The Hand Seal of the "Soldier" Character

The Land of Rivers, Daimyo Palace.

Yamanaka En yawned. "I didn't expect this mission to be so boring. Who knows how much longer it'll take to finish?"

Beside him, Shita Genichi was practicing Hand Seals. Hearing that, he replied, "It should be over soon."

"The new daimyo of the Land of Rivers has already taken office."

"Besides, it's been a month. If we were still needed, the village would have sent another squad to relieve us."

Yamanaka En nodded, tilting his head as he watched Shita Genichi form seals. "Genichi, is that seal really that amazing?"

Shita Genichi smiled faintly. "It's definitely different from the basic seals."

"But it's a little difficult to master."

"Are you interested too, En?"

Yamanaka En shook his head. "I think I'll pass. The seals for our Yamanaka Clan's secret techniques are simple enough already."

Shita Genichi nodded.

That was true.

For clans with secret techniques passed down through generations, those techniques had often been developed to the point where their seals were very simple. There was no real need to waste time learning the Nine Syllables Hand Seals.

After all, the power of these seals was genuinely difficult to master.

So far, Shita Genichi could only use the "In" and "Before" seals.

He was currently focusing on the "Pyo" and "All" seals.

He had already begun to glimpse the principles behind the Pyo Hand Seal and felt that it could help increase his speed.

As for the "All" seal, Shita Genichi was trying to use it with Genjutsu and against Genjutsu.

But so far, he hadn't made any headway.

Whoosh!

Uchiha Langyi suddenly appeared. "You two sure are taking it easy."

Yamanaka En grinned. "That's what happens when we have you and the captain around!"

The four of them had actually been split into two groups, taking turns protecting the new daimyo of the Land of Rivers.

The daimyo had spent this entire period inside the palace at Daimyo Palace, guarded by samurai on the outside. As shinobi, they had been protecting him from the shadows.

Besides, the daimyo of the Land of Rivers also kept shinobi as his personal guards.

A month had passed without a single incident.

The Land of Rivers wasn't a major country, but it was still an ally of the Land of Fire.

It had also once had its own shinobi village: Amegakure.

But after Hanzo was beaten back during the latter half of the Second Shinobi World War, he abandoned the Land of Rivers.

So the mission in the Land of Rivers was handed over to Konoha.

Still, the Land of Rivers had a certain amount of strength of its own. Otherwise, Konoha wouldn't have sent only the White Fang Squad.

Shita Genichi stopped practicing. "Langyi, is the mission ending?"

Uchiha Langyi nodded. "Yeah. A new squad has arrived to relieve us."

"Let's go!"

Shita Genichi and Yamanaka En got to their feet, and the three of them vanished from where they stood.

"Big Brother Minato!"

Shita Genichi was quite surprised.

He hadn't expected the squad relieving them to be Namikaze Minato's team.

"Big Sister Kushina!"

Shita Genichi greeted Uzumaki Kushina, who was wearing a flak jacket.

That's right. Uzumaki Kushina wasn't confined to Konoha all the time; she also went on missions outside the village.

"Genichi, it looks like you've grown a little taller!"

Uzumaki Kushina reached out and ruffled Shita Genichi's hair. "Hmm, your hair seems to have grown a lot too!"

Shita Genichi scratched his head. "I learned a jutsu from Teacher Jiraiya, and long hair is useful for it."

Uzumaki Kushina immediately understood.

By then, Hatake Sakumo had finished handing things over to Namikaze Minato and the others. Neither side had much to say, so Shita Genichi waved goodbye and left with Hatake Sakumo and the others.

Once they were outside Daimyo Palace, Shita Genichi looked back before asking, "Teacher Sakumo, do you think the political situation in the Land of Rivers will stay this peaceful?"

Hatake Sakumo turned to him, curious. "Why do you say that?"

Shita Genichi replied, "The Land of Rivers is rich in resources too. After Amegakure and Sunagakure were defeated, the interests here had to be handed over to Konoha and the Land of Fire."

"But I don't think Sunagakure and the Land of Wind will accept that, especially now, when the political situation in the Land of Rivers is unstable."

For Konoha, the Land of Rivers' interests meant mission income, one of Konoha's main sources of revenue besides the funds provided by the daimyo of the Land of Fire.

For the Land of Fire, those interests included the development of various mineral resources and the like.

In Shita Genichi's view, the new daimyo taking office in the Land of Rivers was a perfect opportunity.

And yet, nothing had gone wrong during this entire period.

Was the deterrent effect of White Fang of Konoha really that great?

Or did the other powers genuinely have no designs on the place?

A trace of doubt lingered in Shita Genichi's mind.

Hatake Sakumo was surprised to hear that. He hadn't expected Shita Genichi to be so politically perceptive, or to have such a good grasp of the bigger picture.

"Genichi, you're not wrong to think that way."

Hatake Sakumo agreed with him, then continued, "But recently, the shinobi villages of the other countries really haven't made any moves."

"After all, the Ninja World War ended not long ago, and they all suffered heavy losses. They're still rebuilding their strength."

Shita Genichi nodded.

That was a reasonable explanation.

Yamanaka En chuckled. "Genichi, don't overthink it. Isn't it better when nothing happens?"

Shita Genichi smiled at that. "That's true."

"I prefer peaceful training to fighting and killing."

At that, Uchiha Langyi couldn't help complaining. "Genichi, when you work this hard, it makes En and me look incredibly lazy."

Though he was complaining, Uchiha Langyi still looked as cool as ever.

Shita Genichi replied helplessly, "If I had your strength, of course I could take it easy too."

"But that's obviously impossible. I still have so much to learn."

Yamanaka En sighed dramatically. "Sigh, with you around, Genichi, I always feel ashamed of myself."

Shita Genichi rolled his eyes. "I've never seen you do anything to change that."

At that, everyone laughed.

They didn't return to Konoha until the morning of the third day.

The squad disbanded, and Shita Genichi went straight home to enjoy a nice, relaxing bath.

It wasn't as if he couldn't bathe during the month in the Land of Rivers, but it obviously wasn't as comfortable or convenient as home.

After changing into casual clothes, Shita Genichi greeted his parents, then went out again and headed to Shizune's house.

"Shizune!"

Shita Genichi cupped his hands around his mouth and called out.

Soon, the upstairs window opened, and Shizune stuck her head out, looking delighted. "Genichi!"

"Wait for me!"

Before Shita Genichi could say anything, Shizune shut the window in a flash.

A little while later, Shizune appeared in front of Shita Genichi and asked with a smile, "Did you just get back today?"

Shita Genichi nodded. "Yeah, I just got back."

"What have you been doing lately?"

Shizune clasped her hands behind her back and skipped along. "Training under Lady Tsunade, observing at Konoha Hospital, and practicing at home. It's so boring!"

Shita Genichi smiled. "Then I bet you've made quite a bit of progress lately?"

Shizune blushed slightly. "I've already mastered the Mystical Palm Technique."

In front of other people, that would have been something to brag about.

But Shita Genichi had mastered the Mystical Palm Technique long ago, so Shizune felt a little embarrassed instead.

"That's already impressive."

Shita Genichi knew his own circumstances.

He had mastered the Mystical Palm Technique by drawing on his future potential, not because he had some incredible natural talent.

"Come on, let's go to Konoha Hospital,"

Shita Genichi said.

Pleased by his praise, Shizune hurriedly nodded. "Okay!"

To her, anywhere was fine as long as she was with Shita Genichi.

As for Shita Genichi, Konoha Hospital had anatomy donors.