Naruto: From Novice to Grave

The next morning, Tsukiko Unmi took Higashino Makoto to the command center for a meeting.

The Jonin had already reviewed the detailed battle situation in a meeting yesterday afternoon, and the main purpose of today's meeting was to assign tasks.

The reason why we need a genin like Higashino Makoto to participate is that he is a top-notch sensory ninja.

Due to the nature of chakra, most powerful ninjas possess some sensory abilities, but these are more akin to a sixth sense or combat intuition, and are limited to a finite range around themselves.

Truly professional sensory ninjas, especially top-tier long-range sensory ninjas, are extremely rare.

Inside the command center, Orochimaru was unusually seated at the head of the table, but he didn't seem very interested. On the other hand, Fugaku Uchiha, who was sitting next to him, was very engrossed in studying the military map on the table with Suzaku Nara.

In addition, Higashino also saw the Hyuga clan Jonin who came to the front line with him to provide support, as well as Yamashiro Aoba wearing sunglasses.

The Jonin of the Hyuga clan was named Hyuga Terai. At the time, Higashino Makoto thought he was Hyuga Hizashi, but he later found out that he was not. Hizashi took most of the branch family and followed Hiashi north to protect his beloved elder brother from the main family.

There aren't many Hyuga ninjas currently on the Hidden Mist battlefield. Apart from a few adult ninjas like Hyuga Terai, the rest are all newbies. For example, Hyuga Tokuma is Higashino Makoto's classmate, Hyuga Iroha is a classmate in the same year, and Hyuga Himon and Mitarashi Anko are classmates, with Himon being two years older than Higashino Makoto.

It's all branch families, no main family. This is the Hyuga main family's place of shame. Just a few months into the war with Kirigakure, an inexperienced, arrogant, and reckless main family member who liked to give orders blindly fell into the Kirigakure's trap. Before he died, he only had time to destroy one of his eyes, and the other became a trophy of the Kirigakure.

Konoha still hasn't recovered that eyeball.

It is said that the Hidden Mist ninja who obtained that eye did not want to stay here and become a public enemy, so he ran to the southern islands to fight with the Hidden Sand Village, making the sand-playing ninja suffer a lot, and he cursed Konoha countless times in his heart.

After everyone had arrived, Nara Suzaku looked at everyone and said, "The Hidden Mist Village is destined to fail in this war with Konoha. We already know their only objective."

We have thwarted all their operations these past few days, so they have reached the point of making a last-ditch effort.

Yesterday's attack on the defensive line was just a feint. We learned from other directions that an elite group of Mist Ninja had once again infiltrated behind the defensive line.

The problem now is that this group of Mist Ninja has a top-notch sensory ninja who can easily evade our search teams.

Therefore, eliminating them is not difficult; the real challenge is finding them.

Fugaku Uchiha glanced at Orochimaru and, noticing that his superior on the eastern front showed no intention of speaking, continued, "Right now, besides those who remain at headquarters and along the defense line, the only sensory and reconnaissance experts we can call upon are you all."

"Jonin Hyuga Terai, Special Jonin Yamanaka Nobuhiko, Chunin Yamashiro Aoba, and Genin Higashino Makoto, the command will form four search teams centered around your respective squads to find the rats that have sneaked behind our lines."

Although Hyuga Terai is from a branch family, his Byakugan ability is outstanding and no less than that of the main family.

The name Yamanaka Nobuhiko indicates that he comes from the Yamanaka family, a clan known for their excellent perception abilities.

As for Yamashiro Aoba, he is very versatile, and his perception ability is one of his strengths. He seems to belong to the Yamanaka family, but his surname is Yamashiro.

As a Jonin, Hyuga Terai naturally has the right to question the mission: "Since the enemy is an elite team with top-notch sensory ninjas."

Based on the current situation, this ninja's sensory range may be far beyond what we imagined. How can we ensure the safety of the search team, especially the team that Yamashiro Aoba is in?

Although he didn't say it directly, his meaning was clear: in Aoba's team, there was a Chunin named Sarutobi Asuma, who was the son of the Third Hokage. Who would be responsible if something happened to him?

Everyone knows this guy is very rebellious. Even if we kick him out of the team temporarily, given his personality, he'll definitely sneak up on us, which would be even more dangerous.

So sending your boss's kids to the front lines during wartime is really a pain in the ass. Wouldn't it be better to just stay home and be your second son?

