Promotion

During the war, some ninja tools used by Konoha ninja were provided by the village, showcasing Konoha's immense wealth.

The Land of Fire was a rich and prosperous country. The funds Konohagakure received from the Daimyo each year were enough to make Sunagakure and its Kazekage drool with envy.

However, even with Konoha's economic capabilities, they couldn't guarantee that every ninja would receive whatever ninja tools they needed. Therefore, for some high-value consumables, if the ninja felt their quota was insufficient, they would have to purchase them with their own money.

Taking advantage of a break, Yuzuru purchased items like Exploding Tags, Smoke Bombs, Shuriken, Steel Wire Rope, and Blank Scrolls from the logistics department at the front-line camp.

According to Torifu Akimichi's previous statement, Exploding Tags might be related to Explosion Release. It would be great if they could figure out how to produce Exploding Tags... Using Exploding Tags to bombard enemies on the battlefield without regard for cost was also an effective way to kill them.

Ninja income was quite high, but they easily spent money without their lives, so Yuzuru converted all his mission earnings into various ninja tools.

Unexpectedly, just as he finished a round of purchases and was about to leave the front-line logistics department, he saw a group of Uchiha ninja passing by.

The Uchiha clan was relatively easy to identify. Besides possessing a special aura, they often wore clan emblems as decorations, as if they were afraid no one would know their origin, regardless of whether they were friend or foe.

Among these passing Uchiha ninja, one spirited young man looked somewhat familiar... Hmm? Could it be Fugaku Uchiha?

The age matched. Fugaku Uchiha should only be nineteen at this time, just the right age to go to the battlefield and die... Fugaku Uchiha was the main culprit behind the Uchiha clan's destruction. If only he hadn't gotten married, perhaps the Uchiha clan could have survived.

Well, things twenty or thirty years from now were a bit far off for Yuzuru. If he had any connection to the Uchiha clan now, it was only that one of his teammates was an Uchiha ninja.

After the Uchiha ninja disappeared from sight, Yuzuru then saw Torifu Akimichi.

"Captain, you look much better. It seems you've recovered well."

"Mm, I received treatment at the Frontline Hospital, so I've recovered... You're doing well too."

It wasn't a chance encounter; Torifu Akimichi had come specifically to find Yuzuru.

Yuzuru nodded, "Captain, I also went to the Frontline Hospital. Thanks to the help of the Medical Ninja, I've recovered my health."

At this point, he realized Torifu Akimichi hadn't come to him for no reason, so he directly asked, "Captain, is there something you need me for?"

Could it be that they were going to start their second mission so soon?

"It's a small matter, don't worry. We haven't received any new mission orders yet."

Torifu Akimichi reached out and patted Yuzuru's shoulder. After thinking for a moment, he figured out how to phrase his next words:

"Yuzuru, based on your performance on the battlefield before, I know you weren't at Genin strength from the start. I understand your intention to conceal your strength, but... on the battlefield, a Genin is absolutely no safer than a Chunin or Jonin. You should understand this too."

Yuzuru: "..."

What was he implying? It sounded as if he had deliberately hidden his strength, but in reality, he was just an overage Genin at sixteen.

"Captain, you're overthinking it. I just never had the chance to participate in the village's Chunin Exams before being dispatched to the battlefield... Captain, you know my background. Ninja like me sometimes can't even form a team during the Chunin Exams."

Yuzuru could only say this. He couldn't possibly say, "My strength only surpassed the Genin level after I got a cheat."

Torifu Akimichi suddenly understood, "So that's how it is. I misunderstood you. This makes things easier. The ninja exams are a product of peacetime. During wartime, promotion for front-line ninja depends solely on strength and battlefield performance... Come with me. With your abilities, you should be promoted to Chunin."

Yuzuru instinctively didn't want to be promoted, but setting aside Jonin, he felt there was one thing Torifu Akimichi said correctly... On the battlefield, there was no difference in survival rates between Genin and Chunin.

Ninja operated in small teams, which often included Jonin, Chunin, and Genin. Regardless, Genin were always the weakest link on the front lines.

The most crucial point was that this captain had noticed his performance... Torifu Akimichi led missions with the purpose of discovering talent.

