Chapter 628: High-level Battle

Led by Yagura Karatachi, over a thousand Mist Ninja rapidly landed, launching an assault on Konoha’s border defenses in the northeastern part of the Land of Fire.

Due to Kumogakure’s large-scale offensive, Konoha was highly focused on the situation in the northeastern Land of Fire.

Therefore, they quickly noticed the Hidden Mist’s arrival.

The Hidden Mist’s combat style was quite unique; they could be recognized even without seeing their forehead protectors or attire.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had been quite pleased recently, as a second Wood Release Ninja had appeared in the village, and it was Muzuki, a super genius, who was at least a youthful version of Hashirama Senju and even had the potential to revive the glory of the God of Shinobi.

However, less than two weeks later, news of the Hidden Mist’s invasion of the Land of Fire reached his Hokage Office.

Along with it came the dissatisfaction of the Lord Daimyo of Fire Country.

Perhaps because Ninja Villages had repeatedly breached the defenses and entered the Land of Fire recently, the Lord Daimyo of Fire Country specifically wrote to Hiruzen Sarutobi, instructing him to quickly eliminate the invading enemies and ensure the safety of the country.

Although the Daimyo was only nominally superior to the Hokage, this time Hiruzen Sarutobi could only admit his mistake and give his assurance.

Because the foundation of Konoha’s cooperation with the Land of Fire was Konoha acting as the military force to protect the Land of Fire, failing to stop the Ninja enemies was Konoha’s dereliction of duty.

“They all pick their timing so well,” Hiruzen Sarutobi muttered, his brows slightly furrowed.

He had initially thought that Kumogakure in the Land of Fire had been dealt with, and he could dedicate some energy to investigating Danzo Shimura’s death, but then the Hidden Mist came in again.

Now, let alone dealing with Danzo Shimura’s death, protecting the homeland was not an easy task; this was another one of the Five Great Ninja Villages joining the battlefield.

Looking at the closed door of the Hokage Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed slightly.

When he learned of Danzo Shimura’s death, he was greatly shocked, but the sadness in his heart was not as profound as he had imagined.

The truly difficult moments came when he finished work and rested; being too tired to think, he would subconsciously have the thought, “Why has Danzo been so quiet lately, not coming to the Hokage Office?” only to immediately realize that Danzo had already sacrificed himself.

In that instant of realization, his heart would be filled with endless melancholy, and he would feel regret and sorrow remembering the past.

“Notify the two Advisors to come to the Hokage Office,” Hiruzen Sarutobi called an Anbu and ordered.

As Hiruzen Sarutobi, he had to avenge Danzo Shimura, but before being Hiruzen Sarutobi the person, he was first Konoha’s Third Hokage.

As Hokage, the highest priority was always to ensure Konoha’s safety and interests.

Soon after, a knock came from the door of Hiruzen Sarutobi’s office.

“Enter.”

The two Advisors entered the Hokage Office; the Anbu did not come in, merely quietly closing the door and standing guard outside.

“The Hidden Mist has re-entered the war, dispatching Ninja troops to land in the northeastern Land of Fire,” Hiruzen Sarutobi wasted no time and immediately stated the intelligence.

“How dare they? Haven’t they been hurt enough from last time?” Utatane Koharu said with a grim face.

“The Daimyo is displeased about this and demands that we resolve the invading enemies as quickly as possible,” Hiruzen Sarutobi continued.

“Then it truly needs special attention,” Homura Mitokado said, his expression serious.

If not handled well, the Lord Daimyo of Fire Country would have every reason to reduce the military funds given to Konoha.

“To resolve the invading Hidden Mist as quickly as possible, I believe it’s necessary for a high-ranking official to lead troops to the battlefield to boost morale,” Hiruzen Sarutobi said, his gaze sweeping over the two of them.

Minato Namikaze had been dispatched to the Land of Hot Springs battlefield the day before; compared to the Hidden Mist, Kumogakure was a more significant enemy, so Hiruzen Sarutobi did not plan to recall Minato Namikaze to the Land of Fire to form a Ninja troop again.

Muzuki would have also been a good choice, but Muzuki had only recently developed Wood Release and needed time to train, so Hiruzen Sarutobi temporarily did not want to send Muzuki to the battlefield.

Since neither Minato Namikaze nor Muzuki could be chosen, there weren’t many options left.

And Homura Mitokado and the others, as Konoha’s high-ranking officials, were certainly qualified, and it would even have a special effect.

“This…”

Utatane Koharu hesitated to speak; she felt that the current battle situation was not yet so dire as to require high-ranking officials to go to the battlefield, as the other duties of high-ranking officials were also very important.

