In ninja warfare, having powerful and talented jōnin is certainly important—but in the grander scale of war, the capabilities of the mid- and lower-tier shinobi are just as critical.
The other Konoha teams hadn't stood out yet.
However...
Just looking at these two alone—in a small shinobi village, they'd be considered elite genin. And yet in Konoha, they'd apparently been "randomly" placed into a team with a prodigy.
Coincidence?
People began shifting their focus to the other Konoha squads.
But...
They were only watching through the broadcast screens, not on-site. Many subtle details couldn't be captured, and they had no control over which team the feed showed at any given ti.
"You're all probably curious about the strength of the other Konoha squads, right?"
"WE ARE!"
A thunderous roar ca from the stands outside.
Though the crowd of nobles and shinobi ca from across various nations, the majority were still nobles from the Land of Fire. Up to now, no ninja had appeared openly representing Konoha—they had started to assu that Konoha had truly fallen behind.
Turns out...
They had all been disguised as shinobi from other villages, blending into the ranks like wolves in sheep's clothing.
With the second ring of the battlefield shrinking, the chaos of combat erupted, and maintaining Transformation Techniques beca difficult. One by one, their true identities were revealed. The screen now cut to Asuma's group.
Though Asuma hated to admit it, being the Hokage's son did give him a certain level of fa—especially among the nobles of the Land of Fire.
They might not recognize Shisui.
But...
They definitely knew Asuma.
"That's the Third Hokage's son. What was his nickna again?"
"Wind Spirit!"
"Not sure how strong he is, but as the son of the Third Hokage, and a student of that Kyoichi from Kanda—he can't be weak, right?"
The nobles were here purely for entertainnt.
Sitting among them, Homura Mitokado frowned slightly.
Nobles will be nobles.
So ignorant.
Every village had their star perforrs in this Chūnin Exam. Individual prowess mattered far less than teamwork and coordination. And Asuma's teammates were rather... average.
Yu and Suzu.
The kind of nas that scread commoners among commoners—orphans, or children of non-shinobi parents.
Unless they were blessed with extraordinary talent, they typically wouldn't be all that strong.
And yet, if even these "ordinary" genin weren't weak...
Then Konoha's next generation might be downright terrifying.
As luck would have it—
Their opponents happened to be shinobi from Sunagakure. Homura rembered the team—it was led by Yura and Kazekaze.
Both were strong.
One specialized in puppet techniques, the other in Wind Release ninjutsu. Though their third teammate was average, compared to Konoha's seemingly lackluster team, they had the upper hand.
"Can they win?"
Strangely, he felt uncertain. Deep down, he had this sinking feeling that his own village's team might lose.
---
"Asuma, what do we do? Do we fight?"
"Of course! Yu, how's your Hidden Mist Technique coming along?"
"I think I've got it..."
"Good. Use it in a bit. We'll engage them in the fog. You two just focus on supporting —draw their attention."
"Yes!"
After a quick exchange—
Asuma signaled, and the trio kicked up their speed.
Yura, Kazekaze, and their teammate pursued relentlessly.
They acknowledged Asuma's strength, but didn't consider themselves weak either. A team that looked like easy prey? They weren't going to let that slip by. But just as they gave chase for a few steps...
"Kiri! Fall back!"
Yura sensed sothing wrong imdiately.
This generation of genin had all seen war. Their skill levels varied, but their vigilance was uniformly high. As soon as the mist thickened in the woods, he knew sothing was off.
But—
Just as he was about to fall back, a gust of wind slamd in from the side.
Vacuum Wave!
"Retreat!"
Yura quickly used a puppet to block the attack, but Wind Release ninjutsu was inherently powerful and offensive. The wooden arms of the puppet were instantly shredded.
The next mont—
Asuma burst out of the mist.
Fast!
They quickly dodged aside.
But—
Suddenly, kunai ca flying from behind. They retreated again, only to have flas race along taut wires strung to the kunai.
Three kunai, combined with Dragon Fire Technique, sealed off their retreat.
Dragon Fire Technique!
It was the only offensive jutsu Suzu had managed to learn in recent training.
Yet—
At this mont, it was playing a pivotal role.
Not only was their escape route blocked, but the three Suna shinobi were split into two groups. Fla lines continuously sliced through and herded Kazekaze and the third teammate away from Yura, preventing them from regrouping.
The next instant—
Asuma blinked forward, dual kunai in hand, wind blades crackling with Vacuum Wave. Yura tried to block with his damaged puppet, but it was futile.
Asuma struck from both sides.
The puppet's arms were severed instantly. Yura imdiately abandoned the puppet and attempted to flee. He narrowly dodged the kunai and wind blades—but—
A thin slash opened up across his arm.
"What?! I dodged that!"
He was in disbelief.
But—
Once again, despite appearing to dodge, he was nicked by the wind blade. anwhile, his teammates had already broken through the flas and wires blocking them.
But the two "ordinary" Konoha genin stepped up, stalling them.
As more kunai flew in—
"I forfeit!"
Yura shrieked, yanking the flare from his belt and firing it.
Asuma's kunai stopped just two centiters from his vitals. He could feel the deadly whisper of wind slicing the air around him.
