Kakashi flipped upwards from his crunching position, sat on the branch and watched from afar as another team of Konoha ninja left the outpost. By Kakashi's count, that's the sixth squad so far, all heading in the direction of the Land of Grass. The squad was in a hurry and not even pausing at the gate, becoming smaller and smaller until they disappeared into the blanket of trees to take cover from the moon's light. Kakashi scanned the area around the gate to see if any other squads would come, but only the guards remained.
He looked up at the night sky, the moon hanging proudly with no clouds in sights. Not the best of nights to set out on a stealth mission, although knowing Nara Shikaku that's probably the point, Kakashi concluded.
It actually worked well for Kakashi. Since none of his squad mates were sensor ninja, he had decided to forego using the seal at night despite the annoying vertigo he wakes up to. He knew of the dangers of prolonged chakra suppression and already had too much on his plate to add a damaged chakra network to the mix. But that also meant that his stealth without the seal would be terrible. So even though he couldn't really get close, the light of the full moon allowed him to observe from a distance without raising any alarms.
Very few people were awake now, and even those who were would only witness individual squads heading out. The camp's leadership has clearly decided to send out the squads in waves under the cover of night so as not to alert the masses of the critical campaign. Minato's warning to make sure Obito stayed quiet about Jiraya's arrival a testament to that. Kakashi agreed that the less people who know, the less chance of a possible traitor getting the word out to Iwa.
"You should get some rest," Pakkun said. Kakashi had sent his pug to find Obito and deliver Minato's warning. After his completed mission, Pakkun had decided to stick around. Up until now, the pug was lounging lazily as he watched Kakashi switch between light physical exercises and spying on the gate.
Kakashi knew that Pakkun was right. He would regret not sleeping as his squad was assigned protective detail at a village in the Land of Grass the next day, but he was too nervous to sleep. Despite Konoha being vastly more prepared this time, it was the Kannabi Bridge. Kakashi would not rest easy until it was destroyed. He had camped out on this branch since the evening, refusing to leave until we got a full reading on what was happening. It was boring, mostly waiting until another squad left. Yet it was still better than lying down in his tent and staring up at cloth.
"Jiraya-sama and Minato-sensei still haven't left," Kakashi replied.
Pakkun turned around and placed a palm on Kakashi's chest, "Jiraya and Minato have a bunch of experienced ninja with them; they'll be fine. If three out of four of you survived last time, the odds now are so much better."
"In the past, Iwa had also lost many ninja in the extra year of war. I'd expect that the defenses would be stronger now," Kakashi said.
Pakkun withdrew his paw and gave Kakashi an unamused look, "And how does it help; you sitting on this branch?"
"Shut up," Kakashi snorted and flicked him lightly on the head, then hung upside down to resume his training.
Pakkun grumbled under his breath but didn't reply.
He couldn't really explain it, but he needed the confirmation that his sensei and Jiraya-sama were leaving with competent people. He also wanted to know who they were in case he wanted to fish out some information from them after the mission. Besides, their mission was more of a diplomacy stunt to show their allied villages in the Land of Grass that Konoha doesn't abandon its allies. He had completed S-Ranked missions without sleeping for a few days, he could handle an easy mission with a bit of missed sleep.
Silence enveloped them once more. Up down, up down… Kakashi got back into the rhythm easily. He had to admit that he was impressed with mini-Kakashi. Training core strength was always a pain, but his younger self was disciplined. It took Kakashi many reps before he started feeling the burn in his abdomen.
Fondly, he recalled a challenge with Gai during their teen years where they ran through all manner of core-body workouts. Needless to say, Gai won that one. Still, Kakashi was proud of how well he managed to keep up with his taijutsu crazed friend.
He kept up the routine, switching to various strength exercises as he watched squad after squad leave. Pakkun kept him quiet company, but Kakashi could see the pug starting to get restless as the night dragged on.
