Chapter 334: War
"Why did we all lose in the first round, but you still became a Chunin, Shiosui, while I didn't?" Inuzuka Midori finally voiced the question that had been bugging her the moment she noticed Nara Shiosui's Chunin flak jacket during special training.
"There were… reasons from a lot of different angles," Nara Shiosui said after thinking for a moment, choosing his words carefully.
He could hardly say, "Midori, your strength isn't outstanding and you didn't show any combat intelligence, did you?"
In truth, Shiosui himself felt that his promotion to Chunin had come with a bit of luck.
This round of Chunin Exams had been far more difficult than previous ones. Candidates like Obito and Kisame, who had stopped at the Top Four, would have completely dominated a normal Chunin Exams.
If Shiosui had encountered any one of those four, he doubted he would have become a Chunin at all.
In front of them, his strength was far too weak.
With such an overwhelming gap in raw power, even the sharpest battle tactics were useless. He would be knocked flat with a single kick or cut down with one swing of a blade.
And in the Chunin Exams, he had no chance to set traps beforehand either.
"Midori will definitely become a Chunin in a few months. Special training has made you stronger," Midori said, turning to look at their other teammate, Aburame Nao.
She wanted him to work hard together with her and get ready for the next Chunin Exams.
They were held twice a year anyway.
Of course, the next one would not be cohosted by two villages, and there would be no officials or rich merchants invited to watch.
Nao's expression did not change; he simply nodded calmly.
Midori grinned.
Nao was not good at expressing his feelings, so a nod meant he agreed.
Not only Shiosui, but Asuma, dressed in his own Chunin flak jacket, stood out as well among the Genin and Academy students.
Since this special training was only open to Genin and Academy students, Shiosui and Asuma were the only two Chunins present.
Because of that, and because Asuma had performed decently during the Chunin Exams, some of the more outgoing students proactively approached him for advice.
"Big Brother Asuma, you are really amazing. You actually learned two nature release ninjutsu. Among all those candidates, besides first place Kakashi Hatake, you were the only one, right?" Kotetsu Hagane looked at him with undisguised admiration.
Before this, he only had Ebisu as his "big brother." Now, he had decided to add one more to the list.
"Two nature releases are useless if you still lose. I still lost to Obito's Fire Release," Asuma said, a little depressed.
To be beaten by Obito's Fire Release even while using a combination ninjutsu of his Wind and Fire made him more than a little uncomfortable.
Two elemental ninjutsu had failed to overpower Obito's single attribute Fire Release.
"Big Brother Asuma, do not panic," Izumo Kamizuki immediately said, analyzing the situation. "If you keep getting stronger and form combination ninjutsu with three or even four nature releases, can he really block that using just one?"
Asuma had to admit that Izumo's logic sounded solid.
But actually mastering that many nature transformations was another problem altogether. Training multiple chakra natures at the same time was no small task.
"Actually, there might be no need for that," Izumo added, his eyes suddenly brightening as an idea came to him. "There is a ninjutsu right here in our special training that defeated the strongest taijutsu ninja in Konoha. If Big Brother Asuma learns it, I cannot guarantee you will definitely beat Obito, but your chances will go up a lot."
"Oh? A ninjutsu that defeated Konoha's strongest taijutsu ninja?" Asuma's interest was hooked in an instant. "What kind of ninjutsu is it?"
Leaving aside everything else, simply hearing the phrase "defeated Konoha's strongest taijutsu user" carried a serious impact.
"It is…" Izumo began, but then realized break time was over and they had to resume training.
"Everyone, continue training."
Mugetsu's voice rang out across the field.
"We will tell you the details tomorrow, Big Brother Asuma," Izumo said as he got back to his feet.
This was already the last training segment of the afternoon.
In just a little while, they would all be heading home for dinner.
"Big Brother Asuma, this ninjutsu will definitely surprise you," Kotetsu said with a confident grin, then followed Izumo back to Group C's training area.
"Then I will look forward to it," Asuma replied with a smile.
To be honest, he was not really expecting Kotetsu and Izumo to pull out some truly powerful ninjutsu.
It was not that he looked down on them, but truly strong ninjutsu were extremely difficult to master and placed high demands on the user.
Kotetsu and Izumo were still too young.
Back when Asuma had been in Fourth Grade, even if Hiruzen had wanted to teach him techniques like Fire Release, Fire Dragon Flame Bullet and Fire Release, Fire Vortex, he would not have been able to learn them.
His chakra and his nature transformation level simply had not been up to standard.
Even so, since they were his little fans and spoke so earnestly, Asuma was more than willing to play along and humor them.
