Chapter 629 Trust Level Improvement (asking for monthly ticket)

“Assemble the troops and move south.” After clearing out the nearby Konoha Ninja, Yagura Karatachi began to lead the Ninja force to relocate.

Ever since entering the Land of Fire, they hadn’t bothered to conceal their movements, as Yagura Karatachi predicted that Konoha would quickly mobilize a Ninja force to deal with them.

After all, their position was next to the Konoha Land of Hot Springs Ninja force, and a push upwards could put the Konoha Ninja Force currently battling Kumogakure in a pincer attack.

Of course, Yagura Karatachi would definitely not do that, because it would be too convenient for Kumogakure, and the gathering of three great Ninja Villages in one small country could easily lead to unforeseen incidents.

On the march, Yagura Karatachi called over his two vice commanders.

“Shingetsu, once you reach this place, you will lead your troops away and disperse them to operate in this area,” Yagura Karatachi said to Shingetsu Hozuki, pointing to a forest near the river mouth on the map.

Since the objective was to entangle the Konoha Ninja Force and exhaust its energy, Yagura Karatachi decided to split his forces into three main teams, and then each team would further subdivide in different areas to engage in guerrilla warfare, playing hide-and-seek with Konoha.

Immediately after, Yagura Karatachi turned to the other vice commander and said, “Kawasawa, you and your team will be at this location.”

Shingetsu Hozuki and Tosha Kawasawa both nodded in understanding.

“This time, without Haku holding us back, we can definitely redeem ourselves successfully!” Yagura Karatachi’s lips curled slightly, quite satisfied with his teammates this time.

Last time, he was truly speechless; inexplicably, five of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were lost, and then Haku also sacrificed himself, which was equivalent to losing two high-level combatants at once.

Then, upon reaching each destination, one-third of the Ninja would depart. When Yagura Karatachi also arrived at his destination, Hidden Mist’s rapid march this time concluded.

After reorganizing his troops, Yagura Karatachi quickly disbanded the teams as planned, and then he personally led an elite squad to hunt down Konoha squads.

And Konoha’s actions were just as Yagura Karatachi expected; not long after they left, a thousand-man force arrived in the northeastern part of the Land of Fire.

However, something unexpected happened to Yagura Karatachi; before he could even make a move, the Hidden Mist Anbu made their move, repeatedly obtaining intelligence on the Konoha Ninja Force, as if they had cameras installed on the Konoha Ninja Force.

This surprised Yagura Karatachi. They were in the Land of Fire, and Konoha had the advantage of fighting on home ground. How could Hidden Mist Anbu win the intelligence war? When did Hidden Mist Anbu become so strong?

This gave Yagura Karatachi the idea of changing tactics.

With such a lead in intelligence, guerrilla warfare was unnecessary; they could completely use the intelligence advantage to catch the Konoha Ninja off guard.

However, Yagura Karatachi was already a mature commander; he did not act rashly but instead sought instructions from the Hidden Mist Village high-ranking officials far away in the Land of Water.

And the Hidden Mist Village high-ranking officials’ answer was simple: attack! Seize the opportunity to hit Konoha hard.

Upon receiving the order, Yagura Karatachi began to lay out his strategy using the intelligence.

Yagura Karatachi did not move his own troops, but ordered the other two teams to leave some Ninja for disguise, and then gather their forces to set up an ambush in the areas around Yagura Karatachi.

Additionally, Yagura Karatachi himself frequently moved to provoke them.

“To be so rampant in the Land of Fire, he must have something to rely on.” Homura Mitokado, upon learning that Yagura Karatachi was using his strength to hunt and kill Konoha Ninja everywhere, did not get angry but calmly thought about countermeasures.

He had his intelligence Ninja gather accurate information while planning to eliminate the Hidden Mist force.

“If he wants to play guerrilla warfare, then I’ll catch the leader first.” After discerning the Hidden Mist force’s intention, Homura Mitokado quickly formulated a battle plan.

The Hidden Mist force was currently active in three main areas.

So he divided his troops into two large teams; he himself led one team to encircle and annihilate the area where Yagura Karatachi was located, while the other team would encircle the area closer to Yagura Karatachi’s position.

This way, even if something unexpected happened, with the mobility of Ninja, they would have time to support each other, and this arrangement would also make it harder for Yagura Karatachi to escape.

Although the plan was in place, Homura Mitokado did not act rashly. The key to this plan was to kill Yagura Karatachi, so Yagura Karatachi’s location was crucial. If that was wrong, then the Konoha Ninja Force would be led around like dogs.

Only after the intelligence Ninja obtained accurate information did Homura Mitokado officially begin his operation.

He said the mission should be completed as quickly as possible, but stability was more important than speed.