Thus, Yuzuru had no choice but to follow behind Torifu Akimichi.

The two arrived at the Konoha Ninja Organizational Management Office one after another. Torifu Akimichi began helping Yuzuru submit various documents... It seemed he was well-prepared.

Among the documents submitted by Torifu Akimichi were proof of participation in high-difficulty missions, proof of killing an Iwagakure Jonin, the certification of Captain Torifu Akimichi, and the seal of Mitokado Homura, one of the highest commanders at the camp.

With all the necessary materials, Ninja Registration Number 005311 Yuzuru was promoted from Genin to Chunin.

After leaving the management office, Yuzuru was still a bit dazed. "Captain, is it that simple to get promoted to Chunin? Isn't it a bit too hasty?"

"Being on the front lines, of course, everything is simplified... Regardless of the process, your status as a Chunin will not change."

Fine, his status as cannon fodder in the Shinobi World War would also not change.

For the next few days, Yuzuru didn't receive any deployment orders. He could only stay at the front-line camp to train and practice... Training was certainly effective to some extent. However, compared to the rapid progress he made in dungeons, Yuzuru was not satisfied with this level of improvement.

He was waiting for the dungeon cooldown.

However, just two days before the dungeon cooldown was set to end, he received orders for his team to reassemble.

A new mission was coming.

Unfortunately, he was just short of entering the dungeon again and investigating Orochimaru's secret laboratory.

But Yuzuru had no choice but to obey the orders and depart.

This time, Yuzuru was the first to arrive at the assembly point. After a while, the team reassembled, and Torifu Akimichi, without wasting words, began to explain the mission.

"The mission we are to undertake is still related to the previous reconnaissance mission... Iwagakure has changed its advance route. To keep track of their movements, we need to establish new reconnaissance points."

It sounded like the next part of a series of missions.

"Are we going to carry out the reconnaissance mission? Captain, I have a clear understanding of my abilities. My intelligence-gathering capabilities alone seem insufficient to grasp Iwagakure's movements."

Kairi Omori hesitated. Overall, she wasn't a reconnaissance ninja with comprehensive abilities, and she was the only one in the team capable of mid-to-long-range reconnaissance. This meant the task of monitoring Iwagakure's movements would fall on her... She lacked confidence, fearing that her oversight might lead to some irreversible consequences.

Konoha was not short of reconnaissance or sensory ninja. Logically, this kind of mission shouldn't have fallen to this team.

If they had dispatched a Byakugan user, wouldn't the reconnaissance efficiency have been maxed out?

"No, it's not that we're executing the reconnaissance mission. We're just responsible for establishing the forward outposts. Only after we complete our mission will reconnaissance ninja move in," Torifu Akimichi explained again.

This made the mission seem a bit more reasonable, yet Yuzuru frowned inwardly, still feeling something was strange about this mission... What was so special about establishing an outpost that the outpost establishment phase and the reconnaissance phase had to be split into two separate missions?

Could reconnaissance and sensory ninja not do construction work?

Yuzuru had a vague guess, but he couldn't ask the captain for confirmation.

"Any more questions? If not, check your status and prepare to depart!"

"No more, Captain."

And so, after several days, this small team set out once again, preparing to head into the dangerous area near Iwagakure.

Konoha Frontline Camp, Command Center.

There were five people in the tent. Besides Mitokado Homura and Shimura Danzō, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade were also present.

"Have all the squads departed?"

"They have. Torifu's squad is taking the more dangerous Route Three... the order was transmitted through Suspect Number Three. If they encounter enemies at the designated location for the reconnaissance outpost, it will mean Number Three leaked the intelligence."

It was clear that Shimura Danzō had arranged a sting operation. Such operations were quite efficient. The only problem was that the squad acting as bait was in considerable danger.

However, while Shimura Danzō was cold-blooded and ruthless, he wouldn't go so far as to completely abandon combat power like Torifu Akimichi. Thus, he said to the trio in the tent:

"Once the situation is confirmed, the three of you will be ready to provide rapid support at any time."

"Understood."

These three currently had little room to express opinions; they could only accept the order.

"Then depart quickly. You also need to advance a certain distance to shorten your reaction time and be ready to provide support at any moment."