Upheaval

Mission Center.

When Taiichi arrived, Yohei, Saori, and Xu were sitting around a wooden table, chatting and joking. Yohei's enthusiastic voice could be heard clearly even outside the tent.

"Taiichi!" Yohei was the first to notice Taiichi's arrival. He jumped up with a cheer, laughing and slapping Taiyi's shoulder hard, almost making Taiichi stumble as he approached.

"We've been waiting for you to come out! The white coats at the Medical Camp can't compare to the fun of going on missions together!" He grinned, his familiar energy infecting everyone around him.

Saori stood up, a gentle smile playing on her lips, "Taiichi, welcome back to the team." Her simple words conveyed a tacit understanding that needed no further explanation.

"Team— Captain!" Xu seemed a little nervous. His poor performance in the previous mission made him somewhat unsure of himself in front of Taiichi. He had been working hard these past two days, hoping to earn back the impression points he had lost.

Seeing the three familiar faces before him, Taiichi surge of warmth in his heart, and his smile became more genuine, "Yeah, I finally got things sorted out over there, so I came straight to join you!"

The group chatted and laughed as they walked towards the mission handover area. The Chunin on duty, Chunin originally organizing files with his head down, heard someone coming and looked up to see Taiichi. He almost reflexively stood up, his face quickly showing a respectful and grateful expression.

"Lord Taiichi, you—you're going to accept a mission?"

"It's Ryosuke. Your leg isn't fully healed yet, is it? Why are you out here already?" Taiichi recognized the ninja in front of him at a glance. His leg was supposed to be amputated, but it was only through Taiyi's treatment that it was saved.

Ryosuke was even more excited to see that Taiichi could call him by name. "Lord Taiichi, the injury to my leg is much better now. The Camp is short-staffed, so I can't go out on missions, but I can still handle these clerical tasks!"

Taiichi sighed inwardly, realizing that Konoha's strength was inseparable from these selfless lower- and middle-ranking ninjas. Yet, their contributions often went unnoticed by the higher-ups.

Taiichi stopped thinking about it. He wasn't in a position to interfere in politics. All he could do now was complete more tasks.

Taiichi randomly chose a patrol mission, since all the missions here were pretty much the same.

"Yes, Taiichi!" Ryosuke quickly found the corresponding Mission Scroll and respectfully presented it with both hands. Watching this scene, Yohei felt a strange sense of envy.

Everyone came to the Camp together, yet Taiichi was able to gain everyone's recognition so quickly, while Yangping remained unknown. At this moment, Yohei understood the importance of ability even more.

Afterwards, the team went to the supply depot to collect the Resupply needed for the mission. The ninja in charge of supplies treated Taiichi with the same respect when distributing Shuriken, Military Ration Pill, and Signal Flare.

"Lord Taiichi, this is the standard equipment for your team. We've also prepared some extra special medicines and Antidote Pill for you based on your needs," he said, deftly handing Taiichi a small bag containing medicine bottles.

"Lord Orochimaru specifically instructed that your needs be given priority."

Taiichi accepted it and thanked him politely.

Beside him, Yohei also felt a sense of pride; the recognition of the strong made his chest rise and fall slightly.

He subtly straightened his back, his gaze sweeping over the unfamiliar ninjas around him, Taiichi. A thought surged within him, "One day—I will be like that too!"

With sufficient supplies, the team embarked on the somewhat monotonous patrol route. The repetitive paths and repeated area checks, for Taiichi had been busy with medical work, actually freed up some rare time for cultivation.

During any breaks between missions or short rest periods, Taiichi would find a quiet corner to resume his training in Ice Release Fusion.

Days passed in and around the Camp. When the number of patients increased at the Medical Camp due to escalating conflict, Taiichi would return there.

Thanks to his superb medical skills and the efficiency of his Shadow Clone, the number of ninjas in the Northern Camp has decreased by three-fifths compared to before his arrival. As long as they did not die on the spot, there has not been a single case of a ninja who failed to be saved after being treated by him.

This further enhanced Taiichi's prestige in the Northern Camp, and Orochimaru secretly observed all of this without reporting it to the authorities.

When the Medical Camp is not busy, Taiichi will meet up with Yohei, Saori, and Xu to take on field missions such as patrols, mopping-up operations, and reconnaissance.

Every mission involves danger.

During the mission, they encountered Cloud Ninja came to Scout and cause damage several times. What else can be said? Whenever this happened, there was only one word: fight!

Thanks to the squad's formidable combat strength and comprehensive equipment, every battle was swift and decisive, and none of the enemies they encountered managed to escape alive.

Even during a reconnaissance mission deep behind enemy lines, they encountered a three-man elite Cloud Village squad, led by a seasoned Jonin.

