pdf-ebookys Chapter 88 The Way of the Ninja
Chapter 88 The Way of the Ninja
Chapter 88 The Way of the Ninja (Combined Chapter)
"If it's Rin's, then...then..." Obito was speechless for a moment. He imagined what it would be like if he were in this situation, and a heavy feeling that made it hard to breathe surged into his heart. He didn't even want to think about it.
"Kakashi, what about you? Do you think the mission is more important or your comrades?" Taichi turned to Kakashi and asked.
"I~" Kakashi thought it over and over again, but still couldn't give an answer. He looked conflicted and obviously couldn't think of anything for the time being.
"I will never give up on Rin!" Suddenly, Obito stood up and shouted, his face flushed red, ignoring the strange looks from those around him.
"What if it's another companion?" Taiichi asked.
"I won't give up. We can do missions anytime, but we only have one life for our comrades." Obito's eyes revealed determination, clearly having realized something through Rin's question.
Kakashi looked at Obito with a hint of admiration in his eyes, because Obito was able to make a choice so quickly, but there was more helplessness in his eyes. Obito had obviously oversimplified the mission. The success or failure of some missions was related to the life and death of countless people.
"And what about you, Taiichi? What would you choose?" Lin asked Taiichi at this moment.
Taiichi looked at everyone, but instead of directly answering Rin's question, he asked them again, "You haven't forgotten the Will of Fire, have you?"
Seeing everyone nod, Taiyi said, "Where the leaves dance, the fire will never die. The firelight will continue to illuminate the village and allow new leaves to sprout."
"Isn't it clear? The Will of Fire teaches us to value and protect our comrades."
"But the Will of Fire also teaches us to protect the village and to prioritize the village's interests above all else," Kakashi retorted.
"Yes, they are both Will of Fire, so which one is right?" Taiichi countered.
Kakashi was stunned and clearly couldn't answer.
Obito was completely confused and unable to make sense of things.
Lin seemed to be deep in thought, but she didn't say anything.
Taiyi smiled as he looked at the different expressions on everyone's faces. "Actually, in my opinion, there is no single right answer. All choices depend on the individual. If you value your companions, then your companions are important; if you value the mission, then the mission is important."
"But I think the most important point is that we can only hold ourselves to the standards we believe are correct. If we try to force others to act according to our own thinking, that would truly be a violation of the Will of Fire," Taichi added at the end.
"That means they didn't say anything at all," Obito muttered to himself.
"Haha, that's because there's no right answer to this kind of question. Of course, everyone can express their own opinion, but as I said before, it's definitely wrong to force others to act according to your own ideas."
"Alright, alright, let's not talk about these heavy things anymore. We're here to eat, so why are we talking about this?" With that, Taiyi picked up a golden-brown slice of grilled meat, dipped it in sauce, and stuffed it into his mouth.
"Mmm! This is so delicious, everyone eat!"
"You were the one who brought this up first."
Then, everyone started chatting and laughing again, and the atmosphere gradually became lively again.
"Kakashi, I hope what I said today will have some effect. In times like these, a word from family is worth ten times the effort of outsiders." Tai looked at Kakashi and thought to himself.
Evening, at the Hatake residence.
Kakashi returned home after a day of playing around with everyone, only to find Sakumo Hatake practicing his sword in the yard. Remembering their conversation at the barbecue restaurant earlier that day, he asked, almost without thinking, "Father, tell me, which is more important, the mission or the lives of your comrades?"
Sakumo stopped brandishing his short sword, stood up, and looked at Kakashi in surprise, not expecting Kakashi to ask such a question.
"Of course, the lives of my comrades are more important. My sword was born to protect them. This is my ninja way," Sakumo replied resolutely.
"What if the mission is very important?" Kakashi continued to ask.
"Then we'll make up for it doubled afterward, but we only have one life for our comrade." Sakumo was indeed Sakumo; his answer was as sharp as his blade.
"I understand! Thank you for your guidance, Father." After saying that, Kakashi returned to his room.