As he finished another set, Kakashi spotted the distinct yellow hair of his sensei, "Pakkun," he called softly, jerking his head in the direction of the gate.
"Finally," the pug muttered as he focused his attention on the activity at the gate too.
There were seven ninja with his sensei: two squads. "Could it be that sensei is running the infiltration this time? I thought it was going to be Jiraya-sama for sure."
"Isn't Minato good at infiltration?" Pakkun asked curiously.
"Yea he is," Kakashi confirmed, "but his skills are better suited for large scale attacks. No offense to sensei but, Jiraya-sama is one of the best spies in the ninja world."
"I will never get over how weird it is that someone that… energetic would be so good at stealth," Pakkun said.
"That's why it's always important to look underneath the underneath," Kakashi chirped, causing Pakkun to roll his eyes.
Unlike previous squads, his sensei stopped at the gate and was having a discussion with those on guard duty. "Nee Pakkun, can you sneak closer and listen in? Also, can you identify the ninja with sensei, or at least memorize their scents?"
"Sure thing, afterwards you go sleep, deal?" Pakkun asked.
"Yea yea," Kakashi sighed and shooed him away. Pakkun eyed him suspiciously but still obeyed, jumping away and towards the gate.
"I should've summoned Bisuke," Kakashi grumbled. His second Ninken was also great at stealth but had the fun bonus of not being an argumentative and bossy pest. Kakashi wouldn't trade Pakkun for anything in the world.
Adding the two squads, Kakashi counted a total of nine squads that have been sent out on
the Kannabi Bridge mission. So Kakashi estimated seven squads; he couldn't verify if all the squads who left were tied to the mission.
Regardless, seven squads were a sizeable force for one mission. Compared to their four-man-team led by a ninja who hadn't even hit puberty yet… well it would have been funny if it wasn't so nauseating. Back then, the war had raged on a year longer and Konoha's forces were spread thin. Kakashi knew that the village had no choice but to rely on three teenagers and their sensei. The Third probably didn't expect them all to survive. If anything, the fact that only Obito was martyred was probably seen as blessing.
In the next moment, his sensei and the other ninja leapt into the darkness as well. He hoped Pakkun was able to gather any useful information in the three minutes his sensei had lingered. He used the opportunity while waiting to take a few chugs of water from his battered kanteen. It wasn't the toughest workout, but he had been going about it for a long period and he could feel a few muscles starting to cramp.
It was only another minute before Pakkun rejoined him. "I couldn't get very close as there was an Inuzuka with them. But based on their body language, it was mostly small talk."
"An Inuzuka huh? I still can't see Minato running the infiltration if Jiraya-sama is here though. Did you recognize any of the ninja?" Kakashi asked.
"The Inuzuka was Inuzuka Gaku I think," Pakkun said. "There was someone from the Sarutobi clan. I don't know who he is, but they all smell of the same type of tobacco. Even those who don't smoke have the tobacco smell lingering on them. It's disgusting. Nearly gagged. I probably gagged a little."
Kakashi chuckled, "I swear it's a family trait. Kurenai tried to get Asuma to quit for years. But nothing worked. I told her to give him an ultimatum: her or the cigarettes. She called me a hopeless bachelor and laughed off my advice."
"Her loss. I think that would've worked," Pakkun nodded sagely.
"Thank you," Kakashi said feeling vindicated, "I thought so too! Any others you recognized?"
"There was an Uchiha and an Akamichi, but the rest aren't from clans," Pakkun finished his report, laid down on all fours and rested his head on his paws.
"If it's Gaku," Kakashi said, "then he's a combat specialist. Also, if you didn't see anyone from the Aburame or Hyuga clan then Minato-sensei is most likely still running distraction. You'd think with how prepared they are, they'd add some members of sensory specialist clans to an infiltration team."
Pakkun shrugged and was frowning in displeasure. Kakashi immediately worried; it was not like Pakkun to get despondent. The pug is typically fiercely proud and determined, always taking up a challenge and leading the pack.
