A well-known fact of the ninja world: the northern front battlefield… is in the north.
It is separated from the permanently neutral Land of Iron only by several small countries such as the Land of Artisans.
Since Makoto joined the northern command's mobile patrol unit, a week has already passed quietly. Time is about to enter October.
In previous years, by October the northern region of the Land of Fire had already entered its cooling period.
Ninjas are a rather peculiar kind of creature. It is unclear whether it is because they have been steeped in chakra, or because their physiology is practically abnormal, but they generally tolerate cold quite well. In the depths of winter, with heavy snow falling, they can run around outdoors wearing only a thicker coat, even with their toes exposed, without worrying about frostbite.
However, they are not very tolerant of heat. When the temperature rises, they easily wilt, and may even suffer heatstroke like ordinary people. It is rather absurd.
It is unknown whether it is due to the excessive slaughter brought by the Great Ninja Wars in recent years, but this year the temperatures are somewhat abnormal. Even though it is already close to October, the north remains relatively sweltering.
Nothing to do today, so off to the pleasure quarters…
There is no such place on the ninja battlefield, though the nearby Land of Hot Water has quite a few. Jiraiya would regularly come and go there under the pretext of gathering intelligence on the Kumogakure shinobi.
But now Minato has returned to Konohagakure to prepare to succeed to the position. As the supreme commander, Jiraiya can no longer find a reason to "conduct research." When it comes to major matters, this lecher is still reliable.
If even he cannot leave casually, there is no need to mention ordinary ninjas.
Even during rest periods, they can only remain inside the camp and are not allowed to leave without authorization, in case the battlefield situation changes and forces must be assembled urgently.
Inside the barracks, the four members of Makoto's squad, along with the three members of Higashino Jirō's squad, were drinking tea and exchanging training insights. There were no particular taboos among them.
Aside from Uzuki Yūya, Yūgao's uncle, the chūnin Uzuki Yūmura, was also present.
He was a young ninja who resembled Yūya by four or five parts, about twenty-six or twenty-seven years old.
Since Jirō and Yūya were promoted to jōnin, they had each led a chūnin squad. These chūnin squads were different from academy graduation teams; they were not master-and-student relationships, merely subordinates, unless there was a closer relationship between them.
For example, although Yūmura belonged to Jirō's subordinate squad, he was not only his subordinate but also his friend.
Thus, everyone in this room belonged to the Higashino, Gekkō, and Uzuki families—a tightly bound small community of shared interests.
Now, with a shared ninjutsu inheritance, along with the relationship between Higashino Makoto, Gekkō Hayate, and Uzuki Yūgao, that foundation of mutual interest has grown even deeper.
As Makoto continues to display terrifying talent and extraordinarily high strength, it is foreseeable that this three-family alliance will gain increasing influence within Konohagakure.
When Makoto grows up and fully converts his talent into strength, he will naturally become the spokesman of this alliance and the guarantee of its influence within Konohagakure.
This is the difference between an orphan transmigrator and a transmigrator with both parents alive.
No matter whether Makoto was willing or not, he bore the intertwined survival interests of the three families on his shoulders, and those ties would only grow deeper and deeper as time went on.
These interest connections were like a net—it would only tighten more and more, unless he became an ungrateful wretch, abandoned these people, acted willfully, and did not care if he got relatives and friends killed.
But clearly, Makoto was not someone cold by nature. As for carrying the interests of nearly twenty people from the three families on his shoulders, he believed he had no choice but to take responsibility.
Putting it that way felt like something was off. If, in the future, he also had to carry Konohagakure on his shoulders, wouldn't he become the ninja world's weightlifting champion?
What the hell kind of high minister nonsense was this?
...
Minato was not an idiot. While he had a sunny and cheerful personality, his political instincts were also sharp. He had long since noticed the relationship among these three families.
Especially after returning to preside over the Chūnin Exams, seeing Makoto's performance and his talent for developing ninjutsu, and also having previously seen that he faintly possessed the strength to contend with the Raikage, Minato immediately judged in his heart that these three families were a rising new force within Konohagakure.
Their numbers might not be enough, but as long as they grew and their strength was not inferior to the old established ninja clans, the ninja world, in the end, did not depend on having many people—it depended on whether you had a top-tier powerhouse who could settle things with a single decisive blow.
As long as Makoto did not die, the rise of this new force was already unstoppable.
And Makoto… just look at this junior's series of self-developed ninjutsu. Every damn one of them was like a turtle shell. Even the Raikage could not cut through them. As long as he did not do anything reckless, he was basically guaranteed not to die.
Fortunately, Minato had invested ahead of time—Higashino Jirō and Uzuki Yūya being promoted to jōnin was because he insisted with all his strength and persuaded the other jōnin to recommend them together.
