Shimura Saburo, State Your Rank During Missions!

Sarutobi Hiruzen stood on the high platform, delivering the final war mobilization speech. Sen found himself dozing off. His already shortened vacation had made him quite unhappy, and now he had to listen to the same old clichés about the "Will of Fire" and "sacrificing for the village."

Until Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice suddenly rose:

"In this battle, I will, in the name of the Hokage, personally lead you all to the front lines to fight and bleed! Everything, for Konoha!"

"Ooooh—!"

The cheers of the crowd almost shook the sky.

Sen was also taken aback. He hadn't expected Sarutobi Hiruzen to have such courage, choosing to be on the front lines at the beginning of the war instead of hiding in the rear.

He glanced at the stage. Shimura Danzo's arm and eye were still intact.

It seemed his signature "bandaged single eye" look was a result of this war.

"Sen, look, isn't that Shimura Saburo?" Kushina asked, pointing into the distance.

Sen turned his head to look. It was indeed Shimura Saburo.

It was just a little strange that he was followed by two Jonin. Judging by their close proximity, they didn't seem like squad leaders, but more like personal bodyguards.

"It seems the war situation is more severe than we imagined," Minato said, his face full of worry. "Even someone from a clan like Shimura Saburo has to go to the battlefield."

Sen nodded. With even the Hokage mobilizing, it was hard for the new generation of these clans to stay in the village and avoid the war.

"That guy looks really scared? He hasn't even left the village yet," Sen commented after observing for a moment.

"Haven't you heard?" A gentle voice came from behind them. It was Hyuga Akatsuki, Kushina's former deskmate.

Kushina's gossip instincts instantly ignited. "Akatsuki, what's going on? We've been training constantly, so we're not very clear about what's happening in the village."

Hyuga Akatsuki lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "A while ago, quite a few Mist Ninja and black market ninja infiltrated the village, plotting to assassinate Lord Danzo!"

As a high-ranking official of the village, it was normal for Shimura Danzo to have ninja sent after him for a decapitation strike, but what did this have to do with a minor character like Shimura Saburo?

"Stop being cryptic after you start talking!" Kushina was very familiar with this Hyuga Akatsuki and knew he liked to keep people in suspense.

"Alright, alright, I'll tell you. The targets of these ninja assassinations seemed to be more than just Lord Danzo. I don't know how Shimura Saburo offended the Mist Ninja." She tapped her chin with her finger, thought for a moment, and then continued, "I remember Shimura Saburo has barely left the village a few times. Last time, he was bragging to his classmates that he didn't have to go to war. I wonder how he managed to offend the Mist Ninja."

Hearing this, Kushina struggled to hold back her laughter, her shoulders shaking.

What happened?

Of course, it was because Sen had used a Shadow Clone to impersonate Shimura Saburo on Lookout Island and maxed out the Mist Ninja's hatred for him!

It was estimated that Shimura Saburo's ranking on the Mist Village's kill list was now higher than that of his "godfather," Danzo.

Minato looked at the chuckling Kushina, completely bewildered. "What's so funny?"

Kushina suppressed her laughter and patted Minato's shoulder with feigned seriousness. "Minato, in the future, you need to pay attention to your image on the battlefield. If the enemy mistakes you for Shimura Saburo, they might just throw a kunai at you."

After hearing this, Minato quickly tidied his blond hair.

"Is that so? Then I'll grow my hair out longer in the future..." A moment later, he came to his senses. "What are you talking about? Ninja don't just kill people randomly. This must be part of the mission. What's really going on?"

The battle that day was too chaotic, and no one noticed that the glib-tongued Shimura Saburo at the time was actually Sen in disguise.

"You'll know next time," Sen commented casually.

Minato looked at Sen, who appeared to know everything despite his poker face, and suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

Hiss, it's definitely Sen's fault! Sen is usually so cheerful, why is he so dark and cunning now? Is he always faking it...

Half an hour later, the lengthy mobilization speech finally ended. The various units began to move out according to plan to their respective battlefields.

Sen took his mission scroll and found it was a mission to the border of the Land of Wind. It wasn't a great mission, but at least it was better than fighting the Mist Village.

The three-day journey was only made unpleasant by the fact that Shimura Saburo's squad was assigned to the same group.

Normally, being assigned together would just mean carrying out the mission peacefully. Unexpectedly, as soon as Shimura Saburo left the village, he became arrogant again, boasting everywhere:

"Assassinations by the Mist Village? They won't find me once I'm outside the village!

I'm going to kill a thousand Sunagakure Jonin! My godfather gave me a lot of information, and I even have antidotes," he yelled at the members of other squads. "You can only survive if you follow me!"

If it weren't for the Jonin protecting him, he would probably have been beaten to a pulp by the ninja from other squads.

Even Kushina endured it with gritted teeth for the entire journey. If Minato hadn't persuaded her, she would have already gone up and punched him a few times.

Fortunately, just as they were about to lose their tempers, they finally reached their destination.

The Jonin entered the main tent to report, and a moment later, the person in charge of the outpost walked out.

Sen sized him up. The newcomer was tall, with striking silver-white hair and a hearty smile on his face. It was Kakashi Hatake's father, the legend who had shaken the ninja world single-handedly—

The Konoha White Fang, Hatake Sakumo.

"Welcome to the Land of Wind front lines," Hatake Sakumo's voice was steady and powerful. "I am the person in charge here, Hatake Sakumo. As you can see, this place is full of yellow sand and the environment is harsh. Please be careful when carrying out your missions."

He scanned the crowd, his gaze finally landing on Sen's clan crest. "You must be Uchiha Sen? Since you came together, these nine rookies will be your full responsibility in my absence."

No one objected to this. After all, among these nine people, only Sen was a Chunin.

"Why?!" Shimura Saburo jumped out. "What abilities does Uchiha Sen have to be a captain? Is he stronger than the Jonin beside me? I think we should listen to me!"

Hatake Sakumo frowned. Dealing with these tasks and enemies was already annoying enough; now he had to deal with these reckless brats too?

He cast his gaze toward Sen, signaling for him to handle it himself. After all, if he couldn't even handle something like this, he wasn't fit to be a squad captain.

Sen nodded, and the next second, his figure appeared behind Shimura Saburo!

"Bang!"

A clean, sharp front kick sent the opponent face-first into the dirt.

Before he could get up, Sen's foot fiercely stomped down on his face, burying it deep into the sandy ground.

The Jonin from the Shimura clan was about to step forward, but he was frozen in place, intimidated by the cold Three Tomoe Sharingan in Sen's eyes and his captain's authority.

"First," Sen said emotionlessly to Shimura Saburo under his foot, "address me by my rank during missions!"

"Second, as captain, I have the right to deal with subordinates who disobey orders. If I killed you right now, Danzo wouldn't dare say a word!"

As he spoke, Sen slowly drew his short sword.