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Arc V Chapter 8

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Dismayed, Danzo was bogged down in an unproductive discussion. Fu, Torune, Sai provided sparse information at best. They were going in circles for a while.

Danzo pinched his nose in desperation. ”And what about poisoning her?” Danzo hoped for a lucky shot. He waited for a reply, and waited, and waited, and waited.

Fu and Torune exchanged looks before Torune took the word. He rarely spoke. ”Unlikely to succeed based on our assessments.”

Danzo furrowed his eyebrow. Had he already tried to poison her?

Torune, the toxin domestic expert, disappointed. ”We tried to explore possible ways to make her retire”, I put a non-lethal dose once into her morning tea to test her resistance. The results proved disappointing.“

“The poison showed no visible effects besides a bitter aftertaste. We assume she developed a poison resistance like the majority of high ranking ninja due to her high chakra level.”

Danzo clicked his tongue. “A sneak attack?” Next try.

Fu shook his head. ” Possible, but difficult.”

“Her sharingan grants her extraordinary reflexes and perception, which renders any kind of sneak attack exceedingly difficult.“

“We have to strike at an unexpected moment, but such moments are rare, except when in combat.”

“Continue.” Danzo listened with renewed interest.

Fu explained. ”From what we observed, Asami suffers from a pronounced superiority complex, which leads her to underestimate her opponents. She grows careless when fighting inferior enemies unworthy of her attention, and carelessness leads to mistakes. That is our opportunity.”

“Interesting.“Danzo grinned.

”So we should engage her full force when she is distracted by fighting Suna and Oto? What's your opinion, Sai?” Danzo his disciple whose opinion He valued.

Sai chose his words carefully. ”Asami is undoubtedly a gifted kunoichi, an enemy beyond our capabilities.”

“She is well-versed in ninjutsu. Especially in Katon and Raiton. Despite some deficiencies in the technical and aesthetic department, her kenjutsu and taijutsu are both adequate.”

“Asami possesses vast chakra reserves and the necessary staying power to use them to their fullest.“

“And To make things worse, her Susanoo grants her extraordinary defensive capabilities.”

“Asami is a powerful kunoichi without glaring weaknesses. Both her offence and her defence are strong.“

“I fear we can defeat her only with superior numbers and by sheer attrition. Any victory will be a costly victory.”

Danzo fell silent. Sai confirmed his fears. Asami was one of those juggernauts, invincible unless you drowned them in blood.

Danzo didn't have the necessary number of bodies to adopt an attrition strategy. He hardly had a battalion’s worth of ANBU under his command.

Asami was still at the very beginning of her career, and he didn’t expect his new nemesis to grow weaker in the years to come. It was now or never unless he wanted another Madara to knock on his door.

His hand wandered towards his disabled arm. It was necessary to take a more active stance in this operation. The time had come to use his powers.

Danzo gripped his arm. His right eye itched. Sometimes, he regretted having sacrificed his arm and his eye, but his regrets didn't last long. Minor inconveniences were a small price to pay in exchange for the sharingan.

Unlike the Uchiha, his blood didn't grace him with inherited powers and privileges. He had to pay for the powers that were gifted to Asami by virtue of her birth.

Danzo spoke, ”Fu, Torune, Sai, order all available Root ninja to mobilise. Put them on standby.“

“Their services will be required at the chunin exams. We will need every last man.“

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Fumihiko felt the stinging pain of betrayal, the pain of Asami’s betrayal.

Asami rammed a dagger straight through his chest and struck his heart.

Fumihiko scanned the room, but failed to spot her. Asami betrayed, abandoned, sacrificed him without the slightest sign of hesitation. The ice princess had thrown him under the horse cart for little personal gains.

She left him alone with all the hard work, the planning, the organising.

Asami waved her hand and sent him to the front line armed with her evil smile and a number of encouraging words.

Asami hid behind her umbrella of wordiness, but Fumihiko knew exactly what Asami meant by “outsourcing”, “redeployment of available manpower”, “organisational restructuring“, “rationalisation of the working processes”.

His knowledge didn't protect Fumihiko from his fate, a tragedy.

Fumihiko sighed. He tried to protest, but Asami suppressed his feeble rebellion with a soft giggle, His job was non-union job and resistance was futile. And that was the short version of how he got here.

Fumihiko met two impatient stares. A man and a woman, two jonin waited for Asami who sadly went missing.

Fumihiko needed her, and he needed her now.

“Do you have any questions?”Fumihiko sweated. He certainly didn't experience a mental meltdown.

He played for time in the hope reinforcements would eventually arrive. After all, Asami couldn’t have forgotten him, could she?

“No questions? Then we can continue with the next part of our presentation …”

Shibi, a grey-coated jonin and head of the Aburame clan, interrupted him. His voice remained calm and controlled. ” I have a question, Fumihiko.“

“Where is our commanding officer, Fumihiko?”

“Where is our illusive Asami? We are waiting, and my patience is running thin.” Shibi drummed his fingers on the desk.

Fumihiko smiled. “Don’t worry, Shibi, she is already on the way.” Hopefully.

“On the way, you say?” Tsume joined the discussion. “You mean on the way like the last three times?”

“...” Fumihiko maintained his smile. ”I assure you, Tsume, she will come, this time.”

“Sure.“ Tsume clicked her tongue. Her Inuzuka dog seconded her opinion. “We are already waiting two hours, so she doesn't need to hurry. We have time ...”

The door slammed open and all eyes turned.

Fumihiko spotted the late-coming intruder. Asami entered the room dressed in her wrinkled satin pyjama, her perfect hair messy and chaotic, her hands hidden within her long sleeves. Asami overslept.

Asami took another bite out of her chocolate muffin, her improvised breakfast.

The sweet baked sin of sugar and cacao filled her cheeks, This was pure happiness.

She took a slight detour to get her muffin, but it was definitely worth it. She should order more of them, one, two, three, four, a few thousands.

Asami's eyes swept across the room. "Inininamamamnmomomomnenmenenementmtntnt"

Fumihiko blinked. His brain ceased to work. He didn't understand the world. Even Tsume's dog looked confused.

Asami greedily devoured her muffin like a hamster without a hint of shame, or guilt. As if she hadn't made them wait a small eternity.

Asami finished her breakfast and clasped her hands together. "My apologies, it appears that I am a tiny bit late today. I encountered a variety of complications that prevented ... my timely arrival."

"Fortunately, my trusted subordinate has already started with the presentation, which saves us some time."

Asami inspected the map behind her, a tactical map of Konoha. "Fumihiko, how much time do we have left?"

...

...

...

"15 minutes, I guess."

Asami rejoiced. " Excellent, 15 minutes are plenty."

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