Recruiting

Hokage Building.

The Third Hokage looked at the boys and girls standing in front of the table with a smile, feeling as happy as if he could eat ice cream freely on a hot summer day.

"Kushina Uzumaki, Uzumaki Katsuki, Minato Namikaze, congratulations, you are now Jonin."

Three geniuses were promoted to Jonin in one go. Even without mentioning Kushina, just the Jinchuriki of Katsuki and Minato alone was enough to make the Third Hokage happy for a very long time. The healthy growth of the next generation proved the strength and prosperity of Konoha, showing that he, as Hokage, was not just a figurehead.

"Thank you Lord Hokage."

Holding brand-new dark green vests in their arms, the three of them bowed slightly in greeting.

"Yes, yes, even after becoming Jonin, you still need to keep working hard! The future of the village depends on you young people." The Third Hokage stroked his small mustache, smiling amiably.

Katsuki chatting with the Third Hokage for a while, Mizuki and the others prepared to leave.

"Katsuki, wait a moment, I have a task for you to do."

"Lord Hokage, what mission do you have?"

Katsuki stood in front of the table, looking at the Third Hokage.

"It's a request for help from Sakumo. They need ninjas proficient in both Lightning Release Technique and Water Release Technique. Although you've only recently been promoted to Jonin, your Lightning Release Technique are absolutely top-notch in the village, so I hope you can..."

"Please let me go," Katsuki said solemnly, interrupting the Third Hokage before he could finish speaking, "You must send me."

The Third Hokage wasn't angry about Katsuki's offense. He was willing to volunteer for battle, whether it was because of Sakumo or for other reasons. As long as he had someone he cared about, he was worth nurturing. There was no need to worry about him betraying the village.

"Sure, by the way, Jonin can act alone or choose subordinates to accompany them. If you can find partners willing to go to the front lines with you, you can bring them along, as long as they don't have any official positions." The Third Hokage agreed readily and gave Katsuki free rein, allowing him to recruit subordinates himself.

I left the Hokage Building.

Katsuki didn't go home immediately. He was still worried about who to look for. In such a large-scale war, the more people the better. Although he was confident in his own strength, the enemy was, after all, a large ninja village, and the battlefield was on their territory.

However, deciding who to turn to was proving difficult for him!

Kushina and Minato were naturally the first to be ruled out. Not only was her older sister the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, but more importantly, she and Minato were also Jonin. Unless they were high-ranking figures such as advisors, Jonin Commander, Konoha Military Police Force, Jonin could not command Jonin. Moreover, there might be other missions waiting for Kushina and Minato.

But aside from Kushina and Minato, his only choices are Nawaki and Otome.

Even if we bring Nawaki and Otome along, the number of people is still a bit small!

After thinking it over for a while, he still couldn't think of any other candidates, so he simply Hand Seals and summoned two Shadow Clones. One went to the Uchiha Clan to find Otome, and the other went to the Senju Clan to find Nawaki. The relationship between the Senju and Uchiha was extremely hostile, and they would never set foot on the other's clan territory.

Even though Nawaki and Otome are teammates, they always contact Katsuki for any communication, which is why he jokingly calls himself a signal tower.

Q Barbecue.

There weren't many customers around 10 a. m., Katsuki finally managed to snag a seat, sitting in the private room waiting for Nawaki and Otome.

Ten minutes later, Nawaki arrived, and then it took nearly twenty minutes for Otome to arrive.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

The girl's pretty face remained as cold as ice, but Katsuki and Nawaki were already used to it. That was just how Otome was; one of the special characteristics of the Uchiha was their icy demeanor.

"It's alright. Anyway, both my Shadow Clone and Nawaki's are in training, so it's fine for the main body to take a break occasionally..."

Under the girl's murderous gaze, Katsuki quickly shut his mouth, only then remembering how Otome's eyes were always quite unfriendly whenever he and Nawaki used Shadow Clone, a method akin to cheating, to train!

The Uchiha Clan members have a considerable amount of Chakra, even more than ordinary Chakra. However, when compared to freaks like the Senju and Uzumaki clans, the difference becomes apparent.

"Cough cough."

Katsuki cleared her throat, quickly changed the subject, and recounted the events.

"Jonin! I need to work hard too!"

Nawaki pumped his fist with great enthusiasm.

Otome's delicate eyebrows drooped slightly. Kushina and Minato were both Jonin; it seemed she needed to work harder as well.

"That's not the point, okay?" Katsuki, both amused and exasperated.

"Finding people to go to the battlefield... is very difficult." Otome was very direct. It wasn't that she was afraid of dying, but that there were very few people they knew who didn't hold official positions. Many people had already been stationed on the front lines of the Land of Wind, and it was not advisable to disturb those who had just returned from their rotations. The options available were quite limited.

"Well, I know that, but I have to give it a try. Giving up before even trying isn't my style," Katsuki with a wry smile.

Ultimately, Uzumaki was an outsider, and although he was supposed to be part of a clan, it was really just him and Kushina. Moreover, he was young, so his circle of friends was quite narrow, and the number of people he knew was naturally very limited.

"How is Tenzan?" Otome asked.

"No, Tenzan's Byakugan has good perception, but my senses are just as Byakugan. Besides, Gentle Fist has no advantage against Puppet Technique or Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai. Sending her to the front lines would only cause concern." Katsuki shook his head. From the beginning, he had not included Tenzan in his consideration list.

"I do have a few men here, and they haven't been on any missions lately," Nawaki said cautiously. "Katsuki, do you remember those guys who raided the Sand Village's food depot with us?"

"You mean Kamiya Ren and Hoshio Ichiro?" Otome raised an eyebrow.

"That's right, it's them. We were sparring together just a couple of days ago. They were injured in the battle at Black Tail Mountain and were only recently discharged from the hospital. They said they were feeling really bored and are currently submitting a request to go to the front lines!" Nawaki nodded.

Now that you mention it, Katsuki also remembered these two. They were both quite strong, and they were also acquaintances. It wouldn't be bad to be able to get them involved.

"Nawaki, could you please ask him? If he has no objections, he can come under my command and go to the front lines with me."

"Sure!"

Nawaki acted immediately, Hand Seals, casting a spell, Shadow Clone leaped out of the window to go directly to discuss the matter with the two.

"I'll ask around for you when I get home, but I don't have many friends, so I doubt I'll find many," Otome said calmly. Even within her family, Otome was known for her aloof and reserved nature, and as she herself said, she indeed didn't have many friends.

"Then I'll have to trouble you. I'm already very grateful if you can help."

"It was nothing, we're teammates after all."