Higashino Makoto and Gekko Unmi exchanged a glance, the latter nodding. Higashino Makoto then said, "Gentlemen, all you need to do is find traces of this group of Mist Ninja and then notify me!"

Hyuga Terai said sternly, "Higashino Shin Genin, I know your sensory range is very far, but how can you guarantee that the other side won't detect you first? This is a very dangerous matter, and it could cost you and your teammates your lives."

Orochimaru, who had always acted as a mascot, suddenly became interested and stuck out his tongue to wash his face: "Oh, Higashino-kun, is your sensory ability different from others?"

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru, it is indeed different. My senses can not only detect others, but also conceal the presence of those around me. Let Nobuhiko-senpai and Aoba-senpai sense it and they will understand."

Upon hearing this, Nobuhiko Yamanaka and Aoba Yamashiro immediately closed their eyes to sense the situation, then suddenly opened their eyes with expressions of utter disbelief.

Yamanaka Nobuhiko exclaimed incredulously, "How amazing! The person is right in front of me, yet I can't sense anything about them. How is that possible?"

"Ahem!" Moonlight Cloud pretended to cough a few times.

"I'm sorry!" Nobuhiko Yamanaka apologized immediately. Even if it was a fellow villager, it was very impolite to ask about the secrets of someone's ninjutsu.

Orochimaru's interest deepened, but he said nothing more. That's how the ninja world is; there are many strange and unusual ninjutsu, which is why he longs to understand everything.

Before Nara Suzaku could speak, Uchiha Fugaku made the decision: "Very good. This search will be mainly carried out by the team of Jonin from Kumomi. I will dispatch an elite Uchiha team to accompany and protect them."

Once other teams spot any trace, they shouldn't risk approaching. Immediately notify the Cloud-Seeing Squad. Once the enemy is located, notify the rear to implement the encirclement plan. Make sure these rats are all kept in the Land of Fire!

"yes!"

Everyone received the order and prepared to depart.

Orochimaru glanced at Fugaku Uchiha with a strange smile. This head of the most powerful clan in Konoha will never understand that no matter how great your clan's achievements are, you will never be able to get your hands on the Hokage position.

Having lived this long, I'm still so naive!

----------

Outside the Konoha command headquarters, the four members of Team 3 successfully reunited with the four members of Team Uchiha. This was the elite squad of the clan that Chief Fugaku had arranged to protect.

Whether they were elite or not is unknown, but Fugaku Uchiha clearly put in the effort, as there were familiar faces from Team 3 in the squad.

Higashino greeted him, "Yo, Shisui, long time no see."

That's right. The youngest member of the Uchiha squad is Shisui. He has been on the Eastern Front ever since he completed the required number of D-rank missions. However, since everyone's missions are usually staggered, we haven't seen each other.

It's been a long time since I've seen this guy. He's matured quite a bit, but his big, beautiful eyes are as stunning as ever.

He greeted them cheerfully, "Long time no see, Shin, Hayate, and Yugao. I never expected we'd be on a mission together this time."

He then introduced both parties.

His team leader, a middle-aged ninja, was most notable for his prematurely gray hair, and his name was Uchiha Yatsushiro.

One of the teammates looked like he had just come of age and was named Uchiha Inahisa, while the other looked to be thirteen or fourteen years old and was named Uchiha Tetsuka.

This team perfectly includes four generations: children, teenagers, and adults.

Higashino suddenly remembered: Shisui's teammates were the trio that Itachi had taken down in a single move, weren't they? Three against one and they were instantly killed by the filial son, how shameful.

The three Uchiha members naturally knew about Shisui and cast curious glances at Higashino Makoto. It was quite an achievement to be able to open the eyes of the clan members with just his words.

Fortunately, they knew what it meant for their family members to have their eyes opened, mainly because Shisui had a good talent, so they didn't tie Higashino Makoto up and make him give speeches every day.

After the two sides met and got to know each other, they immediately set off to search in the predetermined direction.

Konoha already knew Kirigakure's purpose, so the search focused primarily on the area around the lakes and rivers in the southeastern part of the Land of Fire.

In fact, some of the Konoha leadership suggested collecting some of the Three-Tails' chakra, but Hiruzen Sarutobi rejected the idea. Tailed beasts were taboo for all villages, and the Third Hokage only wanted to end the war quickly and didn't want to cause any more trouble.

Whether Orochimaru obediently followed orders is something only he himself knows.

Ever since he realized he had little chance of becoming Hokage, this guy has become quite unrestrained in his actions.