Chapter 334: War
Chapter 334: War
"Why did you become a Chunin after losing in the first round, Shio, while Midori didn't make it?" During their special training, Inuzuka Midori noticed the Chunin vest that Nara Shio was wearing.
"I guess there were various reasons," Nara Shio replied thoughtfully, trying to be diplomatic.
He certainly couldn't tell her that she lacked both outstanding strength and the display of battle intelligence.
In fact, Nara Shio felt that he had become a Chunin with a bit of luck himself.
This Chunin exam had been much more difficult than previous ones. Candidates like Obito and Kisame, who had made it to the semifinals, would have easily dominated in a regular Chunin exam.
Nara Shio felt that if he had faced any of the semifinalists, he might not have become a Chunin.
Compared to them, his strength was too weak, and no matter how clever his battle tactics were, it wouldn't have made a difference if he was instantly defeated due to the vast strength gap. After all, he couldn't set up traps in advance during the Chunin exam.
"In a few months, Midori will definitely become a Chunin too. This special training has made her much stronger," Inuzuka Midori said, turning to her other teammate, Aburame Shino. She hoped that Aburame Shino would join her in preparing for the next Chunin exam.
The Chunin exam was held twice a year, and of course, the next one wouldn't be a joint effort between the two villages or involve inviting officials and wealthy merchants.
Aburame Shino remained expressionless and simply nodded slightly.
Inuzuka Midori smiled mischievously. She knew that Aburame Shino wasn't one to express his emotions easily, so his nod was a clear sign of agreement.
Not only Nara Shio, but Asuma, the lone Chunin among the genin and ninja academy students, also stood out in his vest.
Since the special training was only for genin and academy students, Nara Shio and Asuma were the only Chunins present.
Being one of the two Chunins, Asuma had also performed reasonably well in the Chunin exam. Some of the bolder students approached him to ask questions.
"Asuma-senpai, you're amazing! You've managed to learn ninjutsu of two different attributes. Among all the candidates, only Hatake Kakashi, who came in first, and you have achieved this," Hagane Kotetsu said admiringly.
Before, he had only had Ebizu as a good older brother figure, but now he had decided to add to that number.
"Having two attributes isn't that useful. I still lost to Obito's fire-style jutsu," Asuma said, a bit glumly.
That loss to Obito's fire-style jutsu had indeed bothered him—their combined jutsu hadn't been able to overcome Obito's single-attribute jutsu.
"Don't worry, Asuma-senpai! If you continue to improve and use combination jutsu with three or four attributes, he won't be able to block them all!" Kamizuki Izumo quickly analyzed.
Asuma had to admit that Kamizuki Izumo made sense, but how to master so many attributes was a problem. It wasn't easy to train in multiple nature transformations simultaneously.
"Actually, you don't have to do that. We have a jutsu here that has defeated Konoha's strongest taijutsu ninja. If you learn it, Asuma-senpai, I can't say you'll definitely beat Obito, but your chances of winning will increase significantly," Kamizuki Izumo said, excited by his idea.
"Oh? A jutsu that defeated Konoha's strongest taijutsu ninja? What type of jutsu is it?" Asuma was immediately intrigued.
Beating Konoha's strongest taijutsu ninja was certainly an impressive claim.
"It's..." Kamizuki Izumo was about to say something when he realized their rest time was over, and it was time to start training again.
"Everyone, let's continue our training," Moyu's voice rang out among the students.
"We'll talk to you in more detail about this tomorrow, Asuma-senpai," Kamizuki Izumo said, standing up.
It was already the last training session of the afternoon, and soon it would be time to go home for dinner.
"Asuma-senpai, this jutsu will definitely blow your mind!" Hagane Kotetsu said confidently, smiling as he walked back to C Group's training area with Kamizuki Izumo.
"Then I'm looking forward to it," Asuma replied with a smile.
In truth, he didn't have high expectations that Hagane Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo knew any exceptionally powerful jutsu. It wasn't that he looked down on them, but truly powerful jutsu were often difficult to learn and had specific requirements for the learner. Hagane Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo were still too young.
For example, when Asuma was in his second year, even if Sarutobi Hiruzen himself had wanted to teach him Fire Dragon Flame Bullet or the Cyclone, Asuma wouldn't have been able to learn them due to insufficient chakra and inadequate nature transformation skills.
However, since they were his adoring fans and spoke so enthusiastically, Asuma was happy to play along.
