Chapter 52: Vice Captain
AN: Uploading another chapter today. Third Division and Fourth Division battlefields will be focused on in the next chapter. As always, thanks for reading!
War Recap:
First Division: Locked in battle by the sea against White Zetsu Army and reanimated shinobi.
Second Division: Hanabi and Kimimaro in Second Division. Captain Kitsuchi died. Kurotsuchi is named new Captain. Izaya arrives.
Third Division: Kakashi, Haku, Guy, Sakura, and Sasuke in this division are currently facing off against the 7 Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist as well as Might Duy, Fugaku, and Tobirama.
Fourth Division: Gaara's company with the aid of Onoki are currently facing the former Kage and Jiraiya. Rasa has already been sealed.
Fifth Division: Aiding the First Division
Others: Hiruzen making his way to the Fourth Division. Itachi and Nagato have been sealed away. Naruto, Bee, Suigetsu, Karin, and Jugo are traveling together.
Chapter 51
A cool breeze softly swept through the air causing several torch lights to flicker back and forth while lighting up the surrounding camp of the Second Division in the night. For now the sound of battle halted as different platoons took their turns on night watch duty. Amongst the many tents in the camp was a medium sized one that was off on the side with the symbol of the Hyuga Clan marked out front. The inside was devoid of any light as two figures lay asleep in comfortable silence beside each other. The sounds of footsteps could be heard coming closer and closer until the sound stopped just outside this exact tent.
"Ahem. Hanabi? Hanabi, are you there?" A voice whispered from the outside. Hanabi let out a soft groan and lazily rubbed her eyes as she looked down at Izaya's peaceful sleeping form. The voice outside the tent said once more, "Hanabi?"
Hanabi turned her head towards the front of the tent as she heard someone whisper once more so she slowly got off the mattress being extra careful not to wake Izaya. She draped a light blanket over her shoulders so as not to expose too much of her skin in her thin nightgown and poked her head outside the tent. "Yes?" She replied as she took note of the shinobi standing outside her tent. He had short brown hair, a chiseled face, bright green eyes, about the same age as Izaya, was 174cm tall and well built. Amongst the many shinobi in the Second Division this shinobi could be noted as one of the more handsome ones.
Hanabi widened her eyes in surprise as she recognized who it was. "Kai? What are you doing here?"
Over the past few days only half of the Second Division remained stationed in this area while the other half left to assist the First Division, therefore everyone at this camp had gotten to know each other pretty well. She and Kai had fought alongside together on more than one occasion and had become well acquainted.
Kai smiled as he stared at Hanabi with interest before replying, "Hey Hanabi! Were you sleeping just now? Sorry to wake you."
Hanabi shook her head, "It's alright. Did you need something?"
Kai stared at Hanabi a bit longer than normal causing her to raise her brow with impatience.
"Ahem. You look pretty tonight." He finally let out.
Hanabi furrowed her brow in annoyance. "Don't tell me that's why you woke me up." She responded with a frown as she thought back to a certain someone's peaceful sleeping form inside the tent and how it'd be much nicer to go back to that instead of standing here outside. Kai rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Er...Well, actually, since you're one of the platoon leaders Captain Kurotsuchi wanted you to come to the main tent. We just learnt that HQ was attacked last night and HQ hadn't set up an effective way to communicate to the other Divisions at that time so not much got accomplished. That's why the Captain is calling all the platoon leaders back to the main tent right now as HQ finally acquired the manpower to form a more stable means of communications. Since you and I are platoon leaders I thought we could go together."
At this moment inside the tent I rolled over a bit and moved my hand to Hanabi's side of the mattress as I attempted to pull her closer to my chest only to grab nothing but empty air. I immediately snapped out of my sleepy state and sat straight up on the bed as I looked around for her. I turned towards the front of the tent and let out a sigh of relief as I felt Hanabi's presence just outside. I stood up in the darkness of the room and stretched my arms and back letting out a quiet yawn as I made my way over. "Hanabi, what're you doing out here?" I said groggily as I lifted up the flap of the tent and stood right behind her still completely shirtless, albeit several white bandage wraps did cover my frame.
"Hm?" I voiced as I noticed another shinobi in our presence.
