https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-631-Defeat-Ambush-from-Three-Sides/12566291/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-633-Wood-Release-Erupts-on-the-Battlefield/12573956/
Chapter 632: A Necklace Worth Three Mines
Chapter 632: A Necklace Worth Three Mines
"The situation is highly unfavorable for us right now. We must resolve the Mist Ninja forces as quickly as possible."
Within the Fire Shadow's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi discussed the war situation with Mu Yue.
"Mmhmm, I'll defeat the Mist Ninja as soon as the conditions allow." Mu Yue nodded.
"Then I await your good news." Hiruzen said with a hearty laugh.
If there had been anyone else suitable, he wouldn't have wanted Mu Yue to go into battle just yet—a super genius combined with Wood Style was a formidable asset.
"Regarding the team members, do you have any requests, Mu Yue?"
As long as the people Mu Yue requested weren't on confidential missions, Hiruzen could accommodate her, making it easier for her to implement her plans.
"Kakashi and his team would be good. They haven't been on a mission for a while anyway." Mu Yue replied.
Although this seemed like an ordinary military defeat, Mu Yue suspected that Uchiha Madara was involved.
After all, the current situation that Konoha found itself in was a result of Uchiha Madara and Black Zetsu's secret manipulations.
Mu Yue could see Madara's purpose—he wanted to create more chaos and have more opportunities to make his move.
However, Madara was up against Mu Yue, who was aware of the original storyline.
She knew that Madara was looking for an heir, so she wouldn't give him any chances, even if the situation became more chaotic. With her leading her disciples on missions, Madara's schemes would be difficult to execute.
"That's fine, but since Kakashi and the others are your disciples, Mu Yue, you should notify them yourself. The ninja forces have already begun assembling." Hiruzen nodded in agreement.
Due to Mu Yue's presence, Hiruzen had mostly refrained from directly assigning missions to Kakashi's team, leaving it up to their own volition.
After bidding Hiruzen farewell, Mu Yue created a shadow clone to inform Itachi at the training field, while her main body headed to the Southern Border Forest.
In the original story, Madara targeted Obito, but Mu Yue couldn't rule out the possibility that Madara had Itachi as a backup option, so Itachi had to come along as well to prevent any accidents.
When Mu Yue arrived at the Southern Border Forest, her disciples were still cultivating.
"Those of you who need to can go home and pack. We're about to embark on a mission." Mu Yue called out to stop their training.
Obito was intrigued, but before he could ask, Mu Yue continued, "This mission won't take us out of the Fire Country, but it will still be on the battlefield, fighting against the Mist Ninja forces."
"So, it's a large-scale war mission." Obito's expression turned solemn.
He wasn't a novice who had never been on a battlefield before; he was well aware of the dangers of war.
"So, it's within our country, and against the Mist Village ninja." Kakashi wore a thoughtful expression.
He hadn't been paying much attention to the state of the ninja world lately, as he had been focusing on his cultivation.
Even so, Kakashi could sense that something was amiss in Konoha from the overall atmosphere.
"Teacher Mu Yue, will Itachi be participating in this mission?" Kakashi asked after some thought.
With Konoha currently in a precarious situation, the likelihood of Mu Yue encountering danger on the battlefield increased.
While they were still far from Mu Yue's level of strength, they were no ordinary jounin either, so Kakashi hoped that Mu Yue would bring Itachi along to add to their firepower.
After all, they had all agreed to change the future together.
"Yes, I sent a shadow clone to notify him." Mu Yue replied.
"Teacher Mu Yue, after we're done preparing, do we return to the Southern Border Forest, or is there another meeting place?" Rin asked.
"Let's meet at Training Field Number 11. That's where the ninja forces will be assembling."
"Teacher Mu Yue, everyone, goodbye for now. I'll head back and grab some things." Rin smiled and waved goodbye first.
Soon after, Kakashi and Obito also bid their farewells and left to restock their ninja tools.
Might Guy didn't need to restock his ninja tools, but going to the battlefield was no small matter, so he decided to head home to inform his family.
As Yamato was teaching a class at this time, Mu Yue didn't want to disturb him, but she arranged for someone to notify him.
Next, Mu Yue paid a visit to Tsunade's home.
Tsunade had been happy, thinking that she'd be able to mooch off Mu Yue's cooking again, but upon hearing that Mu Yue was headed to the battlefield, her face fell.
"Why do these damn wars keep popping up? Can't we have a few years of peace?" Tsunade sighed.
She didn't mind missing out on one meal, but she was worried that she might not have the chance to mooch off Mu Yue in the future.