Asuma began to cultivate his wind-style chakra nature transformation. Currently, he was mainly focusing on wind-style, and he would only switch to practicing fire-style when he encountered difficulties with wind-style.
After training for a while, Asuma noticed that Yuhi Kurenai was still practicing tirelessly, her face glistening with sweat. He walked over and suggested, "Kurenai, why don't you take a short break? Overworking yourself might affect your training efficiency."
"Have you encountered any problems recently, Kurenai? You seem to be pushing yourself too hard lately," Asuma asked with a concerned expression.
While it was commendable to be diligent in training, Asuma felt that Kurenai might be overdoing it, and he couldn't help but worry about her.
"I don't want to fall too far behind you all," Kurenai replied, looking Asuma in the eye with determination. "Last year's special training, where we were surpassed by a first-year student like Itachi, was an exceptional case, and I can accept that. But the performance of Obito and Might Guy during the Chunin exam has been eye-opening."
The achievements of Obito and Might Guy, who were familiar to Kurenai as good friends, had left her feeling a sense of urgency. While Obito had already surpassed them in strength during the previous special training, the gap wasn't significant. However, this time around, their display of overwhelming power during the Chunin exam had been startling.
Kurenai felt that she wouldn't be able to withstand a single move from them, and their rapid growth within a year left her perplexed. How could they become so strong in such a short time?
It wasn't just Obito and his peers who had made remarkable progress; even Asuma's improvements made him seem like a stranger to Kurenai.
Unbeknownst to her, Asuma's Wind Release had surpassed his Fire Release, and he was now capable of using combination techniques that fused wind and fire.
Asuma instantly empathized with Kurenai's sentiments, as the rapid growth of Obito and his peers was perplexing to him as well. "Kurenai, I understand how you feel. Let's work hard together," he said, nodding in encouragement.
"Of course, but remember to maintain a balanced approach," Asuma added, offering a word of caution.
Asuma's dedication to training, even after becoming a Chunin, inspired those around him. The students, witnessing his unwavering commitment, were filled with a sense of determination, and the entire training ground buzzed with an atmosphere of striving for improvement.
Moyu largely followed the format of the previous special training session, adding a few teaching programs. Every two weeks, she conducted exams to assess the students' learning progress and assigned rankings based on their performance.
Undoubtedly, Asuma was currently the strongest ninja in the special training group. Among the Chunin, Nara Shio was no match for him in a one-on-one battle, so Asuma easily secured the first place in Group A during the first exam.
In Group B, Moonlight Gale was becoming increasingly prominent as the special training progressed. However, his hold on first place wasn't entirely stable and depended on his condition that day. In Moyu's opinion, the gap between Moonlight Gale and the second-place finisher in Group B was minimal.
As for Group C, Red Bean had performed admirably, securing second place. As a second-year student, she had demonstrated exceptional prowess by defeating a host of fourth-year students.
Kamizuki Izumo and Hagane Kotetsu's performances, considering they were second-years, were also commendable. However, when compared to the overall student body, they were merely average and fell short of Red Bean's achievements. Nonetheless, the students in Moyu's class outshone those in the third-year group.
In the evening, Moyu returned to her home in the main district of Konoha. Before long, there was a knock on the door, and it was none other than Minato Namikaze seeking her out.
"I'm sorry, but I have to ask for your help with Kushina again," Minato said apologetically to Moyu.
Even with their close relationship, Minato felt a twinge of guilt for imposing on Moyu once more.
"It's fine. As long as I'm in Konoha, I'll be sharing meals with Kushina," Moyu assured him, not needing to inquire further about the reason for his request.
Hearing Moyu's words, Minato's face softened into a warm smile, and he took the initiative to explain, "The Cloud Village has dispatched more ninjas to launch assaults on our border in the Land of Hot Water. I need to lead a team to provide support there."
This wasn't a highly confidential matter, so sharing it with Moyu wasn't an issue. He was being dispatched to the front lines openly, not on some secret mission.
"I see. So, will Obito and the others be accompanying you to the battlefield?" Moyu asked thoughtfully.
This was no small matter. If they were headed for a major battle in the Land of Hot Water, Moyu, far away in Konoha, wouldn't be able to keep tabs on what challenges they might face. The unexpected turn of events during the Chunin exam had left her with a nagging premonition that Uchiha Madara might make his move sooner than expected, especially considering Obito's accelerated growth, which far outpaced the original timeline.
