New Teammate

"I need to recover as quickly as possible."

Looking at the two tomoe in his scarlet eyes reflected in the mirror, Aoya thought to himself.

With his Sharingan upgraded to three tomoe, his perception had improved significantly.

But other aspects might not have kept up!

Perception, reaction speed, and physical speed – only when all three are coordinated can there be a true increase in combat power.

Otherwise, he might end up like Sasuke during the Chunin Exams, with two tomoe in his eyes but unable to match his physical reactions, resulting in him being thoroughly beaten by Rock Lee.

Thinking of this, Aoya couldn't wait to try it out, but he accidentally tore the knife wound on his chest, causing him to gasp in pain.

"Hiss! I seem to have gotten a little carried away."

Aoya looked down.

Only his right hand and left leg were currently normal.

And any slight movement could aggravate the wound on his chest.

For the next two days, he could only practice single-handed hand seals with his right hand.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Under the treatment of the Jonin medical ninja, the burns on Aoya's right leg were almost completely healed, and even the knife wound on his chest was recovering with unusual speed.

It was estimated that both injuries would be fully healed in at most two more days.

Medical Ninjutsu is truly amazing, isn't it?

While he was training, someone came to summon him. Aoya, still leaning on his crutches, followed them to the commander's tent in the Konohagakure camp.

"Uchiha Aoya."

Commander Shikaku Nara looked up and said, "The bodies of the three individuals your team encountered have been recovered and identified: one Tokubetsu Jonin and two Chunin. Your team's mission has once again been rated as an A-rank mission, with a reward of one million ryo."

Aoya nodded, indicating he understood.

A-rank mission rewards range from 150,000 to 1,000,000 ryo.

The specific reward amount depends on the difficulty and completion level of the mission.

This time, he had killed all three opponents, not just defeated or repelled them, so the reward tier was directly raised to the maximum for an A-rank mission.

"As for your two teammates, their contributions..."

"Mm, they did help in killing those two Chunin," Aoya said.

This was a lie.

One of those unlucky guys was instantly killed by the Iwagakure Tokubetsu Jonin they faced, and the other was later taken down by the two Chunin working together.

They hadn't exerted much effort!

Afterward, he was surrounded by three Iwagakure ninja, which is why he ended up in such a bad state.

Shikaku Nara blinked. "Is that so... Then I'll set their reward at 100,000 ryo each, and the remaining 800,000 ryo will be yours. Is that acceptable?"

Judging by the recovery of the bodies, those two didn't look like they had contributed much.

However, that was no longer his concern.

Aoya nodded. "Yes, and please use my portion of the reward to apply for Explosive Tags."

In combat, Explosive Tags were much more useful than kunai or shuriken!

During wartime, Explosive Tags had also increased in price; now, one cost two thousand ryo.

Leaving a total of 200,000 ryo for the families of those two unlucky fellows, his remaining 800,000 ryo could still be used to apply for 400 Explosive Tags!

That would be enough for him to use for a while.

"I also called you here for another matter. Regarding your new teammates, do you have any thoughts?" Shikaku Nara asked.

Aoya was taken aback.

They were specifically asking for his opinion?

In the past, his squads were assigned directly, and his opinion was rarely considered.

After all, those below Jonin rank were either responsible for logistical tasks like escorting supplies or served as cannon fodder, with no particular need to consider their opinions when forming teams.

Was it because he had killed a Tokubetsu Jonin in a direct confrontation for the first time that he was now being valued?

Good news, he wouldn't be cannon fodder anymore!

Bad news, he might have to undertake more dangerous missions in the future...

"I want a Sensory Ninja!"

Aoya said immediately.

If he could have a Sensory Ninja to anticipate the enemy, his safety index would definitely increase significantly!

Shikaku Nara wasn't surprised at all. "No problem, anything else?"

"Another... preferably a medical ninja."

"That might be a bit difficult. I'll do my best to arrange it," Shikaku Nara couldn't help but shake his head.

Even though Konohagakure had been vigorously training medical ninja for years, there still weren't enough.

Furthermore, in his opinion, it was better to assign precious medical ninja to treat the wounded in the camp rather than send them to the front lines on missions.

On the battlefield, medical ninja, who were often weaker in strength but could heal teammates and restore their combat power, were usually the priority targets.

"Someone will deliver Explosive Tags to you. Your teammates will arrive in the next couple of days once they're arranged."

During wartime, Konohagakure operated at peak efficiency in all aspects.

By the afternoon of the next day, a large number of reinforcements had arrived at the Konoha camp on the Iwagakure battlefield.

Qingye didn't even have time to look for his new teammates. His gaze quickly swept over all the reinforcement ninja, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he confirmed that Minato Namikaze's squad wasn't among them.

Thank goodness, thank goodness.

It seems the Battle of Kannabi Bridge is still some time away.

"Qingye~"

A girl with beautiful red eyes and slightly curly long hair cascading behind her was enthusiastically waving at Qingye. "Long time no see!"

Yūhi Kurenai, she and Qingye were classmates in the Ninja Academy.

There was another person following behind Yūhi Kurenai.

The distinctive Byakugan, with the Konoha ninja headband covering the cursed mark that symbolized their Branch Family status.

"Hahaha!"

Qingye looked at his new teammates and couldn't help but burst into laughter. He immediately tossed his cane aside, opened his arms, and walked over quickly.

"Eh?"

Yūhi Kurenai blushed.

Wh-what is Qingye doing?

Is he going to hug me? We haven't seen each other in a while, but this... isn't this inappropriate... there are so many people around!

"Hahaha, Himon, I didn't expect it to be you!"

While Yūhi Kurenai was hesitating shyly, Qingye bypassed her and directly threw an arm around Hyuga Himon's shoulders.

Hyuga Himon was also his classmate in the Ninja Academy.

His talent was considered quite outstanding among the Hyuga clan.

He had told Shikaku Nara that he hoped for a Sensory Ninja, but he hadn't expected it to be someone from the Hyuga clan with the Byakugan!

After all, as Sensory Ninja, the Hyuga's Byakugan was much more useful than those of the Yamanaka, Aburame, or Inuzuka clans!

With the Byakugan's X-ray vision and long-range reconnaissance, he would be able to know about any traps or enemy ninja movements in the future!

"..."

Yūhi Kurenai's expression froze. Seeing Qingye enthusiastically catching up with Hyuga Himon and not paying attention to her for a while, she finally couldn't hold back.

"Hey!"

"There's someone else here!"

What does it mean to leave a beautiful woman like me hanging!

"Oh, oh, and Kurenai, long time no see to you too," Qingye finally turned around and greeted her.