Return to the Outpost (Please Bookmark)

This comparison further highlighted the remarkable achievements of their squad.

And Akimichi Motoyasu knew perfectly well why his squad had been able to achieve such bountiful results.

One of the key reasons was Uchiha Shōji, this "unexpected Jōnin."

Otherwise, in that encounter battle alone, their group could never have handled things so perfectly and smoothly. If that Kumo Ninja squad had managed to withdraw most of its forces, or held out until other Kumo Ninja arrived as reinforcements, it would instead have put their squad at a disadvantage.

Thus, on the way back to the Hot Springs Mountain Outpost, it was plain to see that Akimichi Motoyasu's attitude toward Shōji had become considerably gentler. On the battlefield, the rules were simply that direct.

Survive!

That was the only true standard!

It did not matter what the relationship between the village and the Uchiha Clan was like now.

As long as the Uchiha Clan was still willing to fight for Konoha and kill enemies for Konoha, that was enough!

As an elder of the Akimichi Clan, Motoyasu understood that very clearly.

And to say something that some people might consider "treasonous," so what if the Uchiha Clan truly became Konoha's ruling force? As long as they could lead the village toward a bright future, to put it bluntly, the people led by major ninja clans such as the Akimichi, Yamanaka Clan, and Nara were not all that concerned with who was in charge.

What they cared about were core interests such as the village's stability and their clans' survival.

The greatest reason the Uchiha Clan had been rejected and isolated by every ninja clan in the Original Work was that the Uchiha Clan themselves had displayed an intention to undermine the village's core interests and endanger the survival of those ninja clans.

The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's Attack had been the fuse.

The openly declared rebellious ideology within the clan afterward had been even more critical.

No ninja clan wanted to see anyone provoke a civil war.

That was why Akimichi Motoyasu truly held no prejudice toward Shōji. On the contrary, after seeing Shōji's tremendous strength, he regarded him in a new light.

On the battlefield,

everyone preferred a powerful and reliable companion.

Through the subtle implications in his words, Motoyasu believed Shōji would get the meaning behind them.

And Shōji naturally understood that.

The ninja world was that simple.

If you could safeguard my interests and were stronger than me,

then you were my companion.

It was a very simple principle, yet the Uchiha Clan in the Original Work had failed to understand it. Or, more accurately, their proud and arrogant nature had constrained their thinking, making them unwilling—and too disdainful—to solve the problem from that angle.

They would rather use the riskiest and stupidest method: violence.

The most laughable part was that they had ultimately been wiped out before they could even successfully carry out their violent plan.

That was also what Shōji found hardest to understand.

The Uchiha Clan needed someone who could truly guide them, and Shōji firmly believed that he was the most suitable person for the role.

Shōji saw Akimichi Motoyasu's goodwill.

This was the result Shōji wanted.

After returning to the Hot Springs Mountain Outpost, Akimichi Motoyasu, as the captain, naturally went to hand over the mission. The members of the squad also temporarily dispersed and returned to their respective camps.

Shōji, meanwhile, headed straight for the cafeteria.

After fighting for most of the day,

perhaps because it had been his "first" real battle, Shōji had been somewhat nervous. Under the double drain of battle expenditure and mental tension, he was far hungrier than usual. Unlike ordinary outposts, the Hot Springs Mountain Outpost was Konohagakure's most important and largest frontline outpost within the Land of Hot Springs, and its basic facilities were exceptionally complete.

The supplies stored here were enough to sustain the outpost's regular personnel for an entire month.

Moreover, in order to ensure frontline personnel could replenish their energy as much as possible, nearly every kind of ingredient had corresponding stockpiles. When he had arrived yesterday, Shōji had sampled the skills of the chefs in this special frontline cafeteria. He had to admit that the food was hardly any worse than what they had in the village.

No wonder people throughout the ninja world always said that Konoha not only surpassed every nation in military strength, but also far outstripped them in personnel treatment. The frontline provisions alone made that clear.

Thus, whenever conditions allowed, Shōji naturally preferred returning to the outpost to replenish his energy rather than eating compressed foods like soldier pills.

The cafeteria at the Hot Springs Mountain Outpost was built underground.

That was to make better use of the space and avoid occupying ground-level areas.

Mount Hot Spring might be enormous, but there was only so much space suitable for building an outpost. Considering defensive needs, the cafeteria was truly unsuitable for construction above ground.

Besides, underground chambers were more suitable for storing food.

This had been the standard layout established when the Hot Springs Mountain Outpost was founded years ago.

And just as Shōji reached the top of the underground passage leading to the cafeteria,

suddenly,

as though sensing something, Shōji turned his gaze toward the outpost's main gate.

Only a few seconds later,

Whoosh

Whoosh

Whoosh!

Dozens of figures came into Shōji's view.

When he spotted the familiar figure of Nara Suzaku at the head of the group,

The main force is back. Looks like they should have at least avoided taking losses, right?

Shōji's eyes narrowed as he carefully observed them, silently thinking to himself.

Before long,

Shōji spotted members of his own clan among the formation.

Everyone had returned, with only three or four people injured.

Considering that the Uchiha Clan's average standard far exceeded that of ordinary ninja, and that Nara Suzaku's objective had never been to forcefully assault the Kumo Ninja's Southern Fortress, this was a reasonable result.

But on the battlefield,

blades had no eyes.

If someone was truly killed through a moment of carelessness, that would also be a normal development.

The return of the main force

immediately drew the attention of the entire outpost.

Medical and other logistical personnel hurried over to treat the wounded people's injuries. Nara Suzaku, meanwhile, led the leaders of each clan directly back to the central command tent to compile the mission results and make

arrangements for the subsequent battle.

Shōji turned and headed toward his clansmen instead.

"Homura, Ichijō!"

"Oh! Shōji, you've completed your mission and returned too?"

Uchiha Homura and Uchiha Ichijō, who had both interacted with Shōji before within the clan, revealed relieved smiles when they saw that Shōji was unharmed.

"Yeah, things went fairly smoothly on my end. What about you? Did the frontal offensive and defense go smoothly? What were the losses?"

Although they did not look as though they had retreated in defeat,

and none of his clansmen had died,

he still had to ask these clansmen who had participated in the battle what had really happened.

His plans for what came next were closely tied to the stability of the frontline.