"Age should never be a limitation."
Raito shook his head.
He was very open-minded. As long as someone had the ability and strength, why couldn't they be commander-in-chief?
Didaze was far stronger than him. Judging solely by the strength he had displayed so far, Didaze had already surpassed him.
And he didn't know whether Didaze had any other hidden trump cards.
If he had a few more trump cards, Didaze's true strength probably exceeded his own by a considerable margin.
"Ze, give me an answer. Will you take this commander's position or not?"
After Raito finished speaking, the entire command post fell silent.
Everyone turned to look at Didaze in unison, wanting to see how he would respond.
"Big Brother Raito, I won't waste any more words. I'll accept the position of commander-in-chief!"
Didaze stood up, no longer intending to stand on ceremony with Raito.
Because all he saw in Raito's eyes was seriousness. Big Brother Raito must have thought this decision through carefully.
After all, the position of commander-in-chief was no simple matter.
An ordinary captain could earn any B-rank Ninjutsu of their choice and an A-rank mission on their record by guarding the border for a year, along with a monthly salary of a hundred thousand ryō.
The commander-in-chief, however, received one A-rank Ninjutsu a year, an S-rank mission on their record, and five hundred thousand ryō a month.
The difference was like heaven and earth, yet Raito was willing to give it up. That was enough to show how highly he regarded Didaze.
Clearly, he believed that what Didaze could bring him would far exceed what he was giving up now.
After all, even the best relationships were built on mutual interests. No one would give up such enormous benefits over a little personal connection.
Didaze had no intention of standing on ceremony. He would simply accept it, and once he had the ability in the future, repay Raito twice over!
"Good! Let's congratulate Didaze on becoming our new commander-in-chief!"
Raito led the applause.
Dogen followed with applause of his own, and finally, the command post filled with the applause of the other captains.
After all, Raito was the one giving up his benefits, not them. As long as Raito saw no problem with it, they naturally wouldn't say anything more.
And so, Raito submitted his resignation and recommended Didaze at the same time.
He also faithfully reported Didaze's outstanding performance in the battle.
Iwagakure.
The Tsuchikage's office.
Ōnoki had yet to head out to battle. Things had not reached that final stage yet, and it would probably be some time before he took action.
But lately, Ōnoki had already been getting headaches. Kumogakure stubbornly refused to join the war, and Ōnoki could tell that they probably had something else in mind.
Does Kumogakure want to reap the rewards while everyone else fights?
Ōnoki thought to himself.
"Lord Tsuchikage, urgent information has arrived from the border."
Just as Ōnoki was thinking, an Anbu entered, knelt on one knee, and handed him a report.
"Urgent information? From the border?"
Ōnoki's expression changed drastically. Urgent information from the border was almost certainly bad news.
With an uneasy heart, Ōnoki opened the battle report.
He had already braced himself mentally, even preparing for the possibility that the border had fallen.
"Wh... what!"
As Ōnoki read on, his mouth opened wider and wider!
"Lord Tsuchikage, what exactly happened?"
Kōdo, the secretary beside the Tsuchikage, couldn't help asking.
After all, Ōnoki's reaction was simply too extreme! Had his reaction been even a little more subdued, Kōdo wouldn't have asked.
"This is good news!"
Ōnoki closed his mouth, then smiled.
He hadn't smiled this happily in a long time, not since the Shinobi World War began.
The Didaze mentioned in the letter had managed to develop Explosion Release into a long-range attack. That talent probably wasn't far behind his own teacher, Tsuchikage Mū, was it?
It was as unbelievable as turning Water Release into something that burned.
Something as unstable as Explosion Release can actually be used at long range?
That was the only thought in Ōnoki's mind.
He wanted to summon the Explosion Release Corps immediately and question them.
Unfortunately, the Explosion Release Corps had already followed Kitsuchi to the battlefield, so he couldn't see them now.
"Recall this Didaze to Iwagakure immediately. I want to meet him in person!"
Ōnoki paced back and forth in excitement. Iwagakure hadn't produced a genius like this in a long time.
Even his son Kitsuchi probably couldn't compare to this sixteen-year-old young man!
And if such large-scale Ninjutsu were used on the battlefield... its power probably wouldn't fall short of a Tailed Beast's at all!
"Yes, Lord Tsuchikage!"
The Anbu answered.
As for the later part of the letter, about Raito giving his commander's position to Didaze, Ōnoki ignored it completely.
Having such a powerful genius guard the border was far too much of a waste of his talent. He should hurry back to Iwagakure instead.
Never mind a commander's position-with that talent, even making him Tsuchikage in the future would be no problem.
That was what Ōnoki truly thought.
After all, Iwagakure was indeed starting to suffer from a gap between generations, and Ōnoki was nearing old age. He, too, feared he might not have many years left.
"Kōdo, find all the information on this young man named Didaze immediately!"
Ōnoki said.
"Yes, Lord Tsuchikage!"
After receiving the order, Kōdo immediately headed to the archives.
Didaze should have graduated about six years ago, so his file wouldn't be too difficult to find.
The Ninja Academy currently had a four-year curriculum. After all, this was the Shinobi World War, and there wasn't enough time to study for six years.
"Didaze..."
Ōnoki let out a long breath, calming his excitement.
He hadn't been this stirred up in a long time. He remembered the last time had been when his teacher died.
The border.
A day had passed.
"Captain Didaze, please come out immediately. Lord Tsuchikage requests your presence in Iwagakure!"
After arriving at the border, the Anbu went straight to Didaze's doorstep and began calling for him.
"Coming!"
Didaze immediately opened the door and saw an Anbu wearing a fox mask.
"Then let's go!"
Didaze didn't dawdle. Since the Tsuchikage wanted to see him, he would simply go.
"Explosive Clay: Giant Bird!"
Under the Anbu's puzzled gaze, Didaze molded a clay bird, then tossed it out!
The clay bird swelled in the wind, quickly turning into a giant bird.
"Come with me. I'll control the clay bird and fly us straight there!"
Didaze said to the Anbu.
"Ah... all right!"
The Anbu was somewhat shocked as well, but upon hearing Didaze call him, he immediately came back to his senses and climbed onto the giant clay bird.
The giant clay bird spread its wings, carrying Didaze and the Anbu soaring through the sky.
This kind of aerial superiority... probably only Lord Tsuchikage's Light-Weight Rock Technique can compare.
Watching Didaze effortlessly fly hundreds of meters into the air, the Anbu was shocked.
This meant there were hardly any Ninjutsu that could hit Didaze, and he also had offensive Ninjutsu to go with it. This giant clay bird alone could give countless people headaches.