Approaching the Rice Wholesale Market

Hokage Building.

The Third Hokage was listening intently to Shibi's report.

"Is that so? So outstanding that even you, who are so particular, are full of praise." The Third Hokage revealed a relieved smile. It was truly rare for such a perfect ninja like Shibi to speak so favorably.

"Might Guy has mastered the Eight Gates, a taijutsu that boosts physical strength. Ichie has activated her Two-Tomoe Sharingan. And Gen'ichi, with his powerful Kekkei Genkai ninjutsu..."

The Third Hokage pondered while puffing on his pipe.

As expected of the team he favored and appointed Shibi to lead.

Especially Gen'ichi Shiranui, who brought him surprises beyond imagination!

A powerful and mysterious Kekkei Genkai, a potent area-of-effect poison attack, a strange Physical Clone Jutsu whose principle is currently unknown... Any one of these abilities would be enough to qualify for promotion to Chunin.

More importantly... Gen'ichi is suspected to have an incredibly vast Chakra reserve. The upper limit is currently unknown, but it's preliminarily judged to be at a level that can reach Jonin-class Chakra volume.

"Shibi, do you have a sample of Gen'ichi's poison?" the Third Hokage suddenly asked.

"No, Lord Third. I inspected some dead Parasitic Destruction Insects afterward and didn't find any poison in them. It seems Gen'ichi recovered it."

"So that's how it is. He's truly a cautious child..."

The Third Hokage nodded, feeling a slight regret. Such a novel poison, capable of killing large numbers of insects with incredibly tenacious vitality like the Parasitic Destruction Insect, truly demanded his attention. It would be best if he could obtain the method for concocting the poison and then develop an antidote.

There will be opportunities in the future.

"Might Guy and Gen'ichi are close friends, and Ichie also has a connection with Gen'ichi. Such strong bonds make me truly look forward to their future..."

The Third Hokage sighed with emotion.

"Then, Shibi, I'll trouble you with the matters ahead. You bear an important mission: to cultivate these three, the most talented of the new generation since Kakashi. Ten years from now, Konoha will rely on people like them to support it..."

The Third Hokage wore a look of satisfaction.

Shibi nodded and left in silence.

After a moment of contemplation, the Third Hokage took out a new file.

"Resolving Kakashi's psychological issues is urgent. Using Shibi's Team as a model, establish strong bonds for him as well... His sworn enemy, Obito, and Obito's love interest, Rin Nohara... I hope things develop as I wish. As for their team leader..."

The Third Hokage already had a plan.

Minato Namikaze.

In the early stages of the war, Minato Namikaze had already confronted Kumogakure's AB Brothers head-on and held his own, thoroughly establishing his reputation and being regarded as a new Kage-level Expert.

If Minato Namikaze were to be responsible for Team Kakashi...

"Minato's beloved is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki... With Kakashi and the other two as his disciples, it will surely deepen his bond with Konoha village..."

The Third Hokage made his decision.

The matter of Shibi's Team about to begin missions did not attract much attention beyond the Third Hokage.

Although many were surprised that a perfect Jonin like Shibi would return to the village to lead a team after fighting for over two years, it was merely a surprise.

Many Jonin who had been fighting fiercely on the front lines for a long time were returning to the village to recuperate. They had lost family, comrades, and subordinates, and it was unavoidable that some potential changes would occur in their minds and even their cognitive thinking.

Using them to quickly mature the new generation was highly cost-effective. It allowed these Jonin to form more bonds and also enabled the new generation to quickly become talented and contribute to the village.

The next morning.

Shibi's Team assembled.

Gen'ichi and the other two were informed that their mission was to join a supply unit and escort the supplies to the Frontline Camp.

This was a mission provisionally designated as a B-rank. Excellent, this was truly elite; directly skipping the trashy D-rank and C-rank, and immediately entering the B-rank where combat would erupt.

"Because it's wartime, supply units can be attacked by enemy ninja at any time. Combat is almost unavoidable, but it's just a matter of the scale of the fight..."

Ichie said softly, a little eager to try. Her talent would blossom on the battlefield.

"Theoretically, that's correct." Shibi adjusted his sunglasses. "If we're lucky, we can reach the Frontline Camp smoothly all the way. But if our luck is bad, we'll be attacked by varying numbers of enemy ninja, and the mission rank could increase to A-rank at any time."

As for S-rank? It wasn't impossible, but it was very rare for a large number of enemy Jonin or at least one Kage-level Expert to attack a small supply unit, unless the enemy was crazy.

They weren't Minato Namikaze, after all.

Moreover, even if Elite Jonin attacked, with someone like Aburame Shibi, who could fight, endure, and sense, present, they could be maximally hindered.

Honestly, considering Shibi's level, this was indeed a practice mission.

"Sensei Shibi, as the most perfect Elite Jonin, possessing arguably the top overall power below Kage-level, won't spend too much time training rookies. He'll soon return to the front lines."

Gen'ichi glanced at the expressionless Shibi Jonin, who looked like a zombie.

Soon, the group of four set off and rendezvoused with a supply team of over a dozen people.

"The team responsible for guarding us definitely won't have any strong people. We're just a small supply team..."

Among the team, a middle-aged man was muttering to himself, but upon seeing Shibi, his whole demeanor became like Deidara's. "Lord Shibi?! This, is it really your new team leading us?"

"That's right. So, can we depart?" Shibi spoke directly.

Along the way, everyone kept their mouths tightly shut, nervous but also occasionally looking at Shibi, feeling a bit of reassurance. And Shibi, the most senior person present, was a taciturn individual, so it was even less likely for him to speak.

Gen'ichi took the initiative to talk to the others in the supply team and finally confirmed that the team's captain and vice-captain, both Chunin, were actually very "familiar" to him...

They were Iruka Umino's parents.

They would later die in the Nine-Tails Attack.

"What's wrong? Do I have something on my face?"

Umino Kawamiya, the middle-aged man, looked suspiciously at Gen'ichi, who kept staring at him.

"Ah, you noticed..."

"You're practically staring right into my face! I'd have to be blind not to see it! Is something wrong?"

"Nothing, I just thought you looked a bit unreliable, old man. Maybe I'll have to protect you later, so I wanted to get to know you first."

Being called "old man" by a kid who clearly looked down on him stung Umino Kawamiya deeply.

However, thinking of his six-year-old son, Iruka... well, maybe "old man"... wasn't entirely unacceptable.

This bit of banter actually helped to instantly ease some of the grimness and tension in the whole team.

Soon, everyone left Konoha and quickly traveled through several towns, heading rapidly towards the border of the Land of Fire. The closer they got to the border, the more cautious and alert everyone became.

Destitute civilian life, desolate wilderness, scattered corpses everywhere...

This was war, especially war between ninja, where powerful ninja could easily destroy a town with their attacks.

"Ahead is the Border Post. It's extremely close to Amegakure, which is a battlefield in the Three-Country War. The ninja of Amegakure themselves are also filled with hatred for Konoha... However, our movements so far have been very covert, so we shouldn't attract the enemy's attention."

Umino Kawamiya spoke solemnly, intending to remind everyone to stay vigilant.

The moment he finished speaking.

Several enemy ninja launched an attack on the team.