In late September of Konoha 49, on the front lines of the Land of Frost, the Kumogakure scattered and fled upon hearing the whistle.
"Ah!"
Upon faintly hearing screams from behind, some dark-skinned Kumogakure ran even faster, showing no intention of rescuing their comrades.
In a valley, more than fifty Kumogakure lay dead on the ground, their blood scattered everywhere, indicating the ferocity of the battle.
Despite the bloody scene, the four squads of Konoha Ninja did not feel uncomfortable. Even the seriously injured young men were staring at the distant figures with fanatical expressions.
"Lord Xiu, the Fourth Raikage has already withdrawn after attacking a base."
"Some supplies were damaged, and the Land of Frost has sent envoys who have promised to cover all losses."
As he finished speaking, the Konoha Ninja from the Hyuga Branch Family couldn't help but raise his voice, instinctively straightening his posture, a look of pride appearing on his face.
Shu Furukawa stopped looking in the direction the Kumogakure had fled, turned around to face the group, smiled, and said, "It's still too difficult to ambush the Fourth Raikage. The enemy has probably learned from the lesson of the previous Raikage's death."
"You all did a great job. Supplies can be replenished on the spot, but preserving your health is more important."
"Yes, Lord Xiu."
"Lord Xiu, we are never afraid of death!"
"We are willing to pay any price to kill the Raikage."
" The Land of Lightning won't expel us! We must not give up the commission we've secured! Lord Xiu will lead us to victory after victory!"
The crowd shouted excitedly, eager to follow Shu Furukawa and charge towards the Kumogakure stronghold.
The reason for this reaction is that their job is very simple: throw Shuriken, unleash mid-range ninjutsu, and kill fleeing Cloud Kumogakure.
Shu Furukawa rarely said "Charge with me," most of the time it was "Don't let them get away."
To carry out such a mission, as long as everyone keeps their mouths shut, when their resumes are checked, it will simply be described as "a squad that, during the war, followed Lord Xiu in annihilating the elite Kumogakure."
In ten years, young ninjas with such resumes will all become elite ninjas who have experienced brutal wars!
Shu Furukawa was aware of everyone's ulterior motives, but he had no intention of pointing them out. After all, for him, death was indeed a better tonic.
It's more worthwhile to gradually whittle down the Cloud Kumogakure than to scare them away. The only thing that frustrates Shu Furukawa Osamu is that the Fourth Raikage is also disrupting Konoha's supply lines.
"You'll all have a tough time back home, so don't let your guard down; the enemy is very fast."
"We must treat the envoys from the Land of Frost with the utmost hospitality. We need to demonstrate the style of Konoha Ninja and not embarrass the Lord Hokage."
"Let the people of the Land of Frost know that Konoha is not a ninja village like Kumogakure that only knows how to plunder."
As soon as Shu Furukawa finished speaking, everyone smiled and bowed in agreement. They had reaped considerable rewards in the past two weeks; they hadn't looted at all, but rather received "tribute" from Small Nations.
When the group returned to the camp, the Konoha Ninja all wore expressions of joy, and the voices calling out "Master Xiu" were heard repeatedly.
Even the wounded squeezed to the front to shout a few times, and Shu Furukawa nodded and smiled repeatedly in appreciation of everyone's enthusiasm.
In the evening, during the Jonin's routine meeting, Akimichi Doto pointed to the map, a look of confusion appearing on his round face. "What exactly are the Kumogakure trying to do? This kind of small-team raid will only increase casualties."
Inuzuka Ago stared at the map, deep in thought, before finally shaking his head and saying helplessly, "It seems Kumogakure only wants to prolong the battle and disperse our forces."
Looking at the map, the border between the Land of Frost and the Land of Hot Water is a "parallel line". After the Kumogakure breaks through, Konoha still has a defensive line in the Land of Hot Water, and its supplies are more abundant.
"Is it possible that they intend to attack by sea, just like they did when they raided the Land of Earth?"
Shikaku Nara gave his answer, and everyone looked at the lines drawn on the map and nodded in agreement.
"Captain Shikaku, Kumogakure much better than us in terms of industry?"
Shu Furukawa had remained silent until now, asked curiously, as he had never seen a dedicated "transport ship" before.
Shikaku did not give a definite answer, "I heard it from my elders in the clan; the Land of Lightning is indeed committed to developing industry."
Science exists in the Shinobi World, but Konoha has certain traditions, so they mainly import medical equipment.
After some discussion, the group still couldn't reach many useful conclusions. Kumogakure's initial stance was intimidating, but after the fight, he turned out to be a "paper tiger."
Several Jonin secretly glanced at Shu Furukawa, who single-handedly changed the course of the battle. They witnessed firsthand a power even more exaggerated than described in the battle reports, a power that seemed to have surpassed the limits of a ninja.
