Severed Beliefs (Part 2)

In early December, some unpleasant murmurs began to circulate within the village.

Last month, two teams of genin were wiped out, and the chunin and jonin leading them also perished in the line of duty, ultimately sparking dissatisfaction among several families.

Since the end of the Second Shinobi World War, such a situation had not occurred for a long time.

"A Leaf ninja must hold the conviction that they can sacrifice themselves for the village at any moment!"

Although the Ninja Academy did not write this sentence in their textbooks, most ninjas began to "instrumentalize" themselves once they became genin.

Given this context, while there were complaints, they initially drew little attention; after all, sacrificing oneself for a mission was considered normal.

Until a jonin argued with a companion in a tavern, causing some information to spread within a small circle:

"The number of high-level mission requests might decrease next year."

For students at the Ninja Academy and genin, high-level missions were out of the question, and chunin primarily handled B-rank missions.

Jonin were different; A-rank missions could pay up to one million ryo, and S-rank missions started at one million ryo.

Although not everyone could secure these commissions, hearing that high-level missions were decreasing caused some ninjas in the jonin squad to grumble.

The ones complaining the most were the jonin from civilian backgrounds; with less "meat" on the table, they were naturally unhappy.

In the Medical Corps laboratory, Shu Furukawa was still collecting data. Depending on the amount of "essence" injected, the herbs would undergo varying degrees of mutation.

Some were positive, but most were ineffective. Regarding this, Shu Furukawa could only continue to experiment after [Harvesting].

Fortunately, the soil in the Land of Fire was fertile, and with the village's support, the variety of herbs in the laboratory was quite comprehensive.

When Tsunade appeared wearing her green jonin flak jacket, she saw Shu Furukawa working diligently, and a smile returned to her face:

"In light of your hard work, how about we go get some curry rice for lunch?"

Noticing Tsunade's attire—wearing her ninja headband and green flak jacket—Shu Furukawa asked curiously:

"It's rare to see you dressed like this lately, Teacher. Are you going on a mission?"

"The Old Man is convening a meeting for the jonin squad. It's related to Sakumo's previous mission, but it's nothing to worry about."

"As a genin, you don't need to concern yourself with these things. That is the 'White Fang of the Leaf' we're talking about; Sakumo can handle everything."

Tsunade rarely showed such respect. In her view, the higher-ups were being overly nervous; a failed mission could not shake the foundation of the village.

According to her understanding, although the Daimyo spoke of reducing commissions, the budget for next year had actually increased, which was enough to show that he was a man who knew how to read the room.

"Is it about the commissions? What a troublesome matter. I have heard some rumors, though."

Shu Furukawa put on his coat and wrapped his scarf around his neck. Tsunade did not answer the question directly; instead, she took off her headband and rolled her eyes, retorting:

"Children don't need to worry about these things!"

"Ninjas are just ambitious schemers manipulating the Daimyo's struggle for the world. You should have read some of the books left behind by the First Hokage and the others."

Ever since he was officially taken on as a disciple, Tsunade had opened up her private collection, and much of the content helped Shu Furukawa further understand this world.

He could hear that Tsunade had little respect for the Daimyo, but Shu Furukawa was still uneasy; second-hand information was difficult to reconcile with the truth:

"I'm going to find Kakashi this afternoon to practice my swordsmanship..."

"Sensitive little brat!"

Tsunade grumbled but agreed nonetheless. However, when she heard Shu Furukawa's suggestion, she became slightly annoyed.

"Teacher, the new jutsu seems to be an ability inherent to the First Hokage himself. Many parts are not perfected; only the sealing techniques involved are complete."

"Is it a technique of the Uzumaki Clan? I've seen some of it in the manuscripts of the Second Hokage."

"Maintaining bodily functions seems to waste a portion of chakra. You could consider abandoning that part of the effect to lower the difficulty of the jutsu..."

Tsunade, who was anxious about her age, couldn't bear to hear this. She immediately turned and flicked his forehead to interrupt him:

"Nagging! Only children make choices; I want all the effects!"

--

After a busy year, having finally earned a vacation, Hatake Sakumo did not pay much attention to the recent rumors.

Watching the two figures sparring, Hatake Sakumo was extremely satisfied; a genius who works hard will achieve even greater heights.

When Kakashi, whose physical strength had reached its limit, leaned forward while swinging his short blade, he noticed his opponent drop low. He hurriedly cushioned his chest with his left arm.

"Bang..."

Kakashi, kicked into mid-air, widened his eyes as he saw Shu Furukawa curl his body in the air, spinning and swinging his blade. After a series of blocks, Kakashi finally exhausted his strength and was knocked to the ground.

"Hoo... hoo..."

Breathing heavily, Kakashi couldn't get up immediately. Shu Furukawa, who had chased him down, sheathed his short blade behind his back and praised him:

"You've improved again, Kakashi. Every time, I can only manage a counterattack at the very end."

"Sakumo-sensei is right; at this age, there's no need to worry about chakra capacity."

Possessing equally excellent control, Kakashi's gradually increasing chakra reserves still couldn't match Shu Furukawa's. Knowing this was a gap in talent, he couldn't help but grumble:

"Your final counterattacks always manage to strike me down, yet I am unable to defeat you in the shortest amount of time."

"This isn't just a matter of chakra..."

Kakashi could not understand why the sensory perception, reflexes, chakra, and physical fitness of Shu Furukawa were improving so rapidly; he had never slacked off, yet he was still being suppressed by the other's shortcomings.

"While you are working hard, Shu has never once relaxed the demands he places upon himself."

"It seems Lady Tsunade was still being modest; to be able to take on medical duties at this age, his usage of chakra is already approaching that of a jonin."

Hatake Sakumo smiled and patted his son's shoulder, taking the opportunity to tell Kakashi about the results of Shu Furukawa's hard work during this period.

Thinking of the medical ninjutsu used to treat Might Guy earlier, Kakashi nodded earnestly, then looked at his father, hesitating for a moment before asking in a low voice:

"Father, why not explain it to those people? The mission failed, and there were problems within the intelligence department as well."

"Those who received help are not only ungrateful, but they are actually blaming you."

Just as Hatake Sakumo had provided help after the sacrifice of Ichiro Furukawa, the White Fang of the Leaf had also provided some care to the families of the fallen genin this time.

Seeming to notice that Shu Furukawa also had something to say, Hatake Sakumo looked at the two of them with a gentle smile and responded simply:

"I was indeed affected by the intelligence at the time, but saving my comrades was my choice."

"I have experienced war and witnessed too much death; what I want to tell you is that a ninja is not a tool, and this is the reason why the village can continue to grow stronger."

"..."

Regarding the Will of Fire described by his father, Kakashi bowed his head in silence; Shikaku Nara had said the exact same thing when he served as captain.

Shu Furukawa also remained silent; no matter which world he was in, he had never experienced war, and as a mere genin, he had no power to refute it, so he could only sigh in his heart:

"What would happen if 'comrades' defined themselves as 'tools' and began to blame their savior?"

"..."