The correct way for the Uchiha to rise

"That's right, there's a problem with the Sand Village."

Upon hearing Sarutobi Saku's words, Uchiha Kiyoshi was taken aback at first, but then he realized what was going on.

Just because Uchiha Kiyoshi was able to figure it out doesn't mean that Nawaki could.

"Sunagakure? What happened to them? Were they attacked by Amegakure? That's terrible."

"Most of the Land of Wind is desert, with a harsh environment and a severe lack of resources, while the Land of Fire occupies the most fertile land in the entire ninja world. The Land of Wind has long coveted it, and it's likely they'll have some ideas this time. Now, judging from what Saku said, there's a problem with the Sand Village, and they seem to be inclined to go to war with us."

“That’s right. According to my clan elder, the Sand Ninja’s forces split into two groups after entering the Land of Rain. The main force continued towards their destination, while the remaining Sand Ninja were stationed on our side, about 100 kilometers east of our camp.”

Before Uchiha Kiyoshi could even express his surprise, a voice came from outside.

"Third shift, you have a task coming up. Go to the personnel department to pick it up."

"okay, got it."

The three members of the Uchiha clan exchanged glances and understood what was going on.

Rope Tree: ? ? ? I don't understand...

Although he didn't understand, looking at the eyes of Uchiha Kiyoshi and Sarutobi Saku, Nawaki pretended to have an "I see" look on his face.

Uchiha Kiyoshi was too embarrassed to expose his clumsy acting.

Ninjas learn to disguise themselves, but they don't teach people to pretend to know what they don't, especially someone like Nawaki who rarely knows anything. It's really difficult for him to pretend like that.

The three arrived at the personnel department's tent, and upon entering, they saw Orochimaru fully equipped.

“You’ve arrived.”

You've probably heard, the Land of Wind has also joined the war. However, the Land of Wind has stationed a portion of its troops near us; their purpose is obvious. It's just that with the Land of Rain as a common enemy, they haven't completely broken ties yet.

The Land of Rain is a small country. However, the Hidden Rain Village possesses strength comparable to the Five Great Hidden Rain Villages, making it the undisputed sixth greatest Hidden Rain Village. It poses the greatest threat to the three neighboring countries. Before weakening the Land of Rain, the three major countries will not easily break off relations.

However, this doesn't diminish Konoha's dissatisfaction with Sunagakure. What do you mean by stationing yourselves right next to us?

Isn't this blatantly saying that after we defeat the Land of Rain, we'll be next?

Look, we've already prepared the frontline camps.

"Teacher, we just heard about this news too. Was we called here for some kind of task?"

"That's right, although the two sides haven't completely broken off relations."

We still need to understand the layout of Sunagakure.

I had some time this time, so I took on this investigation assignment. A few of you will come with me.

Uchiha Kiyoshi and Sarutobi Saku exchanged a glance, revealing an expression of "I knew it."

The Third Squad had done similar investigations before, and this kind of intelligence gathering is quite important, especially now that the situation is even more serious. Rope Tree was the first to recognize the importance of this mission.

Upon hearing that he was going to participate in such an important mission, Rope Tree was so excited that he lost all interest in pretending and immediately revealed that he hadn't understood anything at all.

"Really? Teacher?"

"This kind of mission must be of a very high level, right? After all, the entire army of the Land of Wind has been mobilized; gathering intelligence on them is quite difficult."

"Yes, this mission is S-rank. After completing it, your rank will be promoted directly to at least Elite Chunin."

"Perfect timing. Your strength is sufficient, but your rank hasn't been promoted due to the Chunin Exams. Now, in times of war, you can be promoted based on your contributions."

Upon hearing the words "S-rank," Nawaki jumped up and down excitedly, shouting things like "Make a contribution!" and "Take another step forward in the Hokage position."

Uchiha Kiyoshi stroked his chin, thinking of more things.

Orochimaru's main reason for leading them on this mission was likely the latter part of his plan: to promote them to the rank of elite Chunin.

As everyone knows, only elite Chunin are considered to have escaped the fate of being cannon fodder.

The main reason is that on the battlefield, many positions can only be held by elite Chunin or above, which is why elite Chunin are no longer considered cannon fodder.

Although Orochimaru was in charge of the personnel department, he couldn't be too blatant in showing favoritism. Even if the members of Team 3 possessed the strength of elite Chunin, it wouldn't be recognized; only those with higher ranks would be free from gossip. Especially with Danzo keeping a close eye on things.

After all, many Chunin are elite Chunin in strength, and are only one merit away from promotion.

Chapter 77 S-Rank Mission

After Orochimaru finished organizing the main tasks, he handed over the remaining work to his deputy and then led Team 3 out on a mission.

Uchiha Kiyoshi kept thinking, feeling like he had forgotten something.

In the early stages of the Second Shinobi World War, Orochimaru led the team...

Led by Orochimaru, Team 3 left the Konoha camp and headed straight for the Sunagakure village headquarters.

Half a day later, ten kilometers outside the Sunagakure village's headquarters.

Be careful when you get here.

We've entered the vicinity of the Sand Village's base. Be careful not to trigger any traps.

