Chapter 432: Ten thousand year old Genin? Elite Jonin!

This time, Orochimaru did not summon all Konoha Jonin; he only gathered a few Jonin who held important positions on the current battlefield.

Small matters call for large meetings, and large matters call for small meetings. Since the meeting’s decisions would influence the entire battlefield’s ultimate direction, the content of the meeting itself was confidential.

Besides Muzuki, Orochimaru only invited five Konoha Jonin to attend this important confidential meeting.

These five Jonin were Hyuga Hizashi, who served as the head of the Perception Squad, and all members of Ino–Shika–Chō. It is worth mentioning that Nara Shikaku was the deputy commander of the forces. The last Jonin was the head of the Medical Squad, responsible for logistics and Medical Ninjutsu.

“Just today, Lord Mu Yue, Might Dai, Lord Mu Yue’s disciples’ squad, Haku, and the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist had an encounter.

Haku, Munashi Jinpachi, Jinin Akebino, Raiga Kurosuki, Hozuki Mangetsu, Suikazan Fuguki, and other Mist Village Jonin were killed on the spot. Among them, Suikazan Fuguki was killed by Lord Mu Yue’s disciple, and the rest of the Ninja were killed by Lord Mu Yue.”

Orochimaru did not keep them in suspense and directly stated Muzuki’s achievements.

Orochimaru did not use any exaggerated descriptions or rhetoric to embellish it; he merely stated Muzuki’s achievements plainly. Inside the tent, all the Ninja except Orochimaru and Muzuki had their pupils constrict, and their faces showed an undisguised look of shock.

It was only because it was Orochimaru, the commander of the forces, who said this. If it were any other Ninja, they might have doubted the veracity of these words.

Nothing more, the content was simply too horrifying.

It was like a war was ongoing, and suddenly, out of nowhere, they learned that their side had annihilated the enemy’s elite forces, giving them a dream-like sense of happiness.

For intelligent people like Nara Shikaku, this feeling was particularly obvious, because he clearly hadn’t made any combat arrangements, yet Muzuki had created such a result.

Fighting is not just about being strong; otherwise, villages wouldn’t need to send so many Ninja—just send a few top powerhouses and it would be over.

Even if you are strong, you still need to find people. If you don’t find them, no matter how strong you are, you can’t kill the enemy, which involves other war-related matters.

“This was truly a battle that combined both strength and luck,” Nara Shikaku sighed inwardly.

Directly encountering the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and Haku, who didn’t bring many Ninja, was Muzuki’s luck, and defeating them was Muzuki’s strength. Both were indispensable; without either, such a result could not have been achieved, and it might even have resulted in a loss for Konoha.

“It seems I need to re-evaluate Hayate Mugetsu’s strength. His strength is probably not much worse than Orochimaru-sama’s. Perhaps he can hold Yagura Karatachi on the battlefield,” Nara Shikaku instinctively thought of tactical arrangements.

Although there was some intelligence on Muzuki, the uncertainty among Ninja was very high. At first, Nara Shikaku didn’t even know if Muzuki could defeat Haku or Hozuki Mangetsu.

But looking at Muzuki’s latest achievement, Muzuki’s strength is definitely much stronger than Haku and the others. Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to fight Haku and simultaneously take down four members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. Therefore, Nara Shikaku estimated Muzuki’s combat power to be slightly inferior to top powerhouses like Orochimaru and Yagura Karatachi.

“What a terrifying achievement,” Inoichi Yamanaka looked at Muzuki with some surprise.

In terms of age, Muzuki was his junior, but he probably could never surpass Muzuki’s achievement in his lifetime.

After all, the Yamanaka Clan’s secret techniques are more support-oriented, and it’s rare for a Ninja from their clan to be strong in solo combat.

Let alone him alone, Inoichi Yamanaka believed that even their generation of Ino–Shika–Chō combined probably couldn’t do it.

Inoichi Yamanaka was very aware of their own strength; they could temporarily hold Haku or Hozuki Mangetsu if they attacked together, but if they wanted to win, that was wishful thinking. If a few more Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were added, they would surely die terribly.

Of course, even Orochimaru would find it difficult to achieve such a level of combat results in an encounter.

Orochimaru was not lacking in strength, but it was very difficult to encounter such a situation.

“Amazing,” Akimichi Choza gave Muzuki a thumbs up.

He didn’t connect Muzuki’s encounter results to the overall impact on the battlefield; he just felt that Muzuki, who could defeat so many strong individuals, was very powerful.

Hyuga Hizashi also looked at Muzuki with admiration. Although he had virtually no impression of Muzuki before today, this did not prevent Hyuga Hizashi from admiring Muzuki now.

