Ninja Way

"If it's Rin's, then... then..." Obito was speechless for a moment. He imagined what it would be like if he were in this situation, and a heavy feeling that made it hard to breathe surged into his heart. He didn't even want to think about it.

"Kakashi, what about you? Do you think the mission is more important or your comrades?" Taiichi turned to Kakashi and asked.

"I..." Kakashi pondered for a long time but still couldn't give an answer. His face was full of struggle, and he obviously couldn't think of anything for the time being.

"I will never give up on Rin!" Suddenly, Obito stood up and shouted, his face flushed red, ignoring the strange looks from those around him.

"What if it's another companion?" Taiichi asked.

"I won't give up. We can do missions anytime, but we only have one life for our comrades." Obito's eyes revealed determination, clearly having gained some insight from Rin's question.

Kakashi looked at Obito with a hint of admiration in his eyes, because Obito was able to make a choice so quickly, but there was more helplessness in his eyes. Obito had obviously oversimplified the mission. The success or failure of some missions was related to the lives of countless people.

"And what about you, Taiichi? What would you choose?" Lin asked Taiichi at this moment.

Taiichi looked at everyone, but instead of directly answering Rin's question, he asked them again, "You haven't forgotten the Will of Fire, have you?"

Seeing everyone nod in agreement, Taiichi said, "Where the leaves dance, the fire will never die out. The Kakkou will continue to illuminate the village and allow new leaves to sprout."

"Isn't it very clear? The Will of Fire teaches us to value and protect our comrades."

"But the Will of Fire also teaches us to protect the village and to prioritize the village's interests above all else," Kakashi retorted.

"Yes, they are both Will of Fire, so which one is right?" Taiichi countered.

Kakashi was stunned, clearly unable to answer.

Obito was completely confused and unable to make sense of things.

Lin seemed thoughtful, but didn't say anything.

Taiichi smiled as he looked at the various expressions on everyone's faces. "Actually, in my opinion, there isn't a single completely correct answer. All choices depend on oneself. If you value your companions, then your companions are important; if you value the mission, then the mission is important."

"But I think the most important point is that we can only hold ourselves to the standards we believe are correct. If we try to force others to act according to our own thinking, that would truly be a violation of the Will of Fire," Taiichi added at the end.

"That means they didn't say anything at all," Obito muttered to himself.

"Haha, that's because there's no single right answer to this kind of question. Of course, everyone can express their opinion, but as I said before, forcing others to act according to your own ideas is definitely wrong."

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about these heavy things. We came here to eat, so why are we talking about this?" With that, Taiichi picked up a golden-brown slice of grilled meat, dipped it in sauce, and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Mmm! It's so delicious, everyone eat up!"

"You were the one who brought this up first."

Then, everyone started chatting and laughing again, and the atmosphere gradually became lively again.

"Kakashi, I hope what I said today will have some effect. In times like these, a word from family is worth ten times the effort of outsiders." Taiichi looked at Kakashi and thought to himself.

Evening, at the Hatake Residence.

Kakashi returned home after a day of playing around with everyone and saw Hatake Sakumo in the yard. Recalling their conversation at the Barbecue Restaurant earlier that day, he asked, almost without thinking, "Father, tell me, which is more important, the mission or the lives of your comrades?"

Sakumo stopped brandishing his Short Sword, stood up, and looked at Kakashi in surprise, not expecting Kakashi to ask such a question.

"Of course, the lives of my comrades are more important. My sword was born to protect them; that is my Ninja Way," Sakumo replied resolutely.

"What if the mission is very important?" Kakashi continued to ask.

"Then we'll make up for it tenfold afterward, but we only have one life for our comrade." Sakumo was indeed Sakumo; his answer was as sharp and ruthless as his blade.

"I understand! Thank you for your guidance, Father." After saying that, Kakashi returned to his room.

At this moment, Taiichi was at home looking through the Sealing Jutsu scroll that Minato had given him.

As Taichi delved deeper into the book, Taiichi couldn't help but marvel at how Minato and Kushina's Sealing Jutsu were probably among the best even in the entire Konoha.

