Jiraiya's Return

Sen Chisato ultimately achieved his goal.

He cut off the Sand Ninja's head and handed it to Sarutobi Hakuba. The rest of the body was buried.

On the way back, Sen Chisato watched the system notifications keep popping up, grinning so widely his smile nearly reached his ears.

One mission, two skirmishes, and twenty-five bodies collected, all at least Chunin level.

After burying them, he'd received a little less reward because he hadn't kept their heads, but his chakra had still increased by one card. Quite a few of the ninjutsu he'd gotten earlier had also reached maximum proficiency, and he'd obtained one technique again.

[System Notification]: [You buried twenty-five shinobi and gained +1 chakra. Total chakra: 12 cards]

[System Notification]: [You obtained Wind Release: Great Breakthrough *3 again. Combine them into one Wind Release technique?]

"Combine them," Sen Chisato said silently. A flood of knowledge appeared in his mind.

Once he'd absorbed it all, his newly acquired technique's proficiency was already maxed out, as if he'd trained with it hundreds of times.

[System Notification]: [You have obtained Wind Style: Pressure Damage (Exhale a massive, high-pressure ball of wind to sweep away everything in its path. The resulting storm is like a high-pressure cannon, and its explosion inflicts immense damage on the surrounding terrain.)]

"This technique... isn't it Kakuzu's?" Remembering the overwhelming effect of Kakuzu using it in the series he'd watched in his previous life, Sen Chisato felt a rush of satisfaction.

The battlefield really was the biggest "wheat field." The war hadn't even begun in earnest, and he'd only gone on one mission, yet he'd gained more than he had in an entire year back in Konoha.

"Hey, kid, quit grinning! Were you even listening to me?"

Just as Sen Chisato was basking in his delight, Sarutobi Hakuba's voice brought him back to his senses.

"What?" he asked reflexively, turning to see Sarutobi Hakuba looking displeased.

"I said, show your enemies a little less mercy from now on," Sarutobi Hakuba admonished him solemnly. "And let this time slide, but whenever you need to recover enemy bodies in the future, make sure you recover every last one!"

"What's the point of taking their bodies? Most of a shinobi's information is in their head. Isn't burying them where they fell the best way to deal with them?" Sen Chisato said with a pout.

"Besides, I won't be able to sleep if I don't bury them. Even though we were enemies, I want to preserve the last shred of their dignity... Consider it the last kindness I can offer as a human being." He sighed sadly, sounding utterly sincere.

Sarutobi Hakuba's expression turned strange at those words.

Burying one's enemies could indeed be called an act of kindness. Even shinobi, who were treated as tools, believed in letting the dead rest in the earth.

But you'd separated their heads from their bodies to do it. Did that really preserve their dignity?

It felt like that kindness of his was becoming rather twisted.

With Konoha Base Camp just ahead, Sarutobi Hakuba shook his head and said no more.

Some things could only be understood through experience. Sen Chisato was certainly strong enough, but with that mindset, he still didn't qualify as an excellent shinobi—especially during wartime.

The four of them landed in front of the camp. After multiple inspections and confirmation of their identities, they headed straight for the Command Tent.

The Command Tent was packed with people. Orochimaru sat in the seat of honor, several Sand Ninja heads laid out on the table before him.

When he saw the four enter, Orochimaru nodded. "You're back."

"Yes. We encountered two Sand Ninja units in succession and eliminated them all. This is the head of the Jonin leading the second unit."

After reporting solemnly, Sarutobi Hakuba set the head in his hand on the table.

Orochimaru's gaze shifted to a yellow-haired shinobi. "Inoichi."

"Yes." Yamanaka Inoichi took the head and performed his clan's secret technique in front of everyone, preparing to uncover the Sand Ninja's objective.

But before long, Yamanaka Shinichi's face turned pale, and the technique was interrupted.

Under everyone's expectant gazes, he shook his head. "Sorry. Just like before, Cursed Seals were planted in the heads of all these Sand Ninja."

"Tch, what a nuisance," Nara Shikaku said in disappointment.

