Fortune and Misfortune Are Unpredictable, Uchiha Itachi (Happy New Year)

On the vast ocean.

Yagura, who had just escaped from the Hidden Mist Technique, was also filled with relief. It was thanks to his quick thinking that he had used Taiichi's Fire Style to create such a large Dense Mist; otherwise, they would have been fiercely pursued by Konoha.

Just as he was secretly pleased with himself, he looked up and suddenly saw a group of ninjas stopped in front of him.

He also heard the other person's question, "Yagura Jonin, what's going on here? How is the Camp now?"

Yagura was completely taken aback. How could there be Mist Village Anbu? In his daze, he immediately realized something and looked behind the Anbu again.

Three enormous warships were cutting through the waves, speeding towards them.

It was like a thunderbolt exploding above Yagura's head, leaving him dizzy and momentarily unable to think.

How could this be? How did the reinforcements arrive so quickly!

Since they arrived so quickly, why couldn't they have been even faster?

Even if it were just 10 minutes faster, they would have discovered that reinforcements were on their way. At that point, it would have been the Konoha Ninja who collapsed, and the entire battle would have been a completely different situation.

However, all of this was just his wishful thinking; the reality was how he would face the enraged Mizukage.

Meanwhile, more and more defeated soldiers from the Mist Village escaped the Dense Mist, and they naturally saw Yagura ahead, as well as the Anbu in front of Yagura.

Mizunuki Asuka was among them, and with just one glance, he understood the current situation.

Unlike Karatachi Yagura, he was thinking about why he had ordered a retreat so early.

If only we had prepared more before the war.

If those logistical Medical Ninjas weren't allowed to fight alongside them...

Could this allow the team to hold out longer, until reinforcements arrive?

At that moment, another group of Anbu Ninja rushed in from the direction of the warship. Without even stopping, they immediately gave the order, "Mizunuki Asuka, Karatachi Yagura, the Mizukage summons you. Please come with me immediately."

Without waiting for their reply, he turned and ran towards the direction of the reinforcements.

Mizunuki Asuka and Karatachi Yagura exchanged glances, both seeing deep unease in each other's eyes. But there was nothing they could do now, so they hurriedly instructed their subordinate ninjas to reorganize the team and rushed to follow the Anbu were carrying out the orders.

The warship's conference room.

The Third Mizukage sat upright in his chair, and the air pressure around him seemed to drop slightly because of him.

No one dared to utter a sound; they simply watched the two below silently, their expressions a mixture of sympathy, regret, and even schadenfreude.

"You--"

When the Third Mizukage spoke, everyone held their breath.

"Damn it!"

Mizunuki Asuka and Karatachi Yagura were instantly drenched in cold sweat.

"Shinobi Army of two thousand men has suffered three defeats in just a few days, each one more outrageous than the last."

Mizukage a deep breath, trying to calm her anger, but after a second or two, she couldn't suppress it any longer and roared out.

"Are you all pigs? Is this how you lead the team?"

Everyone in the room fell silent, never expecting Mizukage to lose her composure like this.

How could the Mizukage not be angry? Just now on the warship, he was so full of vigor, wanting to make a name for himself in the war against Konoha and win resources for Mist Village for the next few years.

However, all of this is about to vanish like a dream.

"Tell me, what exactly happened? You've already retreated to the open sea, and you still have this Camp to defend, so how did you get attacked like this by Konoha?"

Trying to calm his anger, the Third Mizukage first needed to figure out how this crushing defeat had occurred.

Karatachi Yagura and Mizunuki Asuka exchanged a glance, and in the end, it was Mizunuki Asuka who spoke to explain the whole story of the First Shinobi World War.

From Scout intense Chakra fluctuations to discovering giant waves hundreds of meters high, to deciding to abandon the Camp, and finally to the battle between the two armies, the logistics and Medical Ninjas could not withstand the pressure and surrendered first, causing the Shinobi Army to collapse.

It wasn't that he didn't want to say more for himself, but things happened so fast that he didn't even have a chance to communicate with his Genin.

Now, all we can do is be realistic and try to mitigate our guilt.

Everyone was listening, including the Jonin who had come to provide support along with the Third Mizukage.

According to Mizunuki Asuka, he didn't really make many mistakes in command. The only mistake he made was probably including the logistics Medical Ninjas in the combat sequence.

As it turned out, this was indeed not a good idea. The defeat was caused by these logistics and Medical Ninjas who lacked fighting spirit.

But now is not the time for reasoning; now is the time to hold people accountable.

