Command

"Yuzuru, you're back. What a relief... Missing in the chaos of battle? That's not funny at all."

At dusk in the Konoha camp, Yuzuru saw Torifu Akimichi again.

The captain looked very happy. He was simply glad that Yuzuru had survived. His concern was neither overbearing nor insincere; it was entirely genuine.

"Captain, things were so chaotic during the battle. I panicked and ran in the wrong direction, and they chased me all the way into the Land of Rain..."

Yuzuru hadn't spent much time with Torifu Akimichi, but it was easy to see that he was a good old man. If the Will of Fire truly existed, it was probably the sort of quality Torifu embodied.

In short, this shinobi wasn't cold-hearted.

"I really was lucky to make it back safely... Come to think of it, I've always been pretty lucky."

"Bringing back intelligence of that caliber can't be explained away as mere luck, Yuzuru. You did a truly excellent job."

"Captain, the journey back from the Land of Rain was indeed dangerous."

Torifu Akimichi had abandoned the established team structure and chosen to lead ordinary shinobi into battle in the hope of nurturing some who could stand on their own.

It seemed Yuzuru had already begun to come into his own. It was just a shame that...

Torifu Akimichi led Yuzuru into a nearby tent, then brought him a bowl of hot soup. It was dinnertime, but Torifu still preferred to cook for himself.

"I'd originally hoped to keep leading you for a while longer, but unfortunately, I've received new orders."

"There's an urgent mission. I have to leave camp before nightfall, and then I'll be returning to Konoha for a while. So our team will have to disband for the time being."

Torifu Akimichi truly regretted it. He wouldn't get to witness the team members grow any further.

Aside from Kairi Omori, who was a seasoned shinobi, Hazuki Uchiha was a little impulsive. But she was an Uchiha who had awakened her Sharingan, so her impulsiveness was a minor flaw by comparison.

As for Yuzuru, he seemed to be a shinobi with secrets.

In fact, at first glance, Yuzuru's temperament was somewhat similar to Orochimaru's. At the very least, he could be described as quiet and withdrawn.

That wasn't Yuzuru's true nature. But after being tossed into a world torn apart by war, could anyone really expect him to be cheerful and carefree?

Yuzuru almost asked why the captain had been summoned back to Konoha, but the seriousness and confidentiality of the mission prevented him from doing so.

Torifu Akimichi's official position was merely that of an "ordinary jonin" in Konoha, without any title like advisor. Even so, he naturally held a high place in Konoha's hierarchy.

"Before I leave, there's something I need to remind you about..."

"Go ahead, Captain."

"I heard from Hazuki Uchiha about where the ninjutsu you use came from. During a war, a shinobi's top priority is eliminating the enemy, and other matters can be handled flexibly. But techniques are different."

"The techniques you use don't have legitimate sources. Some are even clearly part of certain ninja clans' inheritance... That could cause trouble."

"Captain, I..."

Torifu Akimichi raised a hand to stop Yuzuru. "Unless absolutely necessary, don't use those techniques in front of others again. Your Body Flicker Technique, combined with that original hand-seal-less technique of yours, should be enough to handle most situations."

"And some techniques can't be recovered from fallen Konoha shinobi."

Torifu Akimichi recalled the team's earlier encounter with the Iwagakure Ninja. Though Yuzuru had used a Smoke Bomb at the time, he had still recognized the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique.

It was a technique invented by the Third Hokage. Who would bring a scroll recording it to the battlefield?

Torifu Akimichi could guess where Yuzuru had gotten it.

"I know you're in contact with Orochimaru, but unless you become his official student, you should still avoid using those techniques too freely."

Orochimaru was taking the blame again.

But becoming Orochimaru's student? What kind of hellish suggestion was that? Orochimaru's students all ended up as his test subjects sooner or later.

"I know what to do, Captain."

If he couldn't use techniques with the typical characteristics of a ninja clan, then Yuzuru would have to "seal away" the few Wind Release Ninjutsu he knew for now. All he could still use was the Wind Blade Technique.

The Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique was even more off-limits.

Should he just go back to a fighting style centered on Taijutsu?

Body Flicker Technique, Rasengan, Summoning Technique, and "Sage Transformation"... If those abilities weren't enough to deal with his enemies, there didn't seem to be any need to use more Wind Release Ninjutsu.

"As long as you understand. Konoha's been around for many years, but some invisible boundaries still exist in the village... Never mind. Let's not get into that."

"As for your next assignment, you'll probably be deployed toward the Land of Rivers. You'll join a new team and help monitor Sunagakure's movements."

"The Land of Rivers?"

The Land of Rivers was a good place—at least much safer than the front lines in the Land of Rain.

"You should be prepared. Chunin are already qualified to lead a team."

"Captain, that's not necessary. I don't have much experience, and I wouldn't be able to command respect."

Every village had a limited number of jonin. There were naturally far more chunin leading teams than jonin, but only veteran chunin were given command.

If Yuzuru became a team leader, there would probably be only one explanation: the entire team had been classified as cannon fodder.

Since Torifu Akimichi was about to leave, Yuzuru didn't stay with him long. After their conversation, he returned to his own tent.

Then he noticed the problem. Compared with Torifu Akimichi's private tent, his was more like a communal dormitory... Several shinobi were resting inside.

Without a second thought, Yuzuru immediately returned to Torifu Akimichi's tent. He planned to borrow it.

Torifu Akimichi agreed to such a small favor, of course.

Only after finding somewhere relatively quiet did Yuzuru begin reading the notes he had borrowed from Tsunade.

He would probably have a few days to rest, so he needed to make the most of them and study Medical Ninjutsu.

Medical Ninjutsu wasn't difficult to understand at a basic level. But to produce a healing effect, one prerequisite had to be met: completing Chakra Nature Transformation. Without Yang Release, there was no point.

"Use Yang Release Chakra, which contains vitality, to promote cell regeneration... I haven't mastered Yang Release yet."

If he took down a few Medical Ninja in a dungeon, would they drop Yang Release Transformation? Yuzuru wasn't sure.

"Skills" didn't seem to drop very often. Just look at how little Kushina Uzumaki had dropped compared to the Fourth Hokage.

"Leaving that aside, can Natural Energy be used for self-healing without Yang Release?"

Jugo's naturally occurring Sage body could do it, at least.

Yuzuru tried to draw in Natural Energy. As more and more of it accumulated inside him, he felt brimming with vitality. But before anything happened to his body, black markings appeared across his skin.

"..."

Natural Energy hadn't changed his body at all. In fact, the opposite seemed to be happening. The markings formed by the Natural Energy gathering on his skin were actually constraining his body.

Want to transform? Not a chance.

"Hmm? I think I understand what I'm supposed to do..."