Late at night, Shu Furukawa methodically completed the accumulation of Senjutsu Chakra within the Strength of a Hundred Seal. After his spirit body replenished its energy through [ Collection ], it could hold more and more Senjutsu Chakra.
The Katsuyu released the resonance state. Knowing Shu Furukawa's body very well, she said with some delight, "Lord Osamu seems to be able to absorb more energy, possessing some of the characteristics of the God Tree."
I went through all of that too...
As Shu Furukawa listened attentively to the Katsuyu's explanation, he realized that reconstructing the body with energy sounded somewhat complicated, more like the way he remembered "spiritual roots."
With increased efficiency in absorbing Natural Energy and improved efficiency in synthesizing Senjutsu Chakra, Shu Furukawa felt that his "aptitude" had improved.
"The brain and body are also changing; no wonder it's the Chakra of Indra and Ashura!"
"Lord Xiu, at the current pace, it will only take a year to restore the Senjutsu Chakra accumulated in the Strength of a Hundred Seal."
The Katsuyu happily wriggled around on his shoulder, and Shu Furukawa let out a sigh of relief, "It's a pity we didn't run into Killer B; the Cloud Kumogakure really did notice."
"Once my body stabilizes, I still want to try whether I can directly use the Tailed Beast Chakra, or synthesize the Tailed Beast Chakra into another kind of power."
Even if one cannot absorb Tailed Beast like the God Tree, being able to utilize Tailed Beast Chakra will greatly enhance one's strength and increase the power of the Rasenshuriken.
The effects are most pronounced with Tailed Beast Chakra possessing special attributes.
"Master Xiu should rest! His spiritual cultivation has reached its limit today."
Upon hearing the Katsuyu's words, Shu Furukawa's eyes twitched. Ever since he successfully [ Collection ] Madara Uchiha, the Bloody Nightmare had changed.
" Hashirama!"
Shu Furukawa hears this name in his dreams every day; the intense emotion he feels for it is truly indescribable.
While acquiring numerous Uchiha Clan secret techniques was beneficial, Shu Furukawa disliked the feeling of impersonating Madara Uchiha; it was more like a form of "mental pollution."
" Mei Terumi is still complaining in her spirit form. I'll cultivate a little longer."
Although the Katsuyu felt that Shu Furukawa hadn't told the truth, it still kindly waved its antennae. Thinking of the increasingly useful Clever Mist Technique, it took the initiative to speak well of the girl, "Lord Osamu, let's go visit that girl sometime!"
"That technique really helped a lot."
The atmosphere at the frontline camp of the Land of Lightning was extremely oppressive due to the heavy casualties suffered recently.
By the campfire, Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki Killer B, and Fourth Raikage A, were still discussing the changes in the Tailed Beast: "Hachi wasn't lying, that Konoha Ninja has mastered the ability to devour it!"
"You idiot brother, as long as I don't use the Tailed Beast Transformation and only borrow Chakra, my power won't be drained anymore."
Killer B hummed these words in a strange tone, which made the Eight-Tails inside him feel overwhelmed. "Bei, make it clear to A that your power will still be extracted, but you can help me share more of the burden."
"What does it matter? I'll protect you!"
Hearing Killer B's words, the Eight-Tails was somewhat moved. The power that had been extracted from it last time had only recently returned; it was a kind of "soul."
It felt like everything was being absorbed.
In its long life, this was the first time the Eight-Tails felt it would "die"—not a death that could be reborn, but a complete descent into nothingness.
"Get serious and compete!"
The Fourth Raikage A, A, interrupted Killer B's awful rap with an elbow strike. Seeing his little brother quiet down, he solemnly said, " Intelligence Department suggests that the Sunagakure's Tailed Beast have also been attacked. In that case, it makes sense that the Kazekage would compromise."
" Konoha has mastered a new Tailed Beast technique. We'll continue our feigned attacks, and Iwagakure and Kirigakure have already begun contacting us."
"Even the strongest ninja can't fight against the power of an entire nation! In that case, you just need to release the Tailed Beast Bomb from a distance."
Upon hearing that his movements were restricted again, Killer B wanted to object, but then he thought of his older brother and the village, all working to protect him and the Eight-Tails, and replied dejectedly, "Yes, brother."
In early October, good news kept coming back to Konoha from the front lines, and the year-end war seemed to be coming to an end.
The Iwagakure Ninja saw that Minato Namikaze had basically given up on the mission, while Shu Furukawa continued to inflict casualties on the Kumogakure.
Although the death toll in Konoha was also rising, most of the village's ninjas didn't care. Dying on the battlefield was actually a good end for a ninja.
In Konoha Hospital, Kakashi, who had been lying in the intensive care unit for half a month, sighed after hearing the message read aloud by Rin Nohara: "Shu is indeed amazing; he always manages to solve problems."
"If I were a little stronger, I wouldn't have to complain about my immature teammates."
Xiu is right, changing a person is the most difficult thing. I should change myself.