He even, before returning to the village, had his teacher Jiraiya arrange for the three families to be placed in the same unit, so they could move together and look after each other, increasing their battlefield survival rate. During rest periods, they could also gather to exchange experiences and improve their strength together.
When it came to making small accommodations within the scope of his authority to give others help, Minato seemed to understand it by nature—and did not feel there was anything wrong with it.
He was a man bright by nature, yet capable of wielding darkness without being eroded by it—unlike the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who dumped all the blame onto his old friend Shimura Danzō.
He had forcibly created a Root that even he himself could not control.
From this point alone, Minato was unlike his prodigal master Jiraiya or the politically fastidious Hiruzen. His political methods were closer to those of the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, yet at the same time he was more sunny and approachable than the Second Hokage.
He just happened to be somewhat bad at naming things, a little airheaded, and hopelessly love-struck.
...
Inside the fairly spacious barracks, the fragrance of tea lingered in the air.
As the seven of them drank tea, each held a cigarette between their fingers.
But no one here was actually smoking. What they held were stone cigarettes—this was a training method suggested by Makoto, meant to temper Wind Release chakra.
The people of the three families shared a remarkable common trait: almost all of them possessed Wind Release chakra. Those who did not were women who had married into the families, such as Higashino Megumi and Uzuki Sakura.
It was foreseeable that Wind Release ninjutsu would become the primary inherited tradition of the three families in the future.
With Makoto around, they would never lack Wind Release techniques. They could not yet learn Makoto's own methods, but given his attainments in Wind Release chakra, developing techniques similar to the "Vacuum Blade" series, the "Vacuum Wave" series, and the "Vacuum Sphere" series would not be difficult.
Take Danzō's path and leave Danzō with no path to take.
They could even develop suitable techniques on their own. Wasn't Kumomi inspired by Makoto's "Shadowless Sword" and produced a high-quality imitation, the "Vacuum Blade"?
At this moment, they had long since passed the stage of cutting leaves. Whenever they had free time, they would play with a piece of stone in their hands, using chakra to carve it into the shape of a cigarette or some other simple form.
The next step, according to Makoto's requirement, was to instantly erupt Wind Release chakra and slice a palm-sized stone into fine shreds.
After that, it would be reduced to powder… training had no end.
As for slicing waterfalls? Sorry—without an enormous amount of chakra, that is simply impossible. It is an exclusive training method for cheats. Naruto can rely on the Uzumaki bloodline to support him, and Makoto has a body reinforced by white natural energy. Ordinary ninjas should not attempt it; sudden death is likely.
...
Yūgao may have been overly absorbed in her training, or perhaps she was distracted by listening to the adults talk, and ended up scalding her mouth with a sip of hot tea.
Pouting, she pushed the teacup in front of Makoto.
Her father, Uzuki Yūya, frowned, thinking his daughter was being too delicate. She was not even married yet, and after just one sip of hot tea she already needed her little boyfriend to cool it for her.
That would not do. When they returned, he would have Sakura give her some instruction in proper feminine conduct. He could not allow her to tarnish the Uzuki family's traditions.
He was about to scold her when his perception suddenly fractured. He saw Makoto lightly grasp the teacup; a burst of cold air surged out, and the hot tea instantly became a chilled drink.
Yūgao picked it up and drank, inwardly delighted.
Hayate also silently passed his tea over. There was no helping it—he liked iced drinks as well, but the Gekkō clan youth's training in Ice Release had not gone well.
Yūya pointed at the tea emitting cold air, then at Makoto, and finally at Jirō. "Ah—this, this, this…"
Brother, something is wrong with your son—no, that's not it, your whole family is wrong!
Jirō scratched his head, looking utterly bewildered. His wife did not seem to know anyone from the Land of Water's Yuki Clan, did she?
Kumomi rolled his eyes at his old friend Yūya. "Look at how ignorant you are. What is the problem? It's only Ice Release. Makoto saw someone from the Yuki Clan use it on the eastern front and spent a few days successfully merging it."
Yūya: "…" He did not want to speak to that bastard, because what he said did not sound human.
Jirō said, "Makoto, is what your sensei said true? Are you sure you developed it through training, and that it wasn't a natural awakening?"
"I'm sure it was developed through training. By using the high-speed flow property of Wind Release to wrap around Water Release chakra and gradually simulate the chakra fluctuations of Ice Release, it can be achieved."
"Oh, that's good." Jirō let out a breath of relief.
"That's not good, Father. You must have been suspecting something again just now. I'll report this matter to Mother."
"Ah, it doesn't matter. At worst, I'll let Megumi beat me up. It's a small matter, haha!"
---
I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar
---