At this moment, Taiichi was at home looking through the sealing technique scrolls that Minato had given him.
As Taichi delved deeper into the text, he couldn't help but marvel at how Minato and Kushina's sealing techniques were probably among the best even in the entire Hidden Leaf Village.
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The scroll progresses step-by-step from the basics of runes to the fundamental sealing technique, the One-Element Seal, and then to the slightly more complex Two-Element Seal. It truly is the best introductory textbook for beginners.
Taiyi was so engrossed in reading that whenever he gained something, he would take out a pen and make notes. He read and took notes in this way until he had roughly read the entire scroll before stopping.
Taiyi let out a long sigh, straightened up and stretched. He looked up at the time and was slightly surprised to find that it was already 1 a.m.
Taiyi couldn't help but sigh at how fast time flies, and then hurriedly went to wash up and go to bed.
Lying in bed, Taiichi took one last look at the panel:
[Under learning, Skill Sealing Technique Lv0 (12/100)]
In the days that followed, Class 8 finally returned to normal mission life, no longer experiencing the kind of setbacks that occurred before, where even a C-level mission would be disrupted by various reasons.
While such a life is exciting and thrilling enough, honestly, not many people would want to live like this forever.
Time passed in this ordinary yet fulfilling daily routine. The members of Class 8 lived a life of doing tasks, resting, training, and then doing tasks, resting, and training again.
Occasionally, there were gatherings among old classmates or team activities within Class 8.
By frequently accepting and efficiently completing missions, Team 8 gradually gained some fame in the Konoha ninja community. After all, for a rookie team to achieve what they did was already comparable to some veteran teams.
They've even started to take on B-level missions, which shows how much the overall strength of Class 8 has improved.
During this period, it is worth mentioning that Tsunade finally wrote back on the third day after Taichi sent out his second letter.
When Taiichi felt the summons from the spirit contract, he was clearly stunned for a moment. Only after carefully sensing it did he realize that it was a reverse spirit communication from the slug.
As the thought of agreeing to the summoning arose in his mind, with a "bang," Taiyi disappeared from his home and arrived at the legendary Shikkotsu Forest.
This is Taiichi's first time in Shikkotsu Forest. Although he has been a slug psychic for almost two months, he has never been here before.
What came into view was a strange forest. Unlike the green trees outside, the forest here was a pale white, and from a distance it really looked like a forest of bones.
A layer of white mist hung in the air, so thick in some places that it obscured visibility. The uneven ground formed puddles, making the air even more humid.
From afar to near, slugs of all sizes crawled everywhere, some nibbling on leaves, others motionless as if resting.
"Lord Taiichi, over here." A small but gentle voice sounded in his ear. It was a little slug talking to Taiichi from the tree next to him.
"Hello, slug. Is there anything I need to do here?" Taiichi asked.
"Lady Tsunade has written a reply. The letter is right ahead. I'll take you there." As she spoke, slugs gathered from all directions and merged into the small slug that had spoken. In just a moment, the slug, which was originally the size of a fist, grew to the size of an adult.
"Come with me, Taiichi."
"Oh~ okay~ okay." Taiichi was amazed by the slug's actions just now. Seeing this kind of clone usage firsthand was truly astonishing.
Soon, Taiichi, led by the slug, arrived in front of an even larger slug. As the "small" slug merged with it, the large slug lowered its head in front of Taiichi, and a letter addressed to Taiichi emerged from the slug's body.
"Taiichi, this is Lady Tsunade's letter. Do you want to read it here, or go back and read it later?"
"Uh, I think I'll go back and read it!" Taiyi looked around. The surrounding environment was clearly not suitable for reading, and judging from the thickness of the letter, it was obviously quite long.
"Okay, goodbye then, Taiichi."
After the summons was lifted, Taichi returned to his home in Konoha.
