Kushina dodged under punch launched by one of Jiro"s shadow clones before she activated the scroll she had created with much effort. The deluge of wind that was launched blew the clone away but as it turned in mid air, Kushina was already done with the hand seals. A torrent of flames was unleashed from her mouth as a flood of water was unleashed from the mouth of the clone.Kushina quickly switched to another scroll that launched a blast of wind which turned the flood of water into a bunch of scattered raindrops. As the water continued to fall, the shadow clone disappeared with the droplets of water. Kushina tried to recall a time when she saw the clones of Jiro be able to switch the material they were made from.
As she sensed something, Kushina instantly jumped before unleashing a gust of wind that blew her away from the grasping arms of the shadow clone from underground. As she was heading towards the ground, a clone made of water appeared behind her and kicked her towards the clone on the ground.
Using the momentum, Kushina prepared to crash into the clone, but she got a face full of dirt instead as she crashed into a dirt mound prepared by the clone. Despite the failure, Kushina continued to fight and quickly rolled away as the clone stomped on where she had been earlier. She warily eyed the shadow clone and the water clone as they both stared back at her.
"Kai."
Genjutsu broken, Kushina narrowly avoided a head kick from the shadow clone, but she was unable to avoid the body blow from the shadow clone which burst from the ground once more. Kushina pulled out her kunai and got prepared for a close combat phase, but she was knocked to the floor as both clones unleashed a flood of water at her.
Doused and defeated, Kushina groggily got up shaking her head as the two clones gave her a thumbs up before dispersing away. As she walked on her way home, Kushina looked at the empty house which her sensei and Homura senpai used to occupy before moving past it with a faint sigh. The streets which had once been full of people were not as full.
Everyone was preparing for war including the citizens of the nation. People got out less as they tried to preserve their money and only spend it on stockpiling goods. Businesses also closed except for ones that specialized in making weapons as everyone was preparing to contribute towards the war effort.
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Jiro smiled as he got the information from the clones on how Kushina was improving in her techniques and fighting style. He took off the white mask which had dragon like features engraved onto it and stretched his somewhat tired body. His once long hair was cut to a short length and it was oil from not having been washed for days.
The other darkly dressed shin.o.bi nearby also took off their masks which had a Sharingan engraved on where the forehead would be. Most of the shin.o.bi present were once part of the police force but they were transferred to work under Jiro who had become the head of a division of shin.o.bi responsible for wiping out the shin.o.bi that would try to sneak into places where they didn"t belong.
As he cleaned the mask of the blood that stained it, Jiro recalled how he had been called back to the village about a year ago to become the head of this division of shin.o.bi. It hadn"t been pleasant as he still wanted to teach Kushina, but he had received letters from many friends who described that even though war wasn"t declared, it was already a war.
Jiro put the mask on once more as did the rest of the shin.o.bi. Surrounding them were the slain bodies of Anbu from k.u.mogakure.
"They should just join the war instead of constantly trying to sneak in. It would be better if we could just wipe them out."
Many shin.o.bi present agreed with the person that spoke as did Jiro. He was already sick of the k.u.mo nin who kept on trying to sneak past their borders and perhaps get into Konoha. After wiping out several squads and taking several members to be interrogated, the order to just wipe them out did not come yet.
As such, Jiro and his division was forced to just watch the borders between Konoha and k.u.mo to prevent them from sneaking in.
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In a tent, a white haired young man and his companions were silent with no words to express their tumultuous emotions. They had all received a prophecy from their respective summons clan and it was not prophecy that brought smiles. Each of them recalled the prophecy that shook their mind.
"Beware the fourth that joined with you. He will walk the path to destroy this world. Chosen are present, yet the chosen have not yet been born so watch with wary eyes."
Finally, Jiraiya slammed the table. Despite the words continuing to ring in his ears, he couldn"t believe it.
"There"s no way that Jiro would be the one to destroy the world. Sure he might be the one to mess with it just for kicks, but destroy it? I can"t accept it!"
Even with the outburst, there was only silence. Finally, Tsunade walked out.
"I"ve got to talk with Dan about implementing three man teams that include a medic. I think that it"ll help keep many alive."
Orochimaru grabbed Jiraiya"s arm and finally whispered something back with a hoa.r.s.e voice. Jiraiya slumped down onto a chair as he bitterly chuckled.
"Let"s just hope that the prophecy is wrong. I still don"t know where the chosen are."
Orochimaru and Jiraiya both exited from the tent and came face to face with their battlefield, the lands of Amegakure. There was a silence present that usually did not last for long and the both enjoyed it as Orochimaru pealed off a silencing seal on the tent.