Chapter 629: Trust Level Improvement
"Assemble the troops and move south."
After clearing out the nearby Konoha Ninja, Yagura began leading the Mist force to relocate.
Ever since entering the Land of Fire, they had not bothered concealing their movements, because Yagura had predicted that Konoha would quickly mobilize a Ninja force to deal with them.
After all, their position was right beside Konoha's Land of Hot Springs force. If they pushed north, they could place the Konoha Ninja currently fighting Kumogakure in a pincer attack.
Of course, Yagura had no intention of doing that. It would benefit Kumogakure far too much, and gathering three Great Ninja Villages in one small country could easily lead to unforeseen incidents.
During the march, Yagura called over his two vice commanders.
"Shingetsu, once you reach this location, lead your troops away and scatter them through this area," Yagura said to Shingetsu Hozuki, pointing at a forest near the river mouth on the map.
Since their objective was to entangle the Konoha force and exhaust its energy, Yagura decided to divide his troops into three main teams. Each team would then split further in different areas to conduct guerrilla warfare and play hide-and-seek with Konoha.
Immediately after, Yagura turned to the other vice commander and said, "Kawasawa, you and your team will operate at this location."
Shingetsu and Tosha Kawasawa both nodded to show they understood.
"This time, without Reiki holding us back, we can definitely redeem ourselves," Yagura said, the corners of his lips lifting slightly. He was quite satisfied with his teammates this time.
Last time had truly left him speechless. For some inexplicable reason, five of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist had been lost. Then Reiki had also sacrificed himself, which was equivalent to losing two high-level combatants at once.
After that, whenever they reached each destination, one-third of the Ninja would depart. When Yagura also arrived at his own destination, Hidden Mist's rapid march came to an end.
After reorganizing his troops, Yagura quickly disbanded the teams according to the plan. Then he personally led an elite squad to hunt down Konoha teams.
Konoha's response was just as Yagura expected. Not long after they left, a force of one thousand Ninja arrived in the northeastern part of the Land of Fire.
However, something unexpected happened to Yagura. Before he could even make a move, the Hidden Mist Anbu took action first, repeatedly obtaining intelligence on the Konoha force. It was almost as if they had installed cameras on the Konoha troops.
This surprised Yagura.
They were in the Land of Fire, and Konoha had the advantage of fighting on home ground. How could Hidden Mist's Anbu win the intelligence war? When had Hidden Mist's Anbu become so strong?
This gave Yagura the idea of changing tactics.
With such a lead in intelligence, guerrilla warfare was unnecessary. They could completely use their intelligence advantage to catch Konoha off guard.
However, Yagura was already a mature commander. He did not act rashly. Instead, he requested instructions from Hidden Mist's high-ranking officials far away in the Land of Water.
The answer from Hidden Mist's high-ranking officials was simple.
Attack.
Seize the opportunity to strike Konoha hard.
After receiving the order, Yagura began using the intelligence to lay out his strategy.
Yagura did not move his own troops. Instead, he ordered the other two teams to leave behind some Ninja as decoys, then gather their main forces and set up ambushes in the areas around his own position.
At the same time, Yagura himself moved frequently, deliberately provoking the enemy.
"To be so rampant in the Land of Fire, he must have something to rely on."
After learning that Yagura was using his strength to hunt Konoha Ninja everywhere, Homura did not become angry. Instead, he calmly began thinking of countermeasures.
He had his intelligence Ninja gather accurate information while planning how to eliminate the Hidden Mist force.
"If he wants to play guerrilla warfare, then I'll capture the leader first."
After discerning the Mist force's intentions, Homura 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 would personally lead one team to encircle and annihilate the area where Yagura was located, while the other team would encircle the area closer to Yagura's position.
That way, even if something unexpected happened, with the mobility of Ninja, they would still have time to support each other. This arrangement would also make it harder for Yagura to escape.
Although the plan had been made, Homura did not act rashly. The key to the plan was killing Yagura, so Yagura's location was crucial. If that information was wrong, then the Konoha force would simply be led around like dogs.