It's common knowledge that there are numerous traps set up outside the base, and ninjas patrolling; this is common practice outside the Konoha camp.

Unaware of these plans, and lacking detailed intelligence from spies, the two sides rarely launched direct attacks on each other's bases during battles.

To avoid triggering a trap, the four slowed down their journey.

At that moment, Uchiha Kiyoshi finally realized something.

Nawaki accidentally fell into the explosive tag pit during a mission, and Orochimaru was also present at the time.

Oh my god! Could it be this time?

Uchiha Kiyoshi's expression changed instantly. He was worried at first, but then he seemed to realize something and gradually calmed down.

"Qing, what's wrong?"

Orochimaru noticed the change in Uchiha Kiyoshi's expression and assumed he had discovered something.

"Ah, no, it's just that I suddenly had some ideas about ninjutsu, but it's a bit troublesome."

Teacher, it's alright, the task is more important.

"We'll talk about developing ninjutsu when we get back. Right now, we're on a mission, and we're outside the Sand Village base. Focus on your work and don't let anything go wrong."

Uchiha Kiyoshi controlled his expression and made up an excuse to get away with it.

There's no need to talk about this; it's a bit far-fetched. Orochimaru and the others probably wouldn't believe it anyway, thinking I'm joking.

"Nawaki has learned a lot from me over the years, and Orochimaru has also given him some extra lessons. He shouldn't be unable to identify the explosive tag trap, right?"

Thinking about the changes in Nawaki over the past few years, Uchiha Kiyoshi breathed a sigh of relief and stopped thinking about it. He followed Orochimaru forward, observing the surrounding environment.

……

"Kiyoshi, you take Nawaki and the other two and go first. I'll deal with these two Jonin!"

Orochimaru dealt with the Sand Village Jonin while simultaneously giving instructions to Uchiha Kiyoshi.

During their investigation, the third squad unexpectedly encountered a patrol squad from Sunagakure.

The patrol team wasn't particularly strong, so it wasn't a big deal, but they couldn't stop the other side from calling for help.

The third squad was eventually found by the arriving Sunagakure reinforcements.

Uchiha Kiyoshi and his two companions were not strong enough and would only be a hindrance at this time, so Orochimaru chose to hold the line alone and let them go first.

Once those three leave, he can easily escape using his methods.

"Rope Tree, Saku, let's go!"

Uchiha Kiyoshi delivered a powerful blow, sending a Sand Village Chunin flying, and fled towards Konoha with Nawaki and another person.

You don't need to return to the camp; just leave the Sunagakure camp area.

With three hand seals, Uchiha Kiyoshi unleashed one Earth Release ninjutsu after another. This was the result of his training over the past few years, reducing the hand seals of several commonly used B-rank ninjutsu to just three.

Reducing hand seals does come at a cost: without the aid of hand seals, although chakra mobilization is successful, the amount and smoothness of the mobilization are relatively poor, resulting in a relatively smaller power.

However, in this time of buying time, power and other such things cannot be taken into account.

After several Earth Release ninjutsu were used, the remaining Sand Village members were unable to hold them off, which provided Uchiha Kiyoshi with an opportunity to escape.

With the help of Uchiha Kiyoshi, Nawaki and the other two successfully escaped.

While fleeing, Uchiha Kiyoshi observed the situation of the pursuing ninja.

The six Sand Ninja in Chunin uniforms behind them, based on the recent exchange, should all be elite Chunin, except for one special Jonin.

Such strength is beyond the capabilities of the third squad.

Compared to the Rain Ninja team with similar configurations last time, this time their opponents are ninjas from the Sand Village, one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, and they are fully equipped. Uchiha Kiyoshi will not take any risks.

Given that I had to intervene last time to save Sarutobi Saku, there's no need to confront them head-on this time.

Compared to the team that encountered Huangtu last time, Orochimaru has improved rapidly.

The past few years were a period of consolidation for the Sannin, during which they honed their skills to a high level. This war seems to have been started specifically for them.

Orochimaru's talent in ninjutsu was so great that even Hiruzen Sarutobi recognized his abilities and regarded him as his successor, saying that Orochimaru was his most satisfying disciple.

At this moment, Orochimaru created two shadow clones, which, together with his main body, performed ninjutsu.

Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet Technique

Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough"

A giant earth dragon and a water dragon were intertwined, and with the storm created by the enhanced Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, the surrounding atmosphere even began to feel somewhat oppressive.

The Sand Village Jonin had a solemn expression.

"As expected of the Third Hokage's disciple, this combination ninjutsu even has the flair of the Third Hokage back then."

This Sand Ninja participated in the First Shinobi World War and witnessed the Third Hokage's methods of achieving fame, including combination ninjutsu that combined different elemental attributes.

The two dragons intertwined, propelled by the storm, heading towards the two Jonin from Sunagakure.

"boom!"

A loud bang was heard clearly even by Uchiha Kiyoshi and the others who had already escaped a kilometer away, and the ground trembled along with it.

Staring in shock at the direction from which the sound came, Uchiha Kiyoshi was utterly astonished.