Naruto: From Novice to Grave

By the time Higashino Shin arrived with the prisoners, the battle on this side had already ended.

The ninjutsu disappeared, the lake receded, and the battlefield became a muddy mess.

Normally, the water simulated by Water Release ninjutsu disappears after the jutsu ends, but apart from the Second Hokage with the Red Eyes, few Water Release ninjas are that extravagant. They usually use chakra to gather moisture from the air or directly summon water from the real world to increase the power of the ninjutsu.

The lake that covered the battlefield before was formed by a certain Hidden Mist ninja using water from a nearby stream. If he were to generate such a large volume of water using his own chakra, he couldn't do it even if he were drained dry.

Earth Escape works on a similar principle.

The Konoha members had moved to a dry spot nearby and were resting on the ground. There were five corpses piled up next to them, and they looked like they were completely dead.

During wartime, like the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, when numerous Iwa ninja were cornered and faced with the Yellow Flash, they had no choice but to surrender. It was impossible to kill all prisoners of this number; instead, they could be used as bargaining chips to pressure the enemy into negotiations.

However, in small-scale battles like today, ninjas rarely leave any survivors for their enemies.

That's why the death rate was so high during the Ninja World War; sometimes, even retirement due to injury was a luxury.

Seeing Higashino Makoto carrying the Mist Cave, Moonlight Cloud asked curiously, "You didn't catch another prisoner, did you?"

"He's alive, but crippled. He's a member of the Snow Clan and has awakened Ice Release. I think he's more useful alive than dead."

Upon hearing this, everyone else cast curious glances at this beautiful enemy. Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, wow, it's not common here now, many people have never encountered it before.

Awakening Ice Release is actually quite rare even in Kirigakure, so it's unclear why he was assigned to carry out this kind of mission to harass the defense line.

However, everyone looked away after taking one look; they couldn't look at it for too long, as it would shake the sacred will of fire in their hearts.

Uzuki Yugao glanced at the prisoner casually tossed aside, then at Higashino Makoto, and sneered, "Makoto, you're really ruthless. She's so beautiful, don't you have any mercy for her?"

Higashino Makoto stared at her with the look of someone who was looking at a pervert: "This is a man!"

"Huh?" Uzuki Yugao froze, then became withdrawn, drawing circles on the ground with a kunai.

She's not even as pretty as a man; this ninja world is truly awful.

Now everyone was too scared to look any longer.

"Hahaha!" Moonlight Cloud used laughter to ease the awkwardness, then pointed to a Mist Ninja with an ancient hairstyle in the pile of corpses and said, "Actually, there is also a Bloodline Limit here. If I'm not mistaken, his attire should belong to the Kaguya clan of Kirigakure."

However, during our fight just now, he didn't use the Corpse Bone Pulse, so I think he's probably someone who hasn't awakened his clan's bloodline.

"Is that so?" Higashino looked him over and found that his attire was indeed very similar to Kimimaro's, but unfortunately he hadn't awakened the Shikotsumyaku.

Even if he awakens, he has no interest; perhaps only Orochimaru would be satisfied with their gains this time.

There are two types of bloodline limits in the ninja world. One type is organ-type, such as the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan, the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan, the Blood Dragon Eye of the Blood Pond clan, the Red Eye of the Hidden Mist Village, and the Shikotsumyaku, etc.

There's really no way to deal with this kind of bloodline in Higashino, unless you get Snake to transplant cells or eyes into him, but he'd be crazy to do that, it's unnecessary.

The second type is the bloodline limit created by fusing two or more different chakra natures. This type can be reproduced by referring to existing samples.

He was born with three chakra natures: wind, water, and earth, and because of his cheat ability, he has mastered the transformation of each nature to a very high level.

Now, we have come into contact with the Ice Release technique formed by wind and water. Through the battle with the Kirigakure crossdresser, we have made some guesses and gained some understanding. Next, we need time to test it out.

As for the Wood Release technique combining water and earth? Higashino knew it well; it was the signature technique of the First Hokage of Konoha. If he wanted to see a sample, it was simple—he could just find an opportunity to learn from Yamato's experience later.

Anyway, Yamato is an honest ninja, so he shouldn't be the only one being bullied by Kakashi.

