At the border of the Land of Fire, Koharu Utatane smiled so broadly that her face wrinkled after reading the report delivered by Shūichi's shadow clone. "As expected of one of the Sannin! And Shūichi, your contributions have been imnse as well!"
Shūichi humbly smiled and replied, "It's all thanks to you, Lady Koharu, and Lord Orochimaru's excellent command."
Koharu shook her head slightly. "No need to be modest. Shūichi, your contributions are the greatest, and all the Konoha ninja have seen it with their own eyes."
Monitoring the Sand and Mist ninja, nearly taking down the Mist ninja single-handedly, and facing off against the One-Tailed Beast from the Sand by himself... Those accomplishnts were not sothing that could be downplayed.
Even if she tried, no one would accept it!
"The reinforcents are ready and can set off today," Koharu continued. "As for the logistics..."
She thought for a mont. "We've recovered so of the ninja tools, and they will be sent along with the reinforcents. As for the remaining supplies, I've already requested additional provisions from the village."
"As for food and dical supplies, I will head to the Daimyo's mansion in the Land of Rivers to personally request his assistance."
"I'm sure the Daimyo will not refuse," she added with a hint of nace.
Could he dare to say no? Although the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers had his own ninja guards and a group of samurai, they were no match for Konoha's ninja.
With the entire Land of Rivers under the shadow of Konoha's military might, he had no choice but to cooperate.
After making these arrangents, Koharu gave a final order. "That's all. Go report to Orochimaru."
"Understood!" Shūichi nodded before his shadow clone dispersed into a puff of smoke.
...
In a small town within the Land of Rivers, Shūichi and Shisui erged from a hot spring, both stretching and feeling relaxed.
Shisui, feeling much lighter, smiled and said, "Shūichi, sneaking out like this might not set a good example."
Shūichi lazily replied, "I haven't delayed any of our missions."
"Shūichi, when do you think this war will end?" Shisui suddenly asked.
Shūichi paused for a mont before shaking his head. "That's not sothing we can decide. At least, not right now."
Shisui sighed in agreent. "Yeah..."
But then, his face brightened with a warm smile. "Still, if we work hard enough, we can make it happen, right? Just like you, Shūichi. You quickly drove back both the Mist and Sand ninjas. Without you, many of our comrades might have fallen in this war."
Shūichi clapped a hand on Shisui's shoulder and smiled. "Different abilities bring different responsibilities."
"Besides, it may be true that I've played a significant role in this war, but everyone has contributed in their own way. Alone, I couldn't have held off both the Mist and the Sand ninja."
"With great power cos great responsibility, after all!"
(T/N: Uncle Ben is that you?!)
That last phrase was a bit cliché—sothing said for others' benefit but not sothing he himself believed in wholeheartedly.
Shūichi didn't aspire to be a saint. That was too exhausting. He'd rather leave the saintly duties to soone else!
Shisui, however, seed deeply touched by Shūichi's words, his eyes lighting up with admiration. "Shūichi, your words are always so thought-provoking."
"It's hard to believe you're younger than ."
Shūichi responded smoothly, "Age doesn't matter when one has ambition!"
"People need to have goals; otherwise, they're no different from a dead fish."
"But the first step is understanding your own limits—knowing what you're capable of and not overestimating yourself. You can't carry the weight of the world on your own."
"We're just human. Skilled ninja, yes, but our abilities have limits."
Shisui seed to reflect on this. "So that's the true aning of teamwork?"
Shūichi nodded with a knowing smile. "Don't take on all the responsibility yourself. Do what you can—that's the biggest contribution anyone can make."
"For example, while I'm decent at genjutsu, I'm nowhere near as skilled as you. Controlling the One-Tailed Beast and its Jinchūriki should be left to you, not trying to force myself to do it."
"I didn't do well enough in that regard."
Shisui imdiately shook his head. "You've already done an amazing job, Shūichi. You're neither arrogant nor complacent, and you trust your comrades. You even reflect on your actions."
"If I had your power, I'd probably think I could solve most of our problems on my own."
Shūichi, hearing this, silently shook his head.
He simply knew more, had a bit more foresight, and carried a sense of caution.
But in truth, wasn't he always looking down at others, viewing the world and its people with a detached, almost god-like perspective?
Shifting the conversation, Shūichi asked, "Shisui, how did it feel to control both the One-Tail and the Jinchūriki at the sa ti?"
Shisui's expression beca serious. "It was incredibly stressful!"
