Chapter 374: Konoha's Predicament
The ANBU training ended, and at the same time, the second semester at the Ninja Academy came to an end.
Things like graduation internships and holiday special training were also finalized.
"Ugh… the second semester holiday special training still isn't with Mugetsu sensei…"
"It'll be a long time before we get to see Mugetsu sensei again."
Once the official notice went out, Class 1 of Second Grade filled with miserable groans. Aside from the graduates, only a few students from other grades could join the holiday special training, and most of the second graders on the list came from their class.
They were used to Mugetsu's lessons. Compared to that, other teachers felt boring and hard to learn from, turning class into pure suffering.
"Forget it. I'll rest this holiday and work hard next year," one student said, deciding it was better not to go if Mugetsu was not teaching.
His words made several nearby students nod in agreement.
"Wait, how come Anko and Kotetsu aren't on the list?" someone suddenly noticed. Anko, Kotetsu Hagane, and the others were not among the selected second grade students this time.
"Let me see… yeah, they're not there. That's weird," the students around him murmured, equally confused.
Even if Anko, Kotetsu, and the others were usually comedic, their strength was real. Especially Anko, who was second only to Shisui among the second graders.
Kotetsu had clearly been waiting for someone to notice. He immediately stepped forward with a deep, profound expression.
"After all, it's just holiday special training."
"That's right," Izumo Kamizuki followed up smoothly. "Truly excellent students have more secretive destinations."
"Isn't it just an internship?" Anko, who already knew, could not help firing back. "You're acting like you're heading off to some legendary hidden realm."
Kotetsu looked offended. As fellow geniuses going on early internships, how could she ruin the mystery?
"And neither of you got assigned to Mugetsu sensei," Anko added, wearing a smug grin.
Izumo did not expect her to be that vicious. She did not just interrupt their bragging, she used it to brag harder.
Kotetsu practically ground his teeth. His own bad luck was sad, but his brother's good luck was downright infuriating.
Seeing the jealous, envious expressions on her two good friends' faces, Anko felt an immediate surge of satisfaction.
"Shisui, do you know who our third teammate is?" Anko asked. "My notice only mentioned you."
"It's Shizune," Shisui replied.
He did not learn it from the school notice. Mugetsu told him directly.
Internships usually formed three person teams. Mugetsu did not plan to give Shisui special treatment, and meeting more people would benefit Shisui's growth.
After some thought, Mugetsu chose Anko and Shizune.
Shizune would be studying with him for half a year, so keeping her close would help her improve. Although Shizune had already graduated, she did not have a fixed squad, so adding her was not a problem.
Last time, Kakashi had been assigned in a similar way by Hiruzen. With Mugetsu's current standing in the Academy, doing the same thing posed no issue.
As for Anko, the reason was even simpler. She was more suitable than the fourth grade students, that was all.
Anko was cheerful, familiar with Shisui, and strong enough. Mugetsu had no reason not to pick her.
"Shizune senpai… I remember she already graduated, right?" Anko scratched her head, recalling faint memories.
Shizune had also joined holiday special training before, so Anko barely knew her, though not well.
"Normally, we wouldn't be able to do an internship either," Shisui reminded her.
Exceptions existed everywhere, and their team was practically built out of exceptions.
"Hehe. I'm really looking forward to ninja life," Anko said, instantly tossing the question aside and imagining a bright future.
Seeing how excited Anko looked, Shisui quietly swallowed the words he almost said.
There were still several days before the internship officially started. There was no need to tell Anko the cruel truth yet.
Evenly matched opponents, generous commissions, a carefree ninja life… those were not things normal internships offered.
Because normal intern ninja could only take D Rank missions, and D Rank missions were basically chores with no combat.
Normal interns just did chores, then trained. It was the daily routine of newly graduated genin.
…
"Search for and eliminate the defeated Iwagakure ninja in the southwest of the Land of Grass. We'll take this one."
Minato's eyes swept across several scrolls before he selected a relatively difficult A Rank mission.
After sparring and training, Minato understood his three students' strength clearly.
If the enemy lacked intelligence and got careless, the three together might even take down a jonin around Dekai's level.
Even if the enemy was not careless, Minato estimated Kakashi's team could handle two ordinary jonin without a problem.
Of course, any more than that would be too much. While Obito and Kakashi were strong as the main attackers, neither could sustain prolonged combat.
Whether it was Kakashi's Thunderclap Flash, or Obito's full power Flame Breathing chakra mode combined with high output Fire Release, both were terrifyingly powerful, but their chakra consumption was equally terrifying. With their current reserves, they could not maintain full output for long.
