Uchiha Akaishi Tour

April 3, Konoha Year 37.

Just two days after the New Year, Team 7 received orders to go to the Hokage Building...

"What do you think the Hokage wants from us?" Akaishi asked, sounding excited and somewhat thrilled.

When Akaishi woke up in the clan's training ground in the morning, a clansman came to inform him that the Hokage had invited him. Lanwu and Minato also received the same message.

"It must be... something about the Land of Rain." Lan Wu seemed a little nervous.

"Is it finally our turn to go to the battlefield?" Akaishi's tone was full of anticipation.

As an Uchiha, Akaishi is the typical person who "enjoys the thought of war".

Even though news of deaths had already reached the clan within the past month, Chishi was not afraid to go to the battlefield.

"The reason they specifically met with us is probably because we will be the first batch of Chunin under the age of sixteen to go to the battlefield, but... I guess they won't be on the front lines, they should be in the support troops," Minato speculated.

While the three were still guessing, they arrived at the Hokage's office.

"Just come in," came the voice of the Third Generation.

Upon hearing this, Akaishi took the lead and pushed open the door to enter.

In the office, besides the Third Hokage and Shimura Danzo who was tacitly expected to be there, there were three other people: Sarutobi Shinnosuke, Inuzuka Tsurugi, and Aburame Shiki.

"Lord Hokage, Shimura will assist you."

The three spoke at the same time, but Akaishi, as usual, did not greet Shimura Danzo. Everyone was used to this, and Sarutobi, who knew about the two sides' alliance, did not remind them of anything.

"I've called you here this time... because the battle on the battlefield in the Land of Rain is getting increasingly fierce, so... the time has come for Konoha to need you!" Sarutobi said in a very enthusiastic tone, though he was a little embarrassed.

"yes!"

All six of them, including his son, answered with their heads held high.

This allowed Sarutobi to breathe a slight sigh of relief...

Now, 37 years have passed since Konoha was founded. Looking back, when the First Hokage led the Senju clan and joined forces with the Uchiha clan to establish Konoha Village, their first slogan was "Protect the children" and "So that the children will never have to go to the battlefield again"...

Many ninja clans, including the Sarutobi clan, were attracted not only by the combined strength of the First Hokage and Madara, but also by the allure of this slogan. Even during the Fourth Shinobi World War twenty years ago, Konoha, under Tobirama's diplomatic skills, only slightly intervened and did not participate deeply in the war, so naturally, there was no need for children under sixteen to go to the battlefield.

Therefore, Sarutobi faces immense moral pressure in sending them to the battlefield.

There always has to be a beginning...

Danzo originally suggested starting with the age of fifteen and gradually lowering it, while also accelerating the conferment of ranks to Chunin—so that older Genin could also go to the battlefield.

However, after careful consideration, Sarutobi did not start with age, but instead wanted to send the strongest group of Chunin aged twelve to fifteen to lead the charge into the battlefield... including his son.

"Of course, you don't need to go directly to the front line to fight. After that, the six of you... will go here and join the medical unit stationed here, and follow the orders of the unit commander." Sarutobi then showed the six of them a map.

The location he was pointing to was within the Land of Rain, but not far from the border of the Land of Fire.

As the battle lines advanced, the medical unit established a medical station here so that wounded comrades could return for treatment. Of course, it wasn't just medical ninjas that were needed; protective forces were also required.

Although it's not a high-risk mission like directly attacking the enemy or gathering intelligence, we're already in the war zone and could clash with enemy ninjas at any time!

The six of them naturally accepted the order without question, but Lan Wu, having guessed something, asked, "Lord Hokage, the commander of the medical unit is...?" "That's right, it's your Tsunade-neechan." Sarutobi smiled, his expression softening.

After receiving the order, the six men packed up and told their families that day, and then met at the village entrance at noon.

"Ahem, before we set off, let me say a few words..." Akaishi cleared his throat.

When everyone looked over with puzzled expressions, Akaishi said matter-of-factly, "I see that neither of your two teams is complete, so this time, we, Class 7, will take the lead! In other words, I'm the captain!"

Sarutobi Shinnosuke, Inuzuka Tsurugi, Aburame Shiki: ...

The three of them were speechless for a moment, as for Minato and Ranma... they were already used to it.

"Is this really necessary? Our mission is simply to get to the location of the medical unit..." Shinnosuke sighed helplessly—"Aren't you being too obsessed with official duties? You're even arguing about being the captain of a team just to get somewhere?"

As for what to do once we arrive, we'll have to wait and see what's in store...

"Of course it's necessary! Missions must be carried out meticulously. Does the team leader who leads the team to the assembly point no longer count as a team leader? What if something unexpected happens along the way!" Akaishi said matter-of-factly.

"Alright, alright, then Captain Akaishi, you can choose the route." Shinnosuke rolled his eyes at him.

"Yes, we'll take this route before entering the Land of Rain. It's the fastest way. We'll travel eight days on, four days off, day and night..." Akaishi said encouragingly.

