Mutsuki had his students check their belongings once more, and after making sure nothing was missing, he led them toward the eastern coast battlefield of the Land of Fire.
"Rin-chan, why did you vote for Kakashi?" Obito couldn't help but ask Rin on the way.
More than the fact that Kakashi got three votes and he got none, what bothered Obito more was that Rin voted for Kakashi instead of him-or at least not for herself.
It gave Obito the feeling that Rin trusted Kakashi more than she trusted him.
"I just feel Kakashi is really suited to be vice captain. He seems reliable," Rin replied gently after thinking about it.
She trusted Obito in many other things, but when it came to leading a team, Rin still believed Kakashi was more dependable.
This wasn't just speculation, but a conclusion drawn from their experience completing missions together.
Kakashi always managed to analyze the situation and come up with the course of action that benefited them most.
As for Obito, while he might have an outstanding performance when facing a strong enemy, that was limited to combat. Relying on Obito to formulate tactics was out of the question.
Still, saying this directly might be hurtful, so Rin simply said it was a feeling.
Obito's face immediately dropped.
What could possibly feel worse than the girl he liked praising another guy right in front of him?
There was something worse-that the guy being praised was his lifelong rival.
"Damn you, Kakashi!" Obito roared in grief and anger in his heart.
At that moment, in Obito's mind, Kakashi's image transformed from a bad-tempered friend into a naturally evil little Hatake brat.
And when he thought about how he had just lost to Kakashi in their recent internal match and now had to do a pile of assignments as punishment, Obito felt even more miserable.
When Obito thought about how Kakashi had learned a powerful new technique from Mutsuki, making it even harder to catch up to him, he instantly felt the gap widen.
In less than a minute, Obito recalled every single thing Kakashi had ever done that made him feel miserable.
"It's all Kakashi's fault. This time, I'll definitely outshine him on the battlefield," Obito swore to himself, the fire in his eyes blazing as he stared at Kakashi.
Sensing Obito's gaze, Kakashi slightly turned his head and met his eyes for a second before calmly turning back around.
Obito's thought process was way too unpredictable-he acted impulsively and easily got carried away. That was exactly why Kakashi had suggested to Mutsuki that they appoint a vice captain, out of concern for Obito's safety.
With the title of vice captain, even if Obito didn't like it, he would have no choice but to listen-especially since it was personally approved by Mutsuki. For Obito, that probably carried more weight than even the Hokage's orders.
Seeing Kakashi's indifferent attitude made Obito even angrier. It felt like Kakashi was saying, "You're already falling behind, and I haven't even tried yet."
Shisui observed the entire exchange and saw the expression on Obito's face. He opened his mouth but ultimately chose not to comfort him.
Self-awareness was important. If he comforted Obito now and gave him the illusion that he could also lead a team, it might cause bigger problems down the line.
They were all comrades who spent every day together, and they understood each other very well.
On the surface, the vice captain vote was a multiple-choice question, but in Shisui's eyes, there was only one correct answer-Kakashi.
Not to mention anything else, just in terms of experience, Kakashi crushed everyone. Since he graduated early, he was already a ninja with five years of service.
When they arrived at the ninja camp, Mutsuki didn't even have time to say much to his students before he was called to a meeting.
As soon as Mutsuki stepped into the large tent serving as a conference room, he immediately saw several familiar faces.
The first he noticed was the expressionless unit commander sitting at the head of the long table-Orochimaru.
Without showing any reaction, Mutsuki calmly assessed Orochimaru.
[Name: Orochimaru]
[Chakra: 142000]
[Potential: S]
[Skills: Yin Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery: 4800/15000), Wind Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery: 3040/15000), Fire Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery: 2008/15000), Water Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery level), Earth Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery level), Hidden Shadow Snake Hands (Mastery level)...]
Orochimaru's panel was somewhat similar to Hiruzen's-he had an overwhelming number of ninjutsu under his belt, ranging from S-rank forbidden techniques to D-rank basic ninjutsu, covering the full spectrum.
However, unlike Hiruzen, Orochimaru's highest proficiency levels were in snake-related ninjutsu he developed himself, not in the basic elemental nature transformations.
Looking at the panel, Orochimaru seemed to be the most likely candidate to inherit Hiruzen's legacy, given how many mastery-level nature transformations he possessed.
As for why Orochimaru didn't choose to follow in Hiruzen's footsteps, Mutsuki believed there were two possibilities.
The first was that Orochimaru felt he couldn't match Hiruzen's natural talent in ninjutsu, and that following the same path would only make him a lesser version of the Third. So, he chose to blaze his own trail.