"The power of the Tailed Beast is imnse, and that monk, Bunpuku, is also extrely strong."
"Especially since his and Shukaku's powers are interconnected."
"But next ti, I'm confident I can control one through the other more quickly. However, now that they understand the power of the Sharingan, they'll break free even faster."
"My Dōjutsu power isn't strong enough..."
Shūichi's eye twitched.
Not strong enough?
It's already incredibly powerful!
Controlling both a Tailed Beast and its Jinchūriki with a three-tomoe Sharingan—that's sothing no ordinary Uchiha could do.
Whether it's Uchiha Obito or Uchiha Madara, they only achieved that after awakening their Mangekyō Sharingan.
You couldn't help but respect a true genjutsu specialist.
At that mont, Shūichi couldn't help but imagine himself in Danzō's position.
If he were Danzō, he'd probably start plotting after learning about Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan abilities.
People entrenched in darkness often lacked a sense of security and trust, and Danzō's ambitions surged after the Fourth Hokage's death.
A power that could alter soone's will? Who wouldn't fear such a thing, unless they were suprely confident in themselves?
...
Shūichi pulled himself from his thoughts, casually wrapping an arm around Uchiha Shisui's shoulder as he laughed, "Shisui, your Dōjutsu power is already incredibly strong. Most people with a three-tomoe Sharingan wouldn't be able to do what you do. It's closely tied to your talent with genjutsu."
Shisui nodded in agreent. "Exactly. A lot of Uchiha beco too reliant on the innate power of the Sharingan, even though it's undeniably powerful."
"That's also why many of our clan mbers are held back," Shisui added thoughtfully. "Perhaps, as you said, many have beco lost in the power of the Sharingan."
Listening to Shisui, Shūichi couldn't help but think of Sasuke, one of the legendary "Laughing Heroes." Every ti his strength surged and his confidence soared, he'd get beaten down shortly after.
"By the way, Shūichi, how's that genjutsu technique you were developing coming along?" Shisui asked.
Shūichi smiled. "Still needs a bit more work. I'll let you try it once it's ready."
Shisui nodded seriously, smiling. "I'll hold you to that."
At that mont, Asuka finally erged, her youthful energy radiating as she approached. "Sorry to keep you waiting!"
Shūichi grinned. "No worries, we were having a good conversation!"
"Let's head back," he said.
The three of them started back toward the front-line camp, but before they arrived, Shūichi's shadow clone already sent back its mories.
Once they returned to the camp, Shūichi first reported to Orochimaru, then led Asuka and Shisui to a secluded valley a bit of a distance from the camp. This would be their temporary training ground.
Since Shūichi needed to transform into the Four-Tails and draw on natural energy to restore his chakra, doing so within the camp wasn't ideal.
Additionally, he needed to study the chakra of Shukaku, the One-Tailed Beast.
Using Earth and Water Release techniques, Shūichi created a waterfall, and then made several shadow clones to work on the Spirit Transformation Technique. anwhile, he himself sat beneath the waterfall, transforming into a mini version of the Four-Tails.
Natural energy surged toward him, absorbed into his body to restore his physical strength, and he refined it into chakra, storing it in the Yin Seal.
This was a much faster way to accumulate chakra compared to gorging on food.
While his body focused on gathering energy, Shūichi's consciousness appeared within the Eight Trigrams Seal on his abdon.
In addition to the Four-Tails, there was now a large lake ford from Shukaku's chakra.
Unlike the Four-Tails, this chakra didn't contain Shukaku's consciousness.
That's because Shūichi had forcibly taken it, just like Naruto wrestled the Nine-Tails' chakra from Kurama.
The difference, though, was that this stolen One-Tail chakra wouldn't regenerate, making it even more precious.
As Shūichi appeared, the Four-Tails opened his eyes and spoke in a deep voice, "I didn't expect you to have stolen chakra from that fool Shukaku as well."
"It's a sha you couldn't get his sand body, though. You can't absorb his cells."
Shūichi was unbothered. "This is more than enough."
The Four-Tails asked, "Are you trying to gain the power of Magnet Release through Shukaku's chakra?"
Shūichi smiled. "Shukaku's power isn't limited to just Magnet Release. There's also his sealing techniques."
The Four-Tails snorted. "Shukaku's sealing techniques are also based on Magnet Release!"
"Oh?"
Shūichi raised an eyebrow, surprised that the Four-Tails would reveal such important information.
eting Shūichi's gaze, the Four-Tails continued, "Even though I'm sealed, I can still sense so things through your chakra."
