Military exercise

Yamanashi Prefecture lay west of Tokyo. A typical landlocked prefecture, it had nearly eighty percent forest coverage, with the internationally renowned Mount Fuji standing in its southern reaches.

Yamanashi Prefecture and Shizuoka Prefecture fought tooth and nail over which of them could claim Mount Fuji.

Mount Fuji was one of Japan's national symbols. Several units of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Forces were stationed on its northern side in Yamanashi Prefecture and its eastern side in Shizuoka Prefecture. There was even a U.S. Military Base.

As Uchiha Naruto read the information he had found online, he felt that something was slightly off.

It was only April. The Japan Ground Self-Defense Forces generally conducted their exercises in summer and autumn, and military exercises around Mount Fuji were mostly held in Shizuoka Prefecture rather than Yamanashi Prefecture.

Held annually since 1961 at the East Fuji Maneuver Area in Shizuoka Prefecture, at the foot of Mount Fuji, the Fuji Comprehensive Firepower Exercise was Japan's largest live-fire military exercise.

More importantly, Uchiha Naruto covered his left eye. Beneath his palm, his Sharingan was already active.

Not long ago, the crow he had sent to monitor the Metropolitan Police Department had reported unusual movements among its forces.

One large riot police vehicle after another had pulled out of the Metropolitan Police Department headquarters. After joining another convoy along the way, they had headed east. By now, they had already left Tokyo and entered Yamanashi Prefecture.

"Interesting."

Uchiha Naruto murmured to himself, mentally directing the Summoning Crow to continue following the Metropolitan Police Department police vehicles and relay everything it saw to him.

Just then, a voice came from the clubroom:

"Uchiha, you can come in now."

As soon as he entered the classroom, he saw Tanaka Hikaru on his knees with both hands braced against the floor, as though he had suffered some devastating psychological blow. Naruto could not see his face, but his expression certainly could not have been pleasant.

"You failed the interview, Tanaka."

"Uchiha, I'm sorry..."

Tanaka Hikaru lifted his ashen face and spoke in a voice on the verge of tears, then darted straight through the gap in the open doorway.

"What did you say to Tanaka Hikaru? He looks like he's in absolute agony," Uchiha Naruto asked distractedly. His attention was now entirely focused on the crow following the Metropolitan Police Department convoy.

"I just told him the truth."

Matsudaira Chiyo raised her lovely face, studied Uchiha Naruto for a moment, and gave him a radiant smile.

"Uchiha, thanks for your hard work on your first day. How was business at the Takasaki Family Izakaya?"

"Not great. Even at its busiest, it was barely half full."

The masterful knife skills Uchiha Naruto had displayed had indeed caused a small stir among the izakaya's customers. Some had immediately asked to order sashimi, but with none in stock, they could only leave disappointed.

At that, Matsudaira Chiyo's smile faded, and her brows drew together thoughtfully.

"So traditional places like the Takasaki Izakaya really aren't doing well?"

Japan's izakaya industry had long since reached saturation. As economic growth slowed, the overall market had begun to shrink as well, dropping from its peak of 1.23 trillion yen in the nineties to 1.0 trillion yen in 2019.

Alongside the traditional family-run izakayas found across the country, restaurant groups had also entered the business in droves. The industry's CR4-the combined market share of its four largest companies-stood at 28.8 percent.

Faced with competition from large izakaya chains that had advanced management practices, standardized operations, and their own upstream and downstream supply chains to keep costs lower, traditional family-run establishments were struggling.

The warmth of personal service and a cozy, down-to-earth atmosphere alone could hardly keep a traditional izakaya thriving.

The Takasaki family's izakaya had always relied on its owner's sashimi as its main selling point. When she fell ill, it was like losing its most important arm. The Takasaki sisters alone really could not keep it going.

Matsudaira Chiyo scribbled and sketched in a blank notebook. It seemed she would still have to change the Takasaki Izakaya's approach to running the business, bring it up to date, redesign the menu, and then introduce suppliers through her own contacts to reduce costs.

