The Uchiha and the Hyuga were, after all, Konoha's two largest clans. Either one could produce hundreds of elite ninja at once. By contrast, some smaller clans couldn't even scrape together a hundred.
Here, "elite" meant different things by clan: for the Uchiha, it meant having awakened the Sharingan; for the Hyuga, it meant having awakened the Byakugan. Never mind how many tomoe the Sharingan had, or whether someone had mastered the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms—so long as their bloodline limit was awakened, compared with ordinary ninja at the same level (and civilian ninja), they counted as elite.
It was hierarchy in its purest form.
To completely break up fifty Uchiha ninja and mix them into a force, you needed at least fifty squads. At the usual size of three to four people per squad, that meant the mixed force would total close to two hundred.
To gather that many people without disrupting Konoha's normal operations, Sarutobi Hiruzen even reassigned some ANBU into the unit. Handing such a thick family fortune to Tsunade was, in a way, a sign of enormous trust.
Now that the troops had assembled… what was their commander, Tsunade-sama, doing?
"Kiyonari! Kiyonari! Promise me—you have to master this jutsu as soon as possible!"
Tsunade pulled out a massive scroll and urged Hyuga Kiyonari to sign his name on it. This scroll was none other than the contract scroll of Shikkotsu Forest—one of the three great sage lands of the ninja world.
Shikkotsu Forest, Mount Myōboku, Ryūchi Cave—these were the three places in the ninja world that possessed methods for cultivating natural energy. And the native species living there were not human: slugs, toads, and snakes.
The difference was that Shikkotsu Forest wasn't a gathering place for slugs—it was home to only a single slug, named Katsuyu. The slugs summoned by past contractors were all portions of Sage Katsuyu. The more chakra you supplied, the larger the portion you could summon.
"I've already spoken with Sage Katsuyu. If you're ever in danger, use the Summoning Jutsu to trigger this mark—Sage Katsuyu will use reverse summoning to transfer you to Shikkotsu Forest."
"And one more thing! Until you've completely mastered summoning, absolutely—absolutely—absolutely do not use it recklessly. Otherwise you'll end up like that idiot Jiraiya and get sent to some weird place!"
As if that still wasn't safe enough, she repeated "absolutely" three times.
Kiyonari wrote his name on the scroll, accepted a smaller scroll that recorded the Summoning Jutsu, and nodded like a little pecking chick.
Only then did Tsunade finally feel comfortable leaving.
Shinobi efficiency really was something else. The order was given last night—and by the next morning, the unit was already fully equipped and ready.
Tsunade stood at the very front. As agreed, behind her stood two deputies: Shizune and Uchiha Shisui. Shisui wore ANBU gear but had removed the mask, revealing a youthful, energetic face.
Tsunade inspected the neat ranks before her and nodded with satisfaction.
"All personnel—listen up!"
Her voice was clear and strong. After so many years away from the village, this was the first time she had spoken with authority to the younger generation.
"Objective—northeastern border of the Land of Fire! Move out!"
Shinobi weren't the type to roar back in thunderous chants. They simply fell silent and turned into streaks of shadow, following behind Tsunade as they vanished into the forest beyond the village.
Along the way, they remained quiet—only the endless sound of feet landing on branches as they leapt from tree to tree.
Unless a fight was imminent, shinobi generally didn't stop on the march. For them, running all day was no big deal. If they were tired or hungry, they simply popped a soldier pill to keep going.
Not until evening did the unit finally reach its destination.
It was an open clearing in the forest, with good visibility. Around it were some temporary wooden structures—clearly a site Konoha shinobi had used as a garrison before.
Tsunade turned. Every eye fixed on her, waiting for orders.
"Before we begin setting up camp," Tsunade said slowly, "I have something to say. It's all important, so I want you to listen carefully."
Uchiha Shisui immediately took out paper and pen, ready to record the key points—that was his job. As for the other deputy, Shizune, her work was still mostly taking care of Tsunade's daily needs.
"In the past, shinobi wars were fought by clans. Uchiha, Hyuga, Aburame… each fought their own battles. Even though there were alliances like Ino–Shika–Cho, overall, the clan was still the basic combat unit."
"After the founding of the hidden village system, with so many different types of shinobi gathered into one village, fighting purely as clans no longer seemed sufficient. So people tried grouping similar types of shinobi together—for example, Iwagakure's Explosion Release Corps."
The Explosion Release Corps was a special forces-style unit Iwagakure deliberately cultivated. In theory, its firepower should have been strong enough to deliver devastating strikes against any enemy.
Other villages had similar formations: Fire Style units, Water Style units, and so on.
"But in the past few Great Ninja Wars, the Explosion Release Corps didn't shine. Why?" Tsunade threw out the question, her eyes scanning reactions across the ranks.
"Because their overall level wasn't high enough—they couldn't pull away from ordinary shinobi units."
"Then in that case, create an elite squad instead—for example, Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen."
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen were an elite unit built around seven special blades. In Kirigakure, only shinobi strong enough had the right to become candidates.
"The Seven Swordsmen really were strong. They even invaded deep into the Land of Fire, not far from Konoha itself. Until… they met that man."
"A man named Might Duy traded his life for theirs, killing four sword-wielders. The remaining three fled in disgrace."
"By then, Might Duy had already burned himself out. Finishing off the remaining kids would've been easy—yet they still ran. Why?"
"Because they were isolated with no support! Might Duy had delayed long enough that Konoha reinforcements could arrive at any moment. If they hesitated even a little longer, they might have been wiped out right there!"
Each sentence hit like a boulder tossed into still water, detonating across the formation. The shinobi looked at each other, confusion and thought tangled together.
Large-scale units couldn't create a decisive gap. Elite units, once they suffered losses, might have no support.
So what, exactly, was the right answer?
Uchiha Shisui continued recording every key point with full focus, but he was also thinking. Then he remembered a private order Fugaku had given him before departure.
[Your mission is obedience—obey Tsunade's orders. If any clan member refuses to obey, you must make them obey "with dignity."]
[If they can't recognize it, make them acknowledge it. If they can't acknowledge it, make them accept it first.]
[If you understand, execute first. If you don't understand, understand gradually while executing.]
[Understood?]
~~~
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