Bab 136: Chapter 136: A New Squad, A Clash!
After returning from the Land of Rivers, Shūichi only rested for two days before getting busy again.
His main task remained monitoring the Sand and Mist villages.
On the surface, Sunagakure and Kirigakure appeared to be in a standoff, but behind the scenes, they were secretly plotting to invade the Land of Fire.
Meanwhile, at the border of the Land of Wind and the Land of Birds, Sunagakure was locked in fierce combat with Iwagakure.
Both sides had deployed their Jinchūriki multiple times, allowing Shūichi to continue studying the curse seal patterns on Shukaku, the One-Tail.
From February to March, although Sunagakure managed to push the battle into the Land of Birds, they couldn't advance any further. The war with Iwagakure had reached a stalemate.
The intensity of the fighting between the two sides gradually lessened.
As time moved into March, even the genin and chunin of Konoha could feel the change.
Firstly, there was a significant increase in mission delegation. Missions that would typically not be given to chunin squads were now being assigned to them.
Some ninja were given leave, while others were overwhelmed with a flood of tasks.
Might Guy, Kurenai Yuhi, and their peers were among those extremely busy.
Shūichi quietly celebrated his 12th birthday in this increasingly tense atmosphere.
Konoha Year 45, March 24th
After returning to the village from the Land of Rivers, Shūichi went to the Hokage's office.
Once Shūichi had finished his report, Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "Shūichi, you no longer need to monitor the war between Iwagakure and Sunagakure. Root will take over that task."
"From now on, you will leave the Anbu and serve as a Jōnin squad leader."
"Shūichi, do you have any thoughts on the members of your squad?"
Shūichi thought for a moment and boldly replied, "Hokage-sama, I would like to have Uchiha Shisui, along with Asuka, and I'd like Pakura to be included as an auxiliary member."
"Uchiha Shisui, huh..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly nodded. "No problem."
"Shisui will report to you tomorrow."
"Your next mission will be to monitor the Sunagakure-Kirigakure alliance and report their movements to the front lines in real time!"
Shūichi stood straight and responded, "Understood!"
---
After leaving the Hokage's building, Shūichi returned home, removed his gear, and enjoyed a relaxing bath. Only after that did he use the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport to the Daimyo's mansion, where Pakura was overseeing the construction of the secret lab.
Pakura, already accustomed to his sudden appearances, asked, "Lord Shūichi, is there something you need at this hour?"
Shūichi nodded. "Starting tomorrow, I will be leading a squad. You will be one of our auxiliary members."
Beneath her mask, Pakura's eyes sharpened. "Is the war about to start?"
"It's coming soon."
Shūichi replied, "Leave the lab to the Daimyo's people for now. Head to the Land of Rivers and wait for me there."
Pakura nodded slightly, "Understood, Lord Shūichi."
After giving his instructions to Pakura, Shūichi didn't linger and immediately returned to Konoha.
---
The next morning.
After finishing his early training, Shūichi arrived at his home's entrance, only to find Uchiha Shisui fully geared and waiting.
"Shisui, you're way too early!" Shūichi greeted him with a smile.
"Captain!"
Shisui first saluted, then smiled, "It's my first time meeting my new superior. Naturally, I wanted to be early to avoid leaving a bad impression."
Shūichi chuckled and invited him, "How about joining me for breakfast?"
Shisui smiled back, "I've already eaten. I'll wait for you at the village gate."
Shūichi nodded, not pressing the matter. "Alright, that works."
With a wave, Shisui smiled and turned to leave.
Half an hour later, Nonō Yakushi watched as Shūichi and Asuka departed, her heart heavy with concern, before heading towards Konoha Hospital.
...
After meeting up with Uchiha Shisui at the village gate, the three of them—Shūichi, Shisui, and Asuka—set out from the village, heading straight toward the Land of Rivers.
Along the way, Shūichi and Shisui exchanged insights on genjutsu, with Asuka occasionally chiming in, and they quickly grew familiar with one another.
Due to the habits he developed in the Anbu, Shūichi moved quickly, only resting for half an hour before they reached the border of the Land of Rivers by noon, where they met up with Pakura.
Upon seeing Pakura, Asuka couldn't help but scrutinize the well-built woman repeatedly.
Shisui, on the other hand, merely gave her a glance before politely averting his gaze.
Shūichi introduced her, "This is Scorch. She specializes in Scorch Release."
Shisui immediately smiled and introduced himself, "Hello, I'm Uchiha Shisui! I specialize in the Body Flicker Technique and genjutsu."