Actually, Higashino's idea of ​​unlocking his bloodline limit wasn't to become a pure ninjutsu turret-type ninja, as that was never his preferred fighting style.

The main reason is that by fusing bloodlines, one can gain a deeper understanding of the nature and changes of chakra.

As for the secondary reason, it's of course curiosity. Could it be because he's handsome?

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Putting aside his thoughts about bloodline limits, Higashino Shin took out a medicine box from the sealing scroll and began treating the injured, mainly Might Guy and his two teammates. The people who came to help later were not seriously injured, just a little tired.

The reason why the Mist Village was able to annihilate the Mist Ninja without suffering any losses was not only due to their numerical advantage, but also because the village's ninjas had suffered a significant decline in both quantity and quality after a series of major battles.

They were in a worse situation than Konoha. Before the war, they suffered losses due to internal strife, and after the war, they were repeatedly beaten by Konoha.

The limited number of skilled fighters currently available are either engaged in fierce battles with Sunagakure on the southern islands or carrying out secret missions on the battlefield of the Land of Fire. Those sent to harass the front lines are truly limited in strength.

Genma Shiranui and Ebisu fared somewhat better, but Higashino was dealt with very easily.

Might Guy fared much worse. He was a pure taijutsu ninja, and while fighting the Kaguya clan ninja, someone was constantly drawing blood from him with a sword. If the enemies hadn't lacked coordination, he probably would have had to open the Eight Gates to win.

I wonder how many gates he can open now. Maybe when Li is 13, he can open 5 gates. Might Guy seems to be around 13 years old this year too.

But this is their private matter, a ninja's secret. It would be very impolite to pry into it. Even if Might Guy is a magnanimous person, he would most likely not hide it if a fellow comrade asked.

Higashino carefully cleaned each wound with disinfectant, then began treating them using his palm magic.

"Senior Guy, you must be a pure taijutsu ninja, right? Close-quarters unarmed combat is still too disadvantageous for you."

Matt Kai gave a thumbs-up, flashing his white teeth: "This is how I live my youth to the fullest. Getting injured means I haven't sweated enough in my youth."

"Haven't you thought about choosing a suitable weapon? That way you can better protect your body. Senior, you don't want your body to be damaged too much, prematurely depleting your life force and affecting your ability to continue enjoying your youth, do you?"

"You make a good point." Matt Kai rarely thought about it, and then he thought of the nunchucks he used at home to train his hand speed and reaction.

"I already know what weapon I'm using. Thanks for reminding me. I will take good care of my body and keep my sweat and youth lasting longer."

"I believe you can do it, but as a medical ninja, I still suggest you pay attention to nutrition and tonics, otherwise you will not be able to surpass Senior Dai."

Matt Kay was somewhat surprised: "You know my father?"

"I've seen him in the village before, but I got to know him at the hospital. My mother, on the other hand, is quite familiar with Senior Dai."

Who is your mother?

"Megumi Higashino, my name is Makoto Higashino."

Might Guy was not good at remembering names. He lowered his head and thought hard for a long time before finally remembering: "I remember now, it's Senior Megumi who works at Konoha Hospital, right? I've heard my father mention her and I've seen her at the hospital a few times. So she's your mother. No wonder your medical ninjutsu is so amazing."

"That's right, it's her!"

Might Guy tried to stand up, but Higashino Makoto held him down, so he sat down on the ground and bowed: "Thank you, Senior Hui. My father said that without the care of the doctors at the hospital over the years, his body would not have lasted that long."

"We are all comrades of Konoha, so it is what we should do. I have also examined Dai-senpai's body. Compared to him, your physical condition is much better. Because you are young, you don't have any major injuries or bruises at the moment. However, you should still take good care of yourself, especially after you come of age."

"Really, thank you for reminding me, I'll remember that."

As Might Guy spoke, his Konoha White Fangs, which shone brightly, lit up again.

Might Guy was only a genin and often couldn't join a team to complete good missions, so his income was limited, and he gave all his resources to his son. But Guy was different. He was a chunin now and would be promoted to jonin in the future, so his income wouldn't be small. As long as he took good care of his body during training, he could reduce the damage caused by opening the first seven gates to a certain extent.

As for the Death Gate, no matter how good one's body is, it's useless; whoever opens it will die, unless a god descends to earth.