Chapter 59: Chapter 59: Konoha Must Not Lose!
"Huh, did I get a bit taller?"
While washing up in the morning, Shūichi Hoshita noticed something was off.
After finishing, he measured himself and confirmed it—he had grown 2 centimeters taller since the last time he measured a week ago. He was now 1.3 meters tall.
This made him quite tall compared to his peers, almost catching up to Shisui Uchiha and Sanyō Kurama, who were two years older.
The boost to my physique is really something!
"After the last enhancement to my physical constitution, my stamina was slightly better than Kakashi's. If I underestimated a bit, I'd say our chakra reserves were about equal."
"But now that my physique has doubled again, I can probably claim to have 2 'Kakashi Units' worth of chakra."
Shūichi was delighted. It had been a week since he acquired the "Taijutsu Expert" tag.
Of course, these "2 Kakashi Units" were in comparison to the current Kakashi, not the adult version.
But the improvement in his physique also meant that his potential for growth had increased accordingly.
This would require continued training and exploration to fully realize.
After all, even in the Senju clan, and for Senju Hashirama himself, chakra reserves didn't start out as overwhelmingly vast at birth.
However, when he thought about the Sage Body and the Uzumaki clan's physique, Shūichi quickly calmed down.
After two enhancements to his physique, he only had 2 Kakashi Units. Without these enhancements, his chakra reserves might have only reached the level of a Chūnin at best.
I still need to work hard!
"Compared to Nagato, who had mastered six mainstream jutsu (5 Basic Nature Transformations + Yang Release) by the age of ten, I'm still not much."
"And my chakra reserves are nowhere near Naruto's level, and probably still fall short of Jiraiya's peak as well."
Of course, Jiraiya was currently at the height of his power.
His chakra level was the ceiling for people without special physiques.
After packing his gear and slinging his scroll over his back, Shūichi headed out.
Once they gathered at their usual spot, Minato Namikaze promptly announced the mission: "This time, we're headed to the Land of Rivers."
"Shūichi, you should remember that we had a skirmish with the Sand Shinobi in the Land of Rivers last year, right?"
Shūichi nodded.
He remembered it well; many Konoha shinobi were injured, and he had helped treat them.
Seeing this, Sanyō Kurama immediately asked, "So, is this mission related to our previous one, Minato Sensei?"
Minato nodded. "It is indeed related."
"The Daimyō of the Land of Rivers didn't cut ties with Sunagakure after that incident. According to our intelligence, Sunagakure discovered an iron mine in the Land of Rivers, and merchants from the Land of Fire lost out in the competition for it."
"In addition, there are signs that Sunagakure is forming an alliance with Amegakure."
"However, the situation in Amegakure is being handled by the ANBU and Root divisions."
"Our mission is in the Land of Rivers. After the last skirmish, both sides have been in a standoff, but as the competition for the iron mine intensifies, the appetite of the Land of Wind and Sunagakure has grown. They've begun targeting the commercial activities of the Land of Fire in the Land of Rivers."
"So, our mission is to eliminate the Sand Shinobi and protect the merchants and caravans from the Land of Fire."
The three of them nodded in unison. "Understood!"
"Then, let's move out!"
Minato gave the order and led the way, with Shūichi and the others following closely behind.
After leaving the village, they traveled along the main road for a while before turning off into the dense forest, heading southwest straight toward the Land of Rivers.
By midday, the four of them rested near the Fire Country border and had a meal of grilled fish by the river.
On April 6th, Year 40 of the Konoha, just after 1 PM, the team crossed the border and entered the Land of Rivers.
"Minato Sensei, I'd like to visit that village from last time," Shisui Uchiha suddenly said.
Minato Namikaze was momentarily surprised, then nodded. "Alright!"
Shūichi Hoshita pondered for a moment before following the change in direction.
Before long, the group arrived at the village in the Land of Rivers where they had completed their mission last year.
But now, the village was in ruins, with no signs of life. The houses were dilapidated, serving as shelters for various animals.
