"Their clothes are really cool. After I become a Chunin, I want to get a set too."
In the Land of Fire, within a dense forest, a team on their way to the Land of Rain stopped here. Nawaki looked at a group of Chunin wearing Konoha vests, envy written all over his face.
Orochimaru chuckled and ruffled his disciple's head. Orochimaru was very fond of Nawaki, after all, he had watched him grow up. If it weren't for his lack of talent, Orochimaru would have wanted to impart all his knowledge and abilities to him.
Nawaki's lack of talent had always been a regret for Orochimaru, but this had improved somewhat in the past year or two. Perhaps it was because he was growing up, or perhaps it was due to his close association with talented individuals. Nawaki's talent seemed to be gradually emerging.
Although Nawaki's talents were different from Orochimaru's in ninjutsu and scientific research, it seemed that Nawaki's talents were more inclined towards taijutsu. But having talent in any aspect was always a good thing. Orochimaru looked at Nawaki, who was examining the necklace given to him by Tsunade, and said:
"Work hard, and you'll soon become a Chunin too."
"Yeah! Then starting now, while we're resting, I'll do three thousand push-ups first. If I can't finish, then I'll do five thousand squats!"
Upon hearing his sensei's encouragement, Nawaki clenched his fist, determination written all over his face. Orochimaru's warm smile froze for a moment, then he said, "That's not the only way to work hard. Accumulating knowledge is also a form of effort. Look at Tatsuma and Minato; they know how to seize every moment to accumulate knowledge and improve themselves."
As he spoke, Orochimaru pointed to the two individuals reading scrolls in the trees, simultaneously acting as Sensory Ninja to scout the surroundings. Nawaki scratched his head and said, "But I can't understand what they're reading."
"Isn't it just some advanced content about Chakra attributes and Nature Transformation? What's so hard to understand?"
Orochimaru wanted to roar at his disciple, but... oh well, if scolding could make Nawaki smarter, then with Tsunade as his sister, Nawaki should be the smartest person in the world.
Reminding himself not to become an irresponsible sensei like Tsunade, Orochimaru felt his mood calm down considerably. He regained his smile and said to Nawaki, "No one understands everything from the start. Tatsuma and Minato learned step by step to get where they are today. They're only ten years old and already studying Jonin-level material. You need to work hard to keep up."
Taking Orochimaru's teachings seriously, Nawaki nodded solemnly. Meanwhile, the Genin in the distance were somewhat astonished. After all, Tatsuma and Minato were younger than most of them; the youngest among them were only the same age as the two.
They had just graduated as Genin, and yet, as their juniors or classmates, the two had already been promoted to Chunin and were even starting to study Jonin-level material. Wasn't this too discouraging?
"Seriously, they're already as strong as monsters, yet they're still working so hard. Are they not leaving any room for us average Ninja with no extraordinary talent?"
Yamanaka Inoichi gritted his teeth, his hand pulling out grass with increasing force. He was already exhausted from the recent intensive training to prepare for the graduation exam, and now he found out that his classmates had quietly enrolled in Jonin courses.
"Training, huh? It sure is troublesome."
Nara Shikaku, who had been covered in bits of grass and flowers thrown by Inoichi, showed no sign of annoyance. He didn't envy or resent Tatsuma and his companion's excellence, after all, his ambition wasn't to become a powerful ninja.
Meanwhile, Akimichi Choza poked Inoichi in the ribs and then pointed to a nearby fallen, dry tree, asking, "Inoichi, do you think there might be mushrooms over there?"
Understanding Choza's implication, Inoichi replied, "Even if there were, it wouldn't matter. We can't light a fire until we reach the camp. We'll have to make do with Military Rations Pills or dry rations."
Hearing this, Choza's expression soured. He had already been eating Military Rations Pills for two whole days. It was the first time in his life he had gone without a proper meal for so long. Indeed, war was truly detestable.
Hyuga Sento had quietly taken off the cumbersome clothes of the Hyuga Clan, revealing a tight green bodysuit underneath. He then hid behind a large tree and began doing handstand push-ups.
"Kuromaru, eat more. Grow up quickly. Have some more, take another bite."
"Mm~"
While covering one of the black dog's eyes with her hand, Inuzuka Tsume pinched the cheeks of the dog's mouth. The dog instinctively opened its mouth, and Inuzuka Tsume took this opportunity to stuff more and more dog food into its mouth.
A member of the Aburame Clan, with lightning speed, also shoved a Military Rations Pill into his mouth. Despite his insects being at saturation point, he still hoped they would perform well.
Orochimaru observed the children around him; this was the task his sensei had assigned him. Along the way, he continuously used Tatsuma and Minato to stimulate others, urging them to strive harder.
After resting for a while, Tsunade finished teaching a class to some young ninjas interested in Medical Ninjutsu before announcing their departure. Tatsuma and Minato, perched in the trees, swiftly rolled up their scrolls and took the lead in the formation.
When it comes to utilizing sensory abilities, there's no one in the team better than these two. Even Orochimaru, despite his current abilities, lacks more methods, after all, he's just a young snake now, not the later terrifying ninja.
The route from Konoha to the front lines isn't easy. Compared to the first time Tatsuma followed the team, there are more disturbances.