"Uchiha, if there's nothing else, you can head back to your classroom. Don't forget to check in at the club on Friday."

Without even looking up, Matsudaira Chiyo waved a hand, ready to send Uchiha Naruto on his way.

"Okay!"

Uchiha Naruto waved and left the clubroom, leaving Matsudaira Chiyo chewing on the tip of her pen, her brow furrowed as she pondered something.

When lunch break ended and he returned to his classroom, Uchiha Naruto's mind was no longer on his lessons.

He propped his forehead on one hand, covering half his face. Beneath his closed eyelids, his Sharingan's vision was already linked to the Summoning Crow far away.

The Okuchichibu Mountains, northeastern Yamanashi Prefecture.

In front of the lush green mountains, armored vehicles and wheeled combat vehicles stood in formation, ready for action.

"Oh, oh, oh! They're finally here!"

Watching a heavy-duty truck appear at the far end of the road with Metropolitan Police Department riot vehicles escorting it from the front and rear, a slightly plump officer in a Self-Defense Forces uniform lowered his binoculars, his belly jutting out.

After armed Self-Defense Forces personnel completed their inspection, the cordon was opened, and the Metropolitan Police Department convoy slowly pulled over beside the road. A dark-skinned, unsmiling middle-aged man stepped out of the first police vehicle and approached the officer.

"I'm Section Chief Mori of the Public Security Fifth Division. I'm responsible for transporting the target."

"Yes. I'm Muto Shōho, the commanding officer for this military exercise."

After being neutered by its American daddy, the Self-Defense Forces were nominally no longer a military, but that did not mean their rank structure had been abolished. Although their personnel were all classified as civil servants, they had their own system of ranks, with a major general equivalent to the same rank in other countries.

After a few brief pleasantries, Muto Shōho, whose round, plump cheeks gave him an amiable look, turned his curious gaze toward the heavy-duty truck.

"So this is the star of today's military exercise?"

The heavy-duty truck slowly drove onto the designated clearing. With its side facing the forest of the Okuchichibu Mountains, its specially reinforced steel side panel was lowered.

Inside the truck, a huge red-furred bear monster lay listlessly behind steel bars.

Although the creature looked like a bear, no member of the bear family had a two-meter-long tail covered in bone spurs.

"No matter how many times I see monsters, they always amaze me! Are we really going to use such a valuable live specimen as a target for the exercise?"

Muto Shōho studied the red-furred bear monster with interest as he asked.

"It's time to demonstrate the Self-Defense Forces' might. The purpose of this exercise is to reassure our own people and deter troublemakers. Besides, this Type A doesn't have any special abilities. After repeated experiments on it, it's almost worn out anyway, so the higher-ups decided to get some use out of it before it's finished," Section Chief Mori said casually.

The exercise was being held in Yamanashi Prefecture because of its proximity to Tokyo. If anything happened in Tokyo, the Self-Defense Forces could deploy armed units into the city immediately.

Several patches of the red-furred bear monster's coat had been shaved away, exposing deathly pale skin. Stitch marks covered multiple areas of its body.

"Please step back a little, Muto Shōho. I'm going to open the cage. The anesthetic we injected into this Type A should be wearing off about now."

Muto Shōho and Section Chief Mori withdrew behind a combat vehicle. The armored vehicles trained their cannons on the truck, while the armed Self-Defense Forces personnel chambered their rounds and stood ready with their weapons.

At the press of a button, the cage door slowly opened. Looking at the forest outside, the listless red-furred bear monster gave several heavy, excited pants and tentatively extended a paw out of the cage. Finding that it was not shocked as it had been before, it rushed off the truck in one go.

Looking back at the Self-Defense Forces' vehicles and personnel, the red-furred bear monster's sole remaining eye filled with bitter hatred-but even more fear!

With little hesitation, the red-furred bear monster charged into the Okuchichibu Mountains and soon vanished from sight.