Konoha's Preparations

"What happened to you guys?"

Kushina hung from the tree, staring at the three bloodstained figures. Though the blood on their bodies had been washed away, the stains on their clothes could not be removed with water alone. The lingering blood made all three of them look like monsters.

They had just come in and already scared a child into tears.

"Oh, Kushina. Why are you still catching cats?"

You noticed Kushina cautiously approaching a cat in the treetops. When the cat suddenly leaped away, Kushina lost her footing and fell from the tree.

"I'm doing missions. Don't you guys have missions to do?"

"We just got back from a mission. We just completed a C-rank mission."

Behind them, Nawaki watched as she continued carrying out D-rank missions and thought, This is the difference. They were all Ninja Academy students, yet some were still practicing tree-walking while others helped people with D-rank missions.

Meanwhile, they had already begun taking missions that involved killing.

"I'm so jealous. When will I get to do C-rank missions?"

She spent every day doing missions—either catching cats or finding dogs. And Minato Namikaze had been called away by Lord Jiraiya for secluded training, leaving only her in the village.

Hearing Kushina's complaints, Uchiha Yū shook his head slightly. She could never leave the village. Tsunade had been made her teacher precisely to keep watch over her. As the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, Kushina was destined to remain in the village for the rest of her life.

The death of a jinchūriki would affect the Nine-Tails. For such an enormous chakra monster to gather itself again, several years would not be enough.

And without a tailed beast, a village would lose its greatest deterrent.

"We're going to hand in the mission first. We'll come talk to you when we get back."

"Okay."

Under her envious gaze, the three headed to the mission hall.

The staff did not believe that a group of children who had just graduated from the Ninja Academy could complete a C-rank mission.

"Lord Orochimaru's teaching methods are as aggressive as ever. Those poor kids."

"I'm jealous of them. Back then, I did D-rank missions for months. I nearly lost my mind."

"Enough. Register their mission first."

Every completed mission became part of one's record. To advance into an elite chūnin or jōnin, strength alone was not enough; one also needed a sufficient accumulation of missions.

It showed that they had continuously contributed to the village.

The enormous sum of fifty thousand ryō was paid out to them, though half of it had to be given to Orochimaru.

The remaining half was divided equally among the three.

The money they received was not much. Just replacing the kunai consumed during this mission cost quite a bit.

Shinobi were a strange profession. If people with such powerful abilities worked in production, it would be no less than an industrial revolution.

Yet they existed more as tools of war, born for war.

Uchiha Yū understood that deeply, but he was not yet qualified to change it. He could only endure it passively.

Once the mission was over, they each went home for a brief rest.

Meanwhile, something was happening in the Hokage's office.

"Orochimaru, you said you found traces of Cloud Shinobi in the forest?"

The Third's eyes were filled more with gravity. Cloud Shinobi as a whole was weaker than Konoha, but twenty years of peaceful development had produced many powerful shinobi in their village. Their standing was second only to Konoha's.

"Yes. This is the mission briefing I obtained from them."

The mission scroll was opened. It recorded the Cloud Shinobi's mission intelligence, along with a map of the Land of Fire.

"There's a traitor."

The map marked the exact locations of Konoha's reserve warehouses. Only a handful of people knew about them, and the Third's gaze fell on those beside him.

His brows furrowed slightly before he dismissed the suspicion.

They were all trusted comrades. There could not possibly be a problem with them. The issue could only lie with someone lower down.

"Danzō, you will be responsible for investigating this. Don't alert them."

"Leave it to me."

Danzō sat in the shadows, seemingly pondering something.

"Also, Orochimaru, train your disciples well. They are the best seedlings of this generation. Konoha's future will still depend on them."

The Third gave out simple orders. The arrival of the Cloud Shinobi signaled that twenty years of peace had come to an end.

They had all lived through the First Shinobi World War, so they naturally understood the atmosphere before war arrived.

A tiny spark could set the entire shinobi world ablaze.

The First Shinobi World War had begun with a clash between two powerful figures. Konoha's strength had declined, but the Second Hokage had managed to turn the tide.

If the next Shinobi World War came, it would be their turn to step forward.

"Have Tsunade train more medical shinobi, and secretly prepare military supplies!"

"Yes!"

War had not yet broken out, and the shinobi world was still temporarily at peace.

The jōnin had all received notice to intensify their students' training during this period.

Orochimaru even postponed certain experiments and focused his attention on his three students.

The feeling of an impending storm did not affect the genin.

"Whew!"

You trained beside the small house where he lived. Heat waves rose from his body. As he absorbed sunlight and his physical strength increased, he was able to develop abilities with auxiliary effects.

He was now a mobile giant radiation source. The dry earth beneath his feet warped.

"Unfortunately, this technique is still imperfect."

Simply activating the radiation source was somewhat taxing for Uchiha Yū.

He could only use some sort of medium to attach radiative power, such as flesh and blood or ninjutsu.

The cellular tissue that fell from his body carried radiative power. Once it came into contact with someone, it would cling to them. Then there were the effects brought about by ninjutsu.

Fire Release ninjutsu produced the best results. In the future, once he mastered other chakra natures through training, he wondered what effects they would have.

"My physical strength is still not enough."

He bought several weighted items at the weapon shop and tied them to his body. Every step now consumed more stamina.

He staggered a few steps, then, after adapting to the weight, moved his body and said, "I hope this method can improve my physical strength."

After a bout of intense training, a large amount of radiation-filled dust floated through the air. You's gaze followed the dust into the distance.

"Hm?"

He gathered the dust around him at lightning speed, surprise flashing in his eyes. He had not expected her to come here.

"You!"

"Why are you here?"

This was the edge of the Uchiha Clan territory. He did not know whether ANBU were following her. If they ran into them, trouble could easily arise.

"Lady Tsunade is preparing to open a medical training class. Many shinobi are being asked to study there and be tested for whether they have the aptitude to become medical shinobi."

Upon learning the news, Kushina immediately thought of Uchiha Yū.