Arrangements, First Encounter with Natural Energy

This group of captured Medical Ninja from Mist Village totaled 23 people. The oldest was only in his early twenties, and the youngest was only sixteen or seventeen years old. Now they were all timid and cowering, showing no trace of their former selves as ninjas.

I don't know what the Mist Ninja were thinking, letting them fight directly on the battlefield. They must have been out of their minds.

However, Taiichi has to thank them, because it was because of them that Konoha was able to win that battle at minimal cost.

Thinking of this, Taiichi's last bit of resistance disappeared. He decided to consider it compensation for their contributions. He composed himself, put on what he thought was a kind smile, and took a few steps forward.

"Hello, I am Taichi Matsushita ----"

Before he could finish speaking, he wasn't greeted with a warm welcome from the girls, but rather with expressions of utter disbelief, and several of the younger ones even burst into tears.

Taiichi's smile froze on his face. He awkwardly turned to the guard Captain beside him and asked, rather speechlessly, "Am I that scary?"

The guard Captain, a shrewd man, offered a subtle compliment. "Sir, your Kamui is unparalleled!"

Taiichi stopped pretending to be kind and said to the prisoners with a stern face, "You are probably aware of your current situation. Konoha is not a charity and will not support prisoners like you for nothing."

Report your own value immediately, whether it's intelligence, secret techniques, or ransom.

The guard standing nearby was completely bewildered. When did Konoha have such a rule? How come he didn't know about it?

Aren't these prisoners all being held captive, waiting to be exchanged after the war or ransomed by the other side? At most, they'll be subjected to severe torture to extract intelligence.

However, these Medical Ninja from Mist Village became frightened, each wondering what value they still held.

Intelligence? Needless to say, they're all nobody; what intelligence would they know?

As for secret techniques, that goes without saying. Apart from the basic Three Body Technique and some simple Medical Ninjutsu, they know nothing else.

As for the ransom, they were all from Civilian backgrounds; if they had that kind of money, they wouldn't have become Medical Ninja.

Medical Ninja hold the lowest status in Mist Village; only those who are poor and lack talent would become Medical Ninja.

The more they thought about it, the more desperate these Mist Ninja became.

As time went by and they remained silent for a long time, Taiichi's aura grew stronger, as if he was beginning to get impatient.

Sensing the chilling killing intent enveloping them, these already fragile-willed Mist Ninja nearly collapsed.

After a long silence, it was Mizuki, the only Chunin here who had surrendered first, who finally spoke.

"My lord, we Medical Ninja, aside from some basic Medical Ninjutsu, really don't know what value we have. Please show us the way!"

After saying this, she knelt down and gave Taiichi a full prostration.

The group of Genin suit, all kneeling down and begging Taiichi.

Seeing this, Taiichi sighed inwardly. The differences between the various ninja villages were so great. The Medical Ninja were rising in status in Konoha were so lowly in Mist Village. These prisoners had no idea where their true value lay.

He took two steps back, crossed his arms, and softened his imposing manner, as if he had been moved by their sincerity.

"Alright then, since you're Medical Ninja, why don't you go help out at the Medical Camp!"

Taiichi moment, put his hands behind his back, and said casually.

"However, let me make this clear from the start: given your status as prisoners, I will place Curse Mark on you. If you harbor even the slightest intention to harm Konoha, this Curse Mark will activate. At best, you will suffer excruciating pain; at worst, you will die. Are you willing to accept this?"

These prisoners had no other thoughts at this point; they were already grateful to be alive, and they hurriedly kowtowed repeatedly in agreement.

"Alright, get up, all of you, and get ready to come with me."

After saying that, Taiichi turned to the guard Captain and said, "Then I'll take them with me. Please have Captain remove their neck rings."

The Captain of the guard didn't hesitate. He gestured to his men, and someone immediately stepped forward to remove the neck rings they had just been wearing.

At the same time, Taiichi also created 23 Shadow Clone, which came before these prisoners.

"Look into my eyes, do not resist. I will place Curse Mark on you. If the spell fails, you will remain here to fend for yourselves."

A barrage of threats and intimidation left these already exhausted people with no will to resist, and they obediently let their minds wander.

The Shadow Clone began Hand Seals, its eyes gleaming faintly, "Look into my eyes!"

Their eyes met, and the Ninjutsu was immediately activated.