"I can't even change my father, so how can I complain about the other ninjas in the village..."
As he spoke, Kakashi, his mind churning with emotions, squinted his dead fish eyes and stared at the ceiling, his whole being in a state of mixed regret.
Rin Nohara looked worried. Since being seriously injured and hospitalized, Kakashi's emotions had become increasingly volatile.
Tsunade diagnosed it as a side effect of the Madness Pill. She said that with the passage of time, ninjas with strong willpower would gradually recover. Rin Nohara could only pray that she would not experience the nightmare again.
When Shizune entered the room, she first checked Kakashi's injuries and administered a sedative. Then, she whispered to Rin Nohara, "Rin, how are you feeling today?"
Rin Nohara could only shake her head, indicating the situation was dire. She finally understood why there were so many ninjas with mental illnesses in the hospital before. "No matter what news they heard, they would project it onto themselves."
"If only this mission hadn't happened, Kakashi would be like this, Obito would be forgotten by his clan. It's all my fault that everyone is like this now."
As Rin Nohara finished speaking, she covered her mouth and broke down in tears, saying that she was filled with remorse every day.
The Uchiha Clan showed no reaction to Obito's death, as if the clan member had never existed.
Only Peer and some elderly women would go to the Obito to offer a bouquet of flowers.
Shizune understood what had happened to Obito. Besides feeling sad, she felt mostly relieved and grateful. She hugged Rin Nohara and softly comforted her, "Rin, stay and work at the hospital from now on!"
"Let's live a good life together with Kakashi in the future. I don't have to be a ninja anymore. Being a housewife doesn't seem so bad."
Rin Nohara nodded vigorously. She didn't want to hold the village back anymore. Although she felt sorry for the village's upbringing, all she wanted now was to live a peaceful life.
Mitaraishi Anko knocked on the door and entered the room with a bouquet of flowers. Seeing that Rin Nohara had been crying, she immediately became somewhat reserved and said, "Did I come at the wrong time...?"
" Anko, you can keep Lin company and talk to her. Everyone's been busy with tasks lately, and we're so grateful for your frequent help."
Shizune smiled and encouraged the enthusiastic girl. Mitaraishi Anko blushed slightly, replaced the flowers, and replied somewhat embarrassedly, "I... I just wanted to help my senior take care of his friend."
"My seniors have helped me a lot; all I can do is these small things."
After saying this, Mitaraishi Anko didn't forget to carefully examine Shizune's figure, confirming that the other party didn't have any advantages, and secretly rejoiced. "The competition is nothing special!"
Rin Nohara, unaware of what the kind-hearted purple-haired girl was thinking, thanked her repeatedly. Kakashi, gradually regaining his senses in his hospital bed, finally calmed down. "I want to go see Obito. Since the clan doesn't care about him, I should take care of him."
"Okay, let's take good care of Obito together from now on."
On the front lines of the Land of Frost, just as dawn broke, Shu Furukawa's squad once again confronted the Fourth Raikage A, and his three companions.
Killer B was pulled to the back by his two companions. One of the sensory ninjas, his face pale, whispered a warning, "The opponent's Chakra has increased again in just one week!"
What kind of monster is this?
On the Konoha side, the Hyuga Branch Family ninjas also saw the astonishing Chakra of the Kumogakure AB Duo through their Byakugan.
However, in comparison, Shu Furukawa's Chakra seems more outrageous, considering he's only 12 years old.
A, maintaining his Lightning Release Chakra Mode, kept his eyes fixed on Shu Furukawa, glancing back every now and then. Seeing Killer B's eager expression, he immediately instructed, "Bee, just focus on supporting me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Ai transformed into a bolt of lightning, instantly rushing in front of Shu Furukawa and swinging his left fist to smash Shu Furukawa's head.
" Lightning Release: Lightning Oppression Horizontal!"
In Shu Furukawa's eyes, the lightning wasn't that fast. He calmly tilted his head, then smoothly twisted his body to deliver a plain left hook.
The inhuman speed of nerve conduction caused Ai to instinctively tilt her head, successfully avoiding the attack. Just as she was about to counterattack, a tremendous force suddenly slammed into her right cheek.
"Bang!"
Seeing A suddenly fly back towards the Kumogakure Village team, the ninjas on both sides finally came to their senses and exclaimed in surprise, "Lord Shu!"
" Lord Raikage!"
A look of confusion flashed across Ai's face as she stood up. Her opponent's reaction speed was not human, and their attack methods were "inexplicable."
Shu Furukawa moved his left hand, and the tiny wound healed instantly. After his "aptitude" improved, he was indeed able to use Natural Energy more effectively in his normal state. "A monstrous body!"
Upon hearing the assessment, Ai once again shielded Killer B, staring intently at Shu Furukawa and replying in a deep voice, "Likewise! I know your purpose. As long as I'm here, you won't get near Bee!"