After all, with villages scattered throughout the Land of Fire and focusing on three battlefields, there's some chaos within the Land of Fire itself. Outlying village ninjas, wandering ninjas, and some bandits and pirates have begun causing trouble.
However, whether it's Orochimaru, Tsunade, Tatsuma, or Minato, none of them have intervened. They've left these rare opportunities to others, especially to those Chunin who will soon be on the battlefield.
This group of teams will first stop at the camp in the battlefield of Wind and Fire, complete personnel allocation. The Chunin brought along are needed for the battlefield, while the Genin are not.
The Genin's task isn't on the battlefield, or to be more precise, it's not on the front lines. With their abilities, it's also difficult for them to be effective on the front lines. A large amount of logistics, communication, and paperwork require manpower to handle.
Although Genin may lack in abilities, their numbers can make up for it, allowing more capable ninja to be freed up to participate in the frontline battle. However, there are exceptions.
Upon reaching the camp at the Wind and Fire battlefield, Nawaki suddenly said to Orochimaru, "Sensei, I want to go to the battlefield. Can you take me with you?"
Orochimaru and Tsunade, who were organizing the list of support ninjas and some of the supplies brought along, were taken aback by his words. Tatsuma and Minato also stopped what they were doing and looked at Nawaki.
Feeling a bit embarrassed under the sudden scrutiny, Nawaki scratched his head and continued, "Um... What I mean is, I can't help much with logistics work, but my Taijutsu is very strong. It should be more useful on the battlefield. After all, I came here to fight for Konoha. If I just stay behind and can't contribute, it wouldn't be very youthful. It would be better not to come at all."
After hearing Nawaki's explanation, Orochimaru didn't respond but instead looked at Tsunade. Tsunade frowned, watching Nawaki scratching his head with a silly smile on his face. This demeanor reminded her so much of her grandfather.
Tsunade's mouth twitched a few times, as if she wanted to speak, but looking at her own brother, she couldn't bring herself to say what she wanted. Instead, she glared fiercely at Orochimaru and said, "He's your disciple. He wants to go to the battlefield. What are you looking at me for?!"
Orochimaru didn't get angry at Tsunade's sharp tone; he simply responded calmly, "If it were me, I would agree to let him go to the battlefield, just like you agreed to let your disciple go."
Upon hearing his sensei's words, Nawaki's eyes lit up, showing a face full of anticipation. Tsunade clenched her fist and said, "But the Rain Ninja in the Rainforest are too dangerous. I haven't even agreed to let Tatsuma go to the battlefield immediately."
"In that case, I'll stay here for a while, help Nawaki adapt to the battlefield. You and Jiraiya should be able to hold out for a while, right?"
Orochimaru furrowed his brows and thought for a moment. Indeed, the Rain Ninja's advantage in the Rainforest was significant, and facing Rain Ninja who were skilled in using poisons and traps, Nawaki's Taijutsu, which he excelled in, would find it difficult to be effective.
However, if they only stayed on the battlefields of the Wind and Fire countries, things would be more manageable. After all, the ninjas from the Land of Wind wouldn't be able to adapt to jungle warfare. This is not something that can change within a year.
Perhaps Elders like Chiyo could adapt in a very short time, or even if they couldn't adapt, it wouldn't affect their strength too much. But grassroots ninjas couldn't because their Chakra attributes wouldn't allow it.
The reason the Five Great Nations use the five Chakra attributes as names is because different geographical environments will gradually change the genes of the majority of the population over a long period of time.
Although the Land of Fire has produced many geniuses with multiple attributes or even all five attributes, if you were to conduct a survey, Fire Chakra attributes would undoubtedly be the most common. Most ninjas from the Land of Fire have Fire Chakra attributes.
The same goes for the Land of Wind. Ninjas who practice Wind Release would encounter many obstacles in the rainforest, reducing the power of their Ninjutsu. Additionally, the moist, sticky air would increase the difficulty of controlling the surrounding air and wind for them.
Furthermore, with the constant turnover of ninjas on the battlefield, ninjas may not even have time to adapt to the environment of the Land of Rain before they are killed or critically injured and forced out of the battlefield, requiring the new ninjas to readjust.
As for the advantage of Konoha ninjas in the Land of Rain, it's only in their adaptation to jungle warfare. In terms of Chakra attributes, they don't hold an advantage. This is also why the Land of Rain can engage in three-front battles simultaneously without being defeated.
Because they are familiar with the terrain here, their Chakra attributes, Ninjutsu, and combat methods are all intricately linked to this land. Therefore, Rain Ninjas in the Land of Rain give Konoha more trouble than the Sand Ninjas, who are from a major nation.
Upon hearing Orochimaru's proposed solution, Tsunade's eyebrows slightly relaxed. Currently, Konoha's fight against the Rain Ninjas still follows a conservative strategy, with only Jiraiya able to hold out for a while on his own. With her and Jiraiya together, there shouldn't be any problem.
Perhaps they couldn't achieve any significant advancement, but there was no problem in maintaining the current situation. However, Tsunade's eyebrows, which had finally relaxed, furrowed once again. She continued, saying:
"But... the one in command here is that guy, Shimura Danzo."
"What about me?"
At that moment, a deep, powerful voice came from outside.
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