Only after the intelligence Ninja obtained accurate information did Homura officially begin the operation.
The mission had to be completed as quickly as possible, but stability mattered more than speed.
Looking at Homura's movements in the intelligence report, Yagura showed a hint of regret.
"Why couldn't it be Hayate Mugetsu or Orochimaru who came?"
If it were Mugetsu or Orochimaru, then defeating them would truly count as redemption.
...
On Monday, Yamato went to the Ninja Academy together with Mugetsu.
It was the first day of school, and even Hiruzen took time out to attend the Ninja Academy and give a speech for the entrance ceremony.
As they entered the entrance ceremony venue, Mugetsu took out a small gift box and handed it to Yamato.
"This is your entrance gift. It's a Kunai I forged myself. Open it and see if you like it," Mugetsu said with a gentle smile.
"There's no need for this. You're already so busy, yet you still took the time to forge a Kunai for me," Yamato said, overwhelmed by the gesture.
Actually, even if it had been a standard Kunai Mugetsu bought from a store, Yamato would have liked it very much, because Mugetsu was already good enough to him.
Of course, Yamato was even happier with a homemade Kunai that carried more thought. It only made him feel that he owed Mugetsu too much.
[You gifted your disciple a personally forged Kunai. Due to your disciple's immense gratitude, a great critical hit was triggered. Reward: Ninjutsu, Transcription Seal, Mastery Level.]
"This Ninjutsu is quite good. It's very versatile," Mugetsu thought, nodding inwardly at the reward that popped up.
Transcription Seal was a good Ninjutsu, but Mugetsu did not know whether the Sharingan he obtained through transformation could use it.
If it could, then it might play an unexpected role at a critical moment.
After giving Yamato the gift, Mugetsu and Yamato followed the crowd into the entrance ceremony venue.
The first to speak was still Konoha's Third Hokage, the principal of the Ninja Academy, Hiruzen.
"Where Konoha dances, fire will burn. You are Konoha's future, Konoha's new sprouts…"
Hiruzen's passionate speech about the Will of Fire stirred the new students below until their blood surged. It made them feel as if they were already the pillars of Konoha and wished they could immediately fight for the village.
After a round of enthusiastic applause, the host continued, "Next, we invite Vice Principal Mugetsu to speak."
As soon as Mugetsu stepped onto the stage, thunderous applause erupted.
In the Ninja Academy, where Chunin were common, Mugetsu had already become a living legend. Teachers who had interacted with Mugetsu before often used that experience as a topic of conversation.
For example, Ikeya Yu, one of the teachers from the small office where Mugetsu used to work, often told other teachers about how Mugetsu had once substituted for his class, how he had invited Mugetsu to dinner, and so on.
Because Mugetsu had built many good connections during his time at the Ninja Academy, whenever people mentioned him, most of what they could say was that he was strong and had good character. This naturally had a positive effect.
"Hello, teachers and students…"
It was not Mugetsu's first time attending an entrance ceremony, so he skillfully began speaking from his prepared script.
After Mugetsu finished speaking, another round of thunderous applause followed.
"Why do I feel like Teacher Mugetsu is more popular than the Hokage?" Yamato thought as he observed 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 Mugetsu spoke.
Soon, the entrance ceremony quietly ended, and Yamato walked toward the class he had been assigned to.
"It's finally over." Yamato breathed a sigh of relief on his way back to class.
It was not that he found the entrance ceremony boring. Rather, Yamato was not yet used to such crowded environments.
Since being picked up by Danzo, he had never been in the same place as so many people at once.
"Class 1, Grade 1."
After confirming he was in the right place, Yamato walked into the classroom and sat in the front row on the right, closest to the door.
Soon after, the classroom of Class 1, Grade 1 was filled with students.
Then, as the class bell rang, the Chunin teacher walked in.
"Next, we'll do self-introductions. Just state your name, your dream, and anything else you want to share," the Chunin teacher said, standing at the podium.