Kakashi stretched out his hand and petted Pakkun lightly on the head, "What's wrong, Pakkun?"
Pakkun relaxed under the touch, "I don't know a lot of the ninja from this time. It's annoying."
Ah I see! Pakkun loves to prove he's the best and not being able to give a comprehensive report most be killing him, Kakashi realized. Behind his mask, Kakashi smiled at his companion's mini tantrum.
"It's not your fault," Kakashi reassured him. "I'm also playing catch up."
Pakkun wasn't appeased and his frowned only deepened.
Kakashi tilted his head in thought, wondering what he could say to lift Pakkun's mood, thoughts on observing the gate abandoned for now. "I'll tell you what. I'll summon you soon during my downtime and we'll walk around, and I'll identify the ninja to you and maybe Bisuke." It was actually an important point, in hindsight. He had gotten used to Pakkun knowing a large portion of the populace in Konoha that he didn't think they'd need to work on that.
Pakkun perked up at that, "You should also let Akino tag along."
"If there's many of you it'll bring too much attention," Kakashi shook his head. "I can summon you both at a later time and you can walk around and the bring the rest up to speed."
"I can do that," Pakkun said. To anyone else, Pakkun would appear neutral, but Kakashi knew him well enough to pick up on the happy notes in his tone.
"Come on, let's turn in," Kakashi stood up while stretching his hands above him and let out a yawn. "Now that I confirmed Jiraya-sama is leading the mission to destroy the bridge, I can rest easy."
"Try not to take any more detours," Pakkun said in place of a farewell before dismissing himself in a cloud of smoke.
Taking one last look at the moon, Kakashi sent out a prayer to keep them safe and headed back to his tent.
"I wonder what's happening?" Taiki said, a hand under his chin in thought as they assembled at the gate.
Katsu frowned, "Whatever it is, it's big. They've assigned so much of the transport and patrol teams to cover more ground in the Land of Grass."
Banri placed a hand over Taiki's shoulder with a smile, "I bet we're pushing the Iwa further back. We'll push Iwa out of the war." Banri brought his two fists together, "I'm glad we were selected to be a part of whatever the mission is!"
"Not really," Taiki folded his hands, "We're on protective detail. The chance of us seeing any action is slim."
Don't jinx us… Kakashi thought with dread. True it was only protective detail, but the village they were assigned to protect is the closest one to the Kannabi Bridge. When he heard they were assigned Hateno Village that morning, Kakashi wanted to scream in frustration. The simple thought of being anywhere close to the bridge made his stomach curl.
"Whatever happens, we'll do our part," Taiki said as they watched the camp leaders organizing the squads into their groups.
Kakashi observed the ninja around them. Most were as animated as Banri, communicating their excitement. Kakashi even heard a few assigned to camp or patrolling the south bemoan the fact that they weren't selected for missions in the Land of Grass or Land of Waterall. Conversely, Kakashi envied them. He would gladly switch places with any of them.
Once their squad was called to the gate, Kakashi was surprised to see Obito assigned to Hateno Village too. His teammate's eyes widened when he spotted him approach, "Kakashi! What are you doing here?"
"I guess we're assigned together," Kakashi said, and wasn't that another punch to his gut? What were the odds, of both him and Obito being close to the Bridge again? He did everything in his power to keep his teammates away from this mission. Could it be that despite his changes, destiny was still pushing them towards the same tragedy? The unease he'd been clamping down all day rushed back, full force. Kakashi closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to maintain his composure. At least Rin is safe.
"It's not a coincidence," one of Obito's teammates spoke up. Kakashi estimated that the man, who was projecting a clam energy, to be in his mid-thirties. The way the other two members of Obito's patrol team looked to him clearly marked him as their captain. "Both my team and Katsu-kun's are missing a member due to injuries. A missing slot that you two filled. By having our squads work together, we have three pairs of teams among us."