Although he had already guessed her identity, Shisui didn't ask any questions, despite his curiosity.
Asuka followed with a smile, "Hello, I'm Asuka. I specialize in sealing techniques, medical ninjutsu, and sensory ninjutsu."
Pakura, from behind her mask, nodded without speaking. Shūichi had already said what needed to be said and had even given her a codename on his own. What a domineering superior!
After introductions, Shūichi explained, "Our mission is to monitor the forces of Kirigakure and Sunagakure. Reliable intel confirms that the two villages have formed an alliance and plan to jointly invade the Land of Fire."
Asuka couldn't hide her surprise, "Weren't they fighting fiercely just last year?"
Shūichi chuckled, "Their fighting was due to conflicting interests, and now they've allied for the same reason—interests. Collective interests and individual interests are not the same."
He glanced briefly at Pakura beside him before continuing, "Since we're on the front lines, we must be extra cautious."
"Moreover, before they mobilize, they will likely send elite squads to target and harass our ninja teams in the Land of Rivers, hoping to prevent us from relaying timely intelligence."
"If they succeed, it will allow them to advance rapidly and catch us off guard, despite us knowing they are preparing to strike."
Shisui nodded thoughtfully, "In both individual battles between ninja and large-scale warfare, intelligence is of utmost importance."
"The Land of Fire's border is too vast; we can't spread our forces thin across the entire front. Doing so would leave gaps for them to easily exploit."
"This is where intelligence becomes crucial."
The border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers is long, and on the surface, the forces of Sunagakure and Kirigakure appear to be confronting each other in the southern part of the Land of Rivers.
Logically, their best route to invade the Land of Fire would be from the southern border, as it's the shortest distance.
That's also why it's one of the primary defensive focuses of Konoha, a direction they must defend.
Shūichi nodded and then asked, "Shisui, how do you think they will attack?"
After a moment of thought, Shisui replied, "I don't think they'll focus on a single direction."
"Even though they've allied, they've fought against each other before, so I suspect they will split into two separate forces."
"Kirigakure will likely take the most direct route, attacking from the south, where the terrain's moisture benefits their Water Release users."
"As for the Sand ninja, their attack will be harder to predict. They'll likely look for a weak point in our defenses and strike through the Land of Rivers with a surprise assault."
Asuka, still puzzled, asked, "Even though the Mist and Sand ninja might not work well together, wouldn't they still have a huge advantage if they attacked the same direction at once?"
"After all, we can't concentrate all our forces in the south, which would give them a significant advantage in the short term."
Shisui smiled gently and replied, "That's a possibility, but there's one major issue: command."
"They don't answer to the same leaders. Once the battle starts and the field becomes chaotic, every ninja will be on high alert, and they won't easily entrust their backs to someone they don't trust."
"As Shūichi said, collective and individual wills differ. Although the Mist and Sand ninja have allied, there's still hatred between them on a personal level."
"In such a short time, they won't be able to fully trust one another."
Asuka gave him a thumbs-up in admiration, "Impressive!"
Shisui smiled warmly and looked toward Shūichi.
Shūichi added, "I agree with Shisui's analysis."
"Additionally, there's the issue of distributing the spoils."
"Before they attack, the Mist and Sand ninja will likely have already negotiated how to divide their gains, at least in the Land of Rivers. And clearly, the southern part of the Land of Rivers is more suitable for Kirigakure."
Hearing this, Shisui and the others nodded in agreement.
Shūichi continued, "Monitoring the movements of the Kirigakure and Sunagakure forces is straightforward for me."
"The real challenge lies in the intelligence war before they make their move."
"The Land of Rivers has a narrow, elongated shape. Even though I'm fast, I can't intercept all of their elite squads."
"Of course, the four of us can't handle that alone. We're merely the first line of defense."
"We'll intercept some of their forces and send intel to the rear as quickly as possible. The forces behind us will handle the rest, making it difficult for the enemy to infiltrate our lines and gather accurate intel."
The team nodded in unison.
Shūichi then gave his orders, "We'll split into two groups: Group A—Shisui and Scorch, you'll handle the Mist ninja."
"Group B—Asuka and I will focus on the Sand ninja."
The three of them responded together, "Understood!"
Shūichi then created two shadow clones, which transformed into eagles and soared into the sky. "I'll relay the movements of the Mist and Sand forces in advance."
Shisui silently admired Shūichi's transformation technique and then summoned a flock of crows with a hand sign, saying, "I can also assist in monitoring the enemy."