Since 80% of the journey is within the Land of Fire, Akaishi decided to travel at full speed.

"Once we get here, we'll switch to a six-day work week with six days off, and be on high alert... We'll try our best to arrive ahead of January 8th!"

Although the mission required them to arrive before January 10th, Akaishi felt that at this time, the sooner the better.

What if the medical unit is attacked, and we're the only ones who can turn the tide?

Of course, as they approached the border, they still needed to be cautious and vigilant. As the team leader, Akaishi was also responsible for everyone's safety. No one had any objections to Akaishi's arrangements; in fact…

Seeing that Akaishi had even roughly marked out the rest areas when he marked out the domestic routes, it was clear that he probably hadn't packed much when he was packing his things, and was only thinking about how to be the captain!

Within the Land of Fire, Akaishi and his group traveled smoothly. On the afternoon of January 7th, after greeting the first sentry squad, Akaishi officially entered the Land of Rain.

Unlike the Land of Iron's "focusing on one's own interests while neglecting others," if the Rain Ninja dared to penetrate deep into the Land of Fire and launch a surprise attack on their rear...

Caught off guard, some civilian casualties are inevitable. However, given Konoha's reaction speed and rear defense network, most of the enemy ninjas who entered will not be able to return... No one would make such a disadvantageous exchange.

In the month-long battle prior, the Rain Ninja hadn't engaged in direct combat; their battle lines had been pushed directly to several areas favorable to their "poison mist tactics." After all, the Rain Ninja had been fighting the Sand Ninja for three months earlier, and their main force was already on the western front…

Being "taken care of" by two major powers at this time is a blessing that Rain Village is clearly struggling to bear, and has already lost control of most of its territory! If Konoha and Sunagakure weren't also enemies and would likely fight to the death if they met, Rain Village would probably have been driven to the Black Pool.

Therefore, after entering what is theoretically the Land of Rain, the two groups of ninjas that Akaishi and the others encountered were still Konoha's companions.

Finally, at noon on January 8, the Akaishi team arrived at the medical station ahead of schedule.

This medical station is located on the sunny slope of Mount Shizuara in the Land of Rain. The earthen and stone structure forms a cluster of buildings, which is clearly the work of earth-style ninjas.

In addition to fortress-like rooms, there are also watchtowers and other security facilities around the area.

"It's in such an obvious place..." Akaishi was a little surprised when he first saw it.

However, Lan Wu answered directly, "The reason why Sister Tsunade was in such a hurry to move the medical station so close to the mobile combat zone is because the battle with the Rain Ninja has created a huge demand for post-battle detoxification. Therefore, most of the patients here are probably her comrades who have been poisoned by the 'Fine Ailment Extraction Technique.' In this situation, if the medical station is built underground or in a sheltered place like a mountain valley, although it may be hidden, the air circulation will be poor, which could easily cause secondary poisoning."

"I see..." Akaishi nodded in understanding.

Of course, there must be another reason – in such a bright and well-ventilated place, the effective range of the Rain Ninja's "poisonous fog tactics" will be reduced.

In other words, the way to avoid enemy attacks here is not by hiding and not being detected, but by the mobile ninjas on the front lines pushing the battle line forward, and... by their own strong protective capabilities!

The six members of the Akaishi gang were discovered as soon as they approached...

Halfway there, a Chunin from the Hyuga clan stopped them and said, "Password."

As the other person spoke, they activated their Byakugan, scanning the group to confirm that they were indeed fellow villagers and not enemies in disguise. Unless it was an overly unusual transformation technique like "Face Removal Technique," the Byakugan could detect anything.

Especially in recognizing one's own people...

He had seen the six people like Akaishi before during the Chunin Exams. Even though their chakra had increased over the past few months, there shouldn't have been any fundamental changes. He could identify them by observing their chakra flow.

Even if the face is not exposed by the "Eliminating Face Technique", it is impossible to disguise it in front of the Byakugan.

"Rain falls," Akaishi gave the command.

"The fire's started... You arrived so quickly. Come on in, Lady Tsunade is waiting for you." The Hyuga clan chunin smiled.

The pressure of being on duty here is still quite high. He only showed a smile after he was completely sure that the person was his partner.

After the six Akaishi members entered, they did not see Tsunade immediately. She was still performing surgery herself. After waiting for half an hour, Tsunade came out looking slightly tired, but she was also full of energy. As she walked, she took off her surgical gown.

"As expected of Konoha's most outstanding young Chunin, you arrived two days early." Tsunade praised him as soon as they met.

"Thinking of our injured comrades, how could we dare to delay?" Akaishi said modestly.

"However, from now on I will only treat you as six Chunin, not as some kind of teenage Chunin... If you have any objections, you'd better raise them now," Tsunade said seriously.

Akashi then raised his hand and said, "No... he's the best Chunin!"

"Good, very energetic."

With Tsunade's praise, Akaishi's "rush to the front line" mission was completed. After officially reporting back to the commander of the medical unit, the war mission... began!