Genjutsu: A Mind's Cage

This is the same Genjutsu that Taiichi used on Tsunade before; both involve planting Genjutsu Seed in the recipient's mind and influencing their subconscious.

Of course, this alone is not enough to control these people; the next step requires the use of Curse Mark.

Taiichi's hand seals continued to change. After a series of complex Hand Seals, his Shadow Clone grabbed the wrist of the victim, condensed his energy into a blade, and cut the back of their hand. Using their blood as a medium, he planted the Curse Mark.

Curse Mark - Sealing Prohibition.

This Curse Mark is based on the information fed back from the mental prison, and according to the pre-set rules, it imposes different degrees of punishment on the subject, the most severe of which is, of course, death and annihilation of the soul.

As the spell ended, the 23 Shadow Clone vanished into white smoke with a series of "bangs".

Just as Taiichi smiled upon seeing this, a scream rang out.

An older prisoner was writhing on the ground, clutching his head with both hands.

As if contagious, following this prisoner's action, five more prisoners cried out in pain, one after another.

Some of them simply covered their heads lightly, while others rolled on the ground in agony. The most seriously injured one was bleeding from her mouth and nose and was clearly not going to survive.

Taiichi's smile vanished again, but he didn't intervene and just watched quietly.

The prisoners who were not in any danger were now filled with terror, and they all kept their distance from the six men.

Only the Chunin named Mizuki, amidst the horrified gazes of the crowd and under Taiichi's scrutinizing eyes, rushed to the prisoner whose mouth and nose were bleeding and began emergency treatment.

The farce lasted for five minutes before it ended.

The quick-witted person soon dismissed the evil thought in their mind, and the pain disappeared as a result.

Those who were slower to recover endured the pain for a full five minutes before recovering after being reminded by others.

The worst off was the one whose mouth and nose were bleeding; although someone tried to save him, he still lost his life.

Taiichi then turned cold and looked at the still-shaken prisoners, saying calmly, "Remember your place. Don't mistake my mercy for weakness. I've already warned you that harboring evil intentions will be punished."

He pointed to the corpse lying on the ground, "This is the consequence."

Then, he walked up to the Chunin named Mizuki, looked down at her still kneeling on the ground, and smiled again, "You're quite good, a qualified Medical Ninja. These people are in your care now. I hope you won't disappoint me."

After saying that, he turned around, nodded to the guarding ninjas, and left with the words, "Follow me!" before walking straight outside.

Upon hearing Taiichi's words and seeing Taiichi already walking away, Mizuki struggled to her feet, glanced fearfully at the corpse on the ground, and hurriedly called to her companions to catch up with Taiichi.

Watching the crowd gradually disappear into the distance, the guard Captain finally came to his senses. He ordered his men to clean up the scene, while he immediately followed Taiichi, as he needed to lead Taiichi out of the Camp.

The remaining ninja guards swallowed hard, exchanging bewildered glances.

"Lord Taiichi —you're amazing!"

"Of course! Do you think the nicknames 'White Reaper' and 'Konoha Twin Terrors' were given for nothing?"

The crowd looked at the corpse on the ground and began to spit on it.

"He deserved to die; even in this state, he still harbored evil thoughts."

"They should be treated like ordinary prisoners, interrogated every day. Who knows if they're hiding any information?"

"Alright, alright, Commander Tsunade and Taiichi have their own plans; this is not something we can presume to discuss."

Taiichi was oblivious to the discussions behind him, as he had already led 22 Medical Ninja to the Medical Camp.

Here, Taiichi felt right at home, and everyone who saw him, whether medical staff or patients, greeted Taiichi warmly.

"Taiichi- kun, where did you gather so many beautiful women? Are you finding Camp life too lonely?"

Taiichi looked over at the sound and saw a middle-aged Jonin with a full beard. He had once followed Jiraiya and later returned to the village to recuperate after being injured. It was Taiichi who treated him.

"Uncle Tsuruya, don't you dare follow Jiraiya's bad example. This is Teacher Tsunade's Camp. If she hears you, you'll be in big trouble."

Taiichi's teasing sounded like the devil's whisper to Tsuruya. He hurriedly looked around, but when he couldn't see that familiar golden hue, he let out a long sigh.

"Don't worry, don't worry, Lady Tsunade is very reasonable and won't get angry over such a small thing."

He said he wasn't afraid, but no matter how Taiichi listened, his tone sounded quite guilty.

Taiichi ignored the guy who had been led astray by Jiraiya and led the 22 Medical Ninja straight into the camp.