Shūichi nodded, "Then, Shisui, you'll handle the Mist ninja."
Shisui nodded in return, and the crows flew into the sky.
The surveillance mission had officially begun.
For Shūichi, simply observing was relatively easy. His shadow clones transformed into different bird species—especially eagles, whose sharp eyes allowed them to clearly see the Mist and Sand camps from high altitudes.
...
Three months passed in the blink of an eye.
Upon returning to Konoha, Shūichi received news that the Sand ninja had launched another large-scale counterattack against the Stone ninja.
However, as soon as he returned to the Land of Rivers, Asuka's voice reached him: "Shūichi, the Sand and Mist ninja are making a move!"
"Oh?"
Shūichi followed Asuka's gesture and looked up into the sky.
It turned out that Sunagakure and Kirigakure had released flying ninja beasts to scatter the birds.
"It seems we've been discovered—or are about to be," Shūichi chuckled.
His shadow clones, often transformed into birds, frequently led flocks of birds in the sky.
Asuka quickly asked, "Shūichi, does this mean they're about to mobilize?"
Shūichi nodded, then smiled, "Well, let's give them something to worry about first!"
A battle erupted in the skies.
Naturally, the flying ninja beasts from Sunagakure and Kirigakure were no match for the ones Shūichi's shadow clones had transformed into.
For others, this might be a challenge, but Shūichi didn't need to perform hand seals to use ninjutsu. Even with claws instead of hands, his combat ability wasn't affected at all.
Meanwhile, in the forest, standing on a high branch near the treetops, Uchiha Shisui watched the airborne ninja beast battle with a smile. "As expected of Shūichi!"
Not far away, Pakura was also observing, thinking to herself, No one would ever suspect that the flying ninja beasts are actually him in disguise, right?
The fact that a ninja could transform into a bird and fly was already impressive and absurd enough, but to still be able to use ninjutsu in that form—it was almost inhuman.
If he can use ninjutsu in this form, it means he doesn't need hand seals at all, Pakura thought.
She remembered the battle years ago between Shūichi's shadow clone and the Third Kazekage's shadow clone. Back then, Shūichi still needed hand seals.
So, he's been hiding his true strength?
…
At that moment, both the Mist and Sand ninja were dumbfounded as they watched their own flying ninja beasts fall from the sky.
They had expected that some of the birds might belong to other villages, likely Konoha's ninja beasts, which was the whole reason they had released their own flying beasts.
But they never imagined that their opponent would be this formidable.
"Dammit, it can even use Wind Release ninjutsu!"
"When did Konoha get such powerful flying ninja beasts? I've never heard of this before!"
"Quick, report to Lady Chiyo!"
…
Despite this initial setback, the Mist and Sand ninja were not deterred.
After all, flying ninja beasts weren't invincible, and shadow clones could easily deceive them.
Moreover, the dense forest terrain would also obstruct the view of the flying beasts.
So, just half an hour later, Shūichi's shadow clones spotted Mist and Sand ninja squads beginning to mobilize.
The Mist ninja were heading toward Shisui and his team, while the Sand ninja squad moved northward.
After receiving this information from his clones, Shūichi immediately sent a shadow clone to notify Shisui and Pakura, while he himself led Asuka north.
…
"Captain, that ninja beast is still following us?"
Hearing his subordinate's voice, Madai looked up and then commanded, "Use the Clone Technique!"
The three squads quickly performed the Clone Technique, creating non-physical clones to try and confuse the flying ninja beast overhead.
But they soon realized that it didn't work at all—the beast still locked onto their real bodies with precision.
"Damn it! If only we could bring that beast down!" a Sand ninja cursed aloud.
Madai, however, remained calm. "Enter the forest!"
The three Sand ninja squads immediately changed direction and dove into the woods.
But the eagle flying above them now had its eyes blazing with blue flames.
Thermal vision!
It continued to track them without fail.
Seeing that they still couldn't shake it off, Madai sighed in frustration, "What an incredible ninja beast!"
"Use physical clones!"
The Sand ninja squads quickly performed hand seals and created different types of clones—shadow clones, earth clones, and water clones.
However, they soon realized that the flying ninja beast was still locked onto their real bodies.
This sent chills down the spines of several Sand ninja.
Madai ordered, "Ignore it."
"Let it follow us. It's perfect—this way, we're keeping it distracted."
Using physical clones to gather intelligence and infiltrate was one of the most common tactics anyway.
(End of Chapter)
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