Shuichi's Warning

"Heh, it's rare to see you in such a disheveled state, Shuichi-kun." After the giant snake beside him disappeared, Orochimaru looked at his disciple with a smile.

Shuichi was speechless. If he hadn't discovered that Orochimaru had arrived, he wouldn't have fought so desperately against the enemy, nor would he have used such a risky attack plan.

He sat on the ground catching his breath for a while before finally recovering. This time, he was far from being at his wit's end.

The Puppeteer's final killing move was indeed very powerful, essentially an enhanced version of a close-combat Shuriken burst. Shuichi could only avoid it by extracting more chakra, but that would risk him losing consciousness.

Overall, he had a slight advantage in this battle due to his superior intelligence, and he was the one who survived the truly desperate fight.

"Teacher, what's the situation on your end?"

After exchanging information with Orochimaru, they discovered that both teams were quite strong, and Orochimaru's side would have an additional Chunin to attack him, for a total of 2 Jonin and 5 Chunin.

"What a pity!" After getting up to check on the Puppeteer, Kawamasa, he found that Chuan Zheng had already passed away.

Orochimaru had just used snakes to perform a two-pronged attack. After the enemy discovered this, they didn't give them a chance to capture him alive and decisively ended his own life.

Even when facing Jonin- level opponents, Orochimaru has difficulty capturing them alive. Fortunately, two Chunin have been Chunin and are currently under control while unconscious.

Shuichi is now cleaning up the battlefield. These puppets are quite a haul; he can take them back to the village and study them carefully.

First, there's the Turtle Puppet trapped in the Swamp of the Yellow Springs Swamp. Half of its shell was deformed by Shuichi's Wind Release technique, but the rest is mostly intact. A quick glance reveals that its internal structure is quite crude, suggesting it's not technologically advanced.

Another one that interests Shuichi is the Dual-Blade Puppet. Although it has few variations, its close-range power is indeed quite strong.

After placing the puppet on the ground, Shuichi didn't rush to disassemble it; there should be more professional people in the village who could do this job.

The middle of the puppet's body is now hollow, revealing many spring-like devices inside; all the blades were fired at once.

After a brief examination, I stored it in my Storage Scroll, then quickly cleaned up the battlefield and left.

Instead of rushing back to the Hannya Clan 'Land of Forests base in the Land of Forest, they found a cave and began interrogating two Chunin to uncover more information about Sunagakure's Dark Operatives.

Although these two Chunin had strong willpower, Orochimaru eventually managed to extract a lot of information from them.

"What bad luck! I didn't expect Sunagakure to have laid the groundwork so early," Shuichi hint of regret.

After the Sunagakure's defeat in the Second Great Ninja War, their strategy of expanding their territory abroad failed. However, they did not give up. They then secretly began to plot against the Land of Rivers, hoping to indirectly control some neutral forces for their own use.

The hotel they had set up earlier was a trap. The receptionist was indeed an ordinary person; his family members had been taken into custody by Sunagakure, and no one knew who had done it, so he could only be recruited as one of Sunagakure's subordinates.

In the following years, Konoha also began to notice the signs that Sunagakure was not content to remain idle, and the two sides had quite a few clashes in the Land of Rivers.

Just as Orochimaru predicted, Konoha's Anbu had very bad luck. They started doing the same thing as Sunagakure, but they ran right into trouble, establishing this base right under the noses of Sunagakure's spies.

They've recently realized something's wrong; several of their operations have inexplicably failed.

Just as they were preparing to carry out the internal cleanup, Sunagakure didn't give them the chance and chose an opportunity to act ahead of time.

After extracting some information through interrogation, Shuichi left the spot and traveled for quite some time before arriving at a secluded valley.

The Konoha Anbu Special Jonin has been completely destroyed; not even his remains could be found. The burial site of the remaining two Chunin is in this very spot. This was discovered through interrogation; otherwise, it would have been impossible to find them.

"It's too gruesome. You can barely make out a human shape; there's not even half a face left." This was the first time Shuichi had ever done this kind of corpse-collecting work. He could only suppress his disgust as he carefully collected the two mangled corpses and brought them back to Konoha for burial.

After reuniting with Orochimaru, they began discussing what to do next.

Logically, their mission was already complete, but for the safety of the other Konoha teams, Shuichi suggested that they take control of the personnel at other bases within the Land of Forests and then notify the arriving Konoha teams to suspend their operations. Orochimaru did not object to this.

Within a few days, half of the Konoha teams encountered Shuichi at the base.