He turned back to his training, focusing on Wind Release nature transformation.
At present, his main focus was still Wind Release, and he only switched to Fire Release when he hit a wall with wind.
After a while, he saw that Kurenai Yuhi was still training, sweat pouring down her face.
Asuma walked over and said, "Kurenai, why not take a short break? If you get too exhausted, it might actually hurt your training efficiency."
He had noticed that Kurenai had not rested at all, not even during the previous break.
Hearing his words, Kurenai stopped where she stood, chest heaving as she panted for breath.
If her exhaustion dragged down her efficiency, all that extra effort would be wasted.
"Have you run into any problems lately? I get the feeling you are pushing yourself too hard," Asuma asked with concern.
Being diligent was good, but this level of intensity made him worry.
"Because I do not want to be left too far behind by you all," Kurenai said seriously, looking Asuma in the eyes.
During last year's special training, she had been thoroughly suppressed by Shisui, a First Grade student.
But Shisui was truly a one of a kind monster, and Kurenai could accept that in her heart.
It was Obito and the others' performance in this Chunin Exams that had truly shaken her.
Obito and Might Guy were not strangers to her.
They were friends, people she had spent time with.
During the last special training, although Obito had already surpassed them, the gap had not been huge.
This time was completely different.
In this Chunin Exams, Obito and his group had displayed overwhelming strength.
Kurenai felt she would not last even a single exchange against them.
Their power made her question how they had become so strong in just one year.
Not only Obito and his group, even Asuma's growth made Kurenai feel like he was becoming someone unfamiliar.
Without her realizing it, Asuma's Wind Release had already surpassed his Fire Release, and he could even use a Wind and Fire combination ninjutsu.
When Kurenai said this, Asuma empathized completely.
In Kurenai's eyes, Obito and the others were incomprehensibly powerful.
It was not much different for him.
"Kurenai, I understand," Asuma said with a nod. "Let us work hard together."
"Just remember, you also need to know when to stop," he reminded her gently.
Asuma was already a Chunin and still pushing himself this hard.
Seeing that drove the other students to work even more diligently.
Soon, the entire training ground was filled with a fierce, focused energy.
Aside from layering on some additional teaching modules, Mugetsu basically followed the same special training model as before:
Every two weeks, there would be an examination to test the results of their training, followed by scores and rankings.
Unsurprisingly, Asuma was currently the strongest ninja in the special training.
Even as a fellow Chunin, Shiosui could not match him in a one on one fight, so Asuma easily secured first place in Group A in the very first exam.
In Group B, Gekko Hayate's performance was becoming more eye catching as training went on.
However, his top ranking was not very stable.
It depended a lot on how he was feeling that day.
In Mugetsu's view, the gap between Hayate and the second place candidate in Group B was quite small.
As for Group C, Anko had done unexpectedly well this time.
She had not taken first place, but second was still an impressive result for a Second Grade student.
She had defeated a number of Fourth Grade students along the way.
Izumo and Kotetsu's performance was also respectable for Second Grade students, but when viewed across all grades, they only counted as mid tier.
There was a clear gap between them and Anko, while Mugetsu's class as a whole still outperformed most of the Third Grade students.
That evening, Mugetsu returned to his home in Konoha's main residential district.
Not long after, Minato knocked on the door and stepped inside.
"Sorry to trouble you again with looking after Kushina, Mugetsu," Minato said, his tone carrying a hint of embarrassment.
No matter how good their relationship was, he still felt guilty about imposing on others.
"If I am in Konoha, I cannot go without cooking for Kushina," Mugetsu said with a faint smile, agreeing without even asking why.
Minato smiled softly at his answer and explained on his own.
"Kumogakure has deployed more ninja to attack the border in the Land of Hot Springs. I need to lead a squad to support the front line."
This was not highly classified information, so there was no harm in telling Mugetsu.
They were going to reinforce the front, not on some covert mission.
"I see. Will Obito and the others be going to the battlefield with you?" Mugetsu asked after a moment of thought.
This was not a small matter.
If they went to the Land of Hot Springs for a major battle, Mugetsu, who remained in Konoha, would have no way of knowing what Obito and the others might run into.
The unexpected incident during the Chunin Exams had given him a strong sense of unease.
With Obito growing much faster than in the "original" trajectory, Uchiha Madara might act earlier than expected.
Minato shook his head.
"This time, I received an S Rank war mission," he said. "It is too dangerous to bring Obito and the others along. It just so happens they can now take on missions by themselves, so I do not plan to bring them."
If this were an A Rank mission, Minato might have considered taking them.
