https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-258-Something-s-Not-Quite-Right-with-the-Disciples/12558266/
Chapter 259: Iwagakure's War Strategy
Chapter 259: Iwagakure's War Strategy
After the training session, the five of them gathered once again at the dumpling shop.
"Kakashi, where did you run into Sensei Minato this morning?" Obito asked eagerly.
"Did you ask him about Teacher Mu Yue's preferences? Don't tell me you forgot!"
Today was the last day they had agreed upon to brainstorm gift ideas, and they had to finalize their decision.
"You think I'm like you?" Kakashi nodded, "I was a little late because of that. And I did ask, but Sensei didn't have the kind of information we're looking for."
Hearing this, the other three turned to Kakashi, but his next words left them a little disappointed.
"Sensei Minato doesn't know either," Kakashi replied. "Maybe Teacher Mu Yue only has an interest in calligraphy and education, and doesn't have any deep-seated hobbies." Obito sighed, feeling let down.
He figured as much; even they, who spent every day with her, didn't know, so what could Minato possibly know?
"But I think Sensei Minato said something very reasonable, just like what Lin said before. It's the thought that counts," Kakashi said seriously.
"Think about it, does Teacher Mu Yue teach us so that we can give her nice gifts? No, as long as we train diligently, she's happy."
The disciples fell into deep thought, remembering that Mu Yue had said those words to each of them.
"As long as your strength progresses, that's the best repayment to me," Guy thought back to the first time he placed first in the practical exam, and Mu Yue had said those words to him.
The longer he spent with Mu Yue, the more he felt that she truly meant those words, and they weren't just empty flattery.
"You're right, the most important thing is to convey our heartfelt sentiments," Guy gave Kakashi a thumbs up, agreeing wholeheartedly.
"Indeed, Teacher Mu Yue probably doesn't want us to be troubled and delayed in our training because of this," Itachi also nodded.
"Then let's quickly decide on the gift," Obito said, no longer dwelling on it.
Hinata looked at the faces of the four and suddenly thought of a wonderful idea. She smiled and suggested, "How about we each make a small statue of ourselves and then work together to make a statue of Teacher Mu Yue? We can use our usual training poses, and when they're all done, we can put them together."
Kakashi thought about it and felt that it was a good idea in terms of both division of labor and the meaning behind the gift. "I think that's a great plan," he said.
"That's brilliant, Hinata! Are you a genius?" Obito praised with a chuckle.
Guy and Itachi thought about it and also nodded in agreement, liking the gift idea.
"I suddenly feel that this way, even if we're not by Teacher Mu Yue's side, our statues will still be with her," Hinata smiled.
The idea was unanimously approved, and the joint gift for Mu Yue was decided. They would each work on their own statues for the next three days and then spend the last two days working together on Mu Yue's statue.
While they had settled on the gift, Obito soon faced a new problem—it wasn't easy to make these statues.
After buying the materials and equipment, Obito looked at the self-sculpture he had made and eventually sighed, tossing it into the trash bin.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Obito ultimately decided to use ninjutsu to help himself with the task. After all, these statues would stay with Mu Yue, and even if they weren't perfect, they should at least resemble them.
Considering this, Obito bought extra tools, and his shadow clones didn't waste any time, starting to practice as soon as they were created.
Aside from the collective gift, Obito didn't forget about the individual gift he wanted to give. Finally, just before bedtime, he finished the design.
"Thankfully, Hinata came up with a good idea; otherwise, I'd be struggling to manage everything," Obito thought to himself.
Practicing sculpture would also be beneficial for crafting the inkstone. If he had to choose one or the other, he knew he wouldn't be able to do a good job with just one attempt.
"I wonder how the others are doing with their sculptures?" Obito wondered as he lay in bed, his thoughts turning to his fellow disciples.
First was Hinata, who had given him the idea of using Earth Release. She had experience, so she was likely doing well.
As for Kakashi and Itachi, Obito felt they might be in a similar situation as him, as they also had access to shadow clones.
When it came to Guy, Obito couldn't be sure.
The three days passed quickly, and on the fourth day, the five disciples gathered with their finished products, ready to work on Mu Yue's statue.
