Naruto: From Novice to Grave

The Land of Waves, an inconspicuous little island nation in the ninja world.

Located directly east of the Land of Fire, separated from the mainland by only a narrow strait, the country has a small land area and a small population. The daimyo is extremely poor, so it is impossible for them to support ninjas or ninja villages for self-defense.

During the Fourth Shinobi World War, she was like a frail young girl, easily bullied by any big man.

Faced with the overwhelming force of Kirigakure, the Land of Waves was powerless to resist and surrendered, becoming one of Kirigakure's bridgeheads for invading Konoha.

The people and daimyo of the Land of Waves: What can I do? I'm desperate too!

Konoha is resisting the advance of the Hidden Mist front towards the Netherworld Country.

In the forest, Makoto Higashino sat cross-legged at the top of a large tree, performing his daily training.

Not long after refusing Snake's assistant's invitation that night, the Third Squad began their frontline garrison duty, and a month and a half has quietly passed since then.

Orochimaru isn't that petty yet, because if Higashino really refuses, he'll make things difficult for their class. Each squad's garrison location rotates every week, so it's no different from other squads.

He didn't need to assign Higashino Makoto's class a mission that would inevitably lead to their deaths, so that he could witness the death of his comrades. There was no need for it. Death is like the wind, always accompanying ninjas. It can arrive suddenly when you're not paying attention, without any need for deliberate planning.

Just as he could never have imagined that a simple mission to lead a team would result in his disciple, Rope Tree, jumping into an explosive rune trap.

Rope Tree: "..." Is this ever going to end?

In the ninja world, death is as common as eating and drinking, gradually numbing people to it. Orochimaru is always very patient with those he admires, seeking genuine recognition and loyalty from others.

He was very skilled at child trafficking. These children in the ninja world, no matter how strong they were, always had blank slates in their hearts, which he could paint with his own colors.

Over the past month and a half, Higashino has truly witnessed the unpredictable behavior of these madmen from the Mist Village. They always attack suddenly from a certain direction, causing chaos and forcing the Leaf Village's defenses to be redeployed. When they see that they cannot achieve any results, they simply retreat.

It may seem like a blind and random act, but Konoha already knew through interrogation of some Mist Ninja, including the female prisoner, that it was a simple feint attack tactic.

By mobilizing Konoha's defenses and creating weaknesses, they arranged for elite teams to infiltrate the Land of Fire to complete their mission.

Even if you know this, you can't ignore it, because a feint attack can switch into a real breakthrough at any time.

The defending side is always on the defensive, and in order to turn the tide, the Konoha ninjas are also trying their best to find a way to break the deadlock.

Unfortunately, his superior, Orochimaru, was obsessed with human experimentation and had no interest in this matter. If he had had half the enthusiasm he had when fighting against Sunagakure, the outcome of the battle might have been different.

A few people believe that this Hokage disciple seems to be intentionally prolonging the timeline of the standoff between the two sides, but there is no evidence.

Acting Commander Uchiha Fugaku was indeed full of enthusiasm and eager to make a name for himself, but what can I say about this guy? If he were truly insightful and had outstanding strategies, he wouldn't have led his own clansmen astray.

He was a typical example of someone who usually stood idly by and tried to smooth things over, but when faced with danger, he sacrificed his life to save his family.

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Perhaps due to the excessive activity of the tailed beast chakra on the eastern front, Higashino's white natural energy training entered a deeper level of the second stage half a month ago.

Now he doesn't need to sleep to enter a state of consciousness; he can attract natural energy into his body simply by meditating peacefully until he reaches his daily physical limit.

Similar to how the hot mom from Haxi claps her hands and instantly enters a godlike state.

However, he did not have the Sage's Face Mask. His only distinguishing feature, the silver celestial markings on his forehead, were covered by the Konoha headband, making them invisible to most people.

Unlike the Sage Mode of the three holy lands, he does not absorb specific natural energy and his own chakra to form the Golden Dragon Fish ratio, but directly absorbs white natural energy to continuously strengthen his physical body and spirit.

When there are enemies, we fight; when there are no enemies, we cultivate quietly, just like today.

Suddenly, Higashino Makoto, who was cultivating, opened his eyes and looked towards the north.

A distress flare is slowly rising.

Moonlight Cloud, who had jumped onto the treetop, glanced over and asked, "Shin, what's going on over there?"

"Six Mist Ninja, two regular Chunin squads."

The ninja squads on the defensive line were not far apart, naturally within Higashino Makoto's ever-increasing range of perception.