But S Rank war missions were too dangerous, especially for kids who had just become Chunin.
"I will have to trouble you with Obito's training as well. I do not think I am a very qualified teacher," Minato said with a wry smile.
He felt that he had done too little for Obito and the others, and now he was leaving them behind again for a mission.
"Do not say that. They acknowledge you," Mugetsu said softly. "So why deny yourself? The village's missions are unavoidable."
Minato adjusted his mood at those words, thanked Mugetsu again, then took the food he had brought to go find Kushina.
Whenever he had to leave Konoha, the person he worried about most was still her.
Just as Mugetsu was thinking that the war was intensifying, a few days later he received word from Tsunade that Jiraiya had returned to the Land of Grass battlefield.
Perhaps because they had gotten wind of Kumogakure's large scale invasion, Iwagakure was also trying to reinforce its troops and continue pressuring Konoha.
The continent had become a chaotic mess.
Iwagakure, Konoha, and Kumogakure were at war.
Kumogakure, Sunagakure, Konoha, and Iwagakure were at war.
The four great nations of the mainland were all entangled in conflict.
Only the Land of Water, separated by sea, had not yet officially joined the fray.
Although the major villages were fighting, they were not battling on their own soil.
Most of the fighting was happening in nearby small countries.
Even the Land of Wind, once it had recovered a bit, had driven Kumogakure's forces into the Land of Rivers.
The small countries were forced onto the battlefield and dragged into this war.
"Will Hidden Mist attack Konoha early, or will they stay put?" Mugetsu wondered, thinking of the one remaining great village that had not yet joined the conflict.
Because of the butterfly effect he himself had caused, the storyline had already changed.
He could no longer be sure if Hidden Mist would act according to the original timeline.
Although Konoha had not demanded excessive reparations from Hidden Mist over the incident during the Chunin Exams, and had publicly emphasized peace and mutual benefit, Mugetsu did not believe that Hidden Mist would refrain from war just because of that.
Hidden Mist attacking Konoha was inevitable.
Konoha had simply won too much in the past, standing tall as the strongest village.
The strongest was always the most feared.
Now that there was an opportunity to weaken them, the other villages would not let it slip by.
Hidden Mist did not want to be the first one to challenge Konoha, but they would absolutely have the nerve to "join in" once two nations were already fighting.
The Chunin Exams had allowed the Mist ninja to witness the strength of Konoha's new generation firsthand.
Mugetsu believed that Hidden Mist might have developed a sense of crisis because of this and choose to attack Konoha earlier.
Uchiha Madara was also a crucial part of his worries.
Since Madara could control even a Mist Jonin, it was possible he had taken control of other Mist ninja as well, nudging Hidden Mist toward war.
The more chaotic the ninja world became, the more convenient it was for the old Uchiha Madara to move.
If he wanted to make a move on Obito earlier, he would definitely push Hidden Mist and Konoha into conflict.
That was one reason Mugetsu had been so low key up until now.
He did not want the plot to deviate too much because of his presence.
The more it changed, the harder it would be to protect his disciples.
For example, he knew that Obito was supposed to "die" in the Kannabi Bridge mission.
If events followed that trajectory, all he had to do was accompany them and he could save Obito easily.
But if the plot shifted, Madara might not choose Kannabi Bridge as the place to act.
Even though Mugetsu had tried to tread lightly, change still came.
The Forest of Death incident had definitely been Madara's doing.
Even if Hidden Mist had yet to make any visible moves, Mugetsu was preparing for the worst.
And even if he had the chance to choose again, he would still walk the same path.
He could not possibly stop helping Obito grow stronger just because the storyline might change.
That would be cutting off his own hands before the fight.
The enemy hid in the shadows.
They stood in the open.
All Mugetsu could do now was raise his own strength and that of his disciples as much as possible.
Logically speaking, after the extremely grueling special training for the Chunin Exams, they should have had some time off.
But for his disciples' safety, Mugetsu had crafted an entirely new hellish training plan for them.
"Good morning, Shisui. How did you know I was promoted to Chunin?"
On the way to the training site in the South Border Forest, Obito bumped into Shisui and greeted him happily.
Shisui fell silent for a beat.
"…Hehe, Mugetsu sensei, good morning," Obito grinned once they arrived at the forest, then turned and greeted Mugetsu.
Even though he had not taken first place, becoming a Chunin still put him in a very good mood.
"Good morning," Mugetsu replied with his usual gentle smile.
For some reason, even though Mugetsu's smile was warm, Obito suddenly had a bad feeling in his gut.
It felt like something very unpleasant was about to begin.
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