"Go disrupt the logistics support of the Konoha Ninja. Most of the Konoha Ninja active recently are Chunins and Genins, it's quite simple for you." Karatachi Yagura marked a spot on the map for the Seven-Swords Ninja to see.
The Hidden Mist is famous in the Ninja World for their assassination abilities, and as assassins, they also possess excellent intelligence capabilities, not losing to the Konoha Ninja in this aspect.
Karatachi Yagura's goal is simple: to efficiently massacre the mid and lower ranks of Konoha's forces to test whether Konoha truly lacks adequate strength or is merely a paper tiger in disguise.
He had wanted to do this for a long time, but previously the Konoha Ninja were very cautious, and there weren't so many teams active together.
"Tsk, Chunins and Genins, a task specifically to bully the weak, huh." Biwa Juzo, who was carrying the Decapitating Carving Knife, showed a look of disdain.
Biwa Juzo alone could easily kill ten middle and lower-ranked ninjas, yet Karatachi Yagura wanted all seven of them to hunt such ninja teams. Biwa Juzo couldn't think of a description other than bullying the weak.
"It is indeed bullying the weak, but a task is something we must execute, isn't it?" Kurosuki Raiga said, looking at Biwa Juzo.
Suikazan Fuguki, Kuriarare Kushimaru, and other members of the Seven-Swords Ninja looked at Biwa Juzo. They were not companions moving forward together. If Biwa Juzo refused to execute the task for such a reason, they would be the first to deal with him.
"Ha, do you even need to ask?" Biwa Juzo answered with a mocking expression on his face.
Although he was reluctant, he had no intention of refusing to complete the mission, as he was a Hidden Mist Ninja, and for them, tasks have the highest priority; everything else can be secondary.
...
"So, you guys are here too, huh, why hasn't Teacher Chen appeared?" Obito asked in surprise, encountering Might Guy's team.
"Teacher Chen has some matters to attend to and will be here later." Might Guy replied honestly.
"What a coincidence, we're both without a guide teacher now," Obito said, scratching his head as he thought about their current situation.
Even though Mokgetsu is on the same battlefield with them, he cannot lead them in their tasks because he is burdened with important duties.
"Lord Minato didn't come with you to this battlefield?" Ebisu asked curiously.
He thought Namikaze Minato wouldn't be so irresponsible as to leave his students alone on the battlefield, especially since none of Obito's team had become Jonin.
"Teacher Minato is on another battlefield. Teacher Mokgetsu brought us here, but he has other crucial tasks and can't lead us right now." Obito explained.
"I see, this is our bond!" Might Guy showed a sudden understanding expression and then looked at Kakashi with excitement.
Kakashi: ...
He hadn't said anything, how did it become about their bond again?
"Since your guide teacher is not here, you must be more cautious when carrying out missions." Kakashi reminded them, thinking of something.
Without a leading Jonin, even if Ebisu and Shiranui Genma had been promoted to Chunin, Might Guy's team couldn't take on B-Class or higher missions. But the battlefield situation changes rapidly, and even B-Class missions can encounter unexpected situations, requiring constant vigilance.
Mainly, Might Guy's team wasn't strong enough. While Ebisu and Shiranui Genma were considered excellent among their peers, the battlefield wasn't just a battle between peers; no one cares how old you are in war.
To put it bluntly, Might Guy might even be safer executing missions alone.
If Might Guy encountered three Jonin alone, Kakashi believed that Might Guy would be able to escape safely if he gave his all, but with Ebisu and Shiranui Genma, it was uncertain.
Because Might Guy couldn't bring himself to abandon his companions, and Ebisu and Shiranui Genma wouldn't be able to escape from the hands of Jonin, Might Guy would have no choice but to fight head-on.
"As expected of a dear friend, Teacher Chen reminded us of this too." Might Guy gave Kakashi a thumbs up.
Suddenly, a thought struck Obito's mind: if none of them had a guide teacher to execute advanced tasks, maybe forming a new team together would allow them to take on A-Class missions.
"Why don't you join us, Guy? That way, we'll have a team of seven Chunins, surely also eligible to undertake A-Class missions," Obito shared his idea.
Obito felt quite helpless. Before coming to the battlefield, he wanted to perform well and outshine Kakashi, but Kakashi, with his impressive speed, always took down enemies first and dealt most damage.
After several missions, Obito only managed to fight with Shadow Clones and some Hidden Mist Ninja during the first mission. In the subsequent missions, he barely engaged.
Because the encountered ninjas were simply too weak, whereas in the first mission, at least they faced a Jonin, later on, they only faced Chunins and Genins.
Obito knew it wasn't a matter of bad luck but due to the mission levels. In B-Class missions, not encountering Jonins is normal, while facing a Jonin is an unforeseen situation.
So, Obito desired to take on higher-level missions, where they could face stronger enemies and have more opportunities to perform.
Of course, Obito wasn't foolish enough to clamor to undertake S-level missions, for that would be suicidal on the battlefield.
"We can't just randomly join other teams, right?" Shiranui Genma said, somewhat unsure.
"You should be more certain; of course not," Ebisu shook his head and said.
This is on the battlefield, how could ninjas be allowed to freely merge into teams, that would cause chaos.
"Theoretically not, but I can ask Teacher Mokgetsu." Kakashi thought and said.
Kakashi felt merging with Might Guy's team was beneficial, as it'd be advantageous to both sides.
Kakashi's squad would gain Might Guy as a strong force, while Ebisu and Shiranui Genma would be safer.
With the strength of their seven ninjas, executing A-Class missions would be no problem. Typically, on Konoha missions, Kakashi's team rarely needed Mokgetsu or Minato to take action, provided no accidents happened.
"Forming a team with dear friends? I think it's a good idea." Might Guy also wanted to fight alongside Kakashi.
After some discussion among them, they went to Mokgetsu to inquire.
"It's a good thing you want to take on more responsibility; I'll discuss it with Lord Orochimaru," Mokgetsu encouraged his students and expressed his willingness to help resolve the matter.
For Mokgetsu, it was also beneficial. It allowed him to not expend double the energy to protect students scattered in different places.
Being on the same battlefield, Mokgetsu would surely treat them equally, making sure to care for all his students.
Though it was certain Madara would not target Might Guy, the tragic events involving him in the original story happened in the Hidden Mist, so precautions are necessary.
For the aid in future accomplishments, Orochimaru didn't hesitate, immediately agreeing to allow Might Guy and Kakashi's teams to merge into a new squad and upgrade their mission privileges.
"Since we're without a guide teacher, we need a deputy captain. Originally, I was the deputy captain of our team, but now that another squad has joined, fairness necessitates a re-election," Kakashi proactively suggested a new election for deputy captain.
If only Might Guy joined alone, making this decision wouldn't be necessary, but now with the entire Might Guy team joining, a re-election was appropriate to have an acknowledged deputy captain whom everyone would truly listen to.
Ultimately, Kakashi was re-elected as deputy captain with an overwhelming majority of six votes. Other than Obito, who voted for Nohara Rin, everyone else voted for Kakashi.
Might Guy gave off a strong sense of security, but Shiranui Genma and Ebisu felt Kakashi was better suited for a commanding position.
Normally in their team, Ebisu handled situations requiring strategic planning. Now, with a better candidate available, Ebisu certainly wouldn't burden himself with it, as he lacked confidence in competing against Kakashi.