Battlefield, Squad, and a Peaceful Life

The Sannin are called the Sannin because, during the Second Shinobi World War, they fought the legendary Hanzo of the Salamander of the Rain Village to a standstill while they were still young. After receiving praise from the man himself, the news spread like wildfire, and their names became renowned throughout the shinobi world. Since Hanyu had defeated the Sannin, it stood to reason that he had also surpassed Hanzo, making him a Kage-level powerhouse... well, that kind of logic is best left unsaid.

Regardless, winning the battle was a good thing; it proved that Hanyu's "one-wave" combat style was effective. However, following this incident, the amount of material he had to learn and his training volume both doubled significantly.

Hanyu did not find this change difficult to accept, as the more he trained, the more his strength would grow accordingly. Shinobi, after all, were destined for the battlefield, and given the current state of the shinobi world, it would not grant Hanyu much time.

"Seventeen years have passed since the founding of the Hidden Leaf Village. By now, whether they are the original settlers or the new generation, people have gradually developed the concept of being a 'Leaf shinobi' in their hearts. In many ways, this is a good thing; it represents the success of the system established by the First Hokage. But at the same time, it also means the village has lost the inclusive, open nature it possessed at its inception. Having the concept of a 'Leaf shinobi' also means the village has developed a sense of exclusion and xenophobia..."

"As an outsider who suddenly entered the village, even taking into account my support and trust, there is only one way for you to establish yourself and find stability here... Hanyu, do you understand?"

There was really no need to explain so much to Hanyu, yet Sanshao still hoped he could understand all of this as much as possible.

If Hanyu were merely an ordinary person, he would have been granted the right to live in the village after bringing back news of the Second Hokage. However, the problem was that he had become a shinobi.

Therefore, he was destined to head toward the front lines and participate in the war.

"I understand, Teacher." Hanyu certainly understood such things. Even if he were a native-born Leaf shinobi, the choices before him would not be many. Although Leaf shinobi might have the option of becoming medical-nin who remain in the rear, the vast majority of people were destined to head toward the front lines.

Whether in the Hidden Leaf or other villages, only shinobi held the right to speak, and the way a shinobi gained that right and status was through combat. This was not a matter of how much ambition Hanyu had; rather, as a shinobi, wanting to live meant one had to fight. One could even say that combat was the life of a shinobi.

The apology in Sanshao's words was entirely unnecessary; Hanyu would never reject, nor did he have any way to reject, the prospect of heading to the battlefield. However, since Sanshao had already said as much, it meant Hanyu would soon be departing for the front. This was the duty of a shinobi, something no one could prevent.

"However, Sanshao-sensei, if it is possible, I would like to make a small request... If I am assigned to a standard squad, I hope to be given command." Hanyu then added.

Regardless of how many shinobi troops were on the front lines, the squad was always the basic unit of the command hierarchy. If he were assigned to a team led by an elite Jonin, that would be one thing, but if not, Hanyu hoped he could be the squad leader.

Rather than throwing his life away under the orders of strangers, he would naturally trust his own judgment more... even if he was just a greenhorn on the battlefield.

"I understand. I will do my best to fight for it." After a moment of thought, Sanshao agreed.

She fully understood what Hanyu meant. He didn't even want to be supplemented into other teams, all so that he could at least decide his own actions on a tactical level.

Hanyu knew his request was a bit excessive. After all, a Genin was not normally qualified to be a squad leader, but in this situation, he could only trust Sanshao. In the Hidden Leaf, she was the only person he was willing to trust.

In fact, in such a brutal shinobi world war, although every village had regulations stating that one must be at least a Chunin to serve as a squad leader, the reality of war casualties meant that Genin serving as leaders was a common occurrence. Hanyu's problem was not that he was a Genin, nor was it his age; it was that he had absolutely no battlefield experience.

This conversation between the two took place three months after their combat training ended. In this era of war, that was the timeframe for many children to enter the Ninja Academy and graduate through a crash course, so Hanyu already had a certain level of confidence to head to the battlefield.

Time entered the seventeenth year of the Hidden Leaf, and the Third Hokage finally completed the integration of the village's internal affairs, stabilizing the new Hokage administration. Following that, even Sarutobi Hiruzen would be heading to the front lines, let alone a shinobi like Hanyu.

Three days later, Sanshao finally helped her student realize his wish. Women, after all, still had their sentimental side. She handed a file folder to Hanyu: "This contains the information on your squad members and your destination. Time is of the essence; the Third Hokage will arrive at the front in one week, and you must move at least before the Hokage departs... By the way, the Hokage's departure time is top secret. Do not disclose it to anyone else, including your squad members."

By rights, Sanshao should not have disclosed the Hokage's intelligence at all, yet she told Hanyu anyway.

Hanyu silently took the file folder. It was easy to imagine that Sanshao had been busy these past few days for his "small request," and he could only hide his gratitude in his heart.

In terms of the date, there was not much time left for Hanyu and his squad members to get to know one another. He hoped that before they departed for the front, the squad members could deepen their mutual understanding and rapport as much as possible.

Along with the file folder, Hanyu was also given a forehead protector, some ninja tools and medicine, a gray front-and-back chest plate designed for the front lines, and two forearm guards.

After putting these items on, Hanyu became a dashing, professional-looking shinobi. What he sought next was quite simple: nothing more than a peaceful life.

He brought the file folder back to his room, opened it, and began to review the members' profiles. As the captain, he at least needed to understand each member's abilities and specialties.

To present everything more concisely and clearly, after reading the text, he drew the characteristics of the three members in the form of a chart.

"Destructive power, speed, precision, growth potential, stamina, range... wait, is this how the six-dimensional stats for a shinobi are calculated? Well, fine, that's about how it goes, this should do." Hanyu muttered to himself.

In truth, he should have asked himself if a shinobi's abilities should even be represented by six dimensions.

Then, looking at the chart he had completed, Hanyu reached a conclusion:

"They're all bottom-tier stats."

Actually, this wasn't hard to understand. If Hanyu was the captain, then his squad members could only be Genin.

The Hidden Leaf had no reason to assign Chunin or higher-ranked shinobi under the command of a Genin.