"Shizune, come here quickly."

As soon as Taiichi entered the tent, he saw Shizune organizing medical equipment and, without thinking, called her over.

Shizune was sent to the Medical Camp by Tsunade to help out from the start of the war, so she is quite familiar with the whole process here, and her Medical Ninjutsu is also close to the level of Chunin.

Hearing Taiichi's call, she happily ran over, but upon seeing the large group of female ninjas behind Taiichi, she immediately became unhappy.

"Taiichi- kun, what can I do for you? I'm busy right now."

Taiichi looked at the girl suspiciously, wondering what was wrong with her. Was she going through a rebellious phase?

Let go of those unrealistic ideas and get down to business.

He turned around and pointed to the 22 people behind him, then Shizune said to Shizune, "These are 22 new Medical Ninja who know nothing about the Camp. You will show them around the procedures here and then assign them the most basic medical work."

Upon hearing that this was a serious matter, Shizune immediately straightened her face and became much more serious. She listened carefully to every arrangement made by Taiichi, not missing a single detail.

Taiichi found her so adorable that he couldn't help but pat her head. Now, Taiichi was a whole head taller than Shizune.

"Alright, I'll leave them to you. I'll leave Shadow Clone here. For minor issues, ask Mizuki; if you can't handle that, come find me."

As he spoke, he beckoned Mizuki to the back of the room so that the two could get to know each other.

Before leaving, he emphasized to Mizuki, "Do a good job. Konoha's Medical Ninja have a bright future. If there are any problems that Shizune can't solve, you can come directly to me."

After saying that, he waved goodbye to them and left.

Hopefully, these Medical Ninja from Mist Village will truly appreciate his good intentions once they calm down.

Time passed day by day.

Just as they predicted, Mist Village launched its attack on Konoha the very next day.

The entire Coastline had become a battlefield, with small groups of Mist Village troops frequently attempting to break into the land.

Meanwhile, Konoha was also doing its best to defend, but the long Coastline was ultimately not something that a few hundred people could completely defend.

There are always some Mist Ninja who manage to sneak in into the inland areas during patrol breaks, at which point it becomes a matter of defense and pursuit on land.

However, Taiichi didn't have many things to do during this period. Ordinary rescues didn't require him, and major rescue events didn't happen Tenten. In addition, his Shadow Clone were also contributing, which allowed his main body to have some free time.

Now that he has some free time, Taiichi naturally won't let himself be idle. Taijutsu, meditation, and physical conditioning are his recent focus of cultivation.

These are things that his Shadow Clone cannot replace; they can only be cultivated by his main body.

He had a premonition, especially about meditation, that today, his Advanced Meditation level 8, which he had been stuck on for more than half a year, would be upgraded.

In the forest behind the Camp, there is a cleared area, which is where Taiichi usually cultivates.

At this moment, Taiichi was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the field, with his five hearts facing the sky, and various complex runes were constantly being visualized in his mind.

That's right, this is Taiichi's current meditation practice, using visualization of Sealing Jutsu to enhance his spiritual power.

This was something Taiichi figured out on his own. Instead of visualizing real-world objects, it was better to visualize these runes, which could also enhance his understanding of Sealing Jutsu.

The Sun Barrier slowly rises from the east until it reaches its zenith, its scorching rays shining directly down upon the Taiichi's body without any obstruction.

As if some mechanism had been triggered, the long-unchanged prompt on the Taiichi panel finally showed a new change.

[You have engaged in Advanced Meditation practice, and your related insights have improved!]

[Your skill Advanced Meditation has been upgraded, experience points +1]

[Congratulations, your Advanced Meditation skill has been upgraded to Lv8 (1/9000)]

[Congratulations, after a long period of training, your spirit has increased by 1!]

The moment Taiichi's skill level increased, he felt a sudden clarity in his mind. Although his eyes were closed, it was as if his vision was infinitely expanding, and everything around him was clearly reflected in his mind.

More importantly, he discovered many colorful specks of light in the surrounding space.

Calling them spots of light might not be accurate; that's just Taiichi person's subjective impression of them. Others might see a completely different scene.

Some are heavy, some are lively, some are agile, some are irritable, and some are gentle.

Of course, there were more than just these around; there were also some things that Taiichi himself couldn't describe.

They drifted around Taiichi, filling the entire world.

At that moment, Taiichi suddenly realized something: this was Natural Energy.