--

The scroll progresses step-by-step from the basic interpretation of runes to the most fundamental Sealing Jutsu, the Monad Seal, and then to the slightly more complex Two -Dyad Seal. It can truly be said to be the best introductory textbook for beginners.

Taiichi was so engrossed in reading that he would take out a pen to make notes whenever he gained something. He continued reading and taking notes in this way until he had roughly finished reading the entire scroll before stopping.

Taiichi long sigh, straightened up, stretched, looked up at the time, and was slightly surprised to find that it was already 1 a. m.

Taiichi couldn't help but sigh at how fast time flew by, and then hurriedly went to wash up and go to bed.

Lying in bed, Taiichi last time:

[Learning, Skill Sealing Jutsu Lv0 (12/100)]

In the days that followed, Team 8 finally returned to normal mission life, no longer experiencing the kind of setbacks that occurred before, where even a C-Rank Mission would be disrupted by various reasons.

While such a life is exciting and thrilling enough, honestly, not many people would want to live like this forever.

Time passed in this ordinary yet fulfilling daily routine. The members of Team 8 lived a life of doing missions, resting, training, and then doing missions, resting, and training again.

Occasionally, there were gatherings among old classmates or team activities within Team 8.

By frequently accepting and efficiently completing missions, Team 8 gradually gained some fame in the Konoha ninja community. After all, for a rookie team to achieve what they did was already comparable to some veteran teams.

They've even started to take on B-level missions, which shows how much the overall strength of Team 8 has improved.

During this period, it is worth mentioning that Teacher Tsunade finally wrote back on the third day after Taiichi sent his second letter.

When Taiichi sensed the Summoning Contract, he was visibly stunned for a moment. Only after carefully sensing it did he realize that it was Reverse Summoning from the Katsuyu.

As the thought of agreeing to the summons arose in his mind, with a "bang," Taiichi disappeared from his home and arrived at the legendary Shikkotsu Forest.

This is Taiichi's first time in Shikkotsu Forest. Although he has been Katsuyu psychic for almost two months, Taiichi has never been here before.

What came into view was a strange forest. Unlike the green trees outside, the forest here was a ghastly white, and from a distance it really looked like a forest of bones.

A layer of white fog filled the air, so thick in some places that it obscured visibility. The uneven ground formed puddles, making the air even more humid.

From afar to near, Katsuyu of all sizes crawled everywhere, some nibbling on leaves, others motionless as if resting.

"Lord Taiichi, over here." A small but gentle voice sounded in his ear. It was a little Katsuyu talking to Taiichi from the tree next to him.

"Katsuyu, Slug, is there anything I need to do here?" Taiichi asked.

"Lady Tsunade has written a reply. The letter is right ahead. I'll take you there." As she spoke, Katsuyu gathered from all directions and merged into the small Katsuyu that had spoken. In just a moment, the Katsuyu, which was originally the size of a fist, grew to the size of an adult.

"Come with me, Taiichi."

"Oh~ okay~ okay." Taiichi was astonished by the Katsuyu's actions just now. Seeing this kind of clone technique firsthand was truly amazing.

Soon, Taiichi, led by the Katsuyu, arrived in front of an even larger Katsuyu. As the "smaller" Katsuyu merged with it, the larger Katsuyu lowered its head in front of Taiichi, and a letter addressed to Taiichi emerged from the Katsuyu's body.

"Taiichi, this is Lady Tsunade's letter. Do you want to read it here, or go back and read it later?"

"Uh, I think I'll go back and read it!" Taiichi looked around. The surrounding environment was clearly not suitable for reading, and judging from the thickness of the letter, it was obviously quite long.

"Alright, goodbye then, Taiichi."

Having been released from the summons, Taiichi returned to his home in Konoha.

Unfolding the letter, the first thing you see is a "friendly" greeting: You little rascal, what brings you to write to me? Let me tell you, your teacher has nothing good left for you----

She rambled on and on, spending most of the eight pages complaining about how much money she had lost that day and where she would borrow money tomorrow. But Taiichi still managed to get a general understanding of Teacher Tsunade's situation from her words.

