Three months had passed in the blink of an eye. Rokuro had crafted a total of thirty ring-shaped ninja tools, designed to perform three types of medical ninjutsu: Stop-Bleeding, Recovery, and Healing.
All three were basic medical techniques, rated as B-class in difficulty. That rating itself reflected the high level of chakra control required for medical ninjutsu; otherwise, they would have been no higher than C-class.
On the battlefield, these techniques were strictly for emergency use. If someone sustained severe injuries, these alone wouldn't be sufficient.
However, for biological research or acting as a laboratory assistant, mastering these three techniques was more than enough.
This was also why Orochimaru valued Rokuro so highly: using ninja tools only required a sufficient supply of chakra. Precise control, elemental transformation, or shape manipulation were irrelevant.
In this way, even someone like Naruto, whose chakra control was notoriously poor, could become a high-level medical ninja simply by using these tools.
With Naruto's enormous chakra reserves, he could even heal an entire ninja alliance alone—more impressive than Tsunade herself.
In short, thirty rings could create ten medical ninjas proficient in basic techniques, enough to serve as assistants for Orochimaru and Kabuto.
Meanwhile, Rokuro himself acquired upgraded medical knowledge and skills, finally allowing him to initiate his Bloodline Purification Project.
The only drawback was that he occasionally had to go on missions, preventing him from fully dedicating himself like Orochimaru could.
Near the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Springs, Rokuro carried a large sealing scroll on his back, patrolling with Hyuga Hizashi and Inuzuka Hana.
These two were his squad members. Unlike the typical configuration of one jonin leading three genin, the aftermath of the Third Ninja World War—even three years later—meant that tensions between countries never fully ceased.
Particularly after the Nine-Tails Incident and the sacrifice of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, the spark of war between the Five Great Nations threatened to flare again.
Of these nations, the Land of Lightning was the most restless.
The reason was simple: the Land of Lightning suffered minimal losses during the Third Ninja World War.
Apart from the death of the Third Raikage, the nation's strength had barely been touched, while the other four nations were weakened. In fact, the Land of Lightning's national power had arguably increased.
So, after learning of Minato's death, the Land of Lightning intensified its infiltration into the Land of Fire. The Land of Hot Springs, wedged between the two, had witnessed frequent encounters between Konoha and Kumogakure ninja over the past year.
In this quasi-war environment, Konoha's manpower was stretched thin, making the traditional jonin-with-three-genin squads impractical.
Rokuro's three-person team was small, but elite in strength.
First, Hyuga Hizashi, a branch family member, had Byakugan weaknesses, but in terms of chakra reserves and combat experience, he was fully a Konoha jonin, particularly formidable in close combat.
Inuzuka Hana, sister of Konoha's "Twelve Strong," Inuzuka Kiba, was similar in age to Rokuro. Though currently a genin, her clan techniques and partnership with her ninja dog easily qualified her for chunin-level performance.
Most importantly, both Hinata and Inuzuka came from Konoha's secret technique families. When it came to reconnaissance, even the Uchiha pale in comparison.
Knowing he was teaming up with these two, Rokuro felt satisfied, his bad mood from earlier disturbances slightly alleviated.
A dog bark sounded. One of Inuzuka Hana's ninja dogs, the middle sibling of the three Gray Maru brothers, was alerting her.
Hana immediately ran over and activated her clan's scent techniques.
"Someone's coming! More than five, about five kilometers away."
Hyuga Hizashi leapt to a tree, forming hand signs and activating his Byakugan.
The world in his vision turned black and white, leaving chakra as the only visible color, making it easy to detect ninjas.
"Southwest, 4.8 kilometers away. Eight in total, all from Kumogakure. Two have jonin-level chakra."
"Wow, teaming up with you two is really convenient. Detecting enemies several kilometers in advance makes this fight much easier. Captain Hizashi, what's the plan? Capture them alive or eliminate them?"
Hizashi furrowed his brow.
"They outnumber us and are stronger. Are you confident we can win?"
Hana glanced at Rokuro. The Uchiha bold enough to confront the Third Hokage drew keen interest from Konoha's secret technique families.
After all, he had awakened the double tomoe Sharingan at just seven years old—a talent almost unparalleled, even among the Uchiha prodigies.
Moreover, Rokuro was more than a prodigy; he had already slain seasoned elite jonin.
Kakuzu, a rogue ninja from Takigakure, was notorious. Many Konoha shinobi had faced him and knew his danger firsthand. That Rokuro had defeated him was proof enough that his strength was at least jonin-level—a seven-year-old jonin, a truly intimidating figure.
Hearing Hizashi's words, Rokuro smiled, patting the scroll on his back.
"Captain Hizashi, ninja battles aren't decided by raw stats alone. Intelligence can greatly affect the outcome. With you two, we've already won the intelligence war. Now, we just need to set the trap…"
Another dog bark came. The Gray Maru brothers seemed to understand human speech, all growling threateningly at Rokuro.
"Sorry, sorry! I mean, we just need to set a proper ambush. Even eight Kumogakure ninja—or eighteen—won't escape death. Capturing them alive wouldn't even be a problem."
As he spoke, Rokuro unrolled the sealing scroll on his back.
"Captain Hizashi, pick a good ambush spot."
Hizashi scanned the surroundings with his Byakugan and selected a relatively narrow terrain.
The three humans and three dogs moved quickly, reaching the ambush point ahead of the eight enemy ninjas.
Rokuro activated the scroll, inputting chakra. A sealing array over five meters in diameter unfolded instantly, then vanished, rendered invisible.
Hana sniffed for any anomaly—nothing. Hizashi examined the area with his Byakugan—what had just been visible was now completely gone.
This gave him a vivid understanding of Rokuro's sealing technique, though the thought that came to his mind was so audacious he nearly crushed it immediately.
"The sealing array is set. We just need to lure them here. By the way, Captain Hizashi, are we capturing them alive or eliminating them?"
Hizashi paused, then a cold glint appeared in his eyes.
"Kumogakure has been overstepping increasingly. It's time to show them the consequences. Trespassers shall be killed without mercy!"
END OF CHAPTER
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