Still, under normal circumstances, an A Rank mission would not involve that many jonin.
"Understood, Jonin Minato," the registration ninja said, quickly completing the mission paperwork.
Minato then handed the detailed briefing to his students.
"It's a war A Rank mission, and the reward is huge!" Obito blurted out immediately, locking onto the commission fee of up to seven hundred thousand ryo.
With Obito's math, he could not calculate the exact number on the spot, but he felt it had to be at least a hundred D Rank missions, since a normal D Rank mission was only five thousand ryo.
"That also means the enemy won't be simple," Kakashi warned.
Aside from rare cases of absurdly rich merchants or nobles throwing money around, most missions followed one rule: you get what you pay for.
That was especially true in war.
"Kakashi's right," Rin added softly. "Obito, don't be careless."
After studying with Tsunade for a while, Rin's medical ninjutsu had improved a lot, but she still hoped Obito and Kakashi would not get hurt in the first place. Treatment could not erase the pain of being injured.
"Minato sensei picked this mission," Obito said with a grin, glancing at Minato. "That means he thinks we can handle it. Right, Minato sensei?"
Minato smiled and nodded. "You're all excellent Konoha ninja. Of course you can handle it. And if anything unexpected happens, I'm still here."
With the Hidden Mist also declaring war, even though they had not launched an attack yet, the pressure on Konoha had climbed sharply.
Minato accepting a high difficulty A Rank mission was not only to train his students, but also to relieve that pressure.
The most direct way to solve Konoha's current predicament was to defeat one of the three great villages so badly that they would not dare wage war again in the short term.
But since they were all great villages, that was obviously difficult.
"It's really reassuring going on missions with you, Minato sensei," Obito said, giving him a thumbs up.
With Flying Thunder God, Minato was simply too fast, whether it was eliminating enemies or saving teammates.
In Obito's mind, Minato ranked second in safety.
The first was the all capable Mugetsu Sage, so Minato's second place was basically first place in every normal ranking.
Kakashi silently agreed. Their encounter with the Raikage Candidate before was proof enough.
After accepting the mission, Minato took his three students straight toward the Land of Grass.
The most time consuming part was not fighting, but locating the targets. The southwest of the Land of Grass was not small.
Hidden in the shadows, the White Zetsu responsible for monitoring Obito quickly relayed the information.
…
"Lord Madara," Black Zetsu reported immediately, "Uchiha Obito has gone to the Land of Grass on a mission."
Madara's eyes flickered as he rapidly reviewed his arrangements in the Land of Grass, then he shook his head.
If it were only Obito and Kakashi, Madara would have launched his plan immediately. He would let that Uchiha junior taste the darkness of the shinobi world.
But with Minato accompanying them, it was difficult.
Minato was strong, and Flying Thunder God was too fast. It could disrupt his entire blackening plan with ease.
Madara would not act unless he had enough power to restrain Minato first.
"Lord Madara, the situation seems a bit unfavorable," Black Zetsu said after thinking. "Every time Obito goes on a mission, he's accompanied by either Hayate Mugetsu or Minato Namikaze. That heavily affects your plan."
The current Madara was too old. If this dragged on for a few more years, he might die of age without anyone needing to lift a finger.
Black Zetsu was worried Madara would make a mistake, forcing him to patch everything up again.
Madara's talent and strength were terrifying. In Black Zetsu's eyes, he was the strongest Uchiha seen in over a thousand years.
But Madara's long term planning was not as impressive.
"Unfavorable?" Madara smiled with complete confidence. "On the contrary, it's becoming more and more favorable for us. Once the Hidden Mist truly goes to war with Konoha, the shinobi world will fall into chaos. When that happens, how can Minato Namikaze and Hayate Mugetsu stop my plan?"
Madara had absolute faith in his own design. To him, it was flawless.
He had considered too many factors.
Madara had also prepared for the possibility of Obito failing. He already had multiple backup candidates, and Shisui was his first alternative.
First, Shisui's talent was exceptional. From the intelligence alone, Madara judged Shisui's talent could rival his brother, Uchiha Izuna.
Second, Shisui only had one close relative, an Uchiha who was constantly away on missions, making the blackening plan easier to execute.
If not for Shisui's personality, which seemed difficult to deceive, Shisui's priority might have surpassed Obito's.
Obito's personality was simply too perfect for the role.
"Lord Madara's insight is profound," Black Zetsu praised with a grin.
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