However, Utatane Koharu also worried that speaking out would make Hiruzen Sarutobi think that she was too long away from the battlefield and afraid to go.

“Isn’t Muzuki still in Konoha? He also mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, and his other abilities are even stronger than Minato’s.

Muzuki made significant contributions to defeating the Hidden Mist last time; he should be able to complete the mission,” Utatane Koharu recommended Muzuki.

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head and refused:

“Muzuki has developed Wood Release and needs time to train.”

“Why does developing Wood Release… wait, wait! What did he develop?” Utatane Koharu reacted with a look of disbelief and asked Hiruzen Sarutobi.

She would rather believe she had misheard than that Muzuki had developed Wood Release.

“Muzuki now possesses Wood Release?” Homura Mitokado, beside her, also showed a shocked expression as he asked.

For him, the level of surprise was far greater than the Hidden Mist’s attack on the Land of Fire.

The reactions of the two Advisors were within Hiruzen Sarutobi’s expectations; after all, this was Wood Release, the second Ninja to independently develop Wood Release.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded calmly and replied, “You didn’t mishear; he really did develop Wood Release. Just ten days ago, I personally saw him use Wood Release.”

“Konoha has a second Wood Release Ninja.”

“How can that be? Is his mother a member of the Senju Clan?” Utatane Koharu instinctively thought that Muzuki had Senju Clan blood.

Although it still sounded absurd, it was slightly more reasonable.

“None of the First Hokage’s descendants possessed Wood Release; do you think an ordinary Senju bloodline would be useful? Perhaps Wood Release is an exclusive Bloodline Limit for truly unique geniuses,” Hiruzen Sarutobi refuted Utatane Koharu’s bloodline theory.

“Muzuki’s Ice Release was also developed by himself, wasn’t it? Perhaps he is that kind of once-in-a-century genius,” Homura Mitokado said, having thought of something.

Excluding other factors, no matter how impossible the remaining result seemed, it was still reality.

“In that case, Muzuki is indeed not suitable for the battlefield right now.”

“I’ll go,” Homura Mitokado thought for a moment and volunteered.

Muzuki needed to train and develop, and Utatane Koharu didn’t want to go, and Hiruzen Sarutobi, as Hokage, certainly couldn’t easily deploy, so it could only be him.

“Homura, be careful on the battlefield,” Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded in agreement and reminded him.

Homura Mitokado was a very good choice; besides his status and seniority, Homura Mitokado himself was also a Ninja with formidable strength.

“Don’t overexert yourself on the battlefield. You’re not the Homura Mitokado who trained every day anymore,” Utatane Koharu also reminded him.

After becoming high-ranking officials, they not only stayed away from the battlefield but also neglected their training, so their strength must have declined.

“I will be careful. Wait for my good news,” Homura Mitokado said with a faint smile.

After all the matters concerning the Ninja troop were discussed, Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu left the Hokage Office.

“Please, no more unexpected incidents,” Hiruzen Sarutobi in the office sighed.

Now, he only wanted to quickly end the war and then avenge his old friend, and once Muzuki had fully matured, he would pass on his position.

…

South Border Forest.

Muzuki was currently guiding his disciples in their training.

He had specifically staggered some teaching times to allow himself to manage both sides, ensuring that his disciples’ training wasn’t neglected while also maintaining the progress of the training squad.

“Teacher Muzuki, has Shisui been busy with something lately? I feel like I see him so rarely now,” Obito casually asked during a break.

“He joined the training squad,” Muzuki replied.

“What department is the training squad? Training Ninjutsu?” Obito had never heard of this department before and couldn’t help but ask curiously.

“It does have that function. You can think of the training squad as a special Anbu.”

Although it was a classified department, not all information needed to be kept secret.

Kakashi, hearing the words “Anbu,” couldn’t help but look over, his expression a little surprised.

He didn’t think Anbu was that amazing, but for ordinary Ninja, Anbu was indeed a very mysterious department, and Shisui joining it wasn’t just an ordinary Anbu.

“It’s Anbu?!” Obito showed a surprised and worried expression.

“I read a Ninja novel with a similar plot: the protagonist joins Anbu, carries out secret missions, discovers the secrets of the higher-ups, and then…”

“So that’s a novel,” Kakashi said, looking exasperated.

He didn’t know much about Anbu either, but Anbu was a department directly under the Hokage; if they really investigated the higher-ups, it would be the Hokage’s will.

“I didn’t say Shisui would definitely encounter something like that, did I? It’s just quite unexpected that Shisui suddenly joined such a mysterious department,” Obito retorted.

Rumble!!

In the midst of their bickering, a series of roars suddenly came from not far away.

“Is Might Guy messing with new taijutsu again?”