The battle instantly intensified. The opponent's Lightning Style was swift and violent, and their Taijutsu, enhanced by Lightning Style, was also exceptionally sharp. This battle brought unprecedented pressure to the team.

The key to the battle was that the enemy easily exploited the team's weaknesses. In this battle, Kaze Wafu once again exposed his weakness as the weakest member of the team, and the enemy repeatedly used him as bait to lure others to come to the rescue.

This resulted in both Yohei and Saori being injured in the battle. In the end, it was Taiichi who killed the opponent by using his Flame Transformation ability and swapping vital points.

When Taiichi and his Shadow Clone carried their three teammates back to the Camp, their miserable state immediately attracted everyone's attention. Faced with everyone's concern and care, Taiichi could only manage a forced smile.

This battle was so brutal and frustrating. Despite having the superior strength, they still ended up in such a sorry state. It was infuriating.

The commotion at the Camp naturally alerted Orochimaru, who was utterly shocked to see the horrific state of Taiichi Squad. However, when he saw the Jonin's corpse within Taiichi's Sealing Scroll, it all made sense.

Ziina, a veteran elite Cloud Village, is not only top-notch Elite Jonin strength, but what's even more disgusting is that he has no sense of self-awareness as a master. He likes to target the weakest person in an enemy group and use them as a breakthrough to kill the enemy's masters.

His technique is specifically designed for ninjas like Taiichi who value their comrades, and it often proves to be surprisingly effective.

After delivering his three companions to the Medical Camp, Taiichi came to report the mission to Orochimaru.

After finishing his business, Orochimaru asked the probing question, "Taiichi, what do you think? Should we consider changing teammates?"

Taiichi was clearly taken aback. Although Kaze Wafu's recent performance had indeed been terrible, he had never considered this kind of thing before. Everyone has moments of weakness.

Without Captain Yamaguchi's leadership, they wouldn't have achieved what they have today after graduation.

As if sensing Taiichi's thoughts, Orochimaru continued, "Don't feel guilty. When you first graduated, you were only assigned D-rank and C-rank missions, but now it's war. You're facing enemies far beyond those D-rank and C-rank foes."

Orochimaru's words were like a resounding bell, striking Taiyi with Taiichi force.

Taiichi left the central camp, saying, "I need to think about it carefully!"

Looking at Taiichi's slightly disheveled figure, Orochimaru revealed a teasing smile, as if he were playing with his prey. "Taiichi, what will you choose? I'm really looking forward to it!"

When Taiichi arrived at the Medical Camp again, he heard Yohei's hearty laughter even before he got close. When Taiichi got closer, he found Yohei vividly explaining to everyone how he had slaughtered his way through the enemy, saved Saori and Suzu, and even risked injury to create an opportunity for Taiichi to kill the enemy.

Upon learning the truth, Saori covered her mouth and chuckled, while even Suzu couldn't help but cough lightly, pressing her chest wound.

"Taiichi, you're back! Quickly tell them if what I said is true or not; these guys don't believe me."

Upon seeing Taiichi enter, Yohei, who was in the middle of his enthusiastic speech, disregarded his injuries and immediately jumped up, grabbing Taiichi and demanding that he testify.

"Yes, yes, yes! You're right!" Taiichi had no choice but to forcefully push him back onto the bed.

This caused everyone to burst into laughter again.

Seeing that Yohei was still trying to get up, Taiichi adopted a doctor's demeanor, his face stern as he reprimanded, "This is Medical Camp. You're still not behaving yourself here. Do you want to suffer more?"

To be honest, Taiichi's stern face was quite intimidating; at least Yohei was frightened and obediently lay back on the bed, no longer daring to move.

Taiichi then gave them a thorough examination and treatment. Fortunately, although each person's injuries looked serious, they were actually just superficial wounds. Apart from the excessive blood loss, which was quite serious, they were not a problem.

"Taiichi, when can we go out?" Yohei, who couldn't stay still, asked about the injuries after only a few minutes of lying down.

Taiichi rolled her eyes at him. "Now you know it's painful? Where were you before? I told you to practice more, but you were slacking off."

Yohei shrank back, thinking Taiichi really angry, and muttered under his breath, "I train really hard, I don't even have much time to rest, okay?"

After checking on everyone, Taiichi said before leaving, "Two days of rest will suffice. Although you can't engage in strenuous training during this time, you can still practice Chakra Control. Make the most of your time; this is wartime. Every bit of strength you gain increases your chances of survival."

These words were not only spoken to Yohei, but also to everyone in the camp.

Watching Taiichi's departing figure, Saori said, "Yohei, don't be angry. Taiichi was just worried about you, that's why he said that. He was really provoked this time."

Yohei shook his head. How could he blame Taiichi? If anyone should be blamed, it was himself for being too weak to protect his companions.