Unfolding the letter, the first thing you see is a "friendly" greeting: You little rascal, what brings you to write to me? Let me tell you, your teacher has nothing good left for you—
She rambled on and on, spending most of the eight pages complaining about how much money she had lost that day and where she would borrow money tomorrow. But Taiichi still managed to get a general understanding of Tsunade's situation from her words.
Finally, Tsunade also answered the various questions raised by Taichi in his first two letters, including those about medical ninjutsu and some about superhuman strength.
After reading all the letters, Taiyi was overjoyed. The first step of the long journey had finally been taken, and he figured that finding Tsunade wouldn't be far off.
The next day, by the river.
With a "crack," a large tree snapped in half, and the radiating wounds at the break indicated that it had been punched in the middle.
At this moment, there was not just one broken tree at the scene; within a radius of 100 meters, there were more than 30 trees of various sizes lying on the ground.
Looking at the large tree that had just been broken, Taichi showed a satisfied expression. He had finally mastered the skill of super strength.
It turns out that because he had established contact with Tsunade and received her guidance in the letter, many of his usual doubts were resolved, which made Taiichi's training progress by leaps and bounds. During this period, Taiichi's progress in physical skills was enormous, especially in the training of super strength, which he can now begin to integrate into actual combat.
In the past two months, Taiyi has not only gained these things, but he has also mastered the basics of the Earth Release and Lightning Release ninjutsu he exchanged earlier. Although he is not yet very proficient, he can now use them correctly without any problems.
[Through long-term training, your Strength +1, Agility +1]
[After long-term training, your skill Super Strength has been upgraded to Lv5 (0/800)]
[Congratulations, your Genin class level has been upgraded to Lv7 (0/1200)]
[Attribute Points +1, Skill Points +1]
It seems that certain conditions were met; after this upgrade, the panel directly triggered the job change requirements:
[Note: Your physical condition has met the requirements. The conditions for triggering the job change are: 1. Genin job level Lv10, 2.]
体质或精神达到15点，3.力量20点，4.敏捷20点，5.村子中忍考核通过。】
Seeing the job change prompt, Taiyi was overjoyed. Knowing the job change requirements gave him a goal to strive for. Now, all that remained to change jobs were the job level and the village assessment, so he would work hard towards those goals.
A closer analysis reveals that the fastest way to fulfill these two requirements is simply to take on more tasks, which is exactly what Taiyi and his team have been doing recently.
Thinking of this, Taiyi wished he could immediately go find Yangping and the others so they could all take on another mission together. But unfortunately, they had just returned from completing a mission and were currently resting.
Suppressing his impatience, Taiyi continued to analyze his own situation. Now that all his attribute points had increased to 20, Taiyi was facing a problem:
For example, if you need two points to increase your Constitution attribute from 21 to 22, then it will definitely be the same when other attributes reach that level in the future. Not to mention what will happen when you go from 22 to 23, and even further from 23 to 24?
This will lead to a severe shortage of attribute points later on. Will skills also encounter the same situation?
Based on this, Taiyi decided that from now on, attribute points could only be added to the two fundamental attributes of constitution and spirit, and only when necessary.
I usually focus more on training advanced physical skills and advanced meditation, since they can directly improve attributes through training.
Skill points are even more so. Compared to only 4 attributes that need to be added, skills are densely packed. Therefore, Taiyi decided not to use skill points unless necessary, and to improve through practice on his own.
After reflecting on his own performance, Taiichi was surprised to find that his current strength, in terms of overall ninja qualities, could barely qualify him as a Jonin.
Of course, he can only be described as a Jonin who is skilled in technique; he still lacks a lot in terms of physical strength.
With this thought in mind, Taiyi assumed a fighting stance and began practicing advanced physical techniques, hoping to improve his physical fitness as soon as possible.
The Hokage's office.
At this moment, the highest-ranking officials of Konoha were gathered here, holding a secret meeting.
"We received news from Sakumo that he has assassinated the planners and executors of the 'Report on the Kidnapping of Other Countries' by Kumogakure. We now need the village's support," Hiruzen Sarutobi told the group, relaying the intelligence he had received.
