Electricity

Shuichi and Kakashi leisurely returned towards the village. Just as they reached the top of the Hokage Rock, a messenger ninja suddenly appeared from nowhere.

"Lord Shuichi, Jonin Kakashi, you've come at the right time. The Third Lord has important matters to discuss with you both."

Upon arriving at the Hokage's Office, Shuichi waited quietly to the side at the Third Hokage's signal. They first discussed Kakashi's list of new team members and the first batch of students.

"Is it appropriate that Choza- senpai is involved, Lord Hokage?" Kakashi asked tentatively, "If we were to form a new team..."

"It's alright, Kakashi, Choza has already readily agreed." The Third Hokage smiled kindly. "We all have great confidence in your abilities, and your student list has also been arranged."

Shuichi was fully aware of this; Choza Clan Head of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, was cooperating with the village's bloodline change, yet he, with more seniority than Kakashi, was relegated to a subordinate position.

Having experienced veterans play support roles is a privilege reserved for young, strong members of the Hokage lineage, much like the collaboration between Nara Shikaku and Namikaze Minato back then.

The treatment of others... even Asuma, Shuichi, and Kakashi couldn't compare.

The Third Hokage was indeed dutiful and did not abuse his power for personal gain. Asuma was promoted to Jonin only after meeting the promotion requirements, but his teammates were... Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane, who admired his brave fighting style...

After Kakashi got the list of team members and students and got busy, the Third Hokage immediately brought up Shuichi's new task.

"Molten Water? It seems that technological development has made further progress in recent years."

Shuichi flipped through several pages of the document, then said to the Third Hokage with some doubt, "According to the contents, this thing is indeed quite important, but the resource point that was discovered is too far from the Land of Fire. It can basically be said to belong to Kirigakure."

"Even if we manage to seize it, the mining costs will be very high. Wouldn't it be better to wait until we've completed our exploration Land of Fire before moving on to the outside?"

"That's the theory, but according to researchers' reports, the Molten Water produced on the islands is of even higher quality."

The Third Hokage said calmly, "Furthermore, Kirigakure was recently thrown into chaos, and we don't know if the turmoil has subsided. Going to investigate might yield some detailed information..."

Shuichi understood the implication in his words. The thinking of Konoha High Command was similar to that of the powerful nations of his previous life: to exploit limited resources from abroad first, store them domestically, and use them last. This Molten Water roughly the same concept as oil.

If the Kirigakure Village is not stable internally, then the Land of Fire will naturally gladly accept this resource.

"I understand. When do we approximately depart?"

"The sooner the better. This was discovered by our Anbu who infiltrated the Land of Water. If possible, try to avoid conflict and escalating the hatred."

Your team is on their way to assemble. I'll have a staff member show you some information about Molten Water right away.

OK!

A few breaths later, a Konoha Ninja dressed in administrative attire led Shuichi to the village's research base.

Upon entering the room, just as Shuichi had predicted, various mechanical devices were connected to pipes, including large electronic screens, cameras, and unusual "helmets," among other things.

The energy source was several large white canisters placed in the center of the venue, which looked just like the Gas canister in Shuichi's previous life. Each canister had a large "[electricity]" engraved on it and was filled with a transparent liquid.

"Lord Shuichi, please allow me to introduce..." the staff member said enthusiastically, "This new type of electricity will bring tremendous changes to the village and the ninjas; many theoretical technologies can be easily implemented..."

"For example, long-range intelligence transmission!" The staff member picked up a helmet and put it on. "As long as someone on the front lines carries one of these liquid Battery and connects via special signal equipment, the Yamanaka Clan, who are adept at using Mental Energy, can communicate in real time."

The Shinobi World currently has a high level of technology, but due to the ongoing wars, not many people can afford high-consumption items like electricity. Unlike Shuichi, who is a rich man and still enjoys playing video games.

After the staff member explained, Shuichi learned that the electric current generated by decomposing Molten Water was closer to the Nature Transformation of ninjas, safer and more reliable than the violent electricity from power plants, and could work in conjunction with chakra.

The Fourth Shinobi War in the original work did indeed utilize this resource, with video calls Five Great Nations' Daimyo, intelligence transmission Shinobi Alliance, and even the emergence of Lightning Current Samurai who could counter Earth Release.