Finally, Tsunade also answered the various questions raised by Taiichi in his first two letters, including those about Medical Ninjutsu and some about Chakra Enhanced Strength.

After reading all the letters, Taiichi was overjoyed. The first step of a long journey had finally been taken, and he figured that finding Tsunade wouldn't be far off.

The next day, by the river.

With a "crack," a large tree snapped in half, and the radiating marks at the break indicated that it had been punched in the middle.

At this moment, there was not just one broken tree at the scene; within a radius of 100 meters, there were more than 30 trees of various sizes lying fallen.

Looking at the large tree that had just been broken, Taiichi showed a satisfied expression. He had finally mastered the skill of Chakra Enhanced Strength.

It turns out that because he had made contact with Tsunade and received Tsunade guidance in the letter, many of his usual doubts were resolved, which made Taiichi's training progress by leaps and bounds. During this period, Taiichi's progress in Taijutsu was enormous, especially in the training of Chakra Enhanced Strength, which he can now begin to integrate into actual combat.

In the past two months, Taiichi has not only gained these things, but he has also mastered the Earth Style and Lightning Release Ninjutsu he exchanged earlier. Although he is not yet very proficient, he can now use them correctly without any problems.

[Through long-term training, your Strength +1, Agility +1]

[Through long-term training, your skill Chakra Enhanced Strength has been upgraded to Lv5 (0/800)]

[Congratulations, your Genin class level has been upgraded to Lv7 (0/1200)]

[Attribute Points +1, Skill Points +1]

It seems that certain conditions were met; after this upgrade, the panel directly triggered the job change requirements:

[Hint: Your physical fitness has met the requirements. The conditions for triggering the job change are: 1. Genin job level Lv10, 2.]

[Physical or Spiritual Points: 15; Strength: 20; Agility: 20; Pass the village 'Chunin Exams.]

Seeing the job change prompt, Taiichi was overjoyed. Knowing the job change requirements gave him a goal to strive for. Now, all that remained to change jobs were the job level and the village assessment, so he would work towards those goals.

A closer analysis reveals that the fastest way to fulfill these two requirements is simply to take on more tasks, which is exactly what Taiichi and his team have been doing recently.

Thinking of this, Taiichi wished he could go find Yohei and the others right now so they could all take on another mission together. But unfortunately, they had just returned from completing a mission and were currently resting.

Suppressing his impatience, Taiichi continued to analyze his own situation. Now that all his Attribute Points had increased to 20, Taiichi was facing a problem:

For example, if you need two points to increase your Constitution attribute from 21 to 22, then it will definitely be the same when other attributes reach that level. Not to mention what will happen when you go from 22 to 23, and even later from 23 to 24?

This will lead to a severe shortage of Attribute Points later on. Will skills also encounter the same situation?

Based on this, Taiichi decided that from now on, Attribute Points could only be added to the two fundamental attributes of Constitution and Spirit, and only when necessary.

I usually focus more on training Advanced Taijutsu and Advanced Meditation, since these skills can directly improve my attributes through training.

Skill Points are even more so. Compared to only four attributes that need to be allocated points, skills are densely packed with them. Therefore, Taiichi decided not to use Skill Points unless absolutely necessary, and to improve skills through practice on his own whenever possible.

After reflecting on his own performance, Taiichi was surprised to find that his current strength, in terms of overall ninja qualities, could barely qualify him as a Jonin.

Of course, he can only be described as a technically skilled Jonin; he still lacks a lot in terms of physical strength.

With this thought in mind, Taiichi assumed a fighting stance and began practicing Advanced Taijutsu, hoping to improve his physical fitness as quickly as possible.

The Hokage's Office.

At this moment, the highest-ranking officials of Konoha were gathered here, holding a secret meeting.

"We received news from Sakumo that he has assassinated the planners and executors of the <Report on Kumogakure's Abduction of Foreign Kekkei Genkai>. Now we need the village's support," Hiruzen Sarutobi told everyone, relaying the intelligence he had received.