"Does anyone want to volunteer to go first?"
The classroom fell silent. The students looked at one another, but no one took the initiative to stand 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 dream was impossible to achieve, it was a very idealistic dream, one very suited to a child entering the Ninja Academy.
The other students followed and applauded.
Some looked at Yamato with pure, shining eyes, thinking he was very brave.
Others showed disdain, thinking Yamato was dreaming.
After all, even these six-year-old children knew that Senju Hashirama was the greatest Ninja in Konoha, and perhaps even in the entire Ninja World. He was an existence no one could match.
With someone taking the lead, things went much more smoothly. The students began introducing 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 academy, so my dream is to become a respected teacher like Lord Mugetsu."
"My name is Hyuga Oriko, and my dream is…"
With the students cooperating, the self-introduction session quickly ended. Then the formal lesson began.
"In this class, we will discuss one of the most important things for a Ninja: Chakra," the Chunin teacher began.
After listening for half a minute, Yamato showed an expression that said, "That's it?"
He had already learned this kind of knowledge long ago. Not only from Mugetsu, but even from Danzo before that.
Ten minutes later, Yamato was already thinking about what to eat for dinner.
It was not that he did not want to listen. The problem was that 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 and learn the most basic one plus one or five plus four. Who could listen seriously to that?
"Yamato, aren't you supposed to become a Ninja like the First Hokage? You can't stop paying 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 did not know her, he did not want to be seen as a bad student.
After all, he was Mugetsu's disciple. He could not tarnish Mugetsu's reputation.
"Yamato, stand up and tell me what I just taught," the Chunin teacher called out.
Although Yamato had performed well during his self-introduction, whispering so blatantly in the front row deserved a 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 had not been listening, Yamato simply spoke about what he knew: the characteristics of various Chakra Nature Transformations, the relationships and counters between different Chakra natures, and how the fusion of two Chakra attributes could form a Bloodline Limit and special Chakra.
"Stop, stop, that's enough."
The Chunin teacher listened until he almost could not understand anymore and quickly called Yamato to a halt.
"Yamato is very diligent! Everyone, if you have any questions, you can ask him."
Because Yamato's performance was exceptionally strong, the Chunin teacher silently overlooked his behavior.
There was no need to manage a student like this. He only needed to wait to be carried.
The students around Yamato stared at him, dumbfounded. Others might not know, but they had seen Yamato spacing out and talking to the person behind him with their own eyes. That was far from being diligent.
Although he successfully defused the crisis, Yamato did not continue talking to the person behind him. Instead, he pretended to listen attentively while letting his mind wander.
After all, he had undergone professional training in Root, so he could control his expression a little.
After class, many students took the initiative to approach Yamato and chat with him.
"Yamato, you're amazing! How do you know so much? Even the teacher didn't explain as much as you did!"
"Yamato, you're so brave. You were the first one 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?" one child joked.
Immediately, someone laughed out loud. Then the laughter spread one by one, until all the children surrounding Yamato began to laugh. Even Yamato could not help smiling.
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 several times in a row, 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.
By the end of the day, although Yamato had not learned anything, he unexpectedly felt that today had been quite enjoyable.
This was a feeling he had never experienced before.
When he was in Root, he was often confined to secluded places to learn various Ninja knowledge.
He gained some freedom after Mugetsu became his teacher, but because of various restrictions, the only people he could interact with were Mugetsu and Mugetsu's disciples.
Yamato thought about it carefully and realized that he had become the "Kakashi-senpai" of his classmates.
This was a feeling he could not get from Kakashi and the others, because his training progress lagged far too far behind theirs.
"Teacher Mugetsu, so this is why you said I had to stay for at least a year, isn't it?" Yamato instantly understood Mugetsu's intention.
Mugetsu had not sent him to the Ninja Academy to learn things.
He had sent him there to "play."
At the same time, a message popped up on Mugetsu's panel.
[Disciple Yamato's trust level has increased. Current trust level: Four.]
.....
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