Chapter 709: A Long Vacation to the Land of Winds!
Shikaku continued explaining his calculations, "If Orochimaru hadn't fought you in the second round, then they might have attacked us with just the two of them. Even more so if Jiraiya-sama wasn't in the village.
However, Orochimaru's attack warned us about their possible plans, which made us call Jiraiya-sama back. In addition, they became aware of your real strength. Now they know that they'll have to deal with you, Jiraiya-sama and Hokage-sama. So, it is very unlikely that they'll attack without involving a third or perhaps even a fourth rank S ninja."
He paused and glanced at Hiruzen before continuing, "My initial thought was that they might recruit Akatsuki's help. However, he has received intel that Orochimaru is no longer involved with Akatsuki. Or rather, he betrayed them. So, that isn't a threat for now.
However, considering how unexpectedly Akuro appeared, it won't be too strange if they find someone like him. In fact, they might even ally with him considering that he attacked Root in the past. Regardless of who it is, they will make some arrangements."
Fujin nodded and said, "I see. Yeah, that makes sense. They'll be outnumbered if they're attacking the village. So they will want to compensate quantity with quality. I guess my job will be to deal with this unknown factor."
A smirk appeared on Shikaku's face as he answered, "Once again, no."
Fujin raised an eyebrow but there was no change in Shikaku's expression. Seeing Shikaku enjoying the suspense, Fujin let out a sigh and muttered, "You should've said that you're going to talk in riddles for so long. I'd have brought some Ramen along."
Shikaku chuckled and explained, "As he said earlier, Orochimaru will make plans to counter you. Whoever they recruit will have a way to either counter or restrict you. At the very least, that ninja will keep you occupied during the duration of the battle. That'll put a major dent in our counterattacking capabilities.
So, unless there is no choice, you'll stay clear of any other rank S ninja who show up. Instead, Guy will be the one to deal with them. He'll open the Sixth or the Seventh Inner Gate depending on the enemy and kill them before they realize what is happening. Once the enemy is dead, Guy will be escorted to a safe place by a couple of Anbu squads and their retreat will be covered by Kakashi. I'll assign a couple of Elite Jounins as well to cover his retreat in case Kakashi is occupied."