Mental Energy Boost and Kirigakure's Attack
If you're not satisfied with what your elders have passed down and want to go further, or if you want to become a ninja even without any resources, you have no choice but to enter the Ninja Academy and risk your life for a future.
"Suppose my grandfather passes the Ninja Academy's test and eventually becomes Jonin, then my father and I wouldn't need to go to the Ninja Academy anymore; we could use his resources to become ninjas." Shuichi secretly assessed the pros and cons of the Mist Village System.
"Although you'll be a subordinate for life, if the Ninjutsu passed down is very suitable for you and you master it to perfection, you can keep rising to the rank of a Kage's subordinate, eventually becoming a mid-level high-ranking member."
"This system has been able to function for so many years because no one has emerged who can break the vicious cycle. If no outsiders interfere with Kirigakure, they can remain in seclusion forever. Zabuza has stirred up the waters this time."
Shuichi discovers that this system has some hidden dangers, which may be the key to triggering a war.
If a prodigy emerges among the Civilian Ninja but doesn't enter the Ninja Academy, once he gains strength surpassing that of a Kage, he certainly won't be content to remain a subordinate, because his strength and status wouldn't match.
Or, if a large clan suddenly experiences a period of bad luck but still retains a large number of Jonin positions, then the number of dissatisfied ninjas must be quite large.
It's also possible that, like Kisame in the future, giving him Samehada would be far better than giving it to Suikazan Fuguki, but Kirigakure's system severely restricts him, resulting in situations where the weak can command the strong.
In short, the bloody fighting environment not only created outstanding combat power, but also released the ferocity in the hearts of ninjas. Anyone with a little strength couldn't wait for those in high positions to die so that they could take their place.
Zabuza's actions this time were somewhat unexpected, Shuichi had no idea what was going through his mind.
"Could it be... that your clan's ninjas control so many resources, forcing us commoners to kill our own kind and compete in bloodshed for a meager share? Now, within the rules, I've wiped out all the elite commoners of this generation, leaving no one of my peers to compete with me. All those resources will be mine. As for the strength or weakness of the village, what do I care? It's all under your control anyway."
"Hiss..." Shuichi thought this made sense. Such an inhumane approach had actually hit the weak spot of the higher-ups. This was indeed a violent way to break the deadlock. "Zabuza is truly a ruthless person!"
"So, the reason Kirigakure is starting to gather ninjas now is because Zabuza ignited the conflict?" Shuichi asked the Third Hokage.
"Very likely." The Third Hokage continued chain-smoking. "The future Kirigakure leadership can change the rules, but the large number of people currently in power who witnessed Zabuza's actions..."
This is another fatal flaw in the Mist Village System: many ninjas have extremely low levels of identification with the village, Zabuza's actions could very well unleash the demons within them. "Yeah, if he kills all his rivals, wouldn't that be..."
This thorny situation must be resolved, and launching an external war is the best solution. Rewards for military achievements should be made public, allowing everyone to compete on the battlefield. If everyone within the organization becomes wary of each other, the Kirigakure will inevitably fall apart.
"Damn it, what did Konoha do wrong that everyone has to come and fight them!" Shuichi was speechless at the state of the world. "So what should we do next?"
"The village is now facing a manpower shortage," Sarutobi Hiruzen gravely. "But we can't ignore the threat from Kirigakure. We have to promote several young squads to make up for the lack of combat strength. You Jonin will have to work harder..."
The Third Hokage will set an example, Asuma's team will participate in patrols along the eastern coast of the Land of Fire. Of course, Shuichi and the other Jonin are not far away from them, and as long as they can send a signal, support will arrive in the shortest possible time.
After listening, Shuichi pondered for a while. It seemed he needed to prepare some things for Ishikawa Tatsuki and Kurenai, since he knew that the first wave of Kirigakure's vanguard was the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
His arrival might have Butterfly Effect. Judging from the scale of the previous battles, Konoha may have a lot more Jonin and Chunin at this point in time due to Shuichi's outstanding performance. It's hard to say whether Kirigakure will send more people after receiving the information.
On the eastern coastline of the Land of Fire, Shuichi's squad has been reassembled and equipped with high-tech gadgets. He is currently conducting patrol missions while occasionally communicating with his teammates.
"Hiss, hiss... Captain... I don't have anything... anything unusual..."
Shuichi was speechless. He slightly changed direction and ran towards Aburame Shihei, "Hey, hey... damn it! What kind of garbage equipment is this?"
A small radio was hanging on his ear, supposedly the latest technology from the Land of Fire, but its communication range was very limited; it lost signal at any distance.
After running several hundred meters, my teammate's voice finally became clear.
"I see nothing unusual here either. By the way, I haven't congratulated the captain on officially becoming Jonin yet. You just turned 12 a few days ago, right? It seems no one in the village can break this record," Hyuga Akiha said.
"I guess the village is short of fighting power. Besides being more tired, there's no other benefit," Shuichi complained. "Be careful. The number of ships coming and going from the port has decreased significantly recently, which is a bad omen. If you have enough chakra, you can extend the Byakugan's usage time."
He had been patrolling the coastline of the Land of Fire for almost a month, and the only good news he received amidst the boring missions was that he had grown another year older.
Passive Skill (Recovery and Growth): For every year the host grows, the recovery rate of Body Energy and Mental Energy increases by 3%, and all other basic attributes increase by 3% [currently increased by 36%].
Second Skill (Spirit Boost): For every point the host adds, Mental Energy (including Yin Release) increases by 100% [currently increased to 300%].
Since the system stipulates that the difference between each regular skill level cannot exceed 2 levels, the reaction speed of the third skill has now been increased by 4 points, while the second skill only had 2 points before. Therefore, this time the points can only be added to Mental Energy.
For the past few years, Shuichi has been improving his reaction speed and thinking in order to quickly increase his combat power. This time, after many years, he added points to his second skill, which made him truly experience a leap in attributes.
"This is absolutely amazing! It's probably many times better than doing that!"
Because the doubling was based on his original attributes without any bonuses, his body had been developing continuously over the past few years. In addition, with the improvement from Kekkei Genkai, this made him feel as if he were floating on air.
His chakra control improved significantly once again, and his chakra reserves and sensory abilities also increased considerably. With a clear understanding of Ninjutsu, he discovered that he could undertake many challenging training programs, but he was temporarily held back by the mission.
"Keep this distance and head towards 1 o'clock." Shuichi and his two teammates maintained a distance of several hundred meters, and even some static on the radio did not affect their emergency communication.
"Boohoo... BOOM!"
Suddenly, two distress signals shot into the sky, one after the other. They were not far apart, but they were not close to the place.
"This direction... is where Tatsuki and Kurenai's team is." Shuichi seeing this. "No way, am I really Crow or a jinx..."
"Whoosh..." He used his Body Flicker Technique to its fullest extent, rushing forward like lightning. "You guys move closer together, activate your Byakugan and continue scouting. If you encounter any enemies, retreat first. I'll go and provide support alone."
Now Shuichi can only pray that the enemies Ishikawa Tatsuki and the others encounter won't be too strong. Although he has practiced with them many times by pretending to be a master from various villages, the atmosphere of actual combat is completely different.
"Don't let me down, Tatsuki!"