After the conversation, several squads dispersed to lie in ambush at all the outposts in order to notify any potential arrivals. The Konoha Ninja temporarily suspended their operations.

Orochimaru was left to oversee things in the Land of Rivers, while Shuichi returned to Konoha alone to report on the situation. He was quick, returning to Konoha in just over a day.

In March of Konoha Year 45, the two gatekeepers were relatively free.

"Recently Jonin have been going on missions less often, and there are a lot more rookie Genin doing missions within the village. It's graduation season at the Ninja Academy again," one of them said. "I really miss those days at the Ninja Academy. My youth flew away like a bird and will never come back!"

"Yes!" another person said, sounding somewhat unenthusiastic. "I still remember back then..."

"Whoosh!" A figure rushed to the gates of Konoha at lightning speed, catching the two gatekeepers off guard. "Who goes there?"

"Urgent mission report, please inform the Lord Hokage immediately." The person who arrived was Shuichi, who looked a bit travel-worn, as he hadn't had time to groom himself these past few days due to battles and travel.

Upon seeing that the visitor was Orochimaru's disciple, the gatekeeper ninja's expression sharpened. "Yes, sir!"

Half an hour later, in the Hokage's Office.

"... That's the situation. My teacher and I were worried that problems might arise at other outposts as well, and the information we obtained from interrogating those two Sunagakure Chunin might not be complete, so I came back first."

After listening to Shuichi's report with a serious expression, the Third Hokage gave an order to the Anbu next to him.

"You did a very good job. This mission has been upgraded to S-rank. What time did you agree with Orochimaru?"

"Soon," Shuichi replied.

Just then, he saw the Medical Unit enter and took out the Scroll containing the bodies of two Anbu. "We could only find these two bodies, and some parts are missing. Take this to confirm their identities."

Around noon, a large group of people stood on the high platform in the Hokage's Office, including the Third Hokage and two advisors, Yamanaka Clan from the Intelligence Department, and several Anbu.

Checking the time, it was perfect. Shuichi began Hand Seals, "Summoning Jutsu!"

After a giant snake appeared, it spat out two people from its belly; they were the unconscious Sunagakure Chunin Sunagakure.

"That's about enough, I should let the teacher know when he's back."

"Yes, your mission is over. I will make new arrangements for the Land of Rivers." The Third Hokage's tone expressed his appreciation for Shuichi. If it weren't for Shuichi and Orochimaru, the village might have lost another elite team.

"Phew..." Shuichi relaxed, his first S-rank mission successfully completed. "By the way, I fought the Puppeteer twice, this time it was a Jonin. I've pretty much figured out all the information about the Sunagakure Puppeteer."

After saying that, he disappeared in a flash. "Seeing how busy you all are, I'll stop here for now. I think it's not too much to exchange it for a few Advanced Jutsu, is it? Why don't you think about it?"

"This child..." The Third Hokage's tense face almost crumbled. Such important information, and they're still demanding a higher price? Is he really the heir to the Will of Fire?

"The Shinobi World is starting to become unsettled, or rather, it has never truly been peaceful." Shuichi returned home directly after leaving the Hokage Building. This mission had given him a deeper understanding of the power struggles between the Five Great Nations.

The original work overemphasizes that hatred leads to war, but according to Shuichi's observation, hatred is secondary; the root cause of conflict is still self-interest.

Sunagakure wants a better environment for development, which infringes on Konoha's interests. There's only so much flesh in the Shinobi World; if others take it away, everyone will have less. No one will willingly give it up.

"Never mind that, it's none of my business right now. Let's go see what Tatsuki and the others are up to."

Shuichi missed Ishikawa Tatsuki and Kurenai's graduation ceremony due to an urgent mission. After all, as best friends, he should have gone to congratulate them, but that's just how ninjas are.

Along the drainage ditch on the edge of Konoha, Ishikawa Tatsuki and Yūhi Kurenai were diligently cleaning up their surroundings, while Asuma, the son of the Third Hokage, was doing the same. This was the inescapable fate of the Genin.

"Hmm?" Ishikawa Tatsuki, who was working, suddenly smelled a delicious aroma. He looked around and suddenly found his childhood friend sitting in a tree not far away, eating a few skewers of dumplings.

"Shuichi, what brings you here?" he said, a hint of surprise in his voice, then a thought struck him, "Why did you suddenly disappear when I graduated?"

"Well, because there's an urgent mission in the village, I can't tell you the details." Shuichi finished all his snacks quickly and leaned against a tree to rest.

