"Me? I'm twenty-six this year. I'm already this age, yet I'm still just a Genin!" The Genin shook his head with a bitter smile. He came from a civilian Ninja background and didn't have much talent. He figured he would probably remain a Genin for the rest of his life.
"You already have the strength of an Elite Genin. There's still a chance for you to become a Chunin in the future. A person has to have ideals; otherwise, what's the difference between them and a salted fish?" Isamu encouraged him instead of mocking him.
The Naruto World was a world that valued background and bloodline. Without either, it was truly difficult for civilian Ninjas to rise through the ranks.
"Thank you. I hope I really can become a Chunin someday. Otherwise, I'll truly become a salted fish!" The Genin laughed bitterly, clearly lacking confidence.
Isamu felt a little helpless. In his eyes, there was barely any difference between a Genin and a Chunin; on the battlefield, both were essentially cannon fodder. Even a Jonin only possessed a certain level of self-preservation. But for ordinary Ninjas like this man, becoming a Chunin was already a huge achievement.
Just as Isamu and the Genin were chatting, Senba finally caught up with the convoy.
"Whew, I finally caught up with you guys. If I hadn't found you soon, I was about to find somewhere to sleep!" Senba let out a long sigh of relief.
"No way. You got injured just clearing out some bandits? Senba, that's pretty disappointing!" Isamu frowned when he saw the wounds covering Senba's body.
With Senba's strength, handling a group of bandits shouldn't have been difficult. Yet he was covered in injuries now. Could the person behind them actually have been strong?
"Bandits? Father, stop joking. That wasn't some ordinary bandit. It was a powerful Jonin with a Kekkei Genkai!" Senba shot his father an annoyed look.
"A Jonin? And one with a Kekkei Genkai? What exactly happened?" Isamu immediately became interested.
"It went like this. It was a Hidden Mist rogue Ninja with the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai. I…" Senba then recounted everything that had happened.
"I see. So it was someone from the Yuki Clan of the Hidden Mist. Looks like they escaped because of the Bloody Mist era. I didn't expect one of them to end up in the Land of Fire." Isamu immediately guessed the other party's origins after hearing the story. After all, in the Hidden Mist Village, the Yuki Clan was the only clan known for Ice Release.
"An Ice Release Ninja made you look this pathetic? Senba, you're far too weak!" Isamu looked thoroughly dissatisfied.
"It's not that I'm weak! Their Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals were just too troublesome. I wanted to see if I could break them using only Taijutsu, but I underestimated it. Otherwise, I would've taken that Ninja down long ago!" Senba argued indignantly.
"Hmph! Stop making excuses. I told you before—even a lion uses its full strength when hunting a rabbit. If you keep acting like this, death won't be far away!" Isamu frowned as he examined Senba's wounds.
"How could that happen? I'm not tired of living yet. This time I just wanted to test whether my Taijutsu alone could break through the Ice Release. Turns out my strength still isn't enough." Senba scratched his head awkwardly.
"It's good that you understand your limits now. Next time, just go all out from the start. You're not a Taijutsu specialist, so why insist on fighting like one? Fortunately, these are only superficial wounds." As Isamu spoke, green healing chakra gathered in his hands. Before long, all of Senba's visible injuries had healed completely.
"Yes, yes, yes. I'll definitely be more careful next time!" Senba quickly nodded and stopped arguing.
Isamu didn't say anything further. Senba already possessed enough strength and maturity to understand what should and shouldn't be done. Some paths had to be walked alone. A young eagle could only truly soar after leaving its parents' protection.
After resting for the night, the convoy continued onward. This time, they encountered no bandits or ambushes. Ten days later, they finally arrived at Orochimaru's camp.
"Eh, Big Brother Isamu, what brings you here this time? You're quite the rare guest!" Orochimaru stuck out his long tongue and licked his lips, looking disturbingly eager.
"Tsk tsk tsk, Orochimaru, why do I always feel like there's something wrong with you every time I look at you?" Isamu said with visible disgust. That unnaturally long tongue really didn't make him seem human anymore.
"What's wrong? Haven't I always been like this?" Orochimaru spread his hands in confusion.
"You're weird in a creepy way. Anyway, enough nonsense. Hurry up and take me inside the camp. I haven't rested properly this entire trip!" Isamu shot Orochimaru a glance before walking into the camp.
He had to admit that Orochimaru was becoming more and more like the version from the original story. It seemed some fates truly couldn't be changed. All the warnings Isamu had given him before had apparently been useless.
Hearing this, Senba was speechless.
You're the one who slept the most comfortably the entire journey…
Soon, the convoy entered Orochimaru's camp, and Senba followed them into a large tent. The inside was filled with maps and documents. Clearly, this was the tactical command center for the border forces.
"Well, well, this is actually a command post. Orochimaru, how many people do you have under you? Is all this really necessary?" Although the camp itself didn't look particularly crowded, Isamu only saw a dozen or so people moving around. In his opinion, setting up a command center seemed excessive.
"Hehe, if there were only a few people, then naturally there'd be no need for one. But I currently command a force of seven hundred men. It's perfectly reasonable to have a command post, don't you think?" Orochimaru smiled helplessly.
"Seven hundred people? No way. I only see a few dozen people in the camp. Did you send the others somewhere else?" Isamu asked suspiciously.
"Of course. You can't defend the border by sitting around in camp all day. Most of the troops are stationed elsewhere, and some are currently rotating shifts. Around three hundred Ninjas should be returning soon," Orochimaru explained.
"I see. I really don't understand these military deployments. Still, all these probing attacks don't seem like the Raikage's style at all. Looks like becoming Kage really changed him." Isamu couldn't help sighing as he thought about the current border situation.
"Hehe, naturally. Anyone capable of becoming a Kage is far from simple. Although the Raikage appears rough and impulsive, he's actually bold yet cautious. He's not an easy opponent to deal with," Orochimaru replied seriously.
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