their next assault, but her arrival alerted them. They eyed her with suspicion.

 

Asami narrowed her eyes. “Ladies and gentlemen, I am searching for a certain Colonel Naritomo. I received orders to officially relieve him of his command. I am now in charge here.”

 

Her words didn’t earn her any friends, but Asami didn’t care. She wasn't here to make friends. She had her orders, retake Shimabara.

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A chunin frowned, glaring. “And who the fuck are you? Who do you think you are to stroll in here and give us orders just like that?”

 

Asami tilted her head, amused. “Who I am? You ask who I am?” Her glare petrified the poor boy.

 

“Lynx, do me a favour. Enlighten the poor boy.” Asami turned to Fu, her subordinate. 

 

Fu answered her rhetorical question. “ANBU, codename Red Panda, ninja registration number 011567, full name ...”

 

“Stop ... Stop ... That's enough, Lynx. Thank you.” Asami dismissed Fu before he was able to spill any delicate information. His reply was dry as usual, but she was at fault her. She shouldn't have expected otherwise from a former indoctrinated Root member. They possessed no sense of humour. They were always far too serious. 

 

Asami sighed. “Anyway, let’s get down to business. As you might know, Konoha dispatched me to clean up your mess.” Her hands produced a scroll from her pouch. The scroll bore the seal of the Hokage. “The village council itself granted me the authority to take command of this operation and all forces involved.”

 

Asami took a chair and put her legs onto the table. “So first things first, I demand an explanation as to how a full battalion of trained ninja fail to contain a simple rebellion to the point that Konoha considers court martial all of you? I am genuinely curious.”

 

Her gaze swept across the room. Her eyes set on a man in his late twenties, a jonin. He reciprocated her stare with fierce determination. He didn't flinch. He was the man he was searching for. He was Colonel Naritomo, a member of the Sarutobi clan. He might be young, naive, still green behind the ears, but the man had steel. He didn't look like the most incompetent commander to have ever served.

 

She had seen worse. She had expected to meet the usual bootlicker who gained his position merely through nepotism and favouritism like so many other clan sycophants, but Naritomo wasn't such a case. So why did Konoha suffer so many inexplicable defeats? Things didn’t add up. Morale was high. The leadership didn't appear to be entirely inept. The troop quality was adequate. The majority of his forces consisted of freshly conscripted genin, but a battalion was still a force to be reckoned with, sufficient to deal with a few unruly rebels.

 

Naritomo gritted his teeth.“Because this isn’t a simple rebellion. The situation is far more complicated.”

 

Asami raised an eyebrow, slowly getting closer to the truth. “I am listening, Naritomo. Tell me, what's the problem?” 

 

“The problem is we don't fight a headless mob. We fight a well organised rebellion.”

 

Asami pinched the bridge of her nose, exasperated. “So you are telling me we got our arses handed by a bunch of rice farmers?”

 

Naritomo scratched his head. “Well, not directly. The rebels bolster their forces with a significant number of rogue ninja and mercenaries. Furthermore, they are supported logistically, financially, and militarily by another village.”

 

“Another village?” Asami grew interested. His words elicited her attention. “Tell me more, Naritomo.”

 

He did so. “The rebels are in a possession of considerable supply of explosives and weapons, of quantities that are only usually available to hidden villages. We suspect they are supplied and supported by another village. The rebels turned Shimabara into a veritable fortress. They fight for every street, every house, every corner. Not to emntion, we detected enemy ANBU operating in the area. They harass us at every opportunity. Their allegiance is currently unknown, but we suspect them to be Kumo-nin.”

 

Asami listened, processing his information. “Kurmo-nin, you say? How do you know? And why didn’t you mention so earlier in your field reports. Konoha should be informed that we are fighting here a proxy war against Kumogakure.”

 

Narimoto scowled. “We had no idea. We only found out recently. A few squads disappeared here and there, but we didn't think much. Casualties are to be expected. We didn’t have any clue until yesterday. Hidetsugu's squad made contact with them. He recognised their kenjutsu and identified them as Kumo ANBU.”

 

“Their kenjutsu?” Asami sounded surprised.

 

Naritomo nodded. “Hidetsugu was stationed at the northern border during the war. He fought Kumo-nin before. He said they used a Kumogakure sword style, a sword style typical of their ANBU.”

 

Asami rose from her chair, her hand gliding over the map of Shimabara. “It seems that I owe you and your men an apology. You are neither incompetent, nor inept. I can't fault you. Minor mistakes were made, but such is natural.”

 

Asami set her eyes on Shimabara, a plan forming in her mind. “Naritomo, didn’t you say that the rebels had turned Shimabara into a fortress?”

 

Naritomo stood straight. “I did. The rebels hold several strong points throughout the city. They still control all major junctions. The urban terrain renders every advance difficult.”

 

“I see.” Asami studied the map. Their tactical situation was definitely improvable.

 

Shimabara was a veritable stalemate, and her resources limited, her forces depleted. She lacked the numbers to take the city in a frontal assault, but she also wanted to avoid protracted house to house fighting. She didn't want to fight Kumo and their allies in urban combat. Fortunately, she had an idea.

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