Target

"Senior Duy, how is it?"

Not long after the inquiry ended, Yuzuru met Might Duy, who had also completed his review. Duy looked somewhat serious, giving the impression that he had gone through something unpleasant.

Harsh interrogation? Given Duy's situation, that seems unlikely.

"Yuzuru, I just feel it's a pity. So many comrades died on the battlefield in the Land of Rivers, and yet the enemy managed to retreat unscathed. Our headquarters was even nearly attacked... it's just too disheartening."

"When it mattered most, I wasn't able to be of use. Clearly, my resolve for training isn't enough."

Yuzuru was taken aback. He hadn't expected Duy to think that way.

Your resolve for training isn't enough? If we use Might Duy as a benchmark, then all the Ninja in Konohagakure aren't determined enough.

As for Duy's perspective on Konoha, it could be considered that of a true inheritor of the "Will of Fire."

"Senior Duy, you've already done incredibly well."

Yuzuru's tone of praise sounded somewhat strange.

As a Genin who could only undertake the lowest-level missions, coupled with his eccentric personality, image, and conduct, Might Duy had faced countless discussions and even discrimination in Konoha.

In his situation, it would be normal for someone to "blacken," yet Might Duy didn't resent Konoha. Instead, he loved it.

"Me?" Might Duy didn't understand the extra meaning in Yuzuru's words. He simply shook his head and said, "That Ninja who stopped Sunagakure's surprise attack is the truly amazing one."

When facing the Second Kazekage, they could only struggle to survive. What was there to praise about that? They neither made a contribution nor a mistake.

By this time, news of Hatake Sakumo's actions had completely spread throughout the camp, and most Ninja greatly admired him.

Hatake Sakumo became famous in one battle. In comparison, what about Team Eleven? Their greatest achievement was nothing more than Yuzuru kicking the Kazekage.

After Yuzuru and Might Duy chatted for a while, Shinnosuke Kohinata also joined them.

"Are you guys alright?"

"Everything's fine. They said it was a routine inspection. How about you, Senior Shinnosuke?" Yuzuru asked.

"I'm not doing so well... I met some people from the Hyuga clan. Considering their attitude, it would be better if they just suspected me of being a spy from Sunagakure or Iwagakure."

Compared to talking with the Ninja of the Hyuga clan, Shinnosuke Kohinata would rather undergo interrogation directly. However, since he was suspected of using Gentle Fist, he had no choice but to face the Hyuga clan.

It was important to remember that most Ninja clans were secretive about their techniques, let alone ancient and tradition-bound great clans like the Hyuga.

The Kohinata clan's situation in Konoha was likely even worse than Might Duy's. They were "outsiders" among the Ninja clans. In a sense, such an origin was even worse than being a civilian Ninja... Kohinata Ninja were indeed highly likely to become spies for enemy villages.

Regarding the relationships between Ninja clans, Yuzuru and Might Duy naturally didn't say much.

When their squad leader, Kiba Inuzuka, appeared, everyone noticed that he had the worst expression. Even though his squad had exceeded their mission objectives, they were still being suspected, despite it being a so-called routine procedure?

The attitude of the higher-ups clearly conflicted with his own as the squad leader.

Unfortunately, Kiba Inuzuka was only a captain and couldn't change the orders from above.

What was even more frustrating was that even though Kiba Inuzuka was very dissatisfied, he still had to help explain:

"Everyone is fine now. Don't take it to heart. All the surviving Ninja from the Land of Rivers underwent an inquiry. After all, the appearance of the Second Kazekage was highly unusual, and all the details needed to be thoroughly understood."

"Misery loves company." If everyone was unlucky, then individual misfortune wouldn't stand out as much.

However, for Yuzuru, this explanation lacked conviction. It was clear that this was a problem with Konoha's system or, on a broader level, the Shinobi village system.

To ease the atmosphere, Kiba Inuzuka made a joke that wasn't very funny:

"Actually, the one with the problem is me?"

"Captain, what's wrong?" Might Duy immediately asked.

"Based on your performance in the Land of Rivers, I, as your captain, seem to have become the weakest member of the squad..."

Alright, that joke wasn't very funny.

Laughing along with the captain would imply they agreed with his statement, treating him as insignificant, which wasn't appropriate. Denying it outright wouldn't be good either, as the captain was speaking the truth, and denying it would seem hypocritical.

So, the atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

"Captain, being a squad leader isn't just about strength... Hmm? Is the newly formed squad going to be disbanded?" Shinnosuke Kohinata asked.

"I haven't received any orders to that effect yet," Kiba Inuzuka shook his head.

He actually knew what was going on. In terms of strength and combat style similarity, this squad was indeed more suitable for being split up and used individually. What was the point of having too many Taijutsu Ninja clustered together? However, they wouldn't do that in the short term... It wasn't suitable for those under suspicion to be dispersed. What if it caused a wider range of "contamination"?

The front-line camp had just purged a batch of spies and was currently extremely sensitive to similar matters.

"Everyone, get some rest for a few days. There will definitely be a major battle in a few days. The action planned by Sunagakure was too dangerous, and this matter won't end like this. We will definitely retaliate in kind..."

Retaliate in kind? It was easy to imagine that this would require more Konoha Ninja to become cannon fodder, and the intensity of the Shinobi World War would only escalate. This was not good news for Yuzuru.

Over these past few days, Yuzuru had roughly figured something out. Firstly, even with the help of the Dungeon, he couldn't be sure how strong he would become in the future. In the Shinobi World, the System might not be as good as bloodlines, let alone a somewhat strange "Dungeon."

Or perhaps, bloodlines were actually the most powerful system in this world.

The current Yuzuru found it difficult to completely detach himself from Konoha, and even more difficult to integrate into it. Therefore, relatively speaking, he believed that using Konoha to "incubate" and develop power for his own use was a more suitable approach.

With like-minded "friends," whatever he wanted to do next would become much simpler... Retreating meant self-preservation, advancing meant controlling a Ninja village, and even more radical would be attempting to achieve "world peace" like the later Akatsuki Organization.

After all, the core ninjas of the Akatsuki Organization have deep ties to Konoha, so this way he can cut out the middleman.

To achieve this goal, Yuzuru needed to further enhance his strength. Therefore, as soon as the dungeon's cooldown period ended, he immediately chose to enter it again.

He had three objectives for this dungeon run:

First, to confirm the state of his Chakra Spiritual Body. Given what he experienced before leaving the dungeon last time, he felt he might have undergone some kind of abnormal development.

Second, to see if he could use the infant Naruto to complete the task of dealing with the Nine-Tails.

Third, to confirm the size of the "dungeon" and whether it encompassed the entire world.

Fourth, to begin collecting "attributes," both to grind stats and to try and gather the seven elemental transformations of Chakra