Commoner Ninja

"How was Kakashi's condition?" Namikaze Minato looked at the now-awake Kakashi and quietly asked Nohara Rin.

Deep in the heart of Iwa Ninja territory, Uchiha Kei and the others were hiding inside a cave.

Even Uchiha Kei had lost count of how many caves he had hidden in since arriving in the Land of Grass.

This time, though, their situation was clearly dire. They were in the very heart of Iwa Ninja territory in the Land of Grass, and every hour—or even every minute—they risked being discovered.

Kakashi's condition was poor. Namikaze Minato had considered taking him straight back to Konoha's camp.

But there was no choice. Kakashi's condition was too serious for him to withstand the spatial transit of the Flying Thunder God Technique. If Minato forced him to go, he might die on the way back.

With no other option, Minato could only have him treated as soon as possible. No matter how dangerous it was, this was their only choice. Once Kakashi had improved a little, Minato would take him back to Konoha's camp.

Kakashi's condition was bad, but the boy really was a genius, graduating at five and going straight to the battlefield.

Perhaps he had experienced so many terrible things that he had developed a kind of muscle memory.

Even in such an extreme situation, he had managed to make a few evasive movements in an instant while channeling chakra to defend himself on a small scale.

Besides, Kitsuchi had only had eyes for Uchiha Kei. Though he hadn't treated Kakashi kindly, he'd also seemed to be going through the motions. Under all those circumstances, Kakashi had managed to escape with his life.

"His condition is bad, but I've managed to stabilize him for now." Nohara Rin, their only Medical Ninja, spoke quietly. "Kakashi needs to be taken back as soon as possible. I can only stabilize him a little; he'll have to be sent back if we want him to recover."

"I understand." Namikaze Minato nodded. "I'll take him back, along with the Hyuga Chunin."

Compared to Kakashi, Hyuga Aya was in much better shape. Both her hands were fractured, but that wasn't a serious problem.

Not everyone was as unlucky as Rock Lee, who had run into a Jinchuriki. Gaara had crushed all his bones, putting him in such grave danger.

Injuries like Hyuga Aya's were common on the battlefield. Fractures were routine, even on ordinary missions when enemies attacked.

The dangerous part of Hyuga Aya's condition was that the Iwa Ninja called Genboku had struck her hard enough to jolt her internal organs. After examining her, Nohara Rin had found some internal bleeding.

But compared to Kakashi, her injuries were nothing. So Rin had given her a little treatment before focusing her attention on Kakashi.

With Hyuga Aya and Kakashi both out of action, only Uchiha Kei and Imai Kenta remained fit to continue the mission.

Namikaze Minato sighed. He gently patted Nohara Rin on the shoulder, then walked outside.

He needed to keep watching the situation outside. He didn't trust Imai Kenta on his own, and although Uchiha Kei was standing guard outside too, his recovery wasn't going well.

Uchiha Kei had used up almost all his chakra yesterday. His current condition was uncertain, and the frontline situation was too difficult to leave to someone else. Namikaze Minato was even considering pulling all of them out.

"How are things?" Namikaze Minato appeared like a ghost in the tree where Uchiha Kei was hiding and asked in a low voice.

"Not good." Uchiha Kei shook his head. "Imai Kenta has already taken out three squads. They were all Chunin and Genin. But if this keeps up, we won't be able to hold out here much longer."

The Iwa Ninja weren't fools. They would naturally check whether anyone was missing.

Once they realized people were gone, all they needed to do was investigate the areas those people had patrolled and searched. That would let them figure out where Uchiha Kei and the others were hiding.

Namikaze Minato knew this too. He furrowed his brow and began thinking of a solution.

Uchiha Kei wasn't too worried about himself. He was watching Imai Kenta, who was concealed below, and the guy had surprised him more than once.

Uchiha Kei had known Imai Kenta was strong, but since they usually fought separately, they'd rarely had a chance to learn how capable the other was.

Now, with almost no injuries and an exceptionally fast chakra recovery, Imai Kenta had become their main attacker. At last, Uchiha Kei had a chance to properly see what he could do.

He was strong—really strong. His swordsmanship was fierce and formidable. Combined with his sensing ability, his ambushes were probably almost as effective as Uchiha Kei's, even with the Sharingan and Body Flicker Technique.

But his weakness was obvious too. His swordsmanship was powerful, he had a large chakra reserve, and he was fast, but he seemed to know very few Ninjutsu.

On second thought, that made sense. Imai Kenta was a Commoner Ninja, one of the most ordinary kind.

Not everyone was Namikaze Minato. Besides his incredible talent, Minato had also been extremely lucky.

If he hadn't had someone like Jiraiya as his teacher, there was little chance he would have risen to prominence, let alone learned the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Of course, strictly speaking, Jiraiya was also a case of someone who'd been lucky.

He had originally been brought in as a filler and as an example of the Third Hokage's "impartiality." He'd also served, in a way, as the team's confidence booster. Somehow, he'd managed to rise up anyway, which was incredible in its own right.

The Ninja world was always going on about "love" and "people understanding one another," but in practice, these were just political considerations shaped by the circumstances of the time.

Perhaps the only ones who truly believed in those things were Jiraiya, Namikaze Minato, and the future Uzumaki Naruto.

The great clans and a small number of people held the power to shape public opinion. In peacetime, they wanted everyone to "understand one another" and live with "love," so naturally they could make it happen. During wartime, they didn't bother bringing up such empty ideals.

Likewise, the great clans and those few people controlled enough resources to back up their power.

Even in Naruto's era, the great clans and a small number of people still held the "core power."

Look at Naruto's graduating class, then the class above it. How many of the so-called Konoha 12 had come from ordinary backgrounds?

And how many of their Guiding Jonin had?

Might Guy was the exception. That was why his team had one Commoner Ninja like him, along with the heir to a wealthy family and a member of the Hyuga Clan.

Naruto's class was even more exceptional. Strictly speaking, Naruto had already left the "Commoner Ninja" category. Even if he wasn't the Fourth Hokage's son, he was still a Jinchuriki.

The only other one was Haruno Sakura, who happened to have a special role: Uzumaki Naruto liked her, while she liked Uchiha Sasuke. Caught between the two, she could serve as a special bridge between them.

And surely a graduating class had more than just those few students. Where had all the other graduates gone?

Those people might have had team leaders, but there was no telling whether they were Jonin.

Nor would they receive the careful guidance given to children singled out for special attention. Those team leaders' job was to help newly graduated Genin get used to the life of a Ninja and learn the work procedures. After that, they would leave them to fend for themselves.

Without enough teaching resources or a suitable guide, that was what happened to Commoner Ninjas.

While Uchiha Keisei was lost in thought, Imai Kenta suddenly drew his tanto and charged toward a nearby spot.