"You're vastly overestimating me and Obito's ability to work together," Kakashi couldn't help but mutter.
Obito opened his mouth to argue but froze when he realized that he agreed with his teammate and slowly closed his mouth.
At this time, Kakashi and Obito's teamwork was basically non-existent. Minato had tried running exercises where he and Obito were pitted against their sensei and Rin. From what Kakashi remembered from those exercises, they always ended up with him and Obito either squabbling or getting in each other's way. They were completely out of sync. In missions, Minato was always there so they could fight solo with Rin covering their backs. That's not to say that Kakashi wouldn't be able to work with Obito now since he was no longer an eleven-year-old brat with an ego complex. But they didn't know that. Kakashi wanted to find out who ever thought this was a good idea and wring their necks.
"Well, this is a serious mission. I trust you two to have the maturity to put all that aside and not behave like little children," the man glared at them, delivering a very stern warning. Kakashi didn't appreciate the man's condescending tone.
"Yy.. yes, Captain Furuya," Obito stuttered.
Kakashi simply nodded, not intimidated by the man at all. He had experienced the killing intent of the likes of Orochimaru and Kakuzu, a career chunin didn't faze him at all. If anything, Kakashi was trying to clamp down on his own killing intent regarding the whole situation. I swear if anything happens, I will find out who assigned us this detail and I'll unleash unholy terror on them for their lack of common sense.
"I look forward to working with you, Furuya-san," Katsu extended an arm to greet the other captain.
"Likewise, Fujita-kun. I heard positive feedback from Genji-san," Furuya replied in kind, shaking Katsu's hand. "If you have any questions, let me know." He then pointed to the rest of the team, "These are my teammates. You already know Obito-kun. This is Utai Obara and that's Jouji Izumi."
Their squad rattled off their introductions and then the team head out. Konoha's typical formation dictates that ninja with heightened senses are up front, while the strongest ninja would stay at the back. Frontline fighters would take up the second line while support specialists would be closest to the back. As part of Team Minato, Kakashi took up the first spot while his sensei protected their backs. As a captain and then sensei, however, he always lingered back.
Therefore, when Furuya motioned him to take point and fell to the rear, Kakashi was able to get an idea of Obara's and Izumi's roles. Obara and Katsu took positions right in front of Furuya, marking them as support. Behind him were Banri and Taiki while Obito and Izumi took the third line; the line reserved for ninjutsu specialists.
He found it interesting that his temporary squad leaned heavily towards taijutsu and kenjutsu while Obito's was focused on ninjutsu. He knew the missing member of his squad was a medical ninja, and he bet that the injured ninja from Furuya's squad was a close-combat specialist to round out the team. But who was the medic?
"Is it only our two squads protecting the village or are their more squads stationed there already, Furuya-san?" Katsu asked.
"There are three more squads there, we're adding to their numbers until we hear from the Outpost," Furuya explained.
"So there really is something big happening!" Banri said. "Do you know what it is?"
"We don't know anything," Izumi said, annoyance seeping into her words.
"Many are saying there's big skirmish but really, I think it's only a matter of tightening our defense now that the Grass Gate fell," Obara said with a shrug. "It would look really bad if we won that and then lost one of our strategic territories."
Even though Uchiha Noburo and Shikaku Nara tried to contain as much information as possible, dispatching multiple squads in the morning made it obvious. It didn't matter though, the key squads left at night and even if someone tried to get the word to Iwa, their forces were already in position. There won't be enough time to warn the Stone.
"Whatever it is, we won't lose," Obito declared. Kakashi was surprised that Obito stayed quiet. Even though it won't matter much now if their squads knew Jiraya was part of the skirmish, it was good to know that Obito could resist the temptation to show off his knowledge.
"Who's the medic?" Kakashi asked. He was surprised that their skill set wasn't the first topic of conversation. They needed to know what everyone was capable of.
"Oh, that's Obara," Furuya said, the sudden shift in topic throwing him off.
