Discussing Tactics

"Haha! Sorry, sensei. I got up early this morning and saw an injured puppy..."

"Obito Uchiha, get your butt over to another class's group!"

Feimu was furious with Obito, who had finally shown up just as they were about to leave.

"Huh?"

"It's settled! Move out!"

And so, the late Obito was tossed into another class and assigned to a team that was short a member, with no chance to argue. As everyone else gloated, Obito had no choice but to leave in embarrassment. Still, being an optimist by nature, he wasn't too upset. Besides, with his strength, he would be welcome on any team.

The group set out from Konoha's gates, fifteen classes in all, with over six hundred teachers and students heading west.

"Shizune, you're good at Medical Ninjutsu, right?"

"Huh? Why would you say that? Medical Ninjutsu... I can't do that." Shizune seemed surprised that Shunren had asked. Embarrassed, she said, "Sorry, I only know a little about preparing medicine."

"I see." Shunren had asked because he knew Shizune would become an outstanding medical-nin in the future. As things stood, she hadn't yet become Tsunade's disciple.

"Medical Ninjutsu is something you only get a chance to learn after becoming a Genin, at the very least. You're expecting too much, Shunren," Kurenai said, puzzled. She also looked at Shizune with a hint of surprise. "You know how to prepare medicine, Shizune? That's already impressive. That textbook, Yang Release Theory: Pharmacology, made my head spin."

Shizune nodded shyly and said in a low voice, "I... I like herbs. My dream is to become a medical-nin and save lives and heal the injured."

Perhaps because they were both girls, Kurenai opened up, too, which was rare for her. She said earnestly, "One day, I'm going to become a Genjutsu ninja like my father—no, even stronger than him! Shizune, let's do our best together."

Shizune said with determination in her eyes, "Yeah, let's do our best!"

Despite her delicate appearance, Shizune seemed to have lofty ambitions of her own.

"What about you, Shunren? There's less than a year until we can take the early Genin graduation exam. You won't be sitting it out, will you?" Kurenai turned the conversation to the graduation exam.

In this war-torn era, every village was actively taking part in an arms race, and Konoha naturally refused to fall behind. It had introduced a series of measures, one of which was an "early admission" graduation exam at the school, allowing outstanding students to graduate as Genin without completing the full six-year course.

"Me? Hmm... I probably won't take it," Shunren said mildly after thinking for a moment.

"Huh?" Kurenai and Shizune were both surprised. Without a doubt, both of them intended to take next year's early exam and become real ninja as soon as possible. Or rather, encouraged by the prevailing attitude in Konoha, almost everyone at school hoped to pass the early exam and took pride in becoming a Genin at a young age. That was why they were so surprised by Shunren's answer.

"Why, Shunren?"

"I think I'd rather take things one step at a time." Unlike the Konoha Ninja born and raised here, he was a transmigrator and had no intention whatsoever of defending Konoha or pledging his loyalty to it. Of course, he couldn't say that outright, so he had to fob them off with a vague answer.

But Kurenai seemed unwilling to let the subject go. "Shunren! You really need to think this through!"

"I already have."

"No! You need to think about it some more."

"Uh... all right." Faced with Kurenai's stubborn attitude, Shunren wasn't about to lock horns with a little girl. His eyes shifted, and he changed the subject.

"Speaking of which, shouldn't we come up with a basic battle plan for this survival exercise?" Kurenai raised an eyebrow. She knew Shunren was changing the subject, but as the saying went, everyone had their own ambitions, and she couldn't very well force him.

"Now, Kurenai, you're good at Genjutsu, but you don't have much of an advantage in physical strength, right? And Shizune, you're not skilled in Taijutsu either, are you?" He wasn't just changing the subject; it was also necessary to work out a plan for the team beforehand.

Shizune raised her small hand and said quietly, "My aim with Shuriken is pretty good."

Shunren nodded and continued, "Then, if we run into enemies, I'll fight them up close. Kurenai, you'll wait for a chance to use Genjutsu from the rear, and Shizune, you'll provide long-range fire support from the rear."

"Are you good at Taijutsu, Shunren?" Shizune asked curiously.

"Yes."

"Yes, my foot!" Kurenai glared at him. "Your Taijutsu isn't much better than mine, is it? And you can't use a single one of the Three Basic Techniques. If we run into a powerful enemy, you won't even have a chance to run away!"

"Huh? You can't use Ninjutsu, Shunren?" Shizune's eyes widened.

Shunren waved a hand and said mildly, "It's true, I can't use any Ninjutsu, but don't forget I still have a trump card. Have you forgotten my mock battle with Asuma?"

"Asuma? You mean Asuma Sarutobi, the top student in our year? Shunren, did you beat Asuma in a mock battle?" Shizune asked in surprise.

"It was only a draw, but that proves my close-combat ability, doesn't it?" Shunren said mildly.

"True... if you use that technique." Kurenai frowned, then looked at him suspiciously. "But I remember you hadn't fully mastered it, had you? Can you definitely use it in a real battle?"

"Don't worry. After my special training lately, I'm sure I can use it briefly now." He wasn't bluffing. After spending a long time fighting "Shirou Emiya" with the help of the Mirage Technique, Shunren had begun to use the power of Yin Release proficiently. He could now maintain it for at least five or six seconds, up from the original three. In a ninja battle, five or six seconds was enough to decide victory or defeat.

Nor was Shunren doing this out of concern for the girls. Kurenai and Shizune really weren't good at close combat, and he had arranged things this way entirely to protect his damage dealers.

"All right... I guess that's the only way." Kurenai knew Shunren was telling the truth, but unwilling to admit defeat, she raised her eyebrows and emphasized, "Shunren, you just need to hold out in front for a while. Once I've completed my Genjutsu, I can end the fight right away!"

Shizune said seriously, "I've prepared lots of healing medicine, so leave recovery to me. Of course, it would be even better if no one got hurt..."