The Hope of the Senju Clan

Chapter 39: Rock Princess

-Tsuchikage Mansion, Iwa-

Sitting at his desk, the Sandaime Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, was busy at work, looking over at several mission reports he had received from the front lines.

Looking at the reports, the old Kage frowned at what he was reading. The attacks on Hi no Kuni (Fire Country's) borders weren't going as well as he and the council had expected. Konoha was putting up better resistance than they had anticipated, even after the damage their forces suffered in the recent invasion. Things were made even more difficult thanks to the recent treaties Konoha had made with Suna and Ame, which limited the places Iwa could attack from, since to attack Konoha they had to travel through one of four nations. Now that Suna and Ame had sided with Konoha, the only other nation they could travel through safely was Taki no Kuni (Waterfall Country). Kusa no Kuni (Grass Country) was out of the question due to the bad blood Kusagakure (Hidden Grass) had with his village after the Third Great Shinobi World War.

"Damn, Konoha," grumbled the irritable Tsuchikage, Konoha had always been a difficult village to deal with. Regardless of the fact that Iwa's military strength was superior to theirs, the village somehow always managed to overcome whatever was thrown at them. But what aggravated Ōnoki even more, was how the village was able to produce so many outstanding Shinobi, Shinobi like the Densetsu no Sannin (Legendary Three Ninja), Konoha no Shiroi Kiba (Konoha's White Fang) Hatake Sakumo, and his son Hatake Kakashi the Kopī Ninja (Copycat Ninja). This was of course only naming a few, and not counting the four previous Hokage, who all proved their worth multiple times on the battlefield. "It's almost as if Konoha is favoured by the Heavens...but if this goes right, that will soon change."

Shortly after, the Sandaime's train of thought was interrupted by the sound of someone knocking on his door. Responding with an "Enter," the door opened, revealing his son Kitsuchi.

Unlike his father, Kitsuchi was a tall and brawny man. He had dark eyes and grey-coloured hair that ended in a ponytail along with a beard and a bulbous nose. He wore the standard Iwagakure Shinobi uniform with a left sleeve and a right lapel and wore his forehead protector around his right arm.

"You called, Sandaime-sama?"

"I did" grunted the small Kage, before indicating for him to take a seat. "It regards the special assignment I gave you earlier."

At the mention of his special assignment, the veteran Jonin stiffened, knowing what this mission could mean. "Have you received some information relating to the target?"

"Yes" nodded the aged Kage. "One of our deep cover agents sent word that the target is being assigned on patrol duty along the Ame no Kuni and Hi no Kuni border."

"Strange, I thought Ame and Konoha recently agreed to a mutual defensive pact, why do they need to increase their border patrols there?" Kitsuchi asked, curious by Konoha's actions.

"Because thanks the treaty Ame has to re-establish their defensives around their western and eastern borders, this will leave some gaps in their lines for a brief time. That girl Tsunade knows this, which is why she is sending extra patrols there to monitor the borders until Ame's has secured them" explained the Tsuchikage, where Kitsuchi nodded his head, since it made sense.

"What are the details of the mission?" Kitsuchi enquired, before being handed a folder by his father.

"I want you and your team to attack the group, capture target and bring him back here...alive."

"What of the others?"

"They're to be eliminated" answered Ōnoki. "I don't want anyone reporting back to Konoha telling them what happened. You and your team are to make it look like Ame or one of the other villages is responsible. I don't want anything linking back to us."