"Is that your main area of expertise?" Kakashi asked. There was a chance Obara had another specialty and was assigned the medic role forced upon all squads by Tsunade's directive.
"I specialize in poisons and senbon," Obara explained. "Naturally, I ended up being the team's medic too. What about you?"
Kakashi heard Obito mutter 'scary' under his breath. He knew there was a story there but would ask his teammate later. Either way, he knew what beasts Genma and Shizune would become as adults specializing in the same area. If Obito thought someone at Obara's level was scary, he wondered what the Uchiha's reaction would be to his two classmates in the future. It was bound to be over-the-top but nonetheless amusing.
"Our medic is injured and recovering back in the village," Taira explained.
"Oh, so you're not a medic, Fujita-kun?" Izumi asked. She had also made assumptions based on their formation.
"Ahh no," Katsu smiled nervously. "I'm a long-distance fighter. My main skill is archery."
Izumi whistled in surprise, "That's really rare nowadays! I love reading stories about the early ninja era. Back then, ninjutsu wasn't as common, mainly reserved to major clans. Even then, it was mostly samurai who had skilled bow users, but it was still more common among ninja than now. Archery has fallen out of style since ninjutsu and genjutsu have become really versatile, which has enhanced both offensive and defensive capabilities. I have personally never come across a bow-user! Are you finding it effective?"
"He's amazing," Banri bragged. "The number of times Katsu saved my ass with a bullseye to an enemy ninja! We'd be dead without him."
Although Kakashi was facing forward, Kakashi could practically hear Katsu's blush as he spoke up, "No no, it's really Banri's and Tairi's close combat skills that allow me free reign to fight to the best of my ability."
"Well duh, that's what teamwork is for," Izumi said playfully. "For us, Obito-kun and I are ninjutsu users. Unfortunately, we both use fire as our main element so we're not the most balanced. But what we don't have in variety we make up in raw power! Right, Obito-kun?"
"I am an Uchiha after all," Obito puffed his chest out.
"So are we!" Banri exclaimed happily, pointing at Taiki and himself.
"Great, more fire fanatics," Katsu joked and Kakashi couldn't help but agree.
Furuya sighed loudly, "It's a shame though. Obara and I are not very strong in ninjutsu. I hoped to have a bit more balance on the team. What about you, Fujita-kun?"
"I have water affinity but don't use much ninjutsu. I fight from a long distance, so I don't get lots of opportunities to use it in battle. But don't worry, Kakashi will more than make up for that," Katsu reassured Furuya.
"I've heard the stories," Furuya said but didn't appear to believe them.
"I don't know what stories you heard but as annoying as it is, Kakashi's really good at ninjutsu," Obito got upset at the clear lack of faith. Once again, Kakashi found himself surprised by Obito. He never expected the Uchiha to come to his defense.
"They're saying you used a lightning jutsu to take out Gou and eliminated 30 enemy in one-go with another. Sorry if I don't think an eleven-year-old is capable of that," Furuya explained patronizingly.
"They're true," Taiki said with an undertone of steel in his voice. Taiki was the one who heard the kunoichi refuse Kakashi's help because of his father. The teen obviously thought Furuya harbored similar feelings. Kakashi was flattered but knew Taiki's anger was misplaced. He could sense that Furuya did not care about his father and was only judging him for his age. There was also a touch of envy. You didn't survive long as an ANBU if you couldn't get a good read on people.
From the second the team met, Kakashi noticed Furuya immediately take control and treat Katsu as a young captain in need of mentorship. Their interactions quickly set Furuya as the main captain and Katsu as the secondary one. Of course it made sense, Furuya had a lot more experience. Yet simultaneously, the man seemed to have a need to be the leader and probably fancied himself a hero. Kakashi had no patience for that.
"It's fine, Taiki," Kakashi decided to end the conversation before things escalated, "I'll let my actions speak for themselves." That said, hopefully we don't see any action at all, Kakashi prayed again.