"It seems like you're intentionally gathering the powers of the Tailed Beasts. This isn't just about studying our abilities, is it?"
Shūichi was taken aback by the Four-Tails' insight.
As expected from a being made of pure chakra—the sensitivity to chakra was extraordinary.
This only solidified Shūichi's resolve. The ability to sense malice wasn't unique to the Nine-Tails. As long as soone mastered the essence of chakra, they could achieve the sa.
And perhaps even go further, sensing the thoughts and consciousness within chakra... particularly from entities like shadow clones, which had their own sense of awareness.
Looking at the Four-Tails, Shūichi smiled. "Son Goku, are you offering to help ?"
The Four-Tails stared at him. "I have no such intention. I just want to know what your goal is."
"I don't sense any malice from you."
No malice?
Shūichi chuckled and shook his head, choosing not to elaborate further.
It wasn't ti yet.
Stepping into the lake of Shukaku's chakra, Shūichi focused intently on understanding the mysteries contained within.
Ti passed quickly, and by the next day, reinforcents from the Land of Fire began arriving at the front lines. Koharu Utatane also displayed her capabilities, bringing a shipnt of supplies in the afternoon, boosting the soldiers' morale.
...
Konoha.
As news from the front lines reached the village, the tense atmosphere quickly dissipated. The streets and alleys buzzed with talk of Konoha's victory, and the na on everyone's lips was Shūichi Hoshita.
Even the children playing ninja gas eagerly competed to play the role of "Shūichi Hoshita," the freshly crowned hero of Konoha.
And this was only half a day after Hiruzen Sarutobi had deliberately spread the news.
The results of the battle were simply too astonishing.
Koharu Utatane had sent back word of both their victories over the Mist and Sand villages.
When Hiruzen heard that the entire Mist ninja army had been wiped out, he could hardly believe it.
After all, Konoha didn't have a nurical advantage in that battle.
It wasn't that he didn't want to send more reinforcents, but with the Stone Village, the Cloud Village, and even the Mist Village threatening Konoha on all sides, the Land of Fire had beco riddled with vulnerabilities.
This was why he had long been reluctant to start a war.
Being the wealthiest nation, the Land of Fire was always an attractive target for the other hidden villages.
---
Konoha Hospital.
"Nonō, you're amazing, raising soone like Shūichi!"
"Nonō-senpai, when Shūichi returns as a Jōnin, can I follow him?"
"Nonō, I'm so envious that you have such an incredible person like Shūichi!"
...
Colleagues and juniors alike approached Nonō Yakushi, constantly ntioning Shūichi and showering him with praise and admiration.
Nonō responded humbly with a smile, but deep down, she was filled with unease.
To her, the position Shūichi occupied—although admired as a genius, a hero—was also an extrely dangerous one.
"With Asuka by his side and the Flying Thunder God technique, things shouldn't get too bad..." Nonō silently reassured herself, while keeping a composed appearance as she continued her work.
Because along with the news of victory, a wave of wounded soldiers had returned as well.
Inside the hospital room, the Konoha ninja who saw Nonō enter greeted her respectfully: "Lady Nonō!"
"We owe it all to the Shūichi you trained!"
"Indeed!"
...
---
Research Base.
Hearing the rapid footsteps outside, Tsunade, who had been deep in thought, frowned and looked up. Shizune hurriedly entered, causing Tsunade to scold her in annoyance, "Shizune, as a dical ninja, no matter the situation—"
Before Tsunade could finish, Shizune interrupted, her voice excited, "We've received news from the front lines!"
"Hmm?"
"What?"
Tsunade froze.
Shizune, brimming with excitent, continued, "It's about the front lines—Shūichi has beco a hero of Konoha!"
Tsunade's heart pounded violently, her ears ringing, and her vision turned red. "You... Shūichi... he...?"
Too excited to notice Tsunade's pale face, Shizune kept talking, "Shūichi single-handedly defeated the Mist ninja! He almost captured the Sunagakure's tailed beast too!"
"Everyone outside is praising him now!"
"He's the top contributor in this battle!"
Tsunade swallowed hard, her hearing slowly returning, the red haze fading from her vision, but her body wavered.
Shizune, finally noticing Tsunade's unsteady form, rushed forward to support her. "Lady Tsunade, are you alright?"
Tsunade gradually regained her composure and shook her head. "I'm fine... just sat too long."
(End of Chapter)
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