Obito stood up and looked towards the source of the sound, only to see Might Guy with his hands in an eagle claw stance, continuously attacking the surrounding trees and ground.

“Eight Gates and Rock Breathing stacked together are too violent; even simple claw swings are incredibly powerful,” Obito couldn’t help but say.

Ever since Might Guy’s potential exploded and his strength greatly increased on the Hidden Mist battlefield, he had completely dominated the disciples’ internal battles, consistently ranking first.

Only after Kakashi comprehended Lightning Release Chakra Mode did battles become more possible, rather than Might Guy being absolutely first.

But even then, only Kakashi could slightly threaten Might Guy; the other disciples had slim chances of winning against Might Guy.

His good brother, who once had even matches, now topped the rankings, making Obito both happy and unwilling.

He was happy that his good friend’s efforts had paid off, but unwilling that he himself had been without the first place for so long.

“After all, it’s a forbidden Ninjutsu that can only be mastered after such arduous training,” Kakashi lamented.

Might Guy’s training volume was intimidating just for one day, yet Might Guy had persistently maintained it for several years. One must remember that Might Guy was only twelve years old now, meaning that most of his short life had been spent training.

Obito didn’t continue bickering with Kakashi but instead earnestly refined his Chakra. Once his Chakra was sufficient, he immediately began training in Azure Flame.

When everyone was still young and their bodies hadn’t fully developed, Shisui, relying on his superhuman talent, dominated among the disciples for a period.

Kakashi also once defeated all disciples consecutively by relying on his unique Transparent World.

As for him, he occasionally had moments of brilliance in battle, but he had never dominated within the team.

Obito Uchiha deeply wished to become the strongest disciple, one who would make Muzuki proud, but unfortunately, Fire Release was too inferior in the early to mid-stages.

Azure Flame was strong, but he learned it too late and had not yet fully mastered it.

At this moment, Obito only wanted to become stronger and reach the version where he dominated.

If he could never dominate in the disciple internal battles throughout his life, he would be unwilling even if he achieved his dream of becoming Hokage later.

After Kakashi recovered his stamina, he also quickly began training in No Thought Strike and Armament Haki.

He only had a chance to defeat Might Guy; in terms of overall strength, Might Guy was still considerably stronger.

Might Guy didn’t know that his training was motivating Obito and Kakashi; he was excited by the encouraging progress of his new taijutsu.

“With this level of completion, I can already name it,” Might Guy began to ponder the name for his new taijutsu.

He believed that the name of a taijutsu was also very important; otherwise, it would lack impact when called out.

“This taijutsu idea came to me this morning, and I got the inspiration from Kurohane, so I’ll call it Morning Eagle!” Might Guy didn’t dwell on it for too long and quickly decided on the name for his new taijutsu.

Might Guy had his own naming system; sometimes, he would base it on the taijutsu’s characteristics, such as XX Whirlwind.

Other times, he would combine the taijutsu’s training time or the time of its initial inspiration with a fierce beast, such as Noon Leopard.

After training concluded in the afternoon, Muzuki returned home with Yamato again.

“I’ve handled things at the Ninja Academy for you. You can just go to school next Monday,” Muzuki said.

Although he didn’t go to the Ninja Academy much now, he was indeed the Vice Principal of the Ninja Academy, so arranging something for Yamato was a simple matter.

“School…” Hearing Muzuki say that, Yamato suddenly remembered that he still had to go to school.

“Yes, thank you very much,” Yamato thanked Muzuki.

“It’s just a small matter. At your age, you should be at school,” Muzuki said with a smile.

After dinner, Muzuki chatted with Yamato for a while longer before leaving.

“School, what kind of life will that be?” Watching Muzuki leave, Yamato began to ponder.

Danzo Shimura had only taught him Ninjutsu and the responsibility of protecting Konoha; his understanding of the Ninja Academy came entirely from Obito and the others’ occasional reminiscences of the past.

The school, as described by Obito, was strange—a peculiar place where you wanted to go when you couldn’t, and didn’t want to go when you had to.

Might Guy had said that school was a place that changed lives, and he had put in a lot of effort to enter the Ninja Academy.

As for Kakashi, Yamato hadn’t heard much about school from him.

“Wood Release: Flying Leaf Quick Blade!”

Yamato stopped thinking and began to train.

Once he actually went to school, he would naturally know what kind of place it was.

Before that, he still had to train diligently, after all, his seniors were already so strong, yet they still trained tirelessly every day. He, the weakest, certainly couldn’t be lazy.

PS: There’s one more chapter coming later, time unknown. I suggest going to bed early and reading it tomorrow. Trying to update a bit more.