"It's Shuichi-kun!"

"It's you!" Asuma's expression was quite interesting when he saw who it was.

His two teammates always call him "Shuichi" and act like they're his biggest fans.

One of them was a girl he had a crush on, which made him realize the cruelty of reality and that his dream of winning over his goddess was completely out of reach.

"Where are your teachers? I haven't seen them around."

"Oh, Professor Tōtō has something to do, and besides, these tasks are too tedious; I doubt he can stand them."

"Tōtō? Akimichi Tōtō?" Even though Shuichi had memorized the Hokage plot and various information, it took him a long time to recall this minor character who only appeared a few times.

"Their group still has Asuma, so they seem to be highly valued. That's good, then I won't have to worry too much about the early stages of the Third Shinobi War."

"Well... as compensation for missing your graduation ceremony, I'll treat you to barbecue after you finish your tasks."

Ishikawa Tatsuki suddenly became energetic. After clearing away all the clutter, they arrived just in time for lunch and headed towards the Barbecue Q.

Shuichi didn't abandon Asuma either; wouldn't that just create a discordant atmosphere?

Walking down the main street in the central district, a few people were chatting about some issues concerning Genin. After entering Barbecue Q, Shuichi saw several acquaintances just sitting down.

"Senior Minato? Kakashi?" The blond and white hair was too conspicuous; it was none other than Namikaze Minato and his team.

"Shuichi-kun?" Namikaze Minato was taken aback when he saw him, then said with a smile, "Haha, did you bring some friends? You all seem to be in the same class. Since we're all acquaintances, let's all sit at one table."

"What a coincidence!" The table that was originally for four people suddenly became a table for eight. "Kakashi, I was quite surprised that you were assigned to this class." Shuichi, who prided himself on being a master of acting, would not give away any clues. He was a man who considered every detail.

"The Lord Hokage's arrangement must have a deeper meaning," Namikaze Minato said. "They are all excellent ninjas; I believe they will get along well."

Since everyone knew each other, the atmosphere was very pleasant. They chatted and ate, talking about various topics related to ninjas.

"Oh, right," Shuichi, who was eating meat with gusto, suddenly spoke up, "There's something I want to tell you all, you can listen or not."

Since it has already caused quite a few Butterfly Effect, not to mention interfering with the fate of others, it is still necessary to give a friendly reminder as a classmate. Whether others will listen to it or not is another matter.

"According to my estimation, a Shinobi World War might occur in a few years." Shuichi's words startled everyone present. "I hope you are mentally prepared; of course, this is just my own judgment."

Namikaze Minato's expression immediately turned serious. He didn't refute Shuichi, but thought for a moment before asking, "Why do you say that, Shuichi-kun? Have you discovered something?"

Shuichi. He couldn't reveal the specifics and reasons for the mission, but he could talk about the combat aspect. The rest were his own deductions and guesses, which he could also discuss.

"The reason I couldn't attend your graduation ceremony a few days ago was because of an emergency mission in the village." He paused, then continued, "The mission was upgraded from A-rank to S-rank. I fought against Sunagakure Jonin and several Chunin; the situation was extremely dangerous."

The people around them were all stunned, including Kakashi. It was truly unbelievable that someone so young Jonin.

"Of course, the reason I say this is because I sensed the urgency within Sunagakure." After showing off a little, Shuichi explained the reasons for his judgment.

"The number of missions available in the Shinobi World is limited. Konoha is doing well recently, while the Land of Wind is short of resources and its development has reached its limit, which may even lead to internal conflicts."

"Encountering an opponent of this caliber in this encounter was a harbinger, because I've spent most of my missions in the western countries over the past year, so I can sense these things."

"The other major powers may be in a better situation than the Land of Wind, but they also have other motives for starting a war."

Seeing Namikaze Minato deep in thought, Shuichi reminded him, "Senior Minato, you could ask the Lord Hokage about it; you might be sent out on some missions soon."

"I'm just giving you a heads-up. Once the war starts, you might encounter an enemy Jonin your very first battle, so please be careful. Of course, there's no need to be too anxious, just try not to waste this precious time you have now to strengthen yourself."

Shuichi dared not say anything more about the future of Uchiha Obito and Nohara Rin.

Uchiha Madara is currently invincible in the Shinobi World, and with White Zetsu monitoring him everywhere, who could withstand him targeting someone? It's best for me, with my small frame, to stay far away. It's just that poor Kakashi may suffer the pain of losing his comrades again.