Naruto: From Novice to Grave

This is a great victory.

Fifteen Hidden Mist ninjas, who had bypassed the front lines and were sneaking around within the Land of Fire, killed three of them themselves, and then had eleven killed by Konoha reinforcements.

There should have been no survivors, but Higashino Shin pulled one back from the brink of death.

As for who sent that Mist Ninja to his death, don't ask.

Those who died had their heads destroyed; it seems they were prepared for the mission to fail.

To know what kind of conspiracy the Hidden Mist Village has, this survivor is of paramount importance.

What other conspiracy could Higashino possibly have up his sleeve?

Higashino Makoto had already sensed the restless chakra that the adult Jonin of the Hyuga clan had mentioned.

Moreover, he sensed not only restlessness, but also disgust, an instinctive rejection.

Higashino Makoto knew perfectly well that this was the chakra of the Three-Tailed Isobu, who died along with Nohara Rin at the beginning of this year.

This chakra diffuses across the rivers, lakes, and seas in the southeastern region of the Land of Fire, but it is very faint and generally undetectable to most people.

Tailed beasts cannot die; they will automatically revive after death. However, no one knows how, where, or when they will revive.

Perhaps Kirigakure knew something, after all, they had raised it for so many years, which is why they had people secretly collect the overflowing chakra.

The practice of ninjas sealing tailed beasts to create Jinchuriki is a relatively recent phenomenon, dating back only a few decades. Each clan has a love-hate relationship with its own Jinchuriki.

They would be afraid to hold a tailed beast in their hands for fear of damaging it, or leave it in the village for fear of it exploding. They would never easily conduct any experiments on the tailed beast, let alone kill it.

Perhaps only Kirigakure, which enjoys killing its own people behind closed doors, has extensive experience in killing Jinchuriki.

The Three-Tails will die again along with the Fourth Mizukage.

Isōbu is fucking miserable.

As for why Higashino Shin instinctively hates the chakra of the tailed beasts, he hasn't forgotten the scene he saw in his conscious state.

The white natural energy he absorbed was pitifully weak, squeezed and devoured by other colored energies, making him the bean that was beaten up by his own kind every day.

The Tailed Beasts are part of the Ten-Tails, which is the body of the God Tree. The God Tree absorbed natural energy from the ninja world and transformed it. How can you not hate that?

Therefore, Higashino Makoto knew from the beginning that he could not sign contracts with the summoning beasts of the three holy lands, much less seal a tailed beast inside his body as a hand warmer.

From the moment he absorbed the white natural energy, he stood on the opposite side of all these things, and the contradiction between the two sides was irreconcilable.

The current Nine-Tails Jinchuriki of Konoha is Kushina Uzumaki. This woman has a straightforward personality, is not very scheming, and usually just wanders around the village.

But Higashino Shin never thought of getting to know the other person and becoming their god-sister so that he could learn sealing techniques more easily. He even avoided contact with Minato Namikaze.

One reason was that they were afraid of being invited for questioning by the secret service.

Another reason is that hatred is mutual. He hates the tailed beasts, and the tailed beasts will instinctively hate him. He is afraid that if he gets close to Uzumaki, Kurama will jump out and beat him.

Right now, he has absolutely no chance of defeating that fox.

One Tailed Beast Ball could send him, his parents, and Konoha Village to their deaths.

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At the assembly point by the lake, Nara Suzaku, the temporary commander in charge, was overjoyed to see Tsukikage bringing prisoners over.

He originally intended to leave a few survivors, but he never expected that these Mist Ninja were all lunatics, and not a single one of them was left with a intact head.

Fortunately, the two teams covering the perimeter were lucky enough to catch one who had slipped through the net.

"How are you? Are you still alive?"

Moonlight Cloud said, "She's still alive. Zhen has already treated her. Don't worry, she won't die. Zhen's medical ninjutsu ability is no less than his mother's."

Nara Suzaku immediately ordered his men to take the prisoners away and keep them under strict guard.

Looking at the six young people, who are the future of the village, he praised them, "Not bad, you are all very outstanding and have made up for the shortcomings of us seniors."

"Especially you, a child of the Higashino family, your talent makes me a little jealous."

"You flatter me, Senior Suzaku. It's what we should do."

"Okay, okay, haha, I'll have to trouble you to treat our injured companion to prevent delays in the rest of the journey."