"Asuka Minazuki and Yagura Karatachi, due to their ineffective leadership, the Kirigakure Ninja Army suffered repeated defeats and heavy losses. They are hereby removed from all their posts and assigned to the suicide squad to atone for their crimes."

The Third Mizukage remained silent for a long time before finally making a decision.

Do either of you have any objections?

How could anyone still be dissatisfied? This could already be considered a lenient punishment.

The Suicide Squad is a special unit in Mist Village used to punish ninjas who have made mistakes but cannot be killed directly.

He must charge into battle at the forefront in every fight; if he survives 10 such attempts, he is considered exonerated.

For chunin Genin, Suicide Squad mission is a near-certain death, but for Jonin -level ninjas, with a little care, survival isn't too difficult.

At the Jonin level, there are many ways to survive on the battlefield. In a major battle, hundreds or even thousands of Genin may die, while it is common for Jonin to die only in single digits.

"Thank you for your forgiveness, Lord Mizukage. We will fight to the last drop of blood for Mist Village."

The Third Mizukage waved his hand, signaling them to stand up. This matter was temporarily put behind them, and now was not the time to deal with them.

As for what happens next, we'll have to see how they perform.

"Gentlemen, we are currently at a disadvantage in terms of strength compared to Konoha. How should this war proceed? What are your thoughts?"

Now is the time to discuss serious matters; previously, their operational strategies were all based on the premise that their side had superior troop strength.

Now that the balance of power has shifted, all previous strategies are rendered useless, which is sure to drive the staff officers crazy with frustration.

The crowd discussed it for a while, but how many good methods are there for a war where the weak attack the strong?

Finally, one of the Jonin couldn't help but ask, "Lord Mizukage, can't we send another batch of reinforcements from the village?"

The entire arena fell silent. All eyes turned to the ninja who had spoken, approving that he had voiced what everyone was thinking. Then, they turned to the Mizukage, awaiting his answer.

How could Mizukage possibly answer? It was a difficult question for him as well.

Every family has its own problems.

Although Mist Village is currently only fighting against Konoha, it is the most unstable Mist Village internally compared to the other four great ninja villages.

Ninja Clans and ninja villages.

Ninja Clan members and Civilian ninjas.

The ninja village and the Daimyo.

The conflicts between these parties have escalated to a rather acute level.

Therefore, in addition to the ninjas who perform daily tasks, Kirigakure must retain a sufficient deterrent force to suppress the power of all levels.

"All the forces the ninja village can muster right now are here. It's impossible to get the village to send any more reinforcements, at least in the short term."

Silence fell again in the meeting room, before discussions about the battle against Konoha resumed.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, the Third Mizukage overheard a weak muttering amidst these discussions, "Why must we target Konoha? Our strength is weakened now; wouldn't it be better to choose a different target?"

Though the voice was soft, it was etched into Mizukage's memory.

Leaving aside the Mist Village discussion in Wuyin, Taiichi and his group's return journey was not easy either.

After a fierce battle, they had no time to rest and hurriedly embarked on their return journey.

Although everyone is gritting their teeth and persevering, the depletion of Chakra is an objective fact.

Before they had even finished the 20-kilometer run, some ninjas were already exhausted and could no longer maintain the exertion of Water Walking, falling into the sea with a "plop".

"Hiashi, how's it going? Are there any pursuers behind us?"

Hyuga Hiashi activated his Byakugan, looked in the direction they had come from, and shook his head.

"It seems they haven't chased us. Besides, we've changed direction. There aren't many tracks on the open sea for them to follow. Once we're out of sight, they won't be able to find us even if they wanted to."

"Then let's rest here. If we keep running, none of us will be able to keep going."

Taiichi glanced back at the group behind him. Even the Jonin were panting Jonin, not to mention the Genin.

Without further delay, he directly formed hand seals to release the Yin Seal and extracted Chakra from it.

An Ice Island was recreated from nothing, and all the Konoha Ninjas couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

One by one, they couldn't wait to set foot on Ice Island and start Military Ration Pill.

Taiichi, Fugaku, Hiashi finally had a chance to get together and discuss the battle that had just taken place.

"Today was truly dangerous. If we had been just a moment slower, the outcome would have been entirely different."

"That's right, but after this First Shinobi World War, our subsequent battles will be much easier. Mist Village has lost all its Resupply, and we've even captured a number of their logistics personnel. I don't know how they're going to fight the rest of the battles."

A rare smile appeared on Riji's Hiashi stern face, showing just how happy he was.

Taiichi glanced back at the direction of the prisoners, feeling quite pleased. Mist Village had quite a few wounded, and their few Medical Ninjas had been wiped out in one fell swoop. Many more would likely be forced to withdraw from the battle due to injuries.