In just a year, everything had changed, and the people were gone.
Shisui Uchiha stood there, stunned, while Sanyō Kurama asked, "Were the people here relocated?"
Shisui's expression shifted slightly. Though innocent, he wasn't naive or foolish.
Having personally killed all the men in this village, he was beginning to realize certain truths.
Shūichi, however, thought of Orochimaru, and by extension, Danzo.
Considering that those who would even dare to target shinobi near Konoha, or even Konoha shinobi themselves, the fate of the people from this village might have been a mercy if death was the outcome.
If they had been used in human experiments, they might have suffered fates worse than death.
Perhaps I should have realized this back then, but as the saying goes, those who are pitiable often have a reason to be hated.
Besides those who raided the Land of Fire, the other villagers also benefited from those actions.
Shūichi was clear-headed. While he wouldn't want to personally slaughter a village, he wasn't naive enough to believe that forgiveness or understanding was the answer.
He didn't have that right.
Of course, if the villagers were taken by Orochimaru for human experiments, that would indeed be inhumane.
What a twisted world this is!
...
Everyone noticed that Shisui seemed off, so Shūichi walked up and patted him on the shoulder.
"Everyone must face the consequences of their actions. Those who kill must be prepared to be killed, and those who rob must be ready for punishment."
"Maybe the women and children of this village didn't participate, but they did benefit from the spoils of the raids. That's the karma they must bear."
"They may seem pitiable, but those we should truly pity and protect are the innocent people of the Land of Fire who were robbed and killed."
People are always hypocritical—what's important is whose side you're on.
Right now, they were on the side of the Land of Fire, on the side of Konoha.
Not on the side of the Land of Rivers, and certainly not on the side of this village.
Of course, Shūichi didn't know that Shisui had participated in the slaughter of the adult men in this village.
But even if he did, so what?
As he said before, Shūichi was on Konoha's side, and Shisui was his comrade, his teammate.
"Thank you, Shūichi," Shisui said, his expression returning to normal.
Seeing this, Minato immediately ordered, "Let's continue!"
The group set off again, and within ten minutes, they arrived at a hill overlooking a small town.
Minato spoke, "This valley town is the first stop for merchants from the Land of Fire entering the Land of Rivers."
"While the mission load in the Land of Rivers includes contributions from Konoha, the expulsion of Fire Country merchants this year means that part of our mission load has been taken over by the Sand Shinobi."
Looking at the town ahead, Shūichi asked, "So, Minato Sensei, we're the vanguard in this operation?"
Minato nodded. "Exactly."
"Sunagakure isn't trying to escalate this into a full-scale war, so they haven't stationed a large force at the border. Instead, they're securing key locations—towns—to establish de facto control over the Land of Rivers."
Shūichi pondered aloud, "The Daimyō of the Land of Rivers probably doesn't want to completely sever ties with the Land of Fire. Right now, they're allowing Sunagakure to take control of the mission load in the Land of Rivers, but later, they might use the country's resources as bargaining chips to reconcile with the Land of Fire's Daimyō."
"So it's not just the Daimyōs of the Land of Rivers and the Land of Wind, and Sunagakure, who want to avoid a full-scale war. The Daimyō of the Land of Fire does too."
"If Konoha loses this battle, the Land of Fire's Daimyō would certainly suffer losses, but it wouldn't be catastrophic."
"But Konoha would lose more than just the mission load in the Land of Rivers."
Minato's eyes filled with admiration. He had intelligence to support his analysis, but Shūichi had inferred all of this from just a bit of information—and he wasn't wrong.
What a sharp political instinct. With talent like this, he's absolutely suited to be Hokage!
Minato thought, and said aloud, "Your analysis is spot on!"
Shisui, too, was inwardly impressed. As expected of Shūichi—his insight is extraordinary!
But Sanyō Kurama was bewildered. He felt that Shūichi's words were convoluted, and only understood one thing:
Konoha must not lose!
(End of Chapter)
(T/N: Sanyo you're my bro!!)
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