Since they needed a space to craft the statues, they chose Kakashi's house instead of the dumpling shop.
"Kakashi, you're amazing! How did you manage to do this?"
"Let me see!" Dosu Kinuta, who had just walked in, heard Lin praising Kakashi and hurried over.
After seeing Kakashi's sculpture, Dosu swallowed the criticism he had prepared. It was indeed too good to disparage.
"What do you think, Dosu? I think it looks just like Kakashi," Lin asked with a smile.
"It's not bad, it's quite similar, but there's still room for improvement," Dosu commented.
If it had been Lin's work, he would have said it was invincible, amazingly lifelike, and identical to the real Kakashi. But since it was Kakashi's creation, Dosu could only admit it was decent and needed more practice.
"Your standards are too high, Dosu. I think this is already amazing compared to mine," Lin said as she placed her sculpture on the table.
Dosu examined Lin's statue. Compared to Kakashi's, Lin's work was slightly rough, with a decently carved face but less detailed clothing and other features.
"I think you did a great job, Lin. It's not much different from Kakashi's; it's just a different style," Dosu praised.
Kakashi: ...
"You've said a lot, Dosu. Why don't you show us yours?" Kakashi asked nonchalantly.
He had spent a lot of time meticulously carving his sculpture with Doton techniques and didn't believe Dosu could do better.
"Cough, cough. Mine has a style that's quite different from yours; it's more rugged," Dosu said, feeling Lin's curious gaze as he placed his statue on the table.
Kakashi looked at Dosu's statue, which depicted the sculptor using Katon. The statue's palms were pressed together, with the pinky and ring fingers crossed and the remaining fingers upright—the sign of the tiger seal, the final seal for Katon techniques.
However, Dosu had only managed to carve the fingers clearly; the face was rough, and the sculptor's signature protective goggles were missing.
"It looks good. The hand seals are very standard," Lin smiled and complimented.
"It's not as good as yours, Lin. After all, I haven't practiced much before," Dosu chuckled.
"The hand seals are the only good part. The rest is too rough, and you forgot the goggles on your head," Kakashi bluntly critiqued.
Since his own work was only considered decent, Kakashi decided to use Dosu's standards to evaluate the latter's statue.
"I sculpted myself on a day when I didn't want to wear goggles," Dosu stubbornly retorted, actually because he couldn't figure out how to sculpt the goggles properly, so he opted to leave them out. He had spent a long time perfecting the hand seals, though.
"Is that so? I was thinking that if you really couldn't do it, I could help you. Never mind, then," Kakashi said with feigned disappointment.
Despite his harsh criticism, Kakashi wanted to improve this gift for Mu Yue. At the very least, the statues should resemble their creators.
"Umm... I..."
Dosu wanted to see how Kakashi would handle it but found it hard to ask for help. Begging Kakashi for assistance was akin to torture.
"Actually, I forgot to wear them that day; I didn't mean I didn't want to. Kakashi, could you please help me out?" Dosu finally blurted out.
His pride was important, but the gift for Mu Yue was even more so.
"Old buddy, long time no see!" Might Guy walked in and greeted them.
Kakashi acknowledged Guy and then turned to Dosu, asking, "What did you say? I didn't catch that."
Dosu thought Guy's timing was terrible. He felt uncomfortable saying it once, and now he had to repeat himself.
"I said, please help me. I forgot the goggles on the statue. Thank you," Dosu mustered all his strength to get the words out, and when he finished, he felt like ants were crawling all over his body.
Kakashi's lips curled up, and a broad smile appeared on his face. He had heard Dosu the first time; he was just pretending not to.
Seeing the smile in Kakashi's eyes, Dosu instantly felt tricked but could do nothing about it. Finally, he gave Kakashi a you-owe-me look as he watched him work.
Kakashi took out a block of earth and performed hand seals to use a Doton jutsu. Soon, a pair of goggles was crafted, which he then placed on Dosu's statue, adjusting the size with his jutsu before fusing them together.
"You used ninjutsu!" Dosu exclaimed, shocked. It was like he had labored over his homework only to see someone cheat and finish it in minutes.