"Oh, isn't that great? So why are you bringing this up now? Has something changed?" Utatane Koharu asked, voicing the question on everyone's mind.

"This is a protest letter sent by Cloud Village this morning, saying that Konoha sent people to assassinate their Village Higher-Ups. Take a look!" Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up another piece of paper from the table and handed it to Mitokado Homura, who was closest to him.

After the three of them passed the document around, Danzo spoke first, "What? The Kumogakure still has the nerve to be so arrogant? They want Konoha to hand over the murderer? Who gave them the courage?"

"Hiruzen, send that report directly to the Raikage and see what they say. If they still pursue the matter, we'll release it to all countries and get them involved as well," Mitokado Homura suggested directly.

"Yes, this is the time to stand up for ourselves. Which ninja village doesn't have a Kekkei Genkai? Who isn't worried about being targeted by Cloud Village barbarians from Kumogakure?" Utatane Koharu agreed, "Besides, we've already discussed this before, and this is how we'll deal with it."

"Alright, since that's the case, then it's settled." Hiruzen Sarutobi on his pipe. "Danzo, Danzo is best Root this. Have someone deliver the item to the Raikage as quickly as possible."

"Why are you in such a hurry? Has something happened to Sakumo?" Utatane Koharu noticed the Hokage's urgency and asked.

"Yes, Sakumo's whereabouts have been discovered by the Cloud Village, and he's currently being hunted down." Hiruzen Sarutobi calmly nodded in acknowledgment, though he was smoking much more frequently than usual.

"Are you trying to put pressure on the Raikage through this method, so that he will withdraw his pursuers?" Danzo, his lowered eyelids concealing a gloomy look, as if he were deep in thought.

Hiruzen Sarutobi clearly didn't notice Danzo's gaze, but even if he had, he would have simply ignored it, given Danzo's consistently gloomy demeanor over the past few years.

"That's the idea, but even if the Raikage sends people to pursue us later, he won't do it so openly as he does now."

"Okay, I'll arrange for someone to do it immediately after the meeting, and try to deliver it as quickly as possible." Danzo nodded and accepted the task.

"Hiruzen, this isn't safe enough. We should send someone to meet them, just in case the Cloud Village acts desperately."

Mitokado Homura is making supplementary comments.

"Hmm." Hiruzen Sarutobi, while considering who should be sent to provide backup, as there weren't many Jonin available in the village right now.

Then he remembered the Yamaguchi Squad, who had been unusually active lately. Perhaps it was time to give them more responsibilities. If everything went smoothly, this mission wouldn't be too difficult.

"Alright, then let's assign Minato Namikaze and Masasuke Yamaguchi's squad to carry out this rendezvous mission." Hiruzen Sarutobi made the decision.

"Hiruzen and Minato's team are fine; all their members are Chunin. But isn't Masasuke's team a bit too early? His members are all Genin," Mitokado Homura raised a different opinion.

"Yan, your information is outdated. The members of the Masasuke squad are far stronger than ordinary Genin, especially Taichi Matsushita, whose strength is already comparable to some Special Jonin." Hiruzen Sarutobi said with certainty.

"Since you put it that way, then I have no objection."

Danzo nearby, felt his eyes twitch. He couldn't stand hearing any praise for Taichi Matsushita; it reminded him of the bitter pill of missing out on the Hokage Position. He subtly lowered his head, concealing the hatred in his eyes to prevent others from noticing anything.

"Next topic, Koharu, how's the recent procurement of supplies going?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked Utatane Koharu, who was in charge of logistics.

"Ever since I obtained the information from Sunagakure, I've been secretly acquiring supplies. To avoid attracting attention and causing significant price fluctuations, I haven't been buying on a large scale. So far, I've only acquired enough resources to support a medium-sized war."

Utatane Koharu, had a smile on her face. She was clearly being modest, but in reality, she was quite proud of her work.

"Then let's increase the acquisition efforts. Root has received information that Sunagakure is also stockpiling supplies recently. The Ninja World is about to be in turmoil again."

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu's expressions changed simultaneously, clearly taken aback by this sudden news.