Chapter 116: "Restocking"

The suppression of the Akatsuki organization had no significant impact on the progress of the Third Shinobi World War.

The Land of Fire, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Wind were still fiercely battling in the Land of Rain, with a large number of shinobi dying daily.

The Land of Rain suffered once again. Hanzo the Salamander and Yahiko were dead, and both the local forces of Amegakure and the emerging Akatsuki organization were heavily damaged. Previously, they could at least protect the civilians to some extent, but now both organizations were in chaos, leading to a collapse of order and even harsher conditions for the ordinary people.

Of course, none of this had much to do with Yuto. He continued to fulfill his duties as vice commander, working tirelessly and accumulating a thick stack of accolades once more.

Fortunately, in the third week after the Akatsuki suppression, Konoha sent two more vice commanders: one was a Jonin from the Uchiha clan, and the other was an ANBU captain who had "retired."

With one commander and three vice commanders, Yuto's burden lightened significantly, even allowing him two to three hours of rest each day.

With some free time at his disposal, Yuto could finally focus on his own matters.

- The God's Mask had been used up and urgently needed replenishing.

...

Shisui Uchiha held a shuriken in his hand, his single-tomoe Sharingan spinning slowly.

Rainwater soaked his hair, making his black hair stick to his skin. On anyone else, this might look quite disheveled, but being an outstanding member of the Uchiha clan, Shisui was not only highly skilled in Fire Release and genjutsu, but his combination of Sharingan and taijutsu was also extremely proficient. He deeply understood the value of love and friendship, and... he was handsome.

Handsome enough that even drenched like a wet rat, he looked like he was in a fashion shoot.

Not far from him were a white-haired girl, Ruri Mochizuki, and the hooded, eerie Muta Aburame.

The three stood in a triangular formation, each covering the other's blind spots.

Muta Aburame's stance was textbook standard, just like what was taught in the ninja academy and his clan, with a precise angle to his body and a perfect grip on his weapon.

Shisui Uchiha, however, was more relaxed. He habitually held his blade with one hand, hiding a small ninja tool in the other, and crouched slightly. As a genius, he had his own understanding of combat and wouldn't blindly follow the rules.

As for Ruri Mochizuki, her stance was the most relaxed. She leaned against a tree with her arms crossed, tilting her head to look at the insects crawling on the leaves, as if she were strolling and daydreaming rather than preparing for battle.

"This posture best unleashes my combat potential. A true ascetic dares to place themselves in the most dangerous situations!"

—Whenever the two boys expressed concern about the white-haired girl's casual combat stance, Ruri would always snort and proudly say the above.

Is it really like that? Shisui often wanted to ask, but he never dared.

After getting familiar with each other, Ruri, with her kekkei genkai, the Shikotsumyaku, and her advantage of being a girl, would thrash Shisui and Muta if provoked, chanting, "Beating is caring, scolding is loving, not beating or scolding is harming," whenever she did so.

He really didn't know where she learned such shameless words.

Remembering the nonsense Ruri spouted while exerting "team violence," Shisui subconsciously smiled and glanced at her.

Coincidentally, the white-haired girl was also looking around out of boredom, and their eyes met.

Ruri mouthed, "Are you kidding me?" without making a sound, then grinned, revealing her sharp canine teeth.

Poor Shisui quickly looked away.

Bang!

Colorful fireworks burst in the sky.

It was Konoha's attack signal.

"Charge!" Ruri Mochizuki's eyebrows twitched as she leapt from the tree, rushing towards the Iwagakure troops not far away, with Shisui and Muta following close behind. Shisui quickly overtook the white-haired girl due to his speed.

Simultaneously, numerous Konoha shinobi appeared from all directions, charging at the enemy, and the brutal battle began in earnest.

...

An hour and a half later.

The two boys and one girl of Team 9 leaned against each other, their clothes and skin stained with blood, resting with their eyes closed, too exhausted to bicker.

This surprise attack ended in a pyrrhic victory for Konoha.

Both sides had committed substantial forces, and Team 9 was just one of the insignificant squads among them.

Due to the high-level jutsu clashes, the forest serving as the main battlefield was devastated, with the terrain completely altered, largely due to Iwagakure's Earth Release techniques.

Even a genius like Shisui Uchiha sustained serious injuries in this battle.

"War is truly terrifying," Shisui reflected, resting alongside his teammates.

He and Ruri Mochizuki, along with Muta Aburame, had been in the Land of Rain for over half a month, and Shisui keenly sensed the increasing intensity of the war. Although the frequency of daily battles remained roughly the same, the number of deaths and disappearances was sharply rising.

"This is the most critical stalemate phase. Each village has gauged the other's strength, so they can often strike decisively. Now it's a matter of whose resolve to sacrifice is greater..."

Shisui thought, his eyelids growing heavier until he finally fell asleep between his companions.

The intelligent Uchiha boy might never know that the rising death rate, apart from the natural progression of war, was also significantly influenced by his teacher, the one known as the Lone Lion.

—As vice commander, Yuto only needed to add a few lines to the orders to deploy more Konoha troops, thereby engaging the other two villages in more deadly conflicts!

He was the vice commander, no longer a "free agent" on the battlefield.

Collecting Hyuga corpses was becoming increasingly straightforward.

On the intense battlefield, members of the Hyuga clan would die as Konoha shinobi. With powerful shinobi from each side involved, and the terrain often torn apart, disappearances were merely another statistic on the battle reports.

As shinobi clashed above ground, corpses frequently fell into the torn earth and swift rivers, including those of the Hyuga branch members.

As vice commander, Yuto could easily predict and even plan the general locations and times of these battles. He would summon a slug and have it hide underground to intercept the Hyuga corpses, transporting them to Shikkotsu Forest.

From behind the scenes, with just a few gestures, he could continuously obtain the desired spoils, the hallmark of a great villain.

In any world, resources always flow to those in power. Since becoming vice commander, Yuto rarely had the chance to leave the main camp alone, but this did not affect his access to abundant information, as those thin papers containing valuable intelligence were delivered to him daily.

As time passed, he finally gathered enough corpses once again.

(End of Chapter)