Araki made a preliminary deduction in his mind about the Ueki death incident. Although these were all guesses without evidence, he knew very well that the answer was very close to the final truth.
Some of these questions will be answered after Uchiha Fugaku returns to Konoha.
Everything depends on Fugaku's attitude towards the death of the Ueki.
certainly.
If it can be proven that Uchiha Fugaku awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, the truth of the matter could be brought to light.
but...
Araki knew that this was extremely difficult.
To some extent, Fugaku was a very cunning person. He managed to keep the fact that he Mangekyō Sharingan a secret from the entire Uchiha Clan, which shows that he was a very patient person.
Araki and Fugaku were not close.
It's virtually impossible to extract the Mangekyō Sharingan.
More importantly...
Araki could tell that Fugaku was also a ruthless person. If Fugaku's interests were harmed, he would even kill his childhood friend, let alone an outsider like Araki.
There's no need to get involved in this kind of thing.
It's enough that you know what's going on in your heart.
It now seems that the Uchiha Clan's coup was not so simple. Fugaku appeared to have been put on the throne by his clansmen, but who knows if it was a so-called "donning of the yellow robe" that allowed him to more reasonably manipulate the emotions of his clansmen in order to achieve his ultimate goal.
The only regret is that she gave birth to a very filial son.
If Fugaku in this timeline didn't have such a son, or rather, if he had no son at all, it's truly an unknown what kind of achievements he could have made.
As Araki pondered, his thoughts wandered, and his body, as if by instinct, performed repetitive, mechanical training. When he felt tired, streams of green Chakra surged from his heart, and every cell in his body felt an indescribable joy and exhilaration.
Gradually.
Time flies.
As the rising sun casts its rays upon the earth, a new day dawns in the ninja world.
The appointed time is approaching.
Araki looked at the sun, performed one last set of exercises, summoned the green Chakra within his body, and restored himself to his best condition.
Now that he's joined the ninja squad, he spends a lot of time on missions every day, leaving him with very little time for training. So he needs to make the most of every spare moment.
Immediately afterwards...
Araki heads to the bridge over the small river in Konoha.
That was the place where they agreed to meet.
When Araki arrived, Kushina and Minato were already waiting there. Kushina looked listless and seemed uninterested, while Minato was in a good mood, finding this time alone precious.
" Araki, what do you think today's task will be?" Kushina pouted and muttered, "It's not going to be catching cats or weeding again, is it?"
"Possibly." Araki nodded. He wasn't just being perfunctory. Based on his understanding, they were just graduated Genin, and at this stage, the only missions they could do were C-rank and D-rank. Right now, they could only handle D-Rank Mission, which didn't require much skill. It was just about accumulating some so-called experience and completing requests from the villagers. After all, if even these greenhorns didn't do these kinds of missions, then no one else would.
"Just bear with it a little longer. Everyone goes through this. We'll be going on missions outside the village soon," Minato comforted her with a smile. He looked incredibly warm, like sunshine, giving people a feeling of being bathed in a spring breeze.
"These missions are so boring!" Kushina muttered to herself. In her opinion, these missions were completely different from the ninja life she longed for. They didn't give her the feeling she wanted at all. These boring missions would only wear down her patience.
Bang!
Just then, a sudden explosion rang out.
"Ta-da!"
This was followed by a voice-over introduction, and a blurry figure appeared in the white mist, striking what he thought was a cool pose.
" Jiraiya, the hero, has arrived!"
Jiraiya emerged from the mist, which then dissipated, restoring everything to normal. He wore a smile, appearing very confident in his grand entrance.
"I've brought you a task today, can you guess what it is?"
Jiraiya spoke, he took out a scroll and waved it in front of the three of them. Given that he always used this routine when he brought out missions, the three of them were already a bit numb to it. At first, they were interested in guessing what was going on, but now they had no such thoughts at all.
"How about it?"
You wouldn't have guessed, would you!
I knew you wouldn't be able to guess!
"I have a surprise for you today!"
Jiraiya showed no embarrassment whatsoever, continuing to speak as he unfurled the scroll in his hand, waving its contents in front of the three of them. Of course, no one could see it clearly because it was being swung too fast.
"This is C-Rank Mission that I specially arranged for you today. I knew you were getting tired of doing those D-Rank Mission all the time. I used to go through the same thing. Today's mission is simple in some ways, but it's also quite difficult in others, so you all need to be on your toes!"
Jiraiya said this, Kushina immediately perked up.
What you expect comes true!
These simple tasks are just too boring!
Not only Kushina felt anticipation, but even Minato's azure eyes lit up, a hint of expectation flickering within them.
"Recently, there have been frequent disturbances along the western border of the Land of Fire. Ninjas from the Sunagakure of the Land of Wind have been frequently entering the dense forests along the border of the Land of Fire. Their intentions are still unclear. The ninja tools and supplies deployed at the front are running low, and we urgently need to transport a batch of supplies there." Jiraiya began to read the contents of the ninja mission book, his voice rising considerably, showing great confidence in the mission he had secured.
Just as he had expected, when he mentioned the border line, Kushina and Minato's eyes lit up, sparkling with anticipation.
Only Araki remained as calm as ever.
However, Jiraiya was already used to this kind of reaction. In his mind, Araki was already labeled as a wooden man, the kind of person who had almost no expression and did not show any particularly strong emotions.
Jiraiya was extremely satisfied with the reactions of the group.
