chapter 95 part 5
Seeing Tsukasa Kaede, the girl nervously bowed her head, her words stuttering.
"Fen-Tsukasa Kaede, please guide me in the future."
"It seems you already knew. Did Hokage specifically mention this to you? Well then, please take care of me. You will surely demonstrate your talents in my squad."
Tsukasa Kaede smiled.
Don't underestimate Shizune's importance. Her uncle was Kato Dan, and her aunt would eventually be Tsunade. She was a prominent reserve force firmly rooted in the Hokage lineage, and couldn't be given too much attention.
"I told her. The Third Hokage sometimes likes to spring surprises. I made Shizune mentally prepare herself. The border situation isn't stable right now; she might be heading to the battlefield at any moment."
Tsunade said, "The Ninja World War has already ended, but border conflicts have continued. Spies from various Ninja Villages are also very active; we've cleared out wave after wave, which has tied up a lot of the Village's resources. It's truly troublesome."
Kato Dan had already brewed tea for Tsukasa Kaede and smiled, "When I heard you brought back a young man from the Land of Hot Water, I knew Hokage would make arrangements sooner or later. Shizune is a good child; placing her under Kaede's command is perfectly suitable."
This was the Third Hokage's consistent style: striving to make everyone build bonds with each other, constructing a complex yet orderly network that ultimately supported the vast Hidden Leaf Village.
Hidan, as Tsukasa Kaede's disciple, was worth the Village's attention simply for his identity, not to mention his unique undying body. This made it even more necessary for him to establish bonds with the Village, so Hidan absolutely had to be assigned comrades.
"Alright, Shizune, come outside to the courtyard first. I want to see how far your talents have progressed, and then consider how Hidan should cooperate with you. Hidan's situation is quite special; he doesn't really need a Medical Ninja in some ways, but desperately needs one in others."
"Huh?"
Shizune didn't quite understand, but she meticulously followed Tsukasa Kaede's instructions.
Three days later, at the Hidden Leaf Gate.
Tsukasa Kaede looked at the three young Ninja before him. All three were eleven or twelve years old, full of youthful vigor.
However, the combined life force of these three was not as abundant as Tsukasa Kaede's.
"Normally, I would take you on some simple D-rank missions, like weeding or feeding pets, but the situation is urgent now. We don't have enough time to waste; we're going straight to the battlefield to shed blood."
Tsukasa Kaede looked at the three full of fighting spirit—don't misunderstand, he didn't have that look in his eyes "full of his younger self"—when he was eleven or twelve, he wasn't as... healthy as these three.
Hidan swung his scythe, shouting, "It should have been like this from the start! It better be an S-Rank mission from the beginning, that's what Hidan needs!"
Shizune and Hyuga Takashi looked over. In the past two days, at Tsukasa Kaede's request, they had undergone some combat training and understood each other's abilities. They both knew that their most important task was to assist Hidan in battle.
Hidan possessed an undying body. As long as nothing went wrong, their safety would be maximally guaranteed. Even if the enemy targeted them, it would only be after Hidan had drawn away a large portion of the enemy forces.
"I'll do my best..." Shizune said firmly.
Hyuga Takashi's expression was serious. "Hizashi instructed me to strictly obey your commands no matter what happens. Even if it means death, I will not hesitate. The Hyuga Clan has no cowards who fear battle."
"You all are very motivated. Then I won't waste too much time trying to inspire you. Let's go."
The four figures formally departed from the Hidden Leaf Village, heading west of the Hidden Leaf Village.
...
Jiraiya's squad had already engaged an Iwagakure invasion squad and achieved some results.
In times of peace, squad-based infiltration tactics were the mainstream. Teams of over ten people were already considered large-scale; most consisted of a few individuals forming a squad to execute specific combat missions.
Jiraiya, with his three subordinates, had dealt with two Iwagakure squads, killing seven people and interrogating some valuable intel. It was a significant achievement.
"It has been confirmed: the enemy's Jinchuriki has entered the Land of Fire. This means that an unimaginably intense battle could occur at any moment, but we can't confirm which Jinchuriki it is."
"Whether it's the Four-Tails or the Five-Tails, there's no real difference, is there? The number of tails for both Tailed Beasts is similar, and their overall strength should be about the same."
"Dekai, can you stop always contradicting me?"
Two members of the squad bickered.
Jiraiya said gravely, "Alright, I know you two are close, but let's not dwell on this. We must prepare for the worst and, no matter what, impede the enemy's advance. It's best to defeat the enemy's Jinchuriki before they go berserk, otherwise, if they enter Complete Tailed Beast Transformation and unleash Tailed Beast Bombs, many towns within the Land of Fire could be affected, or even completely destroyed."
This was where luck came into play.
Jiraiya felt he had no confidence in pushing every Tailed Beast Bomb into the sky, so the best solution was to prevent the enemy from entering Complete Tailed Beast Transformation.
"Minato, any discoveries?" Jiraiya turned to Minato, who had just appeared beside him.
The other two squad members also looked at Minato Namikaze with reverence. Minato's performance was simply too dazzling; his Flying Raijin Jutsu was practically unbeatable, always instantly killing enemies before they could react.
"The situation isn't good. The three nearby squads have all lost contact. The enemy is doing the same thing as us, inflicting casualties on our forces in the shortest time possible."
Minato quickly said, "If nothing unexpected happens, the enemy is already heading our way. There are several prosperous towns in the area behind us. If the enemy's goal is to destroy the Land of Fire's economy and weaken the Village's war potential, they definitely won't pass this area up."
"Hmm, indeed. Then it's even more impossible for us to let them pass. We must stop them."
Jiraiya said, "I've already requested reinforcements from the Village. The Village will likely send powerful reinforcements. We must hold out until they arrive."
(end of chapter)