Chapter 169: Journey to the Land of Whirlpools Battlefield
That night, in Orochimaru's tent.
"Teacher, what do you think of this telegram?" Kyosuke asked, a strange light flashing in his eyes.
Orochimaru's fingers subconsciously tapped on the table. After a long while, he said, "Since this is the village's decision, you'll have to work hard."
With that, he picked up an intelligence report and handed it to Kyosuke.
"The situation on the Land of Whirlpools battlefield is a bit different. It's full of powerhouses. You must study the data of these Kekkei Genkai families on the way," Orochimaru said, looking at Kyosuke's eager expression. The corner of his mouth curled up slightly, and he directly led the way out of the tent.
"I'll pick some usable ninja for you now. Follow me."
After a selection process, Orochimaru directly picked out a hundred battle-hardened ninja from the army and handed them over to Kyosuke.
Looking at the solemn crowd before him, Kyosuke nodded to Orochimaru and then stepped forward.
"The situation on the Land of Whirlpools battlefield is dire, so you will now go with me to support our comrades. From now on, I'm giving you ten minutes to pack your personal belongings. We'll assemble here in ten minutes. Any questions?" Kyosuke said in a loud, serious voice.
"No, sir!" the hundred ninja replied in unison.
"Very good. Dismissed," Kyosuke said. He glanced at Orochimaru, Fugaku, and the others, then turned and went back to his own tent.
When he returned to his tent, Kyosuke found that Thirteen had already packed his things.
He nodded to the two clan shinobi, then turned his gaze to Hyuga Saori, who was sitting on the side.
After two months of recuperation, Hyuga Saori's injuries had basically recovered. Perhaps because of the desperate battle with a powerhouse, her strength had actually improved a bit.
At this time, even if Saori's strength was not as good as Pakura's, it was probably not too far off.
Originally, according to her idea, she would naturally go to the Land of Whirlpools battlefield with Kyosuke. But Kyosuke had not forgotten her real purpose in coming to the battlefield this time.
Although by following Kyosuke, she could appropriately reap some military achievements, this was not enough to complete her goal. Only by establishing her own merit as a powerhouse could she gain the appreciation of Konoha and thus avoid the fate of becoming a breeding tool.
So, after much thought, Kyosuke still decided to let her stay.
Hyuga Saori naturally understood his good intentions, but she was still a bit worried about Kyosuke going to another battlefield "alone."
Fortunately, at the critical moment, Thirteen's persuasion successfully made her accept Kyosuke's suggestion. Otherwise, Saori might not have been able to accept the outcome of being left behind.
"Tsk, I feel like I've been abandoned," Saori said with a slightly sour tone, looking at the three who had finished packing.
"Haha," Kyosuke said with a loud laugh. He gave her a serious look, and was about to leave with the other two.
To his surprise, Saori suddenly came forward and hugged him.
"Ahem," Thirteen coughed lightly, reminding her somewhat dazed comrade. Then the two of them walked out of the tent together.
"Without me to protect you, you can't be so impulsive anymore," Saori said to Kyosuke in an unprecedentedly gentle tone.
"...Mm."
Soon, ten minutes had passed.
Kyosuke, wearing a black kimono, with the Kusanagi sword slung at his waist, his gaze sharp as he swept over the many Konoha ninja, took a deep breath and said loudly:
"Move out!"
Instantly, with a sharp whistle of their bodies flashing past, the hundred-plus people vanished from the Southwestern Army's camp.
Uchiha Fugaku watched their retreating figures and said without turning his head, "I never thought that this kid Kyosuke would grow so fast. I'm afraid it won't be long before you and I are no match for him."
Uchiha Ukyo, who was behind him, heard this and let out a loud laugh. "Don't say that. I'm pretty sure I can't beat Kyosuke right now. But that's not surprising. The title of 'Uchiha's Strongest Genius' is not for nothing. Even Ancestor Madara wouldn't have been stronger than him at the same age. I'm really looking forward to what kind of surprise Kyosuke will bring us next time we meet."
"That's right. I'm looking forward to it too."
A few days passed quickly. Kyosuke's unit had already arrived in the Land of Fire and was gradually approaching the easternmost coastline.
On the way, besides the necessary intelligence work, the entire team had been rushing along. They finally arrived at the coastline in the early morning of the seventh day.
"How much longer until we reach the Land of Whirlpools?" Kyosuke asked, looking at the rising sun on the sea, his mood suddenly improving a lot.
"Reporting to Lord Kyosuke, with our speed, it will only take about half a day of traveling on the water to set foot on the Land of Whirlpools," a Konoha ninja replied with a respectful tone.
"Half a day, huh," Kyosuke said, turning to look at the somewhat weary crowd. He pondered for a moment and then directly announced that everyone would rest on the spot for two hours.
After all, they had been maintaining a high-speed march all this way. So, before heading to the battlefield, they had to let the team get a full rest.
Otherwise, if they encountered an enemy who had taken a detour to block them, it would be very unwise to fight in a state of fatigue.
Since Kyosuke was now a military commander, he needed to consider the impact from all aspects.
Taking advantage of the free time, Kyosuke pulled up the system menu and checked his gains over the past two months.
During this time, with the experience he had gained from killing Bunjin and completing other missions, he had directly raised the level of his "Swordsmanship Training" to 10.
Swordsmanship Training lv10 (0/120)
He was only two levels away from the max level of a C-rank skill, which was 12. But the current power of his swordsmanship was already enough for Kyosuke to use.
It could be said that if Pakura were to be resurrected now, Kyosuke wouldn't even need the bonus of Sage Mode. He could suppress her, and even defeat her head-on, with just the Kusanagi sword in his hand.
This showed that the significant improvement in his swordsmanship had provided a considerable amount of help to Kyosuke's strength. Especially since he was about to face the powerhouses of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, having a very strong close-combat strength could help him better deal with the enemy.
Since the problem of close combat had been solved for now, Kyosuke was preparing to improve his genjutsu abilities. As for ninjutsu, he was not in a hurry. A few powerful Sage Arts were enough for him to use at the moment.
And improving his genjutsu ability would not only make his attack methods more strange and varied, but also, to a certain extent, improve his resistance to genjutsu.
Otherwise, just like Orochimaru in the future, being taken down by a junior ninja with a single genjutsu would be a great loss of face.
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