"Oh, isn't that great? So why are you bringing this up now? Has something changed?" Koharu Utatane asked, voicing the question on everyone's mind.
"This is a protest letter sent by Kumogakure this morning, saying that Konoha sent people to assassinate their village's high-ranking officials. Take a look!" Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up another piece of paper from the table and handed it to Homura Mitokado, who was closest to him.
After the three of them passed the document around, Danzo spoke first, "What? Kumogakure still has the nerve to be so arrogant? They want Konoha to hand over the killer? Who gave them the courage?"
"Hiruzen, send that report directly to the Raikage and see what they say. If they still pursue the matter, we'll release it to all countries and get them involved as well," Mitokado Homura suggested directly.
"Yes, this is the time to stand up for ourselves. Which ninja village doesn't have a bloodline limit? Who isn't worried about being targeted by those barbarians from Kumogakure?" Koharu Utatane agreed, "Besides, we've already discussed this before, and this is how we'll deal with it."
"Alright, since that's the case, let's settle on this." Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed on his pipe. "Danzo, Root is the best at this. Have someone deliver the item to the Raikage as quickly as possible."
"Why are you in such a hurry? Did something happen to Sakumo?" Koharu Utatane noticed the Hokage's urgency and asked.
"Yes, Sakumo's whereabouts have been discovered by the Cloud Village, and he's currently being hunted down." Hiruzen Sarutobi calmly nodded in acknowledgment, though his smoking frequency had noticeably increased.
"Are you trying to put pressure on the Raikage through this method, so that he will withdraw his pursuers?" Danzo interjected, his lowered eyelids concealing a gloomy look, as if he were deep in thought.
Hiruzen Sarutobi clearly didn't notice Danzo's gaze, but even if he had, he would have simply ignored it, given Danzo's consistently gloomy demeanor over the past few years.
"That's the idea. Even if the Raikage sends people to pursue us later, he won't do it so openly as he does now."
"Okay, I'll arrange for someone to do it immediately after the meeting and try to deliver it as quickly as possible." Danzo nodded and accepted the task.
"Hiruzen, this isn't safe either. We should send someone to meet them in case the Cloud Village acts desperately."
Mitomon Yan added.
"Hmm." Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, while considering who should be sent to provide support, as there weren't many Jonin available in the village right now.
Then he remembered the Yamaguchi squad, who had been unusually active lately. Perhaps it was time to give them more responsibilities. If everything went smoothly, this mission wouldn't be too difficult.
"Alright, then let's arrange for Minato Namikaze and Seisuke Yamaguchi's squad to complete this rendezvous mission." Hiruzen Sarutobi made the decision.
"Hiruzen, Minato's team is fine; his members are all Chunin. But isn't Seisuke's team a bit too early? His members are all Genin," Mitokado Homura raised a different opinion.
"Yan, your information is outdated. The members of the main support squad are far stronger than ordinary genin, especially Matsushita Taichi, whose strength is comparable to some special jonin." Hiruzen Sarutobi said with certainty.
"Since you put it that way, then I have no objection."
Danzo, standing nearby, felt his eyes twitch. He couldn't stand hearing any praise for Matsushita Taichi; it reminded him of the bitter pill of missing out on the Hokage position. He subtly lowered his head, concealing the hatred in his eyes to prevent others from noticing anything.
"Next topic, Koharu, how's the recent procurement of supplies going?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked Koharu Utatane, who was in charge of logistics.
"Ever since I obtained information about Sunagakure, I have been secretly acquiring supplies. In order to avoid attracting attention and causing significant price fluctuations, the acquisition scale has not been very large. So far, I have only acquired enough supplies to support a medium-sized war."
Xiaochun, who was turning over the door, had a smile on her face. She was obviously being modest, but in reality, she was quite proud of her work.
"Then let's increase the acquisition efforts. Root has received information that Sunagakure is also stockpiling supplies recently. The ninja world is about to be in turmoil again."
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu's expressions changed simultaneously, clearly shocked by this sudden news.
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