Hanabi turned her head slightly to look at me and smiled apologetically. "Izaya, sorry, did we wake you?"
I shook my head and smiled warmly at her as the memory of our confession to each other a few hours earlier flitted pass my mind. She smiled just as warmly back at me until we both heard a loud, "AHEM!" We both snapped out of our thoughts remembering that we weren't alone. Hanabi stepped to the side a bit as she introduced, "Izaya, this is Kai. Kai, this is Izaya."
I tilted my head in confusion as I noticed the contorted expression on his face, but nodded in his direction acknowledging his presence and greeted, "Hello." I took note of the sour face he made as he stared at me with daggers only making me more confused. Pretty sure I've never met this guy before...Why does he seem so hostile? I silently thought. He finally greeted back and said, "Hello." Narrowing his eyes he continued, "Izaya is it? You do realize who's tent this is, right?"
I looked behind me noticing the symbol of the Hyuga Clan before turning back to Kai. "I do. This is the tent of the Hyuga Clan and more so, the personal tent of one of the Second Division's platoon leaders, Hyuga Hanabi."
Kai clench his fist as he replied with gritted teeth, "Then might I ask why you emerged from her tent? And furthermore why you happen to be half naked?"
At this moment I mentally smirked knowing exactly why this guy named Kai seemed so agitated. So he's interested in Hanabi huh? Should I mess with him a bit? I pondered amusedly to myself. Kai snapped me out of my thoughts as he said, "Well?"
Just as Hanabi was about to intervene I stuck out my left hand and grabbed her arm pulling her into my embrace which caused her face to flush pink. "Izaya? What are you doing?" She asked sheepishly. I held her close to my chest and replied, "I don't know. I just really missed you all of a sudden and wanted to hold you closer since I couldn't find you next to me when I woke up. Do you not like it?"
Hanabi's cheeks turned completely red as she softly buried her face in my chest and arms. "Hmpf. You're teasing me again. But this is okay too."
I smirked and turned back to face Kai thinking to myself, if looks could kill I'd probably be dead...Oh...Wait, I suppose looks could kill if he had the Sharingan or a special Dojutsu...Ah well technicalities.
It was at this moment that Hanabi snapped back to reality, pushed off my chest and shouted, "Ah! We can't be idling around here! Captain Kurotsuchi has called for another meeting. We can't keep her waiting too long." She then rushed back inside her tent leaving Kai and I alone. He spoke up first without concealing his hostility. "Who the hell are you?! Hanabi and I have fought life and death battles together! You're just a complete stranger! Don't think that just because you have good looks that you can do whatever you want! If you want to play around then go bother some other poor soul. Hanabi is special! She deserves better than you!"
I frowned and clenched my fist at Kai's remark. "You're right. You and Hanabi have fought alongside each other and protected each other in this war. I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart for protecting her. But don't you dare say that you know what she deserves. You don't even know who I am. Who are you to judge whether I'm fit to be with her or not. And just so you know, whether or not you would be willing, I would gladly give my life for her. She's more important to me than you know. If you're jealous then fine. But don't go spouting your bullshit to me." I turned around and re-entered the tent leaving behind a frustrated looking Kai.
Hanabi took note of our little argument outside and looked at me apologetically. "Izaya...Sorry. You just returned from a harsh battle and even saved the camp from being completely destroyed. Kai wasn't around at that time so he doesn't know how great you are. Don't listen to anything he said."
I let out a soft sigh and walked over to Hanabi hugging her one more time prompting her lips to curl involuntarily in a smile. "You've been hugging me a lot lately..." she quickly followed up, "not that I'm complaining."
I closed my eyes and replied, "It's because when I feel you physically in my arms I know it's real...and it helps me relax. Besides, were you trying to defend that Kai guy earlier by saying that he wasn't around so he doesn't know how great I am to justify his actions?"
Hanabi pouted. "You know what I meant. Stop teasing me. I'm always on your side no matter what okay."
"He is right about what he said though. How you both fought alongside each other and protected each other on the battlefield. That creates a sort of bond between people that are stronger than most other bonds."
She looked up at me and smirked. "Jealous?"
"Maybe."
"Heh. Good. But you don't have to worry. I think that the bond you and I have is the strongest."
