Chapter 31 Civilian Ninja
"How is Kakashi?" Minato Namikaze quietly asked Rin Nohara, looking at the now-conscious Kakashi.
In what could be called the innermost heart of the Stone Ninja's rear, Uchiha启 and his group were hiding inside a cave.
Uchiha启 himself didn't know how many caves he had hidden in since arriving in Land of Grass.
However, this time, the situation was clearly not good, as this was the core heartland of the Stone Ninja in Land of Grass. They faced the danger of being caught every hour, or even every minute.
Kakashi's condition was somewhat dire, and Minato Namikaze had considered taking him directly back to the Konoha front line.
But there was no other way; Kakashi's condition truly couldn't withstand the spatial travel of the Flying Thunder God, and if he were forced back, he might die halfway.
With no other choice, Minato Namikaze could only ensure he received treatment as quickly as possible, even if it was dangerous. This was the only option. Once he recovered slightly, he would be taken back to the Konoha front line.
Although Kakashi's condition was bad, this boy truly lived up to his genius reputation, having graduated and gone to the battlefield at age five.
Perhaps he had encountered so many unimaginable horrors that he had developed a special kind of muscle memory.
In such an extreme situation, he was still able to make slight evasive maneuvers instantly while simultaneously channeling Chakra for small-scale defense.
Moreover, Kitsuchi's eyes were only on Uchiha启. Although his attitude towards Kakashi wasn't good, he also had some 'perfunctory' thoughts, and it was under these combined circumstances that Kakashi's life was saved.
"Although it's very bad, I've basically stabilized his condition," Rin Nohara, the sole medical Ninja, said quietly. "However, Kakashi must be sent back as soon as possible. I can only stabilize his condition slightly; to truly heal him, he must be sent back."
"I understand." Minato Namikaze nodded. "I will send him back, and also the Hyuga Chunin."
Compared to Kakashi, Hyuga Aya's condition was much better. Although both her hands were broken, it wasn't a major issue.
Not everyone was as unlucky as Lee, who encountered a Jinchuriki and had all his bones crushed by Gaara, making his situation so dangerous.
Situations like Hyuga Aya's were common on the battlefield. Not just on the battlefield, but even during regular missions, getting bones broken by enemies was a common occurrence.
Hyuga Aya's dangerous point was that she was also hit by the Stone Ninja named Genboku, causing internal organ vibrations. After Rin Nohara's examination, she found some internal bleeding.
However, such a situation truly paled in comparison to Kakashi's, so Rin Nohara only gave her a brief treatment before focusing on Kakashi.
With neither Hyuga Aya nor Kakashi able to be relied upon, only Uchiha启 and Imai Kenta remained to continue the mission.
Minato Namikaze sighed. He gently patted Rin Nohara's shoulder and then walked out.
He needed to continue observing the situation outside. He didn't trust Imai Kenta alone, and even though Uchiha启 was also on guard outside, Uchiha启's recovery wasn't great either.
Yesterday, Uchiha启 had practically used up all his Chakra, and his current state was somewhat unknown. Furthermore, the situation on the front line was not good for changing personnel. Minato Namikaze even thought of pulling all of them back.
"How's the situation?" Minato Namikaze, like a ghost, appeared on the tree where Uchiha启 was hiding and asked quietly.
"Not good at all." Uchiha启 shook his head. "Imai Kenta has already dealt with three squads, all Chunin and Genin. But if this continues, we won't be able to hold out here."
The Stone Ninja weren't fools; they naturally wouldn't fail to check if they were missing any personnel.
Once they discovered missing personnel, they would only need to investigate the patrol and search areas of those individuals to determine the hiding spot of Uchiha启 and his group.
Minato Namikaze was also aware of this, so he furrowed his brows and began to ponder countermeasures.
Uchiha启, however, was unconcerned. He was watching Imai Kenta, who was hidden below. This guy had truly given Uchiha启 quite a few surprises.
Uchiha启 knew Imai Kenta's strength was considerable, but fighting independently, they rarely had the opportunity to truly understand each other's capabilities.
Now, with Imai Kenta essentially uninjured and possessing an incredibly fast Chakra recovery rate, he had become their main attacker. Uchiha启 finally had a chance to properly assess this guy's strength.
Very strong, truly very strong. His swordsmanship was incredibly sharp and formidable, and combined with his sensory abilities, his sneak attacks were probably not much worse than Uchiha启's, even with his Sharingan active and using the Body Flicker Technique.
However, this guy's shortcomings were also quite obvious. Although his swordsmanship was powerful, his Chakra reserves were large, and his speed was good, the Ninjutsu he had mastered seemed to be somewhat limited.
Thinking about it, it was normal. Imai Kenta belonged to the Civilian Ninja category, one of the most ordinary Civilian Ninja.
Not everyone was Minato Namikaze. Besides his terrifying talent, Minato Namikaze also had incredibly good luck.
If he hadn't had someone like Jiraiya as his teacher, his chances of rising to prominence might have been very small, let alone mastering a technique like the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Of course, strictly speaking, Jiraiya was also an example of good luck.
Originally meant to be a filler and an example of the Third Hokage's 'impartiality,' while implicitly serving as the 'squad's confidence booster,' his inexplicable rise to prominence was quite incredible.
Although the Ninja world constantly spoke of 'love, mutual understanding between people,' and similar topics, in reality, these were all political considerations based on the current situation.
Perhaps the only ones who truly believed in these things were Jiraiya, Minato Namikaze, and the future Uzumaki Naruto?
The great Clans and a select few held the power of discourse. In times of peace, they hoped that everyone would 'mutually understand' and 'love,' and it could naturally be achieved. But in times of war, they would never bring up these illusory things.
Similarly, the great Clans and these few individuals also controlled sufficient resources.
In fact, even during Naruto's era, the great Clans and a select few still held 'core power.'
Look at the graduating class of Naruto and the one before it. Among the so-called 'Konoha 12,' how many were from civilian backgrounds?
And how many of their Jonin Instructors were?
Might Guy was an anomaly, which is why his team had one civilian like him, while the others were the descendant of a wealthy family and a member of the Hyuga Clan.
And Naruto's class was even more so. Naruto, in a strict sense, had already shed the 'Civilian Ninja' label. Even if he wasn't the Fourth's son, he was still a Jinchuriki.
The only one was Sakura Haruno, and she happened to have a special identity: Uzumaki Naruto liked her, and she liked Uchiha Sasuke. Caught between the two, she could establish a special communication bridge between Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke.
And a graduating class couldn't be that small. Where did the other graduates go?
Those guys might also have squad leaders, but it's hard to say if they would even be Jonin.
Furthermore, they wouldn't receive the detailed guidance like those children who were given priority training. The mission of these squad leaders was to help newly graduated Genin quickly familiarize themselves with the Ninja lifestyle, learn various work procedures, and then they would no longer be supervised.
Without sufficient teaching resources and without proper guides, that's just how Civilian Ninja were.
Just as Uchiha启 was deep in thought, Imai Kenta suddenly drew his short sword and charged towards a certain spot.