In the next mont—
Asuma disappeared again, lunging at his teammate instead.
---
Silence.
Homura had considered that Asuma's two civilian teammates might not be weak—but he hadn't expected this level of strength. Granted, their close-combat techniques were still quite sloppy.
But—
Just the specialized training in Hidden Mist and Dragon Fire Technique coordination was enough to carry their team to victory. With Asuma's lee-heavy taijutsu style, unless they faced a genius team, it was unlikely they'd lose to anyone.
But now...
Where were those genius teams? Every prodigy seed to be saddled with two deadweight teammates.
He thought Konoha was the sa.
Now he understood—he'd been too naïve.
Their "deadweight" teammates were actual deadweights. Konoha's "civilian genin" were just playing dumb.
There was a fundantal difference.
He no longer had the patience to sit in the outer ring and watch the screen. Clearly, the real show was happening inside.
Sure, their own team had just been eliminated—but honestly, Homura didn't really mind. He'd ntally prepared himself for a total wipe anyway. Just surviving this ordeal was a win.
Chūnin ranks?
What use were those? Staying alive was the priority. Survive this round, and there'd be more chances in the future.
However—
The other villages might not be so accepting.
He didn't know what Iwagakure was planning, but Kirigakure had co out in full force—clearly trying to restore their reputation.
And now...
Konoha had already begun to extend its claws.
Yagura was genuinely shaken.
Suzu and Yu.
Two of the most unremarkable nas—yet at this mont, they had beco the strongest testant to Konoha's power. If even ordinary civilians possessed such strength, then what of the others?
This generation of Konoha...
Terrifying!
A creeping sense of despair began to take root in his heart.
First place?
Now he thought it would already be a success if Kirigakure could secure just a few spots for Chōjūrō and Hōzuki Mangetsu. Hoping for anything more was wishful thinking.
"Konoha has a bright future ahead," A said with a heavy sigh.
He didn't yet know the upper limits of Konoha's next generation, but the quality of their lower bounds was already frighteningly high.
He had no fear of Hiruzen Sarutobi.
For all his personal strength, Sarutobi lacked the ability to elevate the village any further. He was rely a caretaker, a conservative Hokage who maintained rather than advanced.
But—
Tsunade. Kanda Kyoichi.
Under their leadership, Konoha was becoming a source of quiet despair for A.
With such formidable thods and foundations in place—and now that Kumogakure had suffered another defeat—what would they even use to challenge Konoha again a decade from now?
He couldn't muster the confidence.
They had to learn!
There was no sha in being inferior to others.
The real sha was in losing.
Setting aside his pride, A began to analyze how Konoha had managed to make even its civilians so powerful. He replayed the battle in his mind and gradually ca to an answer.
Focus!
Judging from how the fight played out, those two Konoha genin were terrible in close combat—not at all a match for the Suna-nin. They only had that one technique.
And yet...
Even so, the role they played on the battlefield was far greater than that of typical genin.
He couldn't help but slam a fist into his palm.
So that's it!
Ordinary genin who train normally still play a pitifully small role in war.
So...
Rather than letting them train broadly, why not hone them in one direction?
Hidden Mist Technique. Dragon Fire Technique.
These two techniques gave Asuma the perfect assassination setup. With just that, they'd already served their purpose.
Jutsu like those—
Could be used to great effect in any chunin or jonin team.
That must be Konoha's current strategy: treat squads as unified units, and cultivate them as such. Guide them in developing near-perfect synergy and cooperation.
"I see... I really do... Most genin can't hold their own alone, so it's better to have them form coordinated teams. And in the process, true geniuses will still naturally rise to the top."
To be honest...
After his father's death, he'd been feeling lost.
Kumogakure didn't have the strength to launch another war, so revenge was out of the question. But how the village should develop going forward—that was sothing he'd had no answers for.
Now he understood.
Education. Squad restructuring.
Without reform, they'd fall behind.
Ten years from now, Kumogakure would have no hope of competing with Konoha. Even Iwagakure might adopt this model, using a diverse range of jutsu to counter Kumogakure's traditional strengths.
Coming to Konoha... was the best move they ever made!
A was ecstatic.
Most of those present were jonin, but even among jonin there were levels—not everyone could discern the logic behind Konoha's jutsu allocation strategy.
The major villages could all see it.
But among the minor villages...
Only Yahiko and a few of the Takigakure jonin looked deep in thought.
Clearly—
They understood too.
But the other minor villages' jonin looked lost one mont, then enlightened the next.
No one said a word.
So intel could be shared—but this was the key to true power. Everyone had different interpretations, and no one wanted to give others more insight than they had.
So...
Silence filled the room.
Only Kyoichi and Orochimaru's voices echoed through the space. Then, as the appointed "Educational Bureau" representative for Sunagakure, Ebizō strolled in, unrushed and calm.
He was composed, and seeing the heavy expressions on everyone else's faces only made him more so.
They must be thinking...
The only thing to learn is ninja education, right?
But this kind of thing—
The key is economics!
Ebizō saw it clearly: if you wanted to train chakra nature transformation, you'd absolutely need support items like soldier pills to restore stamina and help generate chakra.
How could you do that without money?
***************************
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