"...Mn. Good. You better."
Hanabi smiled before pushing off my chest and handed me some clean clothes. "Alright get dressed. You're going with me to the meeting. Even though you're technically not a platoon leader with the Second Division, the fact that you could stop a full on attack from a tailed beast bomb means that your words hold incredible weight. When did you get so strong as to be able to do that anyways?"
I poked her forehead before putting on the clean clothes she gave me. "I remember telling you a long time ago that I was strong. Believe me now?"
I watched her cute face puff up as she started walking out of the tent. "I know you're teasing me, but other people might think that you're boasting. You should be a bit more humble."
"Yes ma'am!" I grinned. I quickly grabbed Muramasa and strapped it back to my waist before chasing after her. To my surprise Kai was actually still waiting outside the tent for us. He noticed my presence as well but ignored me and turned towards Hanabi. "You ready Hanabi?"
I watched Hanabi awkwardly nod her head before she quickly grabbed my hand pulling me to her side. "Let's go. We've delayed long enough." She said and started walking off while pulling me along. I noted the scowl on Kai's face as he trekked behind us in silence. It wasn't long before we made our way back to the main tent with several guards surrounding it.
"Halt." One of the guards said.
"Platoon leaders and high ranking officials only." Another stated.
One glanced at Hanabi and Kai saying, "Ms. Hanabi and Mr. Kai are free to enter as you both are platoon leaders."
Kai triumphantly smirked and commented, "Well looks like you're out of luck here Izaya. This is a gathering for the ELITE members of the shinobi alliance where we make incredibly important decisions." He then turned towards Hanabi. "Let's go. We can't keep them waiting. I'm sure Izaya can find his way back to his OWN tent."
At that moment Kurotsuchi's voice could be heard from inside the tent. "I heard someone say Izaya? Let him in."
The guards stepped to the side granting me entry as I observed Kai's confused and sour expression. I simply shrugged my shoulders and shook my head in disapproval of his actions walking inside with Hanabi beside me. As we got inside I took note of everyone present standing around several people in the middle from the intelligence division who interlocked their hands together forming hand signs. I walked over to stand next to Kimimaro and Neji with Hanabi beside me. After we settled in Kurotsuchi finally spoke. "Alright, everyone's here now."
Kai quickly interrupted. "Excuse me Captain, my apologies for speaking out of turn. I was just wondering why someone with no merits like Izaya is here?"
Kurotsuchi and several other people frowned at Kai's comment. She stared at Kai which put him under a formless pressure for several seconds before she responded, "Do not interrupt me again. I will say this only once. Izaya is an invaluable asset to our shinobi alliance. I've heard of his exploits and feats from the Fifth Hokage during the war meetings. I didn't really think that it would matter much if he returned in time to participate in the war or not. After all he is just one shinobi. However, after yesterday's incident when Madara attacked and was about to cause massive destruction to this camp by unleashing a Tailed Beast Bomb, it was Izaya who saved us and prevented the destruction." She turned to look at me and said, "I don't know what you've been up to until now but the fact is that you are here now and your strength is needed." She then returned her attention to everyone else. "Anymore unnecessary questions?"
After a moment of silence she nodded her head. "Good. Then let's begin. HQ has finally got their hands on enough manpower to establish a decent connection with all intelligence division members in the alliance. They'll be making contact soon with all the leaders of each division."
It was at this moment that the four shinobi in the center of the tent lifted their heads and said, "HQ is starting the connection. We will link everyone in this tent to HQ and the rest of the division leaders."
Zing!
Everyone felt a slight ripple in their minds before we all noticed that we were connected to HQ and the other division leaders throughout the alliance. The first to break the silence was Gaara. "What exactly happened?"
Tsunade sighed as she explained, "We were ambushed at HQ. Somehow Kabuto managed to reanimate the Second Hokage and Uchiha Itachi. He used their reanimated bodies to attack us. The Second Hokage had a Flying Thunder God marker in one of the rooms set up from a long time ago so they were able to bypass the barriers and traps that were set up. Everyone died except for the Raikage and I. Shikamaru and Ino have taken up the mantle of their fathers, Shikaku and Inoichi. What we need to discuss right now is where we're going to move HQ. We're currently moving about and if we can't find one stable place to strategize and give orders then the alliance is going to constantly be disadvantaged."