"Xu, once your injuries heal, you must cultivate even harder. You can't continue like this!"

"Yes, it was all my fault this time. I will definitely work harder!" Kaze Wafu a flushed face, looking like she was willing to accept the lesson.

Ziina's death was like a thunderbolt, causing considerable discussion not only in Konoha but also in Cloud Village.

He was not only a highly skilled ninja, but also a powerful high-ranking official in Cloud Village. Naturally, the cause of his death was quickly investigated and clarified by Cloud Village.

The name Taichi Matsushita appeared in the sight of the Cloud Village's higher-ups for the first time, and subsequently, various pieces of information about him were gradually gathered into the Cloud Village's hands.

After this First Shinobi World War, Taiichi became somewhat famous in the Ninja World.

Of course, because of Ziina's death, the Cloud Village's revenge soon followed, and the border conflict in the Northern Front was pushed to a new stage.

The sudden escalation of border conflicts kept Taiichi busy. He was either receiving treatment at the Medical Camp or being assigned missions to carry out. After all, it wouldn't be good to leave a Jonin- level fighter idle.

Yohei, Saori, and Xu also left the Medical Camp soon after, and the three of them reunited with Taiichi to begin accepting various missions.

The daily grind of missions gradually made Taiichi forget Orochimaru's warnings. But having learned his lesson, Taiichi spent more time keeping an eye on Kaze Wafu during these missions, fearing that he might cause trouble again.

That day, the team members went to the Mission Office to receive their mission again. Due to the escalation of the conflict, the Mission Office had been much busier recently, but people still greeted Taiichi in a friendly manner.

Seeing that the number of tasks on the task list was not decreasing but rather increasing, everyone could feel the tension of the current situation.

"Captain, what do you think of this mission? It seems like completing it would be a great help to the current situation!" Kaze Wafu said, pointing to one of the missions with a look of surprise.

Everyone looked in the direction he was pointing, and a mission came into view: Destroy the supply warehouse, mission level A.

"I've never seen a mission like this before!" Yohei exclaimed, then asked the Chunin duty, "Why isn't there a description for this mission?"

"To prevent information leaks, these tasks can only be accessed after they are accepted." The staff member explained diligently while handling their work.

Yohei turned to look at Taiichi, but the specific decision still rested with Taiichi. However, Kaze Wafu's words, "It will greatly help the situation," deeply moved him.

Seeing Yohei's expectant expression, Taiichi moment and nodded in agreement. If he didn't take it, someone else would. Anyway, it was all a mission, so what difference did it make which one he did?

The staff quickly brought over the Mission Scroll, handed it over to Taiichi completing the mission handover.

Afterwards, they didn't forget to congratulate Taiichi Squad on completing their mission soon.

Taiichi opened the Mission Scroll, and the four members of the team gathered in a circle to read the mission description: The reconnaissance ninja recently discovered a Cloud Village supply warehouse on an island near the Land of Land of Hot Water. Because it is located at sea, there are not many guards, so the mission was directly posted in the Mission Center.

After reading the mission briefing, everyone felt that the mission was not difficult. With their strength, as long as they sneaked in silently, destroying it would not be difficult.

So, after making preparations, Taiichi Squad set off directly towards their destination.

On the second night, after two days and one night of travel, the team finally found the island mentioned in the mission. The island was indeed small, just big enough to build a warehouse.

The four-man team lay in ambush in the shadows of the reef, their eyes piercing the darkness as they looked toward the faintly visible warehouse in the distance.

Taiichi released his Chakra Perception, and instantly everything in the warehouse appeared in Taiichi mind: two Jonin and two Chunin. The number of people was indeed small, well within the team's ability to handle.

"Let's rest for a bit, and then sneak in again before dawn," Taiichi instructed everyone.

The four members of the squad each found a spot, closed their eyes, and rested, conserving their energy for the upcoming battle.

As dawn approached, everyone snapped out of their daze and gathered around Taiichi's soft shout.

"Go!" Taiichi's voice was softer than the sea breeze; he practically just mouthed the words, but everyone clearly understood his command.

Make.

The squad moved swiftly, using the undulating terrain and a few low bushes to conceal themselves, like four flowing ink streaks, silently flanking the rear of the main warehouse building.

There was no wall surrounding the warehouse, only a symbolic wooden fence that could be easily scaled. Close to the cold stone walls of the warehouse, shadows completely enveloped them. Taiichi and Saori exchanged a glance; the former's senses detected nothing unusual.

Taiichi carefully sneaked into the warehouse and gestured for everyone to split up and search for supplies.

Just then, a shrill scream suddenly rang out behind Taiichi. Taiichi and Yohei, who were walking in front, turned around abruptly, and the scene that came into view made their pupils shrink.