After being humiliated by Kakashi's blunt words, Tazuna was left speechless. He could only grit his teeth in frustration.
There was nothing else he could do. His country was too poor, and the fee he'd paid to hire shinobi was his entire savings.
The rest of his funds had to go toward purchasing materials for the bridge.
Tazuna sighed silently.
Shigure glanced at him. While he had no personal stake in whether the man finished building his bridge or not… he could at least respect the goal.
If you can help, then help.
"Alright, let the mission officially begin," Kakashi announced.
And just like that, he disappeared.
Shigure had just opened his mouth to ask something—but Kakashi was already gone.
Vanished without hesitation.
So he's really leaving the rest to us, Shigure thought. Fine.
The biggest challenge at the start of any mission wasn't the enemy, or the battle plans…
It was team structure.
"The first thing we need to do is pick a captain," Shigure said directly to Naruto and Sasuke.
Naruto blinked, but didn't react much. Sasuke, however, looked straight at Shigure.
"You want to be captain?"
Hmph. Sasuke knew Shigure was stronger than him—and he admitted it—but that didn't mean he was ready to follow orders.
He wasn't someone who gave in so easily.
But then Shigure surprised him.
"Not really. I'm not that interested," Shigure said with a shrug. "If you want to lead, go ahead."
Sasuke was caught off guard. For a moment, he just stared.
"…I don't want to be captain either," he replied after a pause.
Then both of them turned to Naruto.
Naruto froze. "Huh?! Me? Really? I can??"
Sasuke sighed, then reached out and gave him a quick smack on the head.
"Forget it. If you were the captain, we'd probably all die without knowing how," he muttered.
Then, Sasuke looked back at Shigure.
"You do it."
Shigure raised a brow. "You sure? You're not that bad yourself."
Sasuke gave a faint smile. "I know my own strengths and weaknesses. I'm not suited to lead. Your personality fits the role better."
Seeing Sasuke say that so directly, Shigure didn't refuse again.
Meanwhile, Kakashi watched them silently from the shadows.
He could see it clearly—Shigure had used a soft touch to guide the situation, refusing the role once and letting Sasuke come to the decision on his own.
Even if Sasuke did realize what Shigure was doing, by the time he put himself in Shigure's shoes, he had to admit that leading wasn't for him.
With that, the issue was resolved—quietly and cleanly.
Kakashi nodded to himself.
Smart move. He passed the first team hurdle with flying colors.
Every team could have multiple opinions, but there needed to be one voice that made the final call.
And now, that role had been settled without conflict.
"Alright then! Shigure's the captain!" Naruto declared proudly.
Sasuke just shrugged—he didn't even acknowledge that Naruto had joined the discussion.
"Let's move. Sasuke, take the lead. Naruto, stay close to Tazuna. I'll bring up the rear," Shigure ordered.
"…Why should I—" Sasuke began to argue out of habit, but then paused.
He went silent, turned around, and walked forward without another word.
His first instinct had been to resist—but somehow, he didn't feel like fighting it anymore.
After all, no one could give orders to Uchiha Sasuke.
But as he cooled down, Sasuke realized something—Shigure's formation wasn't an insult.
The one at the front of a formation wasn't just a lookout—it was the first line of defense, the first to respond to danger. Putting him in that position meant Shigure trusted his strength and reaction speed.
Far from being slighted, Sasuke felt acknowledged.
That silent recognition made him drop the complaint he'd nearly voiced.
Meanwhile, Naruto didn't really get the point of all this positioning. We're just walking, what's the big deal?
And so, the four of them officially set out.
Shigure took the rear, his senses sharp, observing every movement ahead—while also staying alert to anything behind. It was the most demanding spot on the team.
That said, they hadn't left Konoha's outskirts yet, so he allowed himself to relax a little.
Last night, I successfully upgraded Boiling Release to composite fusion level, Shigure thought. And the passive skill bar had been running all night.
Just this morning, Ice Release had also reached the fusion threshold. Chakra control and elemental affinities were both within range.
All that remained was raw physical conditioning.
Still, even with everything in place, Shigure wasn't about to remove both Ice Release techniques from his bar—not yet.
He decided to temporarily remove Ice Release – Frozen World, and keep Ice Release – Freezing Moment instead.
That technique needed enhancement, particularly in terms of range. The strength of the ice itself would naturally improve as his Ice Release advanced.
So, Freezing Moment stayed on the bar.
That freed up a slot, which he immediately filled with an advanced taijutsu skill.
As for Boiling Release, he removed one of the two techniques, keeping only Boiling Release – Heat Breath Blade. That one stayed active to further refine and strengthen the power of the blade itself.
The vacated slot? Also replaced with another high-level taijutsu move.
Now, his four skill bars looked like this:
Chakra Refining Technique
Basic Visual Illusion Technique (Genjutsu)
Advanced Taijutsu
Advanced Taijutsu
Three taijutsu skills in total.
If they ran into trouble, he could quickly swap two of them out for Breathing Blade Techniques, letting him fight with optimal flexibility: no ninjutsu drain, physical technique optimization, and sword breath synergy.
It would be the perfect combat rhythm for Shigure.
Maybe I'll set up custom configurations for PvE and PvP later…
And during battle, I'll have the Great Sage assist with live switching!
[Great Sage: Affirmative.]
The sun blazed overhead. For most people, it would've been exhausting.
But for ninjas like Sasuke, Naruto, and Shigure, it was just a bit warm—nothing they couldn't handle.
Still, not everyone was built for this.
Tazuna, trailing behind, began huffing after only two hours of walking. They had to take a break just so he could catch his breath.
That's when Tazuna finally noticed something odd.
These kids…
Despite their age, their stamina far surpassed his own. Not just Sasuke, who was only lightly sweating, but especially Naruto and Shigure—who weren't even sweating at all.
They're built different, Tazuna realized. This is what it means to be a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf…
After nearly four hours on the road, Shigure's eyes narrowed.
Something's not right.
It was a bright, cloudless day—hot, dry, no recent rainfall.
So why were there two puddles sitting on either side of the road?
…What kind of idiot thinks that's a good disguise?
...
TN:
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