Time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, three months had passed since Kakashi and the others completed their first mission.
It had to be said—after awakening the Sharingan, Obito's strength had increased rapidly.
Not to mention that their team had a genius like Kakashi and a reliable support like Rin.
The three of them were working together with great synergy during their missions.
Ordinary B-rank missions posed no real threat to them.
Their growth rate was so impressive that even the Third Hokage began to take notice.
Training Ground – Forest of Death
Rei handed each of them a silver note.
"Here, your reward for the mission—50,000 ryo each."
Obito stared at the money with disdain and grumbled:
"Hey, Mr. Simu, you didn't even do anything on this mission! Why are we giving you half the reward?"
Rei sat cross-legged on the ground, pulling out his own 150,000 ryo note. He shook his head with a sigh.
"No choice. I'm your Jōnin team leader. According to the village regulations, the team leader takes half the pay."
Obito immediately jumped up.
"That's so unfair!"
Compared to him, Kakashi and Rin were much calmer.
They knew that without Rei's training, they'd still be stuck doing C-rank missions with their peers.
There was no way they'd have advanced to B-rank or even A-rank missions this quickly.
Just as Rei pulled out a wooden stick to start today's lesson, an Anbu ninja suddenly appeared beside him.
"Captain Rei, Lord Hokage is summoning you."
Rei frowned.
We just returned from a mission—what does he want now?
"You guys train by yourselves today," he said, nodding to the Anbu.
Then, with a flash of light, he disappeared and reappeared in the Hokage's office.
As soon as he arrived, Rei could tell something was off.
Not only was the Third Hokage there, but so were senior Jōnin like Danzo, Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, Kato Dan, and others.
Why does this feel like one of those council meetings where I get scolded...?
Rei raised an eyebrow and casually leapt in through the window.
Everyone was already used to his behavior. Only Rei would dare do something like this in the Hokage's office.
Still, Koharu and Homura looked visibly annoyed.
Too bad Rei was the most unpredictable and hard-to-deal-with shinobi in the village.
"What brings the two of you here today?" Rei asked with mock concern. "Last I heard, Lord Hokage said you were retiring due to poor health?"
Over the past two years, thanks to Rei's constant pushback—and the Third Hokage's half-hearted support—the influence of the two advisors had dwindled to almost nothing.
If they hadn't been disciples of the Second Hokage, they might have lost their consultant titles altogether.
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu dared not speak up. They still remembered the last time they offended Rei.
He had systematically wiped out every shady business the two families had through official mission operations.
Since then, both the Mitokado and Utatane clans had fallen into silence.
"Enough, Rei," the Third Hokage cut in. "I called you here for something important."
"Got it," Rei said, grabbing the nearest chair and sitting down.
The current head of the Jōnin Council, Nara Shikaku, pointed at a map of the Fire and Earth Country border.
"According to Anbu intelligence, there's a group of rogue shinobi gathering along the border. They're receiving secret support from Iwagakure."
"Additionally, there are strong indications that Iwagakure is preparing a full-scale invasion. The Land of Wind even sent an envoy to the Land of Earth recently. It looks like they're planning to attack the Land of Fire."
"The enemy force is expected to be around 8,000 shinobi."
"The likely main battlefield will be in the Land of Grass."
The Land of Grass was a small buffer state between the Lands of Fire and Earth.
It had no real power and served mostly as a barrier between greater nations.
The Third Hokage tapped his fingers against the table.
"I didn't think the Land of Earth would finally make a move..."
"Let's discuss who should be the commander for this battle."
Everyone looked around the room, and then all eyes landed on Rei.
"...Me?" Rei pointed to himself in disbelief.
Sure, he had completed many S-rank missions over the years, but solo combat was one thing—leading an army was another.
Shikaku spoke calmly:
"Tsunade-sama is busy training medical ninjas and can't leave her post."
"Jiraiya-sama is stationed at Kikyo Mountain to monitor the Land of Lightning."
"Orochimaru-sama is currently engaging Sand Shinobi forces in the Land of Rain."
"After thorough discussion, you're the only one left suitable for this role."
The Land of Fire was now surrounded on all sides.
Its wealth and resources had made it a prime target for the other great nations.
With the war dragging on for three years, Konoha's overwhelming success had begun to scare the other villages.
Now, they wanted to join forces to bring Konoha down and divide the Land of Fire between them.
Rei leaned back in his chair, thinking silently.
Then, he finally said:
"I'll accept command—on one condition. You give me