In this unexpected encounter, the support forces suffered no losses of ninjas, not even serious injuries, because the Konoha side spotted the target early and had a numerical advantage.

There were only a few lightly wounded.

Unfortunately, their team lacked a professional medical ninja, making Higashino Shin the only battlefield medic.

He took a small scroll out of his ninja tool bag, laid it out on the ground, and performed a release technique by forming hand seals. With a "pop," a medical kit the size of a backpack appeared on the scroll.

He naturally knew how to seal simple, non-blood-bond inanimate objects, which could be considered a type of spirit communication technique.

His spatial and temporal talent wasn't particularly good, but he had some, though he couldn't turn himself into a mobile warehouse like he would every day later.

Sealing inanimate objects requires occupying a different dimension. The size of this dimension is another manifestation of the talent for space-time. Without this limitation, he or others in the ninja world could simply use quantity to increase quality.

Keep in mind that the scroll is quite long, and it can contain many sealing symbols.

After handing the medical kit to Uzuki Yugao, Higashino Makoto transformed into a medical ninja, Yugao automatically became a nurse, and Hayate took on the role of bodyguard.

As for Hyuga Tokuma's team, they were already hopelessly addicted to the envious and jealous looks from the other genin teams.

Does Aburame Muta not care about these things? Impossible, you don't understand what it means to be a repressed pervert.

Most of the injuries were from ninjutsu collisions and cuts from ninja swords, none of which were serious.

Higashino took the disinfectant from Yugao and carefully cleaned the wound. After cleaning, he used ninjutsu to heal the wound.

If there are no other options, you can start treating the wound directly. This is a common practice when time is of the essence on the battlefield. If possible, you should clean the wound thoroughly and disinfect it. Otherwise, if invisible foreign objects are left behind, the original wound will feel numb and itchy for two or three days after it heals.

This tingling or itchy feeling doesn't affect strength, it just makes people a little uncomfortable.

Thanks to his advanced training in the Yin-Yang ratio of his chakra, Higashino's medical chakra vitality is astonishing, allowing him to heal very quickly.

Many people recovered quickly and felt no unusual pain in their wounds, and they all expressed their gratitude to Higashino Makoto.

To survive as a ninja, you need to be strong. If you are capable, others will not look down on you because of your young age. On the contrary, they will think you are trustworthy, and more people will stand in front of you to shield you from danger than others.

The last wounded soldier was an elderly ninja with graying hair, about the same age as the Third Hokage, and was known as one of Konoha's two biggest scapegoats, along with Shimura Danzo.

The difference is that Danzo was carrying a conceptual burden, while this person is actually carrying a real, unyielding burden.

This outfit definitely belongs to the eternal genin, Seikosuke.

However, his title of "perennial genin" is just a title. As for his actual strength, even seasoned jonin know it. Otherwise, Suzaku Nara wouldn't have put him in the first team.

During the battle, Higashino Makoto clearly sensed the situation from the outside. The old man's water-style technique was fast and ruthless, even confusing the water-savvy Kirigakure.

"Grandpa, you must be very capable, how did you get injured?"

Maruhoshi Kosuke squinted and chuckled, "Not at all, I'm just a genin. It's just that I'm getting old, and when I see reckless juniors, I always feel like I can help them out."

"You're too modest. Genin is just a title, it doesn't represent strength. Otherwise, Senior Suzaku wouldn't have allowed you to participate in the first wave of battles."

"Oh? You have keen observation skills, and your medical ninjutsu is also excellent. I heard you were the first to spot the enemy, right? That's impressive. You are all the future of Konoha!"

"No, I still have a lot to learn from you seniors."

"I can't teach you, but your two companions seem to use swords. I have some insights into this area and can teach you some useful techniques. Young men, I hope you can survive every mission."

Higashino Makoto winked at Gekko Hayate and Uzuki Yugao.

This is an opportunity we must seize. The person before us is a master who combines illusion and swordsmanship, which perfectly matches the fighting style of our two friends' families and can greatly enrich their skill set.

As for myself, I can certainly ask for guidance on water-style training.

With Higashino Makoto's current mastery of Water Release: Nature Transformation, he could actually develop many ninjutsu on his own. However, by exchanging ideas with others, he always discovers that he has missed some knowledge.

Three people, there must be my teacher.