There was a moment of pause before I decided to chime in as I had already learnt about this incident from Hanabi earlier so I knew that this time's war would be drastically different from the war I knew about. "Lord Fifth, if a new HQ needs to be setup then I suggest placing it at one of the division battlefields."
Tsunade widened her eyes in surprise as she recognized the voice. "Izaya? Is that you? When did you get back? Never mind, don't answer that. Why do you suggest setting up HQ at one of the battlefields?"
"Yes, it is me, Izaya. The reason is because the enemy has reanimated extremely powerful shinobi and we don't know when they might employ a similar or an even more underhanded tactic, hence HQ will need powerful shinobi to stand as guards. However, many of the skilled shinobi from each nation is out on the battlefields fighting the war. It'd be safer to have HQ at one of the battlefields where it'd be surrounded by skilled shinobi at all times. I suggest having HQ move to either the Third Division battlefield or the Second Division battlefield."
The Raikage spoke up next. "Hm...Your idea sounds fine, why the Third or Second only?"
"I may have only just returned but I've heard about the current situation on each battlefield. The First division is too chaotic. There's the disadvantage of being by the sea which gives more power to the reanimated Zabuza and Kisame. There's also Deidara bombing from the sky and Sasori's 100 puppets technique mixed with his potent poisons on top of an army of White Zetsu's that can mimic other shinobi. There are too many variables and it causes too much stress. Adding protecting HQ on their list could break them. The Fourth Division is fighting against previous Kage. The Kazekage and Tsuchikage are there while the Third Hokage and Naruto should be arriving there soon. Although the enemies are Kage the situation should still be manageable with Naruto and three Kage from the alliance there. That means the Fourth Division could win that fight. If they do win then they should go to provide support for everyone else. The Fifth Division is already helping the First. That leaves only the Third Division or the Second Division as these two battlefields don't seem like they'll be ending soon and they are the least chaotic, so HQ won't have to move a lot and defending it will be a more manageable task."
Everyone listening in on the conversation took a moment to contemplate my suggestion before agreeing. Kakashi broke the silence first. "Izaya's plan sounds like the best course of action to take. I suggest HQ move to the Second Division battlefield. We're having a bit of a difficult time ourselves. We have to face Might Duy who can utilize the Eight Inner Gates Formation without exhaustion as his body won't feel the backlash of the technique. Guy on the other hand needs a lot of rest in between use in order to recover. We also have to face off against Uchiha Fugaku. Sasuke has helped a great deal to alleviate the pressure from Fugaku's assault but the Second Hokage is also here. It appears he joined this fight after the enemy had him attack HQ. We're only managing to hold him off thanks to Haku. What I'm most worried about though is if the enemy has Duy activate the 8th Gate."
Onoki responded next. "Ugh...That does sound like a problem. One should not take the 8th Gate's release likely. And with his reanimated body he could cause massive casualties on his own to the alliance."
I shook my head to myself as I asked, "Kakashi-senpai, you said that he hasn't released his 8th Gate yet right? Has he unleashed any of the other Gates?"
Kakashi nodded. "He has, up to the 7th. But only the 7th so far, why?"
"I suspect that the enemy is hesitant on letting Duy use the 8th Gate and so your division shouldn't need to worry too much about that possibility unless the enemy is truly cornered and left with no other options. Therefore, continue your fight with everyone carefully. Try to seal Duy first."
Hiruzen was also listening to our conversation so he chimed in, "Why do you believe that the enemy is hesitant on having Duy activate the 8th Gate Izaya?"
"Hiruzen-sensei, to my knowledge, the release of the 8th Gate allows one to temporarily gain immeasurable power greater than that of the Five Kage. A technique that strong means that it's possible Might Duy would become so powerful that he would be able to break free from the control of the Reanimation Jutsu and use that power to assist the alliance in defeating the other reanimated shinobi on that battlefield. Then, after the use of the 8th Gate his body would probably breakdown needing the reanimation to put his body back together. At that time the sealing corps would be able to seal his body without any hindrances and the battle would be won for the Third Division."
