After Tsunade arrived at the battlefield in Ame, Jiraiya and Orochimaru had already taken control of the situation. Feeling frustrated, Tsunade had originally wanted to confront Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, but they had long fled back to Konoha like two beaten dogs when Orochimaru assumed command of the frontlines, leaving Tsunade clenching her teeth in fury.
With no other choice, Tsunade could only discuss the situation in Ame with her two companions, striking down powerful enemies while simultaneously boosting morale.
Meanwhile in Konoha, a wave of grief spread across the village—news of victory from the Land of Rivers couldn't halt it. Too many ninja had perished on the Ame battlefield. Even though the Land of Rivers was victorious, war inevitably brought death. At this moment, Homura and Koharu were receiving Hiruzen Sarutobi's wrath inside the Hokage's office.
Details remained unknown, but Shiyu Uchiha knew well that these two individuals had committed such grave errors and caused massive losses to Konoha, yet suffered no punishment. They remained as privileged and arrogant as ever, still serving as esteemed advisors to the Hokage who felt entitled to comment on every matter involving anyone. It was truly like "grass growing thick after a spring fire"—perhaps explaining why Danzo Shimura would continually challenge Hiruzen in the future.
This might also explain why Hiruzen Sarutobi, who led Konoha to victory in the Second Great Ninja War, found his once-unquestioned reputation gradually overtaken by a rising star—Hatake Sumao. With massive losses among the civilian ninja, although unable to directly resist the Third Hokage's authoritarian rule, they could still vote with their feet by supporting whoever they favored.
Because of the severe casualties suffered on the Ame battlefield, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had no choice but to dispatch another two thousand shinobi to the frontline. He had already begun sensing the depletion of reserves within the village and worried further that a prolonged conflict might worsen the manpower shortage.
To cultivate new generations of capable forces, he decided to let students graduate early from the ninja academy. Ordinary students would be led by experienced chunin instructors, while a few exceptionally talented ones would be guided by newly promoted tokubetsu jonin recently selected within the village.
This plan would also help manage the surge in missions against bandits and missing-nins caused by the war within the Land of Fire. At the same time, the Daimyo had been pressing Konoha to restore the trade routes, adding further urgency to the effort.
Such efforts could generate additional income while sharpening students' skills so they'd rapidly grow into valuable reserves. Even if not sent to battlefields directly, they could handle accumulated missions in Konoha, indirectly contributing to the front lines.
Unlike during the Third Great Ninja War when he callously forced students to graduate and immediately threw them into combat without assigned team leaders, Hiruzen wasn't nearly that reckless at this point.
Konoha still retained enough reserves and qualified instructors at this time, with the war far from reaching the internal borders of the Land of Fire, so safety remained relatively assured—though never absolutely guaranteed.
Safety was never guaranteed in the ninja world; a survival rate of around eighty percent was considered extremely high. Teams guided by experienced tokubetsu jonin could even achieve survival rates above ninety percent.
Thus, under the orders of Hiruzen Sarutobi, all sixth-year students at the Ninja Academy graduated, along with a few fifth-year students—including all members of Class A and most of Class B—as well as a few outstanding fourth-year students and part of Class A's students.
At this point, Konoha's Golden Generation had basically all graduated from school. The future heads and select elite members of Konoha's major ninja clans were all among them, including Shiyu Uchiha. However, Shiyu Uchiha's two deskmates fell just short of meeting the graduation requirements.
Under Hiruzen's orders, their homeroom teachers submitted the list of names to the Hokage's office. After a symbolic exam, everyone officially graduated, and Shiyu Uchiha officially became a promising Genin.
Then the Academy instructors began dividing students into teams. Each team consisted of three people, while a few exceptional students had jonin-level instructors personally assigned by the Hokage.
According to plan, these Genin would spend the next few days engaging in team training under their Jonin-sensei before starting actual missions such as bandit elimination.
Shiyu Uchiha was placed in a team led by Tokubetsu Jonin Shinku Yuhi. Besides Shiyu, the other two members were both fifth-year students: Gekko Ryo, who was skilled in swordsmanship, and Izuno Hiroshi, who inherited his clan's Clan Secret Techniques.
The first task for this newly formed team was naturally team-building training. Therefore, at Shinku Yuhi's request, Shiyu Uchiha and his two new teammates arrived early at one of the training grounds the next morning.
After confirming that all three were present, Shinku Yuhi smiled slightly and said, "I'm your squad leader, Shinku Yuhi. I hope we can get along well during this time.
Let me briefly introduce myself first. I like many kinds of food, but what I enjoy the most is the homemade lunch my wife prepares for me—haha!
What I hate are those who don't respect their comrades. I specialize in genjutsu. My dream used to be becoming a great ninja; nowadays though, I have an additional wish—I also hope my daughter grows up healthy and happy.
Alright, now it's your turn." After speaking, Shinku Yuhi turned toward his three students, waiting for their self-introductions.
"Hello everyone, my name is Shiyu Uchiha. My favorite food is grilled meat, especially the special Akimichi-style barbecue. What I dislike is not having enough time to train. I'm good at sword techniques and Fire Release. My dream is to become strong enough to protect the people I care about." After receiving Shinku Yuhi's instruction, Shiyu quickly completed his introduction, this time without giving the half-hearted or evasive answers he used to give back at the Academy.
Then Izuno Hiroshi and Gekko Ryo exchanged glances. Finally, Izuno spoke next: "My name is Izuno Hiroshi. I love eating fish—any kind of fish. I really hate people who dislike cats. I specialize in my family's secret technique, Ninjutsu: Cat Blanket. My dream is to become a great ninja. Your turn, Ryo."
Finally, Gekko Ryo spoke, saying, "My name is Gekko Ryo. I enjoy practicing the blade in quiet solitude. What I hate most is falling short of my own expectations during training. I am also skilled in bladework, and my dream is to carry forward my family's sword art and see it flourish."
After the three finished speaking, there was a brief pause before Shinku Yuhi said, "Now that everyone has introduced themselves, you'll be sparring against me shortly. You have ten minutes to plan your strategy. Any questions?"
Shiyu Uchiha and the others had already braced themselves for this and weren't surprised. They exchanged glances and answered in unison, "Understood, sensei."
"Then no objections? The timer starts now," Shinku Yuhi said, then vanished using [Shifting Body Technique].
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