Gekko Kumomi drew his ninja sword and gave the order: "Team 3, go and provide support."

Upon hearing this, Higashino Makoto ended his training and, together with Gekko Hayate and Uzuki Yugao, rushed towards the location where the signal flare had been launched.

As for whether the gaps in the defenses after they leave will be exploited? The four of them don't need to worry about that, because there is a second line of defense behind them.

A distance of a few kilometers is very short for a ninja; it won't take much time.

When Higashino and his companions arrived following the sounds of the battle, they saw three young Konoha ninjas stubbornly resisting the Kirigakure ninjas' attack, taking advantage of the dense forest terrain.

On the ground, some unknown Mist Ninja used Water Release to create a shallow, large lake, creating an environment favorable to them.

There was another area nearby shrouded in thick fog, not very large, but the Konoha Chunin squad had already broken out of the fog and was fighting their way back towards the second line of defense.

Only a fool would try to fight the Mist Ninja in the thick fog. By retreating to the second line of defense, they could join forces with their comrades arriving from the left and right flanks to form a three-way encirclement of the Mist Ninja.

From another direction, three more Konoha ninja arrived and, together with the Kumomi team, immediately launched an attack.

The original garrison was a Chunin squad. The boy, who wore his headband like a turban, but backwards, faced two Mist Ninjas alone. While nimbly dodging enemy attacks in the forest, he scattered the senbon needles in his hand and mouth as if they were free.

This was Genma Shiranui. A Chunin squad that had come from further north to provide support joined his battle and together they began to besiege the two Mist Ninja.

Ebisu, dressed similarly to Genma, had his steel headband on the front of his ninja hat. Wearing sunglasses, he faced only one enemy and was at a disadvantage but not in a sorry state, fighting back and forth.

Gekko Hayate and Uzuki Yugao quickly joined in, creating a three-on-one situation.

The remaining opponent was Might Guy, a master of taijutsu. He was also fighting two Mist Ninjas by himself. One of the Mist Ninjas was dressed in an ancient and unique style and seemed to be a taijutsu-type ninja. He was frantically fighting Guy in close combat, while his companion was there to provide support and would suddenly come up and slash him.

However, the two did not cooperate well and even had some conflicts. The ancient-looking, crazy-looking Mist Ninja sometimes even attacked his companions.

Kai avoided fatal wounds, and although the rest of his wounds left him covered in blood, it did not stop this rare beast from displaying his youthful vigor.

He roared and kept slamming Leaf Whirlwind and Great Whirlwind into his opponent's face.

Moonlight Cloud appeared instantly in the midst of the battle. With the addition of the Jonin, the situation reversed in the blink of an eye. Might Guy's blood boiled even more fiercely when he saw this.

Only five Mist Ninja? Where is the other one?

Higashino Shin instantly appeared behind Ebisu. This little pervert was slightly weaker than his two companions. With the help of Hayate and Yugao, he relaxed and became careless about the danger coming from behind.

"Ding ding ding ding!"

A smooth mirror appeared on the water behind Ebisu, from which a sheet of transparent, crystalline senbon needles shone.

[Earth Release: A Corner of the Great Wall]

Shinpei Higashino appeared behind Ebisu, extending his left hand. In an instant, the chakra emanating from his five fingers formed a huge, translucent, earth-yellow shield that blocked all the crystalline senbon needles.

This is another defensive instantaneous ninjutsu developed by Makoto Higashino. It works on the same principle as "Tranquility in One Corner," but it is infused with earth-style chakra. It utilizes the hardness and stability of earth-style chakra to specifically defend against damage from sharp and pointed weapons.

The Water Release: Tranquility is infused with water-attribute chakra, utilizing the flow and supple tension of water to resist the energy attacks of ninjutsu, as well as the accompanying impact and crushing damage.

Of course, ninjutsu is static, but people are dynamic, and their uses go beyond just defense.

When Ebisu heard the commotion and turned around, he thought to himself, "Luckily, I'm saved!" However, he glanced at Gekko Hayate and Uzuki Yugao, who were wielding swords and hacking wildly at the enemy, and then at Higashino Makoto.

"..." Are all the younger students these days this fierce?

Makoto Higashino didn't have time to care about Ebisu for the time being, because he had discovered an unexpected surprise.

I pulled a senbon (a type of sage) from the shallow water at my feet. It was transparent and crystal clear, cool to the touch, and exuded a slight chill.

Ice Release?

really interesting!

Higashino really wanted to stick out his tongue and wash his face, but he stopped himself from doing so. He was a proper ninja and couldn't be like Orochimaru, a pervert.