Everyone who was listening contemplated my analysis and agreed that it sounded like a very plausible theory. Onoki chimed in and said, "Oi, Third Hokage, so you are in this mental meeting as well. How far away are you anyway?"
"Ahem. I should arrive in the morning. I was delayed from a fierce battle. My apologies." Hiruzen responded.
The Raikage A commented at this moment, "You are Izaya huh? It appears the Leaf has quite a capable shinobi. We are nearing the time limit before HQ has to move again. Your suggestion from earlier sounds like a good plan. Which Division are you currently stationed at?"
"The Second Division." I replied.
"Then that is where we'll move HQ. We'll arrive in a few hours." Tsunade said.
Before the connection was lost Kurotsuchi said, "Come from the south side. Konan has placed traps on the east and north side."
"Very well." A replied.
I lifted up my head as I felt the connection cut off only to feel everyone's eyes on me at this moment. Kurotsuchi broke the silence first. "Izaya, I didn't know you were such a strategist. To think that you'd be the one to lead the discussion amongst the leaders of the shinobi alliance. It's a shame you weren't around for the pre-war talks."
I shook my head. "I merely gave my suggestion. It's nothing impressive."
"No, you're wrong. On the contrary what you just did was very impressive. Under the pressure of this war everyone has been on edge and are constantly stressed. In these conditions it becomes hard for anyone to come up with a plan so quickly and analyze situations as well as you did. I recognize your talent, and so, by my authority as Captain of the Second Division I hereby name you Vice Captain. That is an order."
"Eh? Me?" I said in shock as I pointed to myself and looked around the room. Other than Kai who looked unhappy the expressions of everyone else's face showed that they were expecting an outcome like this. I felt Hanabi squeeze my hand encouragingly.
Kurotsuchi said it was an order and she said it in front of so many people which means I can't even refuse the position even if I wanted to. She sure knows how to get what she wants. I let out an inward sigh and saluted everyone in the room. "I accept the position as Vice Captain. On my charge I will do my utmost to assist Captain Kurotsuchi and the entirety of the Second Division, no, the entirety of the Allied Shinobi Forces to victory!"
"Yeah!"
"Congratulations!"
"We're counting on you!"
"Do your best!"
Words of congratulations and encouragement could be heard all around the tent for a few minutes before everyone slowly trickled out of the room except for Kurotsuchi and I. "Is there something you need of me Captain?"
"Yes. I'd like to discuss with you on a plan of action regarding the battle here. I'm sure you've heard about most of the situation from Hanabi already but I'll brief you anyway. We're fighting a two front war here against both reanimated shinobi and White Zetsu. The reanimated shinobi are Hanzo, Chiyo, Yamanaka Fu, Torune, and Konan. Currently our forces are suffering from Hanzo and Chiyo's use of poison. Fu and Torune are manageable right now since they mainly need to get close in order to do any real damage but Konan is a tricky opponent. Her paper bomb techniques and ability to fly make her hard to deal with. I want to hear if you have any suggestions."
"Hmmm...It might have been tough dealing with Hanzo and Chiyo's poison before but once HQ gets here we'll have the aid of Lord Fifth Hokage. She's fought against Hanzo before and countered Chiyo's many poisons in the past so she should be able to deal with those matters. Fu and Torune shouldn't be a huge problem since Torune needs to get close to his target to be effective. Fu can only use his mind controlling Jutsu on one person at a time which will leave him vulnerable on the battlefield. Since that's the case we can predict who he'll target and that's most likely the leaders of the battlefield. Knowing who he'll likely target makes it easy to counter him. We have Neji, Hinata, and Hanabi on our side. With their Byakugan they can easily find Fu before he has a chance to use his Jutsu and defeat him. To deal with Torune we should have long range Fire Style and Earth Style users engage him. Earth Style to hinder his movements and Fire Style to counter his poisonous bugs. Even though the Second Division specializes in short range combat there ought to be a few members who can utilize long range Jutsu. Leave Chiyo to Kimimaro. Chiyo only utilizes her poison by coating the weapons of her puppets. With Kimimaro's bone manipulation Kekkei Genkai it'll be hard for her to injure him and Maro is highly skilled. With the right team to support him, he should be able to fight without any hindrances and defeat her. We'll let Lord Fifth take out Hanzo. To deal with Konan the best person to combat her would be you Captain Kurotsuchi. I've heard about your abilities to use the Quicklime Lava Style. The liquid cement nature of your Jutsu is the perfect counter to stop her paper techniques. If you can successfully coat her body once with your Jutsu her technique will be useless. As for the White Zetsu army, leave it to me."