He then changed the conversation again, "So Obito tells me you guys enjoy Karuta?" He got all the information he needed. It was safer to maintain the peace by going back to small talk.
"Oi Bakashi, why?!" Obito whined as he saw his squads' eyes light up.
Kakashi refrained from chuckling at Obito's annoyance and instead summoned Bisuke and Akino to help keep an eye, ear and nose out for trouble. Poor Pakkun deserved some rest. Meanwhile Obito's squad quickly launched in glorious praise of the game while his team shared some of their thoughts on the card games they enjoyed. The air became lighter as they moved closer to Hateno Village.
Conversely, the air around Jiraya was thick with tension as the group of four Konoha ninja moved further into Iwa-controlled territory. Despite all of them suppressing their chakra, Jiraya could still feel the nervous pulse hidden beneath the surface. He couldn't blame them. The consequences of failing this mission were the war prolonging and missing the chance to change the tide in Konoha's favor. Jiraya knew every ninja placed on his squad was strong, yet they were all relatively young and weren't used to the weight of the entirety of Konoha on their shoulder.
This brings me back to the Second War, Jiraya thought. Tsunade, Orochimaru… just as we did, there will always be a new generation rising up to protect Konoha. Jiraya shook those thoughts away; he had to focus; this wasn't the time to reminisce over the past like an old man. He'll leave that to when he retires.
Jiraya raised a hand to halt their advancement. Everyone stopped tree hopping and stood still on the next branch, awaiting further commands. "We're almost at the bridge," Jiraya spoke up in a low voice. "Minato should have just started the distraction so it's best to give it a few minutes before we continue. Use this time to steel yourselves and we'll get going again in half an hour."
The ninja scattered into better hidding spots in the area, making sure to continue suppressing their chakra. Jiraya took a swing of water and observed his squad mates. Hyuga Yusei was only 23 years old but had already distinguished himself in tracking. While his taijutsu was average amongst the Hyuga, he was blessed with a Byakugan that could see farther than average, clocking in at 700 meters. Yusei currently had his Byakugan active and was scanning the area around them for any enemies. Despite the Hyuga being known for having a cool head in any situation, Yusei was currently drumming on his leg, clearly restless.
Similarly, Sawamura Seiji's chakra was barely contained as the man kept his eyes on Yusei, worried about the enemy finding them. Although he wasn't from a clan, the man had worked hard to become a well-balanced ninja. Seiji favored kenjutsu to preserve his low pools of chakra and worked hard to develop his chakra control. His hard work made him the perfect choice to become his squad's mandatory medical ninja as per Tsunade's directive. He was told that Seiji picked it up quickly without neglecting his other skills. As such, he was one of the few medics in Konoha that could boast offensive capabilities alongside his medical skills.
Uchiha Noriya, on the other hand, was the picture-perfect Uchiha and radiated confidence. Even though he was the youngest at 19 years of age, as the nephew of Uchiha Noburo, the young man already had experience in high-stake missions. In fact, Noriya was their second strongest combatant. Gifted in ninjutsu, Noriya had already learned three elements: fire, earth and wind. Jiraya wasn't the biggest fan of Uchihas but had to give credit where credit was due. It was quite rare for a ninja with a natural fire affinity to also learn the wind element. Noriya must have trained really hard to learn his opposite nature affinity to power up his fire attacks, Jiraya complimented.
He knew at this point, nothing he could say would reassure them. They have already said everything that needed to be said, and now it was time to implement it. Once they started their attacks, he knew his teammates would be fine. They were all hand-selected for a reason.
Having given Minato enough time, Jiraya commanded the team to start moving again. This time they slowed down their approach knowing there were enemy squads likely defending the bridge up ahead.
As they approached, Hyuga Yusei's chakra spiked lightly, eyes widening. "There are three enemy squads defending the bridge. One of them is Han," he spoke in an urgent whisper.