"What we need to do now is to safely escort the packaged ninja tools and supplies to the front lines and then safely return to the village. Please note that this should be your first time leaving the village. Without the village's protection, there may be many dangers outside, so you must be on your guard. This mission is more difficult than any of your previous ones, especially considering the possibility of war on the front lines. Do you understand?" Jiraiya asked loudly, clearly trying to rally the group's spirits.
"Clear!"
Kushina and Minato's voices were loud, and both of them had eager expressions on their faces, especially after hearing that war might break out, they couldn't wait to carry out the mission immediately.
Araki, on the other hand, had little interest, or rather, simply didn't want to do such a mission. Compared to missions that required him to go outside the village, he preferred the peaceful D-Rank Mission within the village.
D-Rank Mission are not difficult to complete, and even if they are time-consuming, they are not too time-consuming. After they are completed, you can still go back to cultivate.
For him, spiritual practice is the most important thing.
However, this kind of C-Rank Mission that requires going out may seem like just a delivery job, but as Jiraiya said, it may actually involve all sorts of dangers.
This is something children who grow up in villages will never understand; it's like they've always lived in a warm greenhouse and have no idea how strong the storms outside can be.
Konoha has a barrier that can sense who enters, so even White Zetsu dare not easily enter the Konoha. This is a very good protection. In addition, there are many Jonin in the village, so even if the sky falls, they will hold it up.
Once you leave the village, it's a completely different story.
Even with Jiraiya presence of the legendary Sannin of Konoha, such as Konoha Sannin, there was virtually no danger. However, Jiraiya was, after all, Jonin instructor, not a bodyguard hired by the three of them. He wouldn't intervene in everything; he would mostly let the three of them train only after ensuring there were no problems.
Such a mission would be a rare training opportunity for other Genin, but for Araki, it meant losing his private training time.
He cannot leave the squad alone.
And we can't practice in front of them.
After all, he wasn't sure Jiraiya could see through that green Chakra.
Many things will not cause problems if you don't do them, but problems may arise if you do them. Therefore, when going out on a mission, it is best for him not to do anything unnecessary.
This means that...
His spiritual practice may have to be paused for a few days.
As for exactly how many days, that depends on when the task is completed.
However, there was one thing Araki was certain of: there might be minor skirmishes between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind, but there would be no major conflict. Both countries had suffered heavy losses in the recently concluded Second Shinobi World War and now were in a time for recuperation; neither wanted war to break out.
Almost instantly, Araki had roughly analyzed the mission. It was a delivery mission that wasn't very dangerous, but it would be somewhat troublesome and would take up a lot of time and experience. Even though it was a C-level mission, it wasn't as good as a D-level mission for him.
Do you have any further questions?
Jiraiya's gaze swept over the three people. So far, he was quite satisfied with their reactions; he had specifically sought out this mission.
Over the past few days, he discovered that the three disciples he had chosen were all very strong overall, more than capable of carrying out D-Rank Mission, and certainly capable of carrying out C-Rank Mission.
Of course, what finally made him decide was Araki's analysis and reasoning yesterday, which sent him a signal that there was someone in the team with meticulous logical thinking who could serve as the "brain," or rather, more than one person, Minato's tactical analysis ability was also very strong.
Given these attributes, he hoped to train his three disciples in more real-world combat missions.
Another point is that he has greater confidence in Araki's Medical Ninjutsu skills, which is a different combination from Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan.
The three disciples she took in from the Land of Rain had a stronger bond with each other, but they were all offensive ninjas. Only Konan was slightly more inclined towards sensory perception, but her attributes weren't as strong. This was related to the fact that they were trained later in life; they didn't receive systematic ninja training from the beginning, and there were many fundamental differences between them and children who came from the Ninja Academy.
It took him almost half a year just to teach these basic skills.
The three people in front of me now form a natural, almost perfect match.
Minato is a well-rounded, all-around ninja. He is good at almost everything and strong in everything. He can fight in close combat and at long range, making him the perfect core of a team.
Kushina is a sensory-type sealing ninja who can fully utilize her keen Chakra perception within a ninja team and engage in more comprehensive and multi-dimensional combat through Sealing Jutsu.
Araki possesses close-combat Taijutsu abilities comparable to an offensive medical ninja. He can serve as a firepower point and a distraction point in the early stages of a battle, and can also become a medical support after being injured.
Even Jiraiya wanted to give them some real-world practice with this combination.
only...
He didn't voice these thoughts.
Otherwise, if Tsunade found out, she would definitely punch him and say that medical-nin should stand at the back of the team and not go forward to fight. Even if Araki's Taijutsu skills are good, he cannot Creation Rebirth Jutsu and should not take such risks!
"How long is the estimated time for this mission?" Araki asked first, which was also his biggest concern. He had already thought it through and decided to give himself a break, but he wanted to have a general idea of what was going on.
"Normally, it takes about three days to reach the border. We also need to carry ninja tools and supplies, and there are various risks we might encounter along the way, so it will probably take five to seven days," Jiraiya roughly estimated. "The return trip will be faster, probably around ten days!"
Ten days.
Araki silently muttered to himself.
It was still within his acceptable range, and after a period of continuous cultivation, giving himself a break was a way to relax.
Green Chakra can restore all the cells in the body to an optimal state and dispel physical fatigue. Even the transmission of mental signals can be in a state of excitement. However, after cultivating for so long, my mind still feels tired.
Taking a break now and then isn't necessarily a bad thing.
"Here, take one of these, everyone. You never know when you might need it!"