The crisis on the East Front has been temporarily averted.

The three of them chatted and laughed together, talking about the wonderful life after the war.

"Fugaku, I heard you already have a son?"

Hiashi said with considerable envy, "As a fellow Ninja Clan leader, he doesn't have any children yet. If it weren't for this war, he would still be facing the awkward situation of having children."

"Yes, his name is Itachi, Uchiha Itachi, and he's four years old now."

Thinking of his son, Fugaku couldn't help but smile happily. He was a genius, and would become one of the pillars of the Uchiha in the future.

Taiichi to the two old men start discussing their offspring and was speechless. It was still too early for him to even get a word in edgewise.

But hearing them talk about Uchiha Itachi, I wonder what kind of person he would become in this world. He certainly wouldn't kill his father, mother, and clan like in the original story!

Just as Taiichi was lost in thought, Fugaku's voice suddenly pulled him back to reality.

"Taiichi, I'd like Itachi to become your apprentice. What do you think?"

"Ah?"

Taiichi was still a bit dazed and hadn't reacted yet. Even Hiashi was surprised, wondering how the conversation had suddenly turned to the topic of having the child take on a master.

"I want Itachi to become your apprentice!"

Fugaku repeated himself, this time with even greater solemnity.

This was indeed a spur-of-the-moment decision, but it wasn't made without thinking.

Firstly, because of Yohei, Taiichi and the Uchiha had a pretty good relationship, and the two had even cooperated happily before.

Furthermore, having fought alongside Taiichi for so long, he has a thorough understanding of Taiichi. Not only is he incredibly strong, but he is also a true all-rounder, making him undoubtedly the best candidate to be a teacher.

Finally, and most importantly, for the Uchiha to fully integrate into Konoha, Taiichi, being both a direct descendant of the Hokage and possessing extraordinary combat power, is crucial.

Moreover, he and the current Mangekyo user of the Uchiha are sworn brothers, so it's absolutely right for him to get closer to such a person.

"Have your son become my disciple." Taiichi and was surprised. "That's inappropriate, isn't it? I'm still a child myself."

This was said in a somewhat joking tone, and Hiashi, who was Hiashi next to him, twitched at the corner of his mouth. "You're still a child. Don't you even know who was slaughtering everyone on the battlefield just now?"

However, Taiichi's words greatly excited Fugaku Uchiha, because Taiichi did not reject Itachi because he was Uchiha, but only said that he was still young.

"Taiichi- kun, age is not a problem. In Konoha, you are second to none in both strength and reputation. Moreover, you yourself have served as a Jonin. It is my son's honor to have you as his teacher."

Fugaku's face was full of seriousness, and he even changed his form of address to a more respectful one.

Upon seeing this Taiichi knew that Fugaku Uchiha was not joking, so he also put away his joking attitude and began to think seriously.

Within the Hokage faction, his relationship with the Uchiha was arguably the closest. This was not only because he had a close friend like Yohei, but also because he himself did not reject the Uchiha.

Or perhaps he was confident in his ability to subdue the entire Uchiha, hence his magnanimous demeanor.

However, if we were to take Uchiha Itachi as a disciple, there would be many more factors to consider.

In the Ninja World, the master-disciple relationship is extremely important and intimate, as it involves not only the transfer of power but also the sharing of social connections.

Since the Second Hokage Position has never been passed down from generation to generation between disciples and their descendants.

The Uchiha Clan was immediately excluded from the upper echelons after the death of their second-generation disciple Kagami Uchiha, and has never been able to return to them since.

Taiichi himself fully inherited Tsunade's legacy, which is why he was able to achieve such smooth sailing in both his Ninjutsu learning and his status in Konoha.

However, he soon realized that all his thinking was unnecessary. In the Ninja World, strength ultimately prevails. As long as he was strong enough, he had nothing to worry about, such as rumors or conspiracies to seize power.

Moreover, revitalizing Konoha cannot be accomplished by one person alone; the Uchiha is an important force.

He wouldn't be like Hiruzen Sarutobi, cutting off his own arm and ultimately leading to the annihilation of a once-prosperous Konoha clan.

Having figured everything out, he no longer hesitated. Looking at Fugaku Uchiha's expectant eyes, he readily nodded.

"Since you've put it that way, Fugaku, I can't refuse any longer. However, my teaching methods might be a bit unusual, so please don't regret it later, Fugaku."

Taiichi still gave a heads-up: a kid like Itachi, who was so mature for his age, couldn't be taught like an ordinary ninja. He didn't want his disciple to repeat the same mistakes in the future, especially since he had the Sharingan, a bloodline that could easily affect one's mind.