"Did you come here just to tell me this, or do you want me to come with you to the battlefield?"
"That's not it. After all, I still need to command the troops. Even if you came with me to the battlefield, I wouldn't be able to cook three meals a day for you.
Mu Yue politely declined, "Thank you for your offer, but I must decline."
Tsunade was a formidable opponent, with exceptional medical skills and healing abilities. However, she currently had her own set of issues, hindering her from utilizing her full strength and providing significant support to Mu Yue.
"Three meals a day? The very least I should get for my services is four meals a day." Tsunade crossed her arms, a hint of displeasure in her voice, as if she felt belittled or genuinely believed the compensation was inadequate.
"Yes, of course. After all, you are the strongest medical ninja in the ninja world, Lady Tsunade." Mu Yue replied in a monotone voice.
"That is common knowledge," Tsunade asserted, indicating that her greatness needed no further elaboration.
Then, as if remembering something, Tsunade hesitated for a moment before removing the necklace from her neck. "Are you still learning Wood Style? If so, you can borrow this necklace for a while. It belonged to my grandfather, and it carries his chakra."
"I'm lending it to you, not giving it to you. This necklace is extremely valuable; it could buy you three mines. Make sure you return it to me after you've mastered Wood Style." Tsunade emphasized, holding the necklace in her palm.
Mu Yue glanced at the necklace, which had quite a reputation. It was infamously known as the "Death Necklace."
In the original story, Tsunade had only given this necklace to three people: Nawaki, Dan Kato, and Naruto Uzumaki.
Out of these three, only Naruto had survived, but even then, the necklace had shattered.
Although it sounded like a cursed item, Tsunade wasn't lying about its value. This necklace was indeed worth a small fortune and could be categorized as an advanced ninja tool. Its effect was to suppress the chakra of a tailed beast.
"I've been meaning to tell you, but I recently mastered Wood Style." Mu Yue smiled faintly and performed a single-handed seal, causing a large tree to sprout in Tsunade's small courtyard, fueled by wood-style chakra.
"What?! " Tsunade exclaimed, her eyes widening in surprise as she stared at Mu Yue and the rapidly growing tree.
Tsunade was dumbfounded. Was it possible for someone else to acquire Wood Style? She thought it was her grandfather's unique bloodline limit.
In that moment, Tsunade even suspected that she was under some sort of genjutsu.
She silently performed seals to dispel the genjutsu, only to find her chakra stable and showing no signs of being under any illusion.
"How did you do it?" Tsunade blurted out, unable to contain her curiosity.
"I read the materials," Mu Yue replied matter-of-factly.
Tsunade was speechless.
She had read those materials too, yet she hadn't learned Wood Style. A strong sense of frustration washed over her.
Who could understand it? She, the granddaughter of Hashirama Senju, had failed to learn Wood Style, while someone with no relation to Hashirama had mastered it.
"You're such a troublesome person. You've only just learned Wood Style, and there's still so much for you to learn. Just take the damn necklace already." Tsunade offered the necklace to Mu Yue, her hand outstretched.
Seeing that Tsunade was slightly affected, Mu Yue decided to drop the topic of Wood Style and sincerely thanked her for the loan of the necklace.
He didn't need the necklace to study Wood Style, but examining it would certainly be beneficial. If he could master a similar technique, he could create a piece of jewelry for Kushina.
"Although I'm lending it to you, it won't be for free. There will be interest," Tsunade continued.
"One day of borrowing equals one meal. Two days equal two meals, and so on, until you return the necklace to me."
"I hate it when people don't pay their debts. If you don't return it, I'll beat your disciples half to death, especially that rude little punk with the goggles." Tsunade raised her fair-skinned fist.
"Then I shall strive to return to Konoha and repay my debt as soon as possible." Mu Yue waved goodbye.
Tsunade wasn't good with words, and although her speech was filled with threats, Mu Yue could sense her concern.
"That's the best course of action," Tsunade casually waved her hand in response.
"Teacher Mu Yue, I wish you a safe and successful mission," Shizune said, offering her farewell blessings.
Mu Yue smiled at Shizune and turned toward the training field.
"Lady Tsunade, you're so indirect. You're obviously worried about Teacher Mu Yue, yet you didn't say a single nice word," Shizune commented after Mu Yue had left the room.
As an observer, Shizune had a clear view of the situation.
"Of course, I'm worried about him. If he doesn't come back, I'll lose my necklace, which is worth three mines," Tsunade said, grabbing Shizune's soft, white cheeks with both hands.
"Umm... that's not what I meant," Shizune tried to explain.