I watched Kurotsuchi silently contemplate as she rubbed the bottom of her chin before she slammed her palm with her fist excitedly. "Alright! Your plan actually sounds pretty doable. I'll also discuss with HQ when they arrive. How exactly do you plan to deal with the army of White Zetsu?"
I smirked. "Do you remember how the Fourth Hokage won a battle against 1000 Iwagakure shinobi?"
The look on Kurotsuchi's face immediately widened in surprise at the realization. I took that chance to pull out one of my special kunai and said, "I'll use the same strategy by using these. I have plenty of these kunai stored in scrolls. As long as the alliance members throw these out on the battlefield I'm confident in taking care of the rest. Naruto's clone already swept through the camp to ensure no White Zetsu has infiltrated by impersonating someone, and the security checks have been well done since then so we shouldn't have to worry much about the identity of our fellow alliance members."
I took note of Kurotsuchi's complicated look on her face and knew that she was somewhat conflicted since I was about to use the same strategy to defeat the White Zetsu army that the Fourth used to defeat her village's shinobi during the Third Great Ninja War. In the end she let out a long defeated sigh and said, "Very well. I can't believe that I'm consenting to a battle tactic that was used to defeat us in the last Great Ninja War but it can't be helped. If you're capable of accomplishing the same feat the Fourth Hokage was with this strategy then I'm glad this Great Ninja War isn't one between village's. I think we all would have suffered at your hands otherwise."
"Don't worry, I wouldn't dream of using it against the alliance, Captain."
"Hmpf. You're dismissed."
I nodded my head and left the tent, but not before I heard her whisper, "Cheeky bastard..."
Just as Tsunade had stated, a few hours later the members making up the new HQ arrived at our camp and set up a special tent. I walked over after they settled in to greet Tsunade.
"Lord Fifth!"
She turned her head and nodded in acknowledgement of my presence. "Izaya, I see you finally decided to join us. Kurotsuchi already filled us in on the details of your plan. It sounds plausible. If all goes well, we should soon have the advantage despite having only half of the Second Division stationed here. We'll put your plan into action after I've made my rounds to the field hospital and assessed everyone's condition. I need to administer the antidote to Hanzo and Chiyo's poisons and get everyone back up to fighting shape."
"Mn. Then we can only do that. I need to rest and build up my chakra anyways. I need ample time to store up enough for the future battles."
"Did something happen to your ability to heal?"
"Sort of. I don't know how long it'll take for me to make a full recovery but I do know that my condition is only temporary."
Tsunade frowned as she placed her hand on my forehead and frowned some more. "What happened? Your chakra and vitality flow are extremely slow. Even your chakra reserves seemed like they dropped. At this rate it will take you a few days to be in fighting shape."
I let out a sigh and nodded. "I know. Like I said, my condition is only temporary. I just don't know how long it will last though. Could be a few weeks, months, maybe a year before I recover my peak condition. But I feel that once I recover I'll be even stronger than I was before. Give and take I suppose."
Tsunade just let out another long sigh as she started walking out of the tent. "Alright, rest up then. We won't be heading out for a serious confrontation for another week or so anyways. That's plenty of time for you to recover enough chakra for battle. In the meantime, if you've got other ideas don't hesitate to let us know. Especially discussing with Shikamaru."
I watched Tsunade head for the field hospitals after she finished saying what she had to, leaving me standing all alone awkwardly in the middle of the giant tent. "So the Second Hokage was revived...Then the possibility that Kabuto can revive the First Hokage is pretty high. It must be because the First and Second weren't sealed away by the Reaper Death Seal. At least he won't be able to revive the Fourth Hokage then. The question is whether he has the real Madara in his hands this time as well." I walked out of the tent and stared up at the dark sky whispering to myself. "I hope Haku is doing alright."
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
-- Power
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