The Ninja World has always respected the strong. Muzuki not only showed great strength but also made great contributions to Konoha. Hyuga Hizashi found it hard not to admire Muzuki.

If he had Muzuki’s strength, perhaps the Hyuga clan could achieve some changes.

Orochimaru was not surprised by the astonished expressions of the Ninja present; after all, this was intelligence that even he couldn’t help but be surprised by.

“Before we discuss the next combat plan, I want to ask Lord Mu Yue, how many of your disciples can still unleash their full combat power, and to what extent can Might Dai unleash his power in another battle?” Orochimaru asked Muzuki.

It wasn’t just Muzuki who performed astonishingly in this encounter; Muzuki’s disciples and Might Dai also performed terrifyingly.

Although they were all Chunin, they managed to directly repel the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and even kill one of them without a significant numerical disadvantage.

If Muzuki’s disciples were not injured, it meant that Orochimaru’s side essentially had a squad capable of rivaling the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

Hearing Orochimaru’s words, Nara Shikaku showed a thoughtful expression.

Previously, he hadn’t paid too much attention to Might Dai and Muzuki’s disciples’ squad mentioned in Orochimaru’s words.

As the deputy commander of the forces, Nara Shikaku had long memorized the squads with strong combat capabilities, and the squad Kakashi and his teammates were in was clearly not among them.

Moreover, if Nara Shikaku remembered correctly, Might Dai seemed to be a perennial Genin with a rather poor reputation in Konoha Village before.

But according to Orochimaru’s special question, perhaps Kakashi, Might Dai, and the others contributed a lot in the battle and were not merely passive hangers-on.

The other Jonin looked at Orochimaru with some confusion, not quite understanding why Orochimaru would bring up Kakashi and Might Dai.

Those who didn’t know Might Dai were fine, but those who did were even more surprised. After all, who would have thought that a perennial Genin had actually mastered a terrifying forbidden Ninjutsu like the Eight Gates?

Although they were confused, no one interrupted. When you don’t understand, it’s best to just listen quietly.

“Shisui, Obito, and Rin Nohara should be able to recover their combat power after about ten days of rest. Kakashi’s condition is more severe; he’ll need at least three weeks of rest. Might Guy’s is the most serious; he won’t be able to participate in combat for at least a month and a half. I plan to send Might Guy back to Konoha for recovery,” Muzuki replied after thinking.

Although Obito, Rin Nohara, and Shisui looked miserable, their injuries were mostly external and healed quickly with the aid of Medical Ninjutsu.

Kakashi was different. Although he didn’t look injured, when he used the Thunderclap Flash Godspeed at the end, Kakashi, like the Demon Slayer Mark in the original work, squeezed his body’s power, causing considerable pressure on his body. Therefore, he actually needed a longer recovery period.

As for Might Guy, there’s even less to say. The Eight Gates is a forbidden Ninjutsu that inherently comes with powerful side effects. Might Guy also forcibly opened the sixth gate, which he couldn’t bear, and simultaneously stacked the Rock Breathing Chakra Mode, pushing his body’s pressure to the limit.

If it weren’t for the good training effects of Rock Breathing and Might Guy’s diligent practice, any truly ordinary Chunin’s physique would absolutely not be able to withstand such terrifying pressure; they’d break a bone with every punch during combat.

“Their ability to repel the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist this time was actually an extraordinary burst of power; they don’t normally possess such strength,” Muzuki briefly explained.

This time, Might Guy was mainly in charge, but Might Guy would need to train for some time to convert the gains from this life-and-death struggle.

“As for Might Dai, when he goes all out, he can simultaneously block two Ninja of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist level, but his burst time cannot be too long.”

If Might Dai opened the Gate of Death, he alone could beat up the entire Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, but such an extreme measure as the Gate of Death certainly couldn’t be considered a normal combat capability.

After listening to Muzuki’s explanation, Nara Shikaku was once again shocked. The development of this encounter was completely different from what he had imagined.

He had thought that Muzuki, having no combat mission assigned, simply went out with his disciples, then encountered Haku with the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. The two sides fought, Muzuki killed Haku and other Mist Village Jonin, Muzuki’s disciples killed Suikazan Fuguki, who had been injured by Muzuki, and Biwa Jūzō and Kuriarare Kushimaru took advantage of the chaos to escape and couldn’t be caught.

This was the most reasonable combat process Nara Shikaku had deduced based on the final results stated by Orochimaru.

But according to Muzuki’s words just now, the correct process should be: Muzuki’s disciples’ squad was on a mission, unluckily encountered the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and a battle broke out. Muzuki’s disciples’ squad plus Might Dai burst forth, gaining a certain advantage, killing Suikazan Fuguki and repelling the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. At this point, Muzuki and Haku arrived together, and only then did the subsequent astonishing results occur.