Although she was young, she wasn't naive enough to believe everything she heard.
"I think you're just bored, Shizune. Come on, I have a medical challenge for you that will keep you occupied for a day." Tsunade tugged on Shizune's face, presenting her with a difficult medical problem.
...
By the time Mu Yue arrived at the training field, the ninja forces had almost finished assembling.
"Mu Yue, commanding."
"Lord Mu Yue."
The ninjas on the training field greeted Mu Yue one after another.
There were too many people, and even if Mu Yue recognized and knew all their names, it was impossible to respond to each one. She could only nod to the group.
"Senior Chen, Onbu of the Beautiful Village..." Mu Yue greeted the jonin leaders individually as she walked by.
This time, both Takemi and Chen were acting as deputy commanders.
"There are so many ninjas, a lot more than last time." Obito observed as he entered the training field, taking in the assembled ninja forces.
The last time Mu Yue led a ninja force, there were only 500 people, but this time, there seemed to be over a thousand, Obito guessed as he made a rough estimate.
"But last time, we were supporting Mount Myoboku, so the situation is a bit different."
Kakashi, who was about to speak up, glanced sideways at Obito.
"Hey, Kakashi, what's with that look? I'm not the kind of person who only cares about fighting and knows nothing else," Obito said, unhappy with the hint of surprise he saw in Kakashi's eyes.
"Oh, then you're amazing, Obito." Kakashi praised in a completely emotionless tone.
"Only you could make a compliment sound so insulting," Obito muttered, deeply feeling the sarcasm in Kakashi's words.
If he had known, he would have taken a different route and avoided running into Kakashi.
"You two have such a great relationship. Did you come here together on purpose?" Rin asked with a smile as she entered the training field and greeted them, seeing the familiar scene unfold.
"No!" x2
"We just happened to meet on the way here." Obito quickly explained.
He hadn't even made a special arrangement to meet with Rin, so how could he have gone out of his way to find Kakashi?
"I didn't intend to be late. Waiting for you, Obito, is a troublesome matter," Kakashi said nonchalantly.
Obito glared at Kakashi. He hadn't been late in a long time, thanks to the old man's shadow clone helping out.
"Kisame, how's work lately?" Obito suddenly spotted Kisame and called out to him.
Instead of bickering with Kakashi, it was better to catch up with his good friend and cousin.
Kisame had been busy lately, so even when they met, they didn't have much time to chat.
"It's going well. Smooth sailing," Kisame replied as he greeted the others as well.
After exchanging a few words, the group made their way over to Mu Yue.
Seeing that Mu Yue was discussing the ninja forces with the other jonin leaders, they chose to stand by and wait.
"Ahem."
Once all the ninja forces had assembled, Mu Yue cleared her throat to signal for everyone's attention and then began her speech.
"Our opponents are the Mist Ninja forces roaming the eastern shore..."
Without further ado, Mu Yue kept her speech brief and then led the forces toward the eastern part of the Fire Country.
"The Mist Ninja have once again split their forces, and there are signs of their activity from the northeast to the southeast," the high-ranking ninjas of the ninja forces discussed their strategy during a break.
"Should we split up and take care of them separately?" suggested one of the Wood Leaf jonin.
"That's not a good idea. That's how Elder Mito fell into their trap," Takemi shook her head.
They couldn't afford to make the same mistake twice.
"But if we concentrate our forces to clear out a certain area, our efficiency will be very low," the Wood Leaf ninja who had spoken earlier pointed out a problem.
The ninjas were highly mobile, and with such a large target as the ninja forces, the enemy would likely scatter before they could be dealt with.
For a time, the jonin couldn't come to an agreement.
On the other side, Kakashi and his fellow disciples sat together, chatting amongst themselves.
Although they were strong, their experience was lacking, and even Kakashi, the most senior among them, had not been assigned an important position.
"Be extra careful when fighting the enemy. I heard from other ninjas that the Wood Leaf just suffered a defeat at the hands of the Mist Ninja forces we're up against," Obito shared the intelligence he had gathered from his conversations.
"On the battlefield, we must be cautious no matter which village we face. Lately, the situation in the Wood Leaf has been less than ideal, and Mu Yue-sensei might be facing a life-or-death crisis," Kakashi whispered.
Mu Yue's death was a mystery, but Kakashi had analyzed it countless times. Based on the timing and other factors, it was likely related to the Great Ninja War, but it was unclear which one.
The faces of all the disciples turned solemn.
PS:
I have to work tomorrow, so I can't stay up late tonight. This will be the only update for today.
(End of Chapter)
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