This theory came from Orochimaru's skill proficiency levels-despite having many mastery-level nature transformations, their proficiency was not especially outstanding.
The second possibility was that Orochimaru's desire for immortality outweighed his pursuit of strength. Was Hiruzen's path powerful? Absolutely. Against non-cheating ninja, he was nearly invincible. But Combination Jutsu clearly couldn't grant immortality, so Orochimaru abandoned that path to focus on researching forbidden techniques.
This was Mutsuki's speculation based on Orochimaru's abilities as presented in the original story.
"There's still a lot of room for improvement," Mutsuki thought to himself, recalling the panel results he had seen for Orochimaru during the previous jonin meeting.
Perhaps because of the war and the frequent battles against opponents of similar strength, even though they didn't progress as rapidly as younger shinobi like Minato, powerful figures like Orochimaru and Jiraiya were still growing.
Mutsuki shifted his gaze slightly-sitting to Orochimaru's right was Shikaku, the man with the pineapple hairstyle, and one of the current Ino-Shika-Cho trio.
[Name: Shikaku]
[Chakra: 23000]
[Skills: Yin Release Chakra Nature Transformation (2600/15000), Shadow Imitation Jutsu (Mastery level)...]
On the left sat Hizashi, younger brother of the current head of the Hyuga clan.
[Name: Hizashi]
[Chakra: 28000]
[Skills: Gentle Fist (Mastery: 2640/15000)...]
"Mutsuki-kun, please have a seat," Orochimaru spoke first, his magnetic voice echoing in the tent.
"You should all know Mutsuki-kun already, so I won't go into any special introductions," Orochimaru said, looking around the room.
The jonin inside the tent all nodded and greeted Mutsuki.
"Of course we know him. Jonin Mutsuki is so young and capable-he's one of Konoha's outstanding jonin."
"I've had the honor of hearing about Jonin Mutsuki's achievements during the war in the Land of Grass..."
Although Mutsuki's feat of defeating Pakura hadn't been widely publicized, he still had a certain level of recognition in Konoha. After all, he had taught more and more people and had also made contributions on the battlefield.
Since it was a meeting, the jonin didn't talk much and soon quieted down.
Orochimaru then turned to look at Shikaku.
Shikaku nodded and stood up.
"I'll now explain the current situation on the battlefield. If you have any questions, feel free to ask," Shikaku said seriously.
In fact, about half of the jonin in the meeting room had only recently been transferred here, including the commander Orochimaru.
As a ninja of Orochimaru's level, he naturally had access to all kinds of detailed intel provided by Konoha. Ordinary jonin, however, did not receive the same treatment-mainly for confidentiality reasons.
Shikaku's job today was to make sure everyone understood the state of the battlefield and the missions they needed to complete.
He first circled the Hidden Mist's landing points and main activity areas on the large map, and began explaining the approximate size of the Hidden Mist forces in the Land of Fire and their combat tactics.
"The Hidden Mist ninja units are usually equipped with at least one user of the Hiding in Mist Jutsu. If you're outnumbered and lack a sensory ninja, avoid direct confrontation as much as possible," Shikaku reminded them.
He didn't bother explaining the effect of the Hiding in Mist Jutsu-it's the most well-known technique of the Hidden Mist Village, and everyone present was a Konoha jonin. There was no way they wouldn't know something so basic.
Some of the Konoha jonin frowned slightly-Hiding in Mist Jutsu was indeed troublesome, turning a normal battlefield into one where the enemy is hidden and they are exposed.
Hizashi's expression didn't change. This was precisely why Hiruzen had dispatched a large number of Hyuga clan ninjas to the Hidden Mist front. The Byakugan of the Hyuga Clan was the best sensory ninjutsu.
Finally, Shikaku began to talk about the notable Hidden Mist powerhouses to be aware of on the battlefield.
"Yagura-extremely skilled in Water Release. He appears young but is in fact a veteran ninja with a wealth of experience. He is the strongest Hidden Mist ninja to have appeared on the battlefield so far."
"Minazuki-from the Yuki Clan of Hidden Mist Village, an Ice Release user proficient in Kekkei Genkai Ice Release. Very powerful."
"Zangetsu-from the Hozuki Clan of Hidden Mist Village. Specializes in Water Release and can use the Hydrification Jutsu, which renders him immune to physical attacks. Also very strong."
"All members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist must be regarded with caution. Each one is an elite among jonin, not to be underestimated. When the seven work together, they are extremely dangerous. If encountered on the battlefield, proceed with extreme care," Shikaku said with a serious expression.