More than ten Sand Ninja units had been detected infiltrating Konoha's rear so far. Each unit had anywhere from three or five shinobi to a dozen or twenty, and that didn't include any that hadn't been discovered.

The key was that these Sand Ninja were completely scattered, like loose sand. They had no apparent focus, making it impossible to discern their tactics or objectives.

"Could they be trying to disrupt our rear and keep us from devoting all our attention to the main battlefield, then launch an all-out assault?" Yamanaka Inoichi suggested, thinking of one possibility.

"Impossible!"

Nara Shikaku shook his head, glanced at Orochimaru, and said, "They might have succeeded before. But with Lord Orochimaru guarding the front lines now, Sunagakure has little chance of winning. That old woman Chiyo would never approve of such a strategy."

In the corner, Sen Chisato was pondering the same question.

In his memories, the first three of the four Shinobi Wars had all been rather hazy, with many details left unclear.

The original story only depicted a handful of battles from the Third Shinobi World War in detail, and even those were shown through the characters involved.

Besides, after everything he'd done to shake things up, events couldn't possibly unfold exactly as they had before. Take this Sand Ninja infiltration, for example. At this point in the original story, Orochimaru was still back in the village. Now he was here. Who knew how things would turn out?

Just then, a tall shinobi strode into the tent with a hearty laugh.

"Hahaha, Orochimaru, things are lively over here, aren't they? Your defense line's been poked full of holes. When Minato and I came from the rear, we ran into two groups of Sand Ninja."

The newcomer wore shinobi armor and had a tall, straight build. His white hair stood up like a hedgehog's, and two streaks of face paint sat beneath his eyes. His hearty, uninhibited smile carried a hint of mischief.

A young man with blond hair followed behind him, his bright smile as dazzling as the sun.

At the sight of the two, Sen Chisato's eyes lit up as if he were looking at a pair of priceless treasures.

At that moment, all sorts of terms appeared in his mind: "Sage Mode," "Flying Thunder God," "Mount Myoboku Contract," "Sealing Jutsu," and more.

If he buried this master-and-student pair, just how much would he get?

Sen Chisato drifted into a fantasy, imagining all sorts of ways the two might die.

Everyone in the tent looked delighted, too.

"Lord Jiraiya, you're finally back! And Minato, you made it too. This is wonderful."

"Lord Orochimaru." Namikaze Minato bowed slightly in greeting, then turned to the others. "Senior Shikaku, Senior Inoichi. It's been a long time."

Orochimaru snorted, not bothering to spare him any courtesy. "If you hadn't been so carefree and insisted on staying behind to teach some students, things wouldn't have deteriorated this badly."

Every word was a rebuke, but Sen Chisato, who knew Orochimaru well, could tell he was actually quite pleased.

"Haha, well, I'm here now, aren't I?" Jiraiya scratched his head awkwardly and changed the subject. "I hear you've taken another student. That's unusual for you."

"I'm quite confident when it comes to teaching students, you know. How about it? Want to let your student compete with mine?" Jiraiya slung an arm around Namikaze Minato's shoulders and gave Orochimaru a taunting look.

Jiraiya's arm pressed Minato's neck down a little. He gave an awkward smile and reminded him, "Sensei, I heard Lord Orochimaru's student is only ten."

After all, he was a battle-hardened shinobi. How could he compete with a ten-year-old child? Even the students he led were older than ten.

"Ah, is that so?" Jiraiya smacked his lips.

He and Orochimaru had been companions and friends for years. Ever since they were children, Orochimaru had been a genius, outclassing him in every way. It wasn't until Jiraiya went to Mount Myoboku that he gradually caught up in strength.

In their contests, Jiraiya had always lost more often than he'd won. When he'd heard that Orochimaru had taken on a student, he'd hoped to get the better of him in that regard.

But his student was just a ten-year-old kid.

There was nothing he could do about that. He clicked his tongue and muttered, "How boring."

Orochimaru saw right through him and curled his lips into a smile. He looked toward the corner. "Chisato, someone wants to test himself against you. What do you say? Want to spar with Minato?"

Following Orochimaru's gaze, everyone turned to look at the corner.