"The five-tailed jinchuriki?" Sawamura Seiji squeaked in surprise.
"No, the renown sushi chef," Yusei said, deadpan.
"I heard that his sushi is legendary," Jiraya chuckled, hiding his concern as he commanded them to a halt once more. He had hoped that Minato's distraction would take up more resources. How many ninja did Iwa originally have guarding this bridge? Paranoid bastards.
Uchiha Noriya rolled his eyes unamused, "Anyone else worth noting?"
"Nakamura Haruto, and I don't know who he is but there's someone wearing the typical garb of the Kamizuru clan," Yusei replied.
Noriya pursed his lips in annoyance while Seiji face-palmed, "Seriously? What kind of messed up luck is that?"
The Kamizuru clan was the Stone's version of Konoha's Aburame clan, except they were known to host bees. Despite being less versatile than the Aburame, their ninja were similarly well-known as trackers and sensors. They wouldn't be able to sneak up on the bridge easily it seems.
Meanwhile, Nakamura Haruto wasn't the strongest ninja, being only a B-Rank. Yet, he had an arsenal of devastating genjutsu. His main role was to support stronger ninja in distracting enemy ninja. Of course, any second of distraction against Han would be fatal. It was clear which ninja the genjutsu user was supporting.
"Calm down, Sawamura-kun," Jiraya spoke calmly. "Let's discuss the best course of action before engaging."
"The most important thing is to isolate Nakamura and Han," Yusei said, picking up on that fact as well.
"That's going to be the biggest challenge," Noriya said in agreement. "I suggest creating a distraction that makes it clear I am an Uchiha. There's no way Han would leave the bridge unguarded, but there's a good chance Han will command Nakamura to whichever dispatch they send. They'll be afraid of the Sharingan and would want a genjutsu expert to dispel any I cast."
"And how will you create an Uchiha distraction?" Yusei asked. "Most of Konoha use fire ninjutsu."
Jiraya nodded in agreement with Yusei. "Noriya, we're going to have to let you engage and have them see you. For that to work though, we need to make it seem like you are in a four-man cell. Otherwise, they might realize it's a trap." Ninja usually traveled in squads of four.
"Between Nakamura and Kamizuru, they'll recognize a genjutsu. It'll have to be a shadow clone, but I don't know the jutsu," Noriya said.
"Me neither," Seiji chimed in.
"I do," Jiraya said.
Yusei pursed his lips, "Can you afford to split your chakra? You're going to have to fight Han."
Jiraya waved his concern away, "To be on the safe side, I'll only make two clones. Seiji will have to join Noriya."
"They'll probably send only one squad after us," Noriya said. "Will you and Yusei be able to handle a jinchuriki and seven other ninja?"
"What if I transformed into Noriya?" Now was not the time for clan pride and everyone knew that Noriya was the stronger fighter. "They'll sense I'm channeling more chakra to my eyes, so they probably won't suspect a thing."
"But you and Seiji will become susceptible to Nakamura's genjutsu this way," Jiraya shot the idea down. "Our best bet is to have Noriya and Seiji finish off the squad of four rapidly and rejoin us."
"I can't hold down seven ninja by myself," Yusei replied honestly. Han will hold all of Jiraya's attention. "I know we were planning to attack using the element of surprise to take out a whole bunch of enemy at once. But after Noriya and Seiji show up, they'll be on their guard."
Jiraya stretched his hand out and whipped his hair in a ridiculous motion "I may not look like it, but I am a master at infiltration. I'll land the surprise attack no problem."
Yusei could tell Jiraya was confident, and who was he to question it. He trusted the Toad Sannin implicitly. He took a deep breath to calm down and nodded twice, "Ok. Ok, if you say you can do it, I'm in."
"Good man," Jiraya chuckled and gave him a strong pat on the shoulder, making the younger man slightly lose his balance. "In that case, let's do it. That Bridge is going down today!"