Looking at Homura Mitokado’s movements in the intelligence report, Yagura Karatachi showed a hint of regret, “Why isn’t it Hayate Mugetsu or Orochimaru who came?”

If it were Muzuki and Orochimaru, then he would truly have redeemed himself.

…

On Monday, Yamato and Muzuki went to the Ninja Academy together.

It was the first day of school, and even Hiruzen Sarutobi took time out to attend a Ninja Academy, giving a speech for the entrance ceremony.

As they entered the entrance ceremony venue, Muzuki took out a small gift box and handed it to Yamato.

“This is your entrance gift. It’s a Kunai I personally forged. You can open it and see if you like it,” Muzuki said with a gentle smile.

“There’s no need for this. You’re already so busy usually, and you still took the time to forge a Kunai for me,” Yamato said, overwhelmed by the gesture.

Actually, even if it was a standard Kunai Muzuki bought from a store, Yamato would have liked it very much, because Muzuki was already good enough to him.

Of course, Yamato was even happier with the more thoughtful homemade Kunai, it just made him feel like he owed Muzuki too much.

【You gifted your disciple a personally forged Kunai. Due to your disciple’s immense gratitude, a great critical hit was rewarded, granting Ninjutsu — Transcription Seal (Mastery Level)】

“This Ninjutsu is quite good, very versatile,” Muzuki thought, nodding at the reward that popped up.

Transcription Seal was a good Ninjutsu, but Muzuki didn’t know if his Sharingan, which he got from transformation, could use it.

If it could be used, it might play an unexpected role at a critical moment.

After delivering the gift, Muzuki and Yamato followed the crowd into the entrance ceremony venue.

The first to give a speech was still Konoha’s Third Hokage, the principal of the Ninja Academy, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

“Where Konoha dances, fire will burn. You are Konoha’s future, Konoha’s new sprouts…”

Hiruzen Sarutobi’s passionate speech about The Will of Fire made the new students below feel a surge of enthusiasm, making them feel like they were the pillars of Konoha and wishing they could fight for Konoha immediately.

After a round of enthusiastic applause, the host continued, “Next, we invite Vice Principal Muzuki to speak.”

As soon as Muzuki stepped onto the stage, a huge round of applause erupted.

In the Ninja Academy, where Chunin were common, Muzuki had now become a living legend. Teachers who had interacted with Muzuki before often used this experience as a topic of conversation.

For example, the teachers in the small office where Muzuki used to work, Ikeya Yu often told other teachers about how Muzuki substituted for his class, and then he invited Muzuki to dinner and so on.

Because Muzuki had made many good connections during his time at the Ninja Academy, most people could only speak of his strong abilities and good character when talking about him, which had some positive effects.

“Hello, teachers and students…” It wasn’t Muzuki’s first time attending an entrance ceremony, so he skillfully began speaking from his prepared script.

After Muzuki finished speaking, there was another thunderous applause.

“Why do I feel like Teacher Muzuki is more popular than the Hokage?” Yamato thought, observing the expressions of everyone in the venue.

There were too many students for him to judge, but on the teachers’ side, Yamato felt that those teachers seemed even more excited when Muzuki was speaking.

Soon, the entrance ceremony quietly ended, and Yamato walked towards the class he was assigned to.

“It’s finally over.” Yamato breathed a sigh of relief on his way back to class.

It wasn’t that he found the entrance ceremony boring, but rather that Yamato was not yet accustomed to such crowded environments.

Since being picked up by Danzo Shimura, he had never been in the same place with so many people at once.

“Class 1, Grade 1.” After confirming it was correct, Yamato walked into the classroom and sat in the front row on the right, closest to the door.

Soon after, the Class 1, Grade 1 classroom was filled with students.

Then, as the class bell rang, the Chunin teacher walked in.

“Next, we’re going to do self-introductions, just state your name, dreams, and so on,” the Chunin teacher said, standing at the podium.

“Does anyone volunteer to go first?”

The hall was silent, students looking at each other, no one initiative stood up.

The Chunin teacher’s expression remained unchanged; for students of this age, volunteering to introduce themselves in an unfamiliar environment required considerable courage.

“I am Yamato. My dream is to become a Ninja like the First Hokage, capable of protecting everything I want to protect,” Yamato said, standing up.

Clap, clap!

“Very well said.”

The Chunin teacher led the applause. Although he thought this was an impossible dream to achieve, it was a very idealistic dream, very suitable for a Ninja Academy child’s dream.

The other students also followed suit and applauded.

Some looked at Yamato with pure, shining eyes, thinking he was very brave.

Others showed disdain, thinking Yamato was dreaming.

Because even these six-year-old children knew that Senju Hashirama was the greatest Ninja in Konoha, or even in the Ninja World, an existence that could not be matched.

With someone leading the way, things went much smoother. Students actively introduced themselves one after another.