In terms of individual strength, none of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen could match the three he had listed separately. However, the Seven often operated together as an assassination squad, whereas Yagura and the others did not.
The jonin in the tent all carefully committed Shikaku's intel to memory.
Hidden Mist Village was the most low-key among the great ninja villages, as they rarely participated in wars on the mainland. Because of this, the other villages had limited intelligence about them.
Take the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, for example-many Konoha jonin had only heard the name but didn't actually know what specific skills or areas of expertise each member had.
Mutsuki showed a thoughtful expression.
Reality and the manga inevitably had their differences. Even within Konoha, he had already met several outstanding jonin who didn't appear in the original story. So it was reasonable for the sparsely featured Hidden Mist to have a couple of unfamiliar powerhouses appear.
After finishing his explanation, Shikaku sat down and gave Mutsuki a slight nod.
Due to his position, Shikaku had been given detailed information on Mutsuki's strength, specially provided by Hiruzen.
After all, he was the strategist-if he didn't understand the abilities of his own personnel, he wouldn't be able to create the most effective battle plans.
After reading the materials from Hiruzen, Shikaku was quite surprised.
Because Mutsuki had appeared once in a Konoha newspaper report about the Land of Grass war, fighting alongside Jiraiya against a Tailed Beast, Shikaku wasn't unfamiliar with him.
However, the information Hiruzen provided still left him shocked by Mutsuki's true strength.
Supporting Jiraiya in pushing back a Jinchuriki was one thing, but defeating the Sand's hero Pakura on his own was an entirely different matter.
Shikaku hadn't been present at the Land of Grass war. According to the Konoha article, Jiraiya was the main force, Minato was the strongest support, and Mutsuki came after that.
Based on the space given in the article, Mutsuki-ranked as the second support-was far behind Minato.
But defeating Pakura alone? That carried a different weight.
Pakura's reputation in the Hidden Sand Village was even greater than Minato's in Konoha. The significance of those two achievements couldn't be compared.
Shikaku believed that if Hiruzen hadn't been concerned about how the Hidden Sand Village would react, Mutsuki would've long become famous across the ninja world by stepping on Pakura's name.
Mutsuki didn't even need to promote himself-Konoha would have gladly done it for him. After all, he was one of their own ninjas, and publicizing his achievements would help attract more mission commissions.
But the current situation was a bit awkward. Hidden Sand Village was the only great village that hadn't gone to war with Konoha. If the Sand got upset over this and declared war, Konoha would be losing the big picture for a small gain.
So now, not only could Konoha not promote Mutsuki's achievements, they also had to be cautious to keep this intel from spreading too widely.
In Shikaku's mind, Mutsuki was the second most powerful on the battlefield, with strategic value second only to the commander, Orochimaru.
However, Shikaku couldn't say for sure whether Mutsuki could defeat Minazuki or Zangetsu. In the world of ninja, outcomes couldn't be determined without actual combat.
As for Yagura-that was Orochimaru's matchup.
Mutsuki responded with a smile. Shikaku was a smart person, and dealing with smart people was always easier.
"Mutsuki-kun, please stay for a moment." After the meeting ended, Orochimaru called out to Mutsuki alone.
While Shikaku had access to Mutsuki's combat data, Orochimaru had even more detailed intel-he even knew that Mutsuki had once been a Root ninja.
That information came from none other than Orochimaru's own partner and the leader of Root, Danzo.
In the intel Danzo passed along, Mutsuki was described as the exceptional aide Danzo had fought tooth and nail with the Third to assign to Orochimaru-someone who could truly help Orochimaru earn military merit and achieve success.
"Orochimaru-sama, do you have another mission for me?" Mutsuki asked calmly as he turned back.
Before setting out, Mutsuki had already received instructions from Danzo.
Danzo had said that Orochimaru was part of the Root family too, and that Mutsuki should interact more with him, support him, and work closely together.
Additionally, Danzo had assigned Mutsuki the task of helping Orochimaru gain military achievements, emphasizing that this was Mutsuki's most important and top-priority task on the battlefield.
Of course, Mutsuki didn't take Danzo's words to heart. His strength had long since reached a level where he didn't need to answer to Danzo. The only reason he still played along was to avoid unnecessary trouble.
But with Mutsuki's level of strength, just casually taking action on the battlefield was already helping Orochimaru-there was no need for him to deliberately go out of his way. So Danzo's so-called mission was basically no mission at all.
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