Wok Shadow Ninja

Chapter 76: Mission Change

Konohagakure had endured three Great Ninja Wars, often finding itself besieged by the other four major ninja villages. Though they emerged victorious, the losses were staggering, with countless elites from the village perishing.

The Third Hokage relinquished most of the war reparations and formed an alliance with Sunagakure. While this decision was largely influenced by the Third Hokage, it also had the support of the two village elders.

Even when Orochimaru executed the Konoha Crush plan, leading to Sunagakure's betrayal and the death of the Third Hokage, the two elders still supported Tsunade, ensuring the alliance with Sunagakure remained intact.

They were determined to prevent Konoha from being besieged again. Finding allies was an absolute necessity.

Forming an alliance with the weakened Sunagakure to counter the other three ninja villages was a long-term strategy.

Now, they saw another opportunity to bring the weakened Kirigakure into the alliance.

The two rogue ninja, Raiga Kurosuki and Zabuza Momochi, were not particularly important. Raiga was already crippled, and Zabuza had been reduced to working as a mercenary for merchants. According to the general consensus in the ninja world, Zabuza's "potential" was limited, and his achievements would likely stagnate at this point.

The key figures were Haku and Ranmaru.

Killing them would serve no purpose for Konoha. Kakashi hadn't delivered a fatal blow to Haku, and Asuma hadn't given Ranmaru a hard time either.

Keeping them in Konoha wasn't feasible either, as the bond between the two boys and the two swordsmen was too deep. Sending all four of them back to the struggling Kirigakure would be a gesture of goodwill.

In the ninja world, the title of "genius" could be significant, but it could also be meaningless. A genius who hadn't fully developed wasn't truly a genius.

The idea of an alliance was still wishful thinking at this stage. The Third Hokage needed someone to represent Konoha and approach Kirigakure to convey his goodwill.

Sending a random foot soldier wouldn't suffice.

Kakashi, as the student of the Fourth Hokage, and Asuma, as the son of the Third Hokage, were both unsuitable. Their status wasn't high enough to represent Konoha.

A high-ranking official from Konoha had to go. The Third Hokage couldn't leave the village, and Danzo? If Danzo went, the two villages would undoubtedly end up in conflict. Even if there were no issues, Danzo would create them. Koharu Utatane's stern demeanor made her unsuitable, and Shikaku Nara's experience wasn't sufficient. Homura Mitokado believed he was the most suitable candidate.

The Third Hokage agreed.

Once the decision was made, Homura Mitokado didn't delay. He left the village the same day with two Jonin bodyguards and the Thunder Sword. His mission was to make initial contact with Kirigakure.

Meanwhile, the Third Hokage issued new orders to Asuma. The original C-rank mission had been upgraded to B-rank due to Raiga Kurosuki's involvement. After completing their current mission, Team 10 was to escort Raiga and Ranmaru to the Land of Waves, rendezvous with Kakashi's Team 7 to capture Zabuza, and then await further instructions from Homura Mitokado before heading to Kirigakure.

This mission, which involved the relationship between two major ninja villages, was rated as an A-rank mission for both Team 7 and Team 10.

Homura Mitokado represented the older generation, Kakashi and Asuma represented the middle generation, and Ino, Naruto, and the others represented the younger generation.

The Chunin Exams were meant to showcase their strength and reduce the likelihood of war.

This situation was no different.

The older generation was unlikely to fight. A 69-year-old Homura Mitokado against a 90-year-old Elder? Konoha had a clear advantage.

With Kakashi in the middle generation, none of Kirigakure's Jonin could match him.

After the initial meeting, the focus would shift to the younger generation.

The Third Hokage hoped to use the younger generation's prowess to demonstrate Konoha's strength to Kirigakure. He had great confidence in the abilities of Ino, Naruto, and the other Genin. "Look, even our Genin are this strong! And we have plenty of Chunin and Jonin who are even stronger. Doesn't that make you consider an alliance?"

The Third Hokage stopped Danzo. After the others left, he asked in a low voice, "Did you have anything to do with the incident at the Oxalis Mine?"

Danzo, perhaps too accustomed to being blamed, let out a cold laugh with an air of dignity, turned, and walked away without bothering to respond.

Asuma received the mission change order on the evening of the second day after arriving at the Oxalis Mine.

He had no objections. Ninjas were tools, even if he was the son of the Third Hokage and Ino and the others were heirs to major ninja clans. They were to follow orders without question, without needing too many personal thoughts. They simply had to go where they were told and do what was required.

With the Kurosuki clan eliminated, Asuma found the mission client in the Land of Rivers and explained the situation. The mission was considered complete.

The villagers, who had previously mined for the Kurosuki clan, would now mine for the officials of the Land of Rivers. For them, it was just mining, as always. The only difference was that Raiga Kurosuki had been a lunatic who would often bury villagers alive, while the current officials, concerned with their own profits, wouldn't kill them so easily.

After handing over the Thunder Sword and assisting in the capture of Raiga Kurosuki, the rewards were sent back via messenger hawk, along with three scrolls.

Ino's reward was another ninjutsu scroll.

A water-style ninjutsu developed by the Second Hokage: Water Style: Water Severing Wave!

Like the Water Dragon Bullet and Water Wall, it was a B-rank technique in terms of learning difficulty, but unlike those widely known water-style jutsu, the Water Severing Wave was a unique creation of the Second Hokage.

This technique used high-pressure water jets to cut through targets. It was fast, low-cost, highly destructive, and had a long range.

When the Second Hokage used it, he defied the principle of earth overcoming water, using the water-style technique to cut through the Third Hokage's Earth Style: Earth Wall.

This technique was priceless.

Shikamaru's reward was a chakra blade similar to Asuma's. Shikamaru felt his talent in ninjutsu was limited, and his taijutsu wasn't as strong as Choji's. His only strength was his intellect. He planned to support his teammates helping Ino with ninjutsu when she was lacking and assisting Choji in combat when he was overwhelmed.

Choji received a thick stack of notes detailing the training plan the Second Hokage had created for Choza Akimichi.

The Akimichi clan undoubtedly had traditional training methods passed down through generations, but those methods might not suit everyone. The Second Hokage, standing at the pinnacle of the ninja world, offered invaluable insights that were beneficial to both Choza Akimichi in the past and Choji Akimichi now.

Asuma, being the Hokage's son, didn't need such formal rewards. If he wanted something, he could just ask for it at home.

While Danzo was "taking the blame," Ino gained a bit of notoriety.

It was a bit of a shame, as the blame wasn't entirely hers. Asuma and the Third Hokage likely played a role, so her contribution was minimal, and her gains were accordingly small.

She didn't concern herself with who exactly was being blamed. As long as she reaped the benefits, that was enough. This system was about shifting blame, not solving mysteries. The truth didn't matter.

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