"This is the exploration equipment we prepared, and we're handing it over to you now." The staff member handed several Storage Scroll to Shuichi and led the way to another laboratory to demonstrate how to use the detector.

When Shuichi emerged from the research institute, three ninjas—two men and one woman—were already waiting at the entrance. Upon seeing him, they immediately approached, "Shuichi-kun."

"Lord Shuichi!"

"You're too kind, Inoichi- senpai. Looking forward to your guidance on this mission." Shuichi smiled at the blond middle-aged man, not neglecting the other two. "Tenbara, Mariko, right? I've already reviewed your information. Looking forward to your guidance in the future."

"..."

After the four introduced themselves, they immediately left the village and headed to the East coast of the Land of Fire. In reality, it was mainly Yamanaka Inoichi who introduced his two teammates to Shuichi, since the name of Purple Aurora was known to everyone in Konoha.

Yamanaka Inoichi needs no introduction; he is a top -Jonin skilled in mind control, and his technique of invading minds to extract information is perhaps the best in Konoha.

The young man, Tenbara, is known for his excellent perception, while the female ninja, Mariko, is a Medical Ninja. As for damage output, it all depends on... Shuichi himself.

After traveling for two days, the team arrived at the nearest port and successfully boarded the arranged ship to set sail. At this moment Shuichi leaned against the edge of the deck, carefully examining the map of the target resource point in his hand.

The red dot on the map is located in the sea between the three countries of Lightning, Fire, and Water. It is only about 30 nautical miles from the northernmost island of the Land of Water, and more than 200 nautical miles from the countries of Lightning and Fire.

In theory, it is a resource unique to Kirigakure, but there is currently no concept of territorial waters in the Shinobi World, so whoever can mine it depends entirely on their own methods.

After sailing for several days, Shuichi's squad chose to detach from the ship at noon one day. This Molten Water was produced on a deserted island, surrounded by the ocean.

There were plenty of shallows and large reefs nearby where one could find footholds, so highly skilled ninjas could slowly make their way there from a distance.

Tap tap tap--

The four members of Konoha splashed water as they stepped on the sea. They were about to reach their destination in a little while, and their vigilance immediately increased.

"Captain Shuichi, a large number of ninjas have appeared near the target location!" Tenbara's eyes widened slightly. "There are a lot of them, but strangely, they're all standing on the sea surface... This..."

The team had spotted a deserted island but no one in sight. Visibility was extremely high on the open sea without fog, so it was easy to determine that the ninjas were on the other side of the island.

"Well done, Tenbara!" Shuichi praised.

He had actually sensed it earlier, but remained silent. This is what's known as teamwork and leadership mindset—fully motivating subordinates and making them feel a strong sense of presence.

Otherwise, if you do all the work for your subordinates, wouldn't they seem useless?

Shuichi sighed inwardly, realizing he was becoming more and more like a seasoned politician, the innocent boy he once was gone forever. "Let's go around to the other side of the sea and see what's going on."

"Those ninjas didn't engage in any fighting, so they're unlikely to let us get away with anything. Besides, they've most likely already spotted us."

Swish!

The four members of Konoha stopped on the sea. A few dozen meters away, two groups of people, one large and one small, were facing off.

All eyes immediately focused on the Konoha Squad, and the atmosphere began to turn tense.

"Over there in Kumogakure is Darui, a young master who has risen to fame in recent years!" Yamanaka Inoichi, as one of the leaders of the Intelligence Department, was quite familiar with the surrounding countries, except for Kirigakure of chaos.

"That one-eyed man named Qing was one of the commanders of Kirigakure. And this brown-haired woman in front of him... I don't think I've seen her before..."

Shuichi glanced around and saw 15 people from Kumogakure present; they seemed to have just arrived.

Kirigakure dispatched nearly ten teams, led by a tall, slender, long-haired, blue-eyed beauty—none other than the well-known supporting female character from the original work— the Mizukage, Mei Terumi.

Only the Konoha side looked miserable, with their four figures appearing unusually thin.

"Good afternoon, everyone!" Shuichi's clear voice carried far. "We came out to sea specifically to relax. Are you also on a group tour?"