War Mission

After leaving Kushina's consciousness space, Senju Genma bid a brief farewell to Mikoto and the others before finally setting off for the battlefield.

To say he was "setting off" wasn't entirely accurate.

Because he used the Reverse Summoning Technique, the time it took from leaving home to arriving at the battlefield was less than three seconds.

Whoosh—

Senju Genma teleported to the Konoha troop encampment located in the Land of River.

Konoha medical ninja encampment, Land of River.

Facing the suddenly appearing Senju Genma, Tsunade's light brown pupils gazed at him with excitement, though her tone remained calm: "You're finally here. I missed you!"

Senju Genma gave Tsunade a deep look and retorted irritably:

"Don't I come to see you every week? We last met two days ago."

"Do you know what it means to feel like a day is like a year? Two days apart is practically the same as not seeing each other for two years!" Tsunade exclaimed excitedly, though her hands never slowed down as she quickly organized the reagents on the table.

As the logistics chief for the Konoha forces, her presence in the Land of River was primarily to counter Chiyo.

Chiyo's poisons were formidable and had caused significant losses to the Konoha troops, necessitating the antidotes Tsunade was formulating.

Tsunade organized the agents, conducting careful comparisons.

Genma said helplessly, "Let's finish this quickly. If we're late, Sakumo will start nagging like an old mother again!"

"I know, I'll be fast!"

Although Senju Genma remained noncommittal toward Tsunade's rhetoric, he saw how hard she was working.

In truth, Genma felt for Tsunade; he knew that balancing work and rest was paramount. Fearing she would overexert herself, he took the initiative to help her prepare the antidotes.

Genma pulled up a chair and sat beside Tsunade.

Genma's medical ninjutsu had been learned from Tsunade; while he couldn't claim to be a master of pharmaceutical production, acting as her assistant was no problem at all.

With Genma's assistance, Tsunade's efficiency increased, and it took only a few hours to produce the antidote.

Tsunade suddenly remarked, "Come to think of it, your constitution really does seem quite special."

"What's wrong?" Senju Genma looked at her, puzzled.

Tsunade explained, "I thought it was just an illusion before."

"But now, I can truly feel that your physique and chakra have both been enhanced, and you have much more stamina."

Senju Genma was dumbfounded.

Didn't the System give me the Sage Body and Sage Eye in that beginner's gift pack?

Regardless of whether it's the Sage Body or the Sage Eye, I've never heard of them having these kinds of abilities!

Could this be some contraband the System smuggled in?

No wonder it said "illegal operation" when it crashed!

I'm sorry, System. I shouldn't have called you a disgrace back then.

When I get back, I'll have to burn some incense to pay my respects.

Senju Genma swallowed hard and said, "Maybe I'm just naturally gifted!"

"Let's not talk about that for now. I need to go find Sakumo; he must be getting impatient after waiting so long!" Senju Genma pursed his lips.

After putting on his combat gear and armor, Genma left the tent.

Because he visited Tsunade so often, Senju Genma was already familiar with the layout, and the ninjas he encountered on the way all recognized him, so no one stopped him.

As Senju Genma entered the command room, he saw Sakumo Hatake sitting in the main seat.

He was the commander-in-chief for this war, while Danzo Shimura, standing to the side, served as his advisor.

Orochimaru sat in the secondary seat as the third-in-command of the force.

The current Orochimaru appeared significantly gloomier than he had been on the Land of Rain battlefield.

Orochimaru was highly sensitive.

Although Nawaki was still alive, the constant loss of life on the battlefield had been eroding his will.

"Genma, you're finally here!" Sakumo Hatake gritted his teeth. "We've been waiting for you for a long time!"

The moment he saw Senju Genma, Sakumo Hatake judged that Genma was in a good mood.

To be late and still smiling so happily—it made one want to land a punch on his face.

Senju Genma adjusted his expression and said unhappily, "It's not like I was slacking; I spent a lot of energy concocting antidotes for you all to deal with the Sand Ninja."

Danzo Shimura's eyes flickered, but he said nothing.

He was obsessed with becoming Hokage, but he wasn't a fool.

Senju Genma was currently the apple of Hiruzen Sarutobi's eye, and he possessed great strength. He was merely late; one couldn't move against Senju Genma based on such a flimsy excuse.

Sakumo raised a hand, not wanting to hear Genma continue making excuses.

"Sit down. I'm going to explain the current war situation!"

Sakumo Hatake spent half an hour explaining the current battlefield situation to Genma in detail.

It was much the same as what Tsunade had told Senju Genma; overall, Konoha held the upper hand on the battlefield in the Land of River.

After all, they had four Kage-level powerhouses stationed there: Sakumo Hatake, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Danzo Shimura.

This lineup was far more luxurious than that of the Hidden Sand Village.

The Hidden Sand side only had two Kage-level powerhouses, Chiyo and Ebizo, with their strongest subordinate being the elite Jonin Rasa, leaving them significantly lacking in high-end combat power.

However, this time, the genius Jonin Karura, who had once dominated the battlefield in the Land of Rain, did not appear.

Furthermore, Chiyo's specialties were medical ninjutsu, poisons, and puppet techniques, but all the poisons she used had been neutralized by Tsunade, rendering them ineffective on the battlefield.

Not only that, but the fact that her son and daughter-in-law had been slain by Sakumo Hatake left her heartbroken and weary, leading to a series of blunders in her command of the war.

After six months of fighting, there was very little of the Land of River's territory left under the occupation of the Hidden Sand Village.

At the end of the meeting, considering Senju Genma's strength, Sakumo Hatake prepared an S-rank mission for him.

The mission was to join the war at the village's request and assassinate the elite Jonin Makima, a key figure in the Hidden Sand forces.

Ninja warfare was actually quite different from conventional warfare.

Unlike ordinary wars where leaders gave a single order and soldiers rushed to the battlefield, ninja wars were conducted through the issuance of war missions, where the ninja village issued tasks and ninjas accepted them to participate in the conflict.

However, because it concerned the survival of the nation and the village, the mission rewards were essentially nominal; most ninjas rushed to the battlefield without regard for compensation.

The mission system was simply a way to manage the troops.

Sakumo Hatake did not assign a squad to Senju Genma.

He knew Senju Genma's capabilities; whether in sensory perception or combat, he was top-tier, and with a space-time ninjutsu like the Flying Thunder God, he was an all-around ninja who could leave whenever he pleased.

Executing the mission as part of a squad would only hold Senju Genma back.

Senju Genma gladly accepted the mission.

Before leaving, Senju Genma cast a glance at Orochimaru.

In truth, Senju Genma had always coveted Orochimaru.

Not the current Orochimaru, who only lamented the fragility of life, but the future Orochimaru, who was obsessed with exploration and knowledge, and whose scientific technology was far ahead of its time.

Facing the Otsutsuki Clan that would arrive in the future, a unique talent like Orochimaru was more valuable than a powerhouse beyond the Kage level.

After accepting the mission, Senju Genma found Nawaki outside, gave him a few words of caution to stay safe, and then returned to his tent.