After his deduction, Nara Shikaku truly couldn’t hold back. He had so many strong individuals on his battlefield, and he didn’t even know it.

These were the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist from Hidden Mist; a Ninja squad capable of repelling them head-on, even with factors of extraordinary burst, was strong enough to be called powerful.

“Might Dai…” Nara Shikaku silently repeated the name in his mind.

He planned to take some time after the meeting to meet this Ninja. He truly hadn’t expected that this perennial Genin, as he was rumored to be, actually possessed the strength to rival two of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

The expressions of the other Ninja were also a mix of surprise and bewilderment.

Inoichi Yamanaka sighed inwardly, lamenting how formidable the younger generation was, even Muzuki’s disciples had reached such strength.

After all, Muzuki himself was only twenty years old, so how old could his disciples be?

“That perennial Genin actually has such strength,” the head of the Medical Squad was extremely shocked.

Although Might Dai had been promoted to Chunin for some time, due to his widely spread past deeds, Ninja who knew Might Dai still had the first impression of him as a perennial Genin.

However, the head of the Medical Squad believed that this situation would change once news of this encounter spread. In the future, when Might Dai was mentioned, people would first recall him, as a Chunin, single-handedly fighting two Ninja of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist in battle.

“I see,” Orochimaru nodded, giving up the idea of forming Kakashi and his team into an elite assassination squad.

According to the information Muzuki provided, the squad’s main combat power was Might Guy, then Kakashi, and then the others.

Since the strongest, Might Guy, and Kakashi both needed such a long time to recover, they would be difficult to use in the upcoming war.

Orochimaru’s initial combat plan was to use Konoha’s previous weakness on the East Bank Battlefield as a disguise, actively exposing the camp’s location to lure Hidden Mist into launching a large-scale attack.

But Hidden Mist was not foolish. Losing multiple elite Ninja in one go, they certainly wouldn’t fall for Orochimaru’s bait-and-switch tactic.

Because Orochimaru’s plan’s premise was that Hidden Mist believed Konoha’s Ninja forces on the East Coast were weak, allowing them to gather troops to wipe out a large number of Konoha’s active forces and deplete Konoha’s overall strength.

Now, Muzuki had not only eliminated Haku, the renowned leader of the Yuki clan from Hidden Mist, but also decimated Hidden Mist’s signature assassination squad, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, turning them into the Two Ninja Swordsmen. In this situation, Hidden Mist would not possibly think Konoha was weak.

So Orochimaru’s latest plan was extreme provocation: sending out a large number of forces to hunt down Mist Ninja as much as possible, search for Mist Ninja’s main base, and force Hidden Mist into a large-scale war with Konoha.

If there was a squad capable of rivaling the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Orochimaru would, of course, unceremoniously send them to the battlefield to hunt down Hidden Mist.

“It’s inevitable to get injured after such a major battle. I will report your merits to the higher-ups,” Orochimaru did not show regret but rather comforted Muzuki.

After all, it wasn’t a desperate situation yet; Orochimaru couldn’t send unrecovered Ninja to battle. Since they couldn’t be used, it was better to say something nice to gain some of Muzuki’s goodwill.

Although Orochimaru appeared cold and unapproachable, this did not mean that Orochimaru did not know the so-called art of manipulating people.

It was just that in most cases, very few Ninja were worthy of Orochimaru employing his manipulation techniques.

And Muzuki happened to be a Ninja worth Orochimaru’s effort: not only was he strong enough and capable of handling tasks well, but he also came from Root, practically Orochimaru’s ideal subordinate.

Orochimaru was already considering how to poach Muzuki to his side; if he wanted to become Hokage, excellent confidantes were indispensable.

Muzuki was not yet his person; he could only be considered temporary assistance lent by Danzo Shimura.

Although he had a deep collaboration with Danzo Shimura, Orochimaru was very clear about this. He didn’t want to be too constrained by Danzo Shimura after becoming Hokage. Cooperation was fine, but if Danzo Shimura still wanted to be on equal footing after he became Hokage, that was wishful thinking.

Orochimaru had considerable confidence in poaching people; he was too familiar with Danzo Shimura’s methods with Root Ninja, after all, Orochimaru was also considered a high-ranking member of Root.

Orochimaru believed that he only needed to help Muzuki discover the true face of Danzo Shimura, who was supposedly wholeheartedly for Konoha, and then showcase his own charisma. Muzuki would most likely defect to his side.

Next, Orochimaru and Nara Shikaku formally discussed the specific combat plan. Most of the discussion was between the two of them, with the remaining people merely adding various details.