Konoha's lexicon of ninjas

Chapter 23 Leaving the Village! (Please vote with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets to continue reading)

Looking at Hoshino Shuichi, Minato Namikaze's first thought was the Flying Thunder God Technique.

For someone who is not from the Uchiha clan and has awakened their Sharingan to possess such extraordinary reaction abilities, they are indeed a promising candidate for mastering the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Of course, the Flying Thunder God Technique requires not only strong neural reflexes, but also extraordinary sensory and spatial abilities.

"But it's too early now."

Minato Namikaze smiled to himself.

Hoshita Shuichi is 6 years old, while Uchiha Shisui and Kurama Sanyo are only 8 years old. They need to lay a solid foundation and accumulate combat and mission experience first.

……

The first day after graduation passed quickly.

The next day, the morning was still filled with a mission: to help the villagers near Konoha Village deal with wild animals that were destroying their crops.

Those were a herd of wild boars.

Following the trail, they were easily found by Hoshino Shuichi and his team, and then dealt with.

This leaves Hoshino Hideaki with only 3 more tasks to complete before unlocking the "Tracking Expert" skill.

The afternoon was still Minato Namikaze's special training session.

Various traps, shadow clone battles, and martial arts instruction.

To Hoshino Shuichi's surprise, this pattern continued for the next week.

Morning tasks, afternoon intensive training.

So much so that before he even left Konoha Village, Minato Namikaze had already gotten the "Tracking Expert" title for him.

With his tracking talent and trace sensitivity both increased by 100%, Hoshino Shuichi's progress in missions and special training became readily apparent.

April 24, Konoha Year 39.

They still gathered on the rooftop, but Minato Namikaze appeared and said, "This mission is a C-rank mission to leave the village. Meet at the village entrance in half an hour."

"clear!"

Hoshino and the other two responded in unison, and then used their teleportation techniques to leave.

At home, Hoshino Shuichi quickly packed his luggage into his backpack.

Kunai, shuriken, medkit, rations, change of clothes, as well as explosive tags and grenades...

After packing up, while there was still time, Hoshinoichi went to Konoha Hospital and Tensho Shop to say goodbye to Pharmacist Nonou and Tenyun respectively.

When he arrived at the village entrance, Minato Namikaze and the other two had already arrived.

However, Hoshino Shuichi wasn't exactly late.

"Set off!"

Upon seeing that Hoshino Shirai had arrived, Minato Namikaze immediately gave the order, and the four of them left Konoha Village and headed south.

But soon the four of them left the main road leading to Daming Prefecture and entered the forest, heading southwest.

Leaping and darting through the forest, Minato Namikaze explained the mission: "Our target this time is a group of bandits entrenched on the border of the Land of Rivers."

"This gang of bandits crossed the border into the Land of Fire several times and attacked villages there."

Uchiha Shisui immediately sensed something was wrong: "The fact that there are ninja squad outposts on the border and that they have been able to cross the border several times to attack nearby villages means that they have figured out the patrol routes of the border ninja squads every time."

C-level mission?

I'm afraid it's more than that!

However, Hoshino Hideichi was thinking: "Even if ordinary bandits have ninjas, it's not enough for them to be able to figure out the patrol routes of the border ninja squads every time, and also to let them successfully infiltrate and return to the Land of Rivers."

Kurama Sanyou couldn't help but ask, "So, Shuichi, you mean these bandits are ninjas in disguise?"

Xingxia Xiu said, "That's possible."

"But if that's the case, then this mission shouldn't be ours."

"There is another possibility: that the bandits were indeed an ordinary band of bandits, perhaps with only one or two rogue ninjas at the genin level. However, they had precise intelligence support."

Minato Namikaze smiled and said, "Shuichi's analysis is excellent."

Uchiha Shisui asked, "Minato-sensei, if that's the case, where do they get their information from?"

"Rain Village?"

"Before the Second Shinobi World War, the Land of Rivers was within the territory of Amegakure, and Amegakure was responsible for the missions. After the war, Amegakure's influence was limited to the Land of Rain, and the missions in the Land of Rivers were divided between us and Sunagakure."

"Then it's possible that Amegakure is going to make a comeback, or it's possible that Sunagakure is going to take over all the missions in the Land of River."

Minato Namikaze nodded and asked, "So, Shisui, which possibility do you think it is?"

Uchiha Shisui thought for a moment and said, "Sunagakure!"

Kurama San'yō asked, "Shisui, why Sunagakure?"

"Hanzo of Amegakure is known as a demigod. It wouldn't be surprising if he wanted to make a comeback and retake the Land of River, would it?"

Hoshino Hideichi analyzed, "But if it's Hanzo, he'll be facing both Konoha and Sunagakure, which isn't a wise move."

"As for Sunagakure... it's been quite some time since the Second Shinobi World War, and it's not surprising that their ambitions have resurfaced and they want to swallow up the Land of River in one gulp."

"Moreover, the current situation is more in line with Sunagakure."

Kurama Sanyou, not understanding, asked, "Why is that?"

Hoshino Shizuka analyzed, "Because if Hanzo of Amegakure wanted to take back the Land of Rivers, he wouldn't need to use such methods; he could simply send people south."

"On the contrary, Sunagakure may not yet be determined to wage war against us, so they are doing it this way."

"This bandit is probably not simple either."

Uchiha Shisui quickly asked, "Shuichi, do you mean there's something else going on with these bandits?"

Xingxia Xiu said, "It's just a guess."

"For example, if this group of bandits has a normal identity in the Land of Rivers, and we enter the Land of Rivers and take them out, the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers will be dissatisfied and his relations with the Land of Fire and Konoha will immediately deteriorate. If the Sand Village comes out at this time, it will be easy to reach an agreement with the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers and take over all the missions in the Land of Rivers."

Kurama Sanyou was stunned: "This... Shuichi, how did you come up with all this?"

Uchiha Shisui was also taken aback.

Minato Namikaze was equally surprised, because Shuichi Hoshino's final analysis was something he hadn't even considered yet.

Of course, he was aware of the hidden differences in this mission.

"The Third Hokage was right after all. Shuichi's maturity is in no way inferior to that of an adult. Moreover, his insight is sharp and his analytical ability is amazing."

Minato Namikaze was secretly amazed, and then said to Shuichi Hoshino and the other two, "Shuichi's analysis is excellent. It seems that this mission will not be too simple."

"Then, we need to be even more careful after entering the Land of Rivers."

"After finding the gang of bandits, the first step is to investigate their situation."

The three, including Hoshino Shizuka, responded in unison, "Yes, Minato-sensei!"

……

We set off at 9 a.m. and rested for two hours at noon.

As evening fell, Hoshino and his group appeared at the border of the Land of Fire, but instead of crossing the border immediately, they set up camp there.

The next morning, after having a fish soup, the four crossed the border and entered the River Country.

(End of this chapter)