“My name is Narita Kohei, and my dream is to become Hokage and protect the Village.”

“My father is a teacher at the school, so my dream is to become a respected teacher like Lord Mu Yue.”

“My name is Hyuga Oriko, and my dream is…”

With the cooperation of the students, the self-introduction session quickly ended, and then the formal lesson began.

“In this class, we will be discussing one of the most important things for a Ninja: Chakra,” the Chunin teacher began.

After listening for half a minute, Yamato showed an expression of “that’s it.”

He had already learned this kind of knowledge, not to mention from Muzuki, but from Danzo Shimura long ago.

Ten minutes later, Yamato was already thinking about what to eat for dinner.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to listen, but the Chunin teacher was explaining things that were too basic. It was like asking a student who had already learned functions and derivatives to go back to the most basic one plus one or five plus four. Who could listen to that?

“Yamato, aren’t you supposed to become a Ninja like the First Hokage? You can’t not pay attention in class,” a voice of persuasion came from behind Yamato.

Yamato slightly turned his head to look. It was a girl with pure white eyes.

“I’ve already studied this material,” Yamato explained. Although he didn’t know her, he didn’t want to be seen as a bad student.

After all, he was Muzuki’s disciple, so he couldn’t tarnish Muzuki’s reputation.

“Yamato, stand up and tell me what I just taught,” the Chunin teacher called out.

Although Yamato performed well during his self-introduction, whispering so blatantly in the front row deserved a strong response.

Yamato scratched his head, stood up, and said, “Chakra has seven attributes: Fire, Wind, Water, Earth, Lightning, Yin, and Yang. Water Release counters Fire Release…”

Since he wasn’t listening, Yamato simply spoke about what he knew: the characteristics of various Chakra Nature Transformation, the interrelationships and counter-relationships between Chakra, and how the fusion of two Chakra attributes could form a Bloodline Limit and special Chakra.

“Stop, stop, that’s enough.” The Chunin teacher, listening, found himself almost unable to understand, and quickly called Yamato to a halt.

“Yamato is very diligent! Everyone, if you have any questions, you can ask him.”

Due to Yamato’s exceptionally strong performance, the Chunin teacher silently overlooked Yamato’s behavior.

There was no need to manage such a student; just wait to be carried.

The students around Yamato stared at him, dumbfounded. Others might not know, but they had seen with their own eyes Yamato spacing out and talking to the person behind him, which was far from being diligent.

Although he successfully defused the crisis, Yamato did not continue to communicate with the person behind him, but instead pretended to listen attentively while spacing out.

After all, he had undergone professional training with Root, so he could control his expressions a little.

After class, many students proactively approached Yamato to chat with him.

“Yamato, you’re so amazing! How do you know so much? Even the teacher didn’t explain as much as you did!”

“Yamato, you’re so brave, being the first to introduce yourself.”

Suddenly surrounded by seven or eight people, Yamato was stunned. He had never been surrounded by so many people before.

“I know these things because I have a good teacher, and I’m not as brave as you say,” Yamato answered earnestly, one by one.

“Eh, is this what they call humility in legends?” a child joked.

Immediately, someone laughed out loud, and then the laughter spread, one by one, and all the children surrounding Yamato began to laugh, and even Yamato couldn’t help but smile.

Although everyone laughed because of it, Yamato could feel that it was not mockery.

Just like that, in one morning, Yamato gained eight classmates he could talk to.

The first class in the afternoon was physical education, where the Chunin teacher taught Kunai throwing.

When Yamato hit the bullseye consecutively, the surrounding classmates exclaimed again.

During free activity time, many classmates who had chatted with Yamato came to ask him questions, and Yamato answered them seriously.

After a day, although Yamato didn’t learn anything, he surprisingly felt that today was quite enjoyable.

This was a feeling he had never experienced before. When he was in Root, he was often confined to some secluded place to learn various Ninja knowledge.

He gained some freedom after Muzuki became his teacher, but due to various restrictions, the only people he could interact with were Muzuki and Muzuki’s disciples.

Yamato thought about it carefully and realized that he had become the “Kakashi-senpai” of his classmates. This was a feeling he couldn’t get from Kakashi and the others, because his training progress lagged too far behind.

“Teacher Muzuki, so that’s why I had to stay for at least a year, isn’t it?” Yamato instantly understood Muzuki’s intention.

Muzuki didn’t send him to the Ninja Academy to learn things; he sent him to “play.”

At the same time, a message popped up on Muzuki’s panel.

【Disciple Yamato’s trust level has increased. Current trust level: Four】

PS: Double update, a total of 8.2k words. A small request for monthly votes.

I barely finished writing by 4:30 AM. Thankfully, I don’t have to work tomorrow, or perhaps I should say today, since it’s already 4:30 AM.

I’ll try my best for a double update tomorrow as well.