Finally, the five of them presented their sculptures, and Obito discovered one that was even more rustic than his own—Might Guy's.
Guy had carved himself using the Leaf Whirlwind, with one leg kicked out.
"Guy, you might want to work on the face a bit more; it looks a little blurry," Obito suggested.
"No need, I think it looks a lot like me," Guy waved his hand dismissively.
"Indeed, the thick eyebrows and watermelon head are instantly recognizable," Kakashi acknowledged.
Guy's work was indeed rough, but it captured the essential features, and it was even easier to identify than Obito's sculpture without the protective goggles.
Genma Shiranui's statue depicted him practicing with a short blade, his right hand thrusting the weapon forward.
"Genma, you've crafted the weapon so intricately," Lin noticed the small details on the short blade in Genma's statue.
"I spent quite some time on it," Genma nodded, referring to the blade as the one Mu Yue had given him as a birthday gift, which he had focused on the most.
"Let's assign the head to Kakashi, and the hands to Obito..." Lin distributed the work according to everyone's strengths reflected in their sculptures.
Aside from Mu Yue's body, there were other parts to work on, such as the base of the statue and the surrounding scene. Lin, for instance, wanted to add a broken tree next to her statue to enhance the training setting.
With their combined efforts, Mu Yue's statue was completed, and the scene was enriched.
Mu Yue stood at the very center, radiating a gentle smile. Surrounding her were her five disciples: to the north was Genma, practicing with his short blade, alongside a bisected wooden dummy; to the south was Obito, with explosion marks in front of him; to the west was Guy, kicking towards several large trees; to the east was Kakashi, with a chopped wooden post in front of him; and to the southeast was Lin, next to a broken tree.
"It's finally done, but carrying something this big will be challenging," Obito wiped the sweat off his forehead.
"Let's hide it in the Southern Forest and present the gift to Teacher Mu Yue there," Kakashi suggested.
The other four agreed; carrying such a large gift would likely arouse Mu Yue's suspicion and reduce the element of surprise.
So, the five of them ventured into the Southern Forest under the cover of night and used Kakashi's Doton techniques to conceal the boxed gift.
...
In the Land of Earth, within the Hidden Rock Village, the Tsuchikage Building's conference room...
"Third Tsuchikage, will this strategy truly prompt the Cloud Village to increase their forces against the Leaf?" A bearded elder of the Hidden Rock Village questioned Onoki's plan, confused.
Both jinchuriki had been dispatched, and a large number of ninjas were hidden within the village.
"Rest assured, with my understanding of the Cloud, they definitely think we don't have the strength to confront the Leaf. To prevent us from withdrawing from the war, they will undoubtedly deploy even stronger forces against the Leaf," Onoki, seated on a high-backed chair, replied with a smile.
"When the Cloud, Leaf, and Sand are deeply mired in war, that will be the time for us to strike with all our might."
"But the Cloud and our village aren't on good terms; they're likely to be wary of us," another elder pointed out.
The ninja world had already descended into chaos, with the Cloud and Rock villages at war.
"That's precisely why I want the Cloud to underestimate us. The Cloud is impulsive, and they won't anticipate that we have an army of over ten thousand ninjas," Onoki elaborated on the benefits of feigning weakness.
Due to its terrain, the Land of Earth was challenging to invade. Even if he showed weakness, their enemies would have to consider this factor. Faced with a weak but difficult-to-conquer Land of Earth, the Cloud would undoubtedly choose the Land of Fire and engage the Leaf Village.
Once the capabilities of the other great ninja villages were understood, that would be the time for the Rock Village to unleash their full might.
"The Sand is weak, the Cloud is impulsive, and the Leaf is faltering. We, the Rock, will be the ultimate victors in this war!" Onoki declared confidently.
In the past, when they had sought an alliance with the Leaf, he and his mentor, the Second Tsuchikage, Mu, had been badly injured. This time, he intended to show the Leaf Village the true power of the Rock Village and force them to sue for peace.
"Until then, we must continue to engage in battle and not withdraw our forces," Onoki outlined their next steps.
If he were to suddenly back out, the other ninja villages would surely become suspicious.
4.2k, one more chapter to come
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