Minato shook his head in response. "This time, I've been assigned an S-rank war mission, which is far too dangerous for Obito and his team. They're now capable of taking on missions independently, so I don't plan to bring them along."
If it had been an A-rank mission, Minato might have considered taking Obito and his team. However, an S-rank war mission was a different story—it was simply too perilous, especially given the nature of the assignment.
"Don't say that. Even they recognize your abilities, so why deny yourself? Sometimes, the village's missions leave us with no choice," Moyu gently smiled in comfort.
Minato adjusted his mood and once again thanked Moyu. He then left with the food to find Kushina.
As he prepared to leave Konoha, the person he felt most uneasy about was Kushina.
Just as Moyu was thinking that the war was intensifying, a few days later, he received information from Tsunade that Jiraiya had returned to the battlefield in the Grass Country.
Perhaps due to the news of Cloud Village's large-scale offensive, Rock Village was also attempting to send more troops to put pressure on Konoha.
At the moment, the situation on the continent was extremely chaotic. There was warfare between Rock Village and Konoha, Cloud Village, and Sand Village; between Cloud Village and Sand Village, Konoha, and Rock Village. The four great ninja villages of the continent had fallen into a state of internecine strife, with only the Water Country, a maritime power, remaining uninvolved.
Although the great ninja villages were at war, they were not fighting on their own soil. The battles mostly took place in neighboring small countries. Even Wind Country, after recovering, had driven Cloud Village back to River Country, forcing these small countries to become embroiled in the conflict as well.
"Will Mist Village launch an early offensive against Konoha, or will they maintain their current stance?" Moyu thought of the only major power that had yet to involve itself in the war.
Due to the butterfly effect, the plot had already deviated, and he wasn't sure if Mist Village would still act according to the original story.
Although Konoha hadn't demanded much compensation from Mist Village after the unexpected incident during the Chunin Exams, and had even seemed amicable, Moyu didn't think that Mist Village would refrain from attacking Konoha.
It was inevitable that Mist Village would eventually go to war with Konoha. Konoha had been winning too much and had always maintained its position as the strongest village, striking fear into the hearts of its enemies. Now that there was an opportunity to weaken Konoha, they wouldn't let it pass.
While Mist Village might be reluctant to be the first challenger, they would definitely jump at the chance to join the fray when two other villages were already at war.
Moyu believed that the Chunin Exams had shown Mist Village the strength of Konoha's younger generation, and they might develop a sense of crisis, prompting them to attack Konoha earlier than planned.
Uchiha Madara was also a key factor in Moyu's considerations. Since Madara could control a Mist Village jounin, he might very well have influence over others in the village, encouraging them to join the war.
The more chaotic the ninja world became, the more advantageous it was for the elderly Uchiha Madara to make his moves. If Madara wanted to make an early move against Obito, he would definitely push for Mist Village to go to war with Konoha.
This was one of the reasons why Moyu had been so low-key up until now. He didn't want the plot to deviate too much because of his actions, as it would make it harder for him to protect his disciples.
For example, he knew that Obito would be in danger during the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, and if the plot remained unchanged, he could easily save Obito by accompanying him on the mission. However, if the plot deviated, Madara might choose a different opportunity to make his move.
Even though Moyu had been cautious, changes had still occurred.
The unexpected incident in the Forest of Death was undoubtedly Madara's doing, and although Mist Village hadn't made any moves yet, Moyu prepared for the worst.
However, even if given the chance to redo things, Moyu would still act similarly. He couldn't neglect strengthening Obito and the others just because the plot might change—that would be like throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
With the enemy in the shadows, Moyu could only focus on improving his own strength and that of his disciples.
Logically, after the arduous special training during the Chunin Exams, they should have taken a break. But for the sake of his disciples' safety, Moyu prepared an entirely new hellish training regimen.
"Good morning, Tobirama. How did you know I became a Chunin?" On the way to the Southern Forest for training, Obito encountered Tobirama and greeted him happily.
Tobirama: ...
"Hey, good morning, Teacher Moyu," Obito said with a grin upon arriving at the Southern Forest.
Although he didn't get the first place, becoming a Chunin still put Obito in a great mood.
"Morning," Moyu replied with a gentle smile.
For some reason, although Moyu's smile was warm, Obito suddenly felt a sense of foreboding, as if something unpleasant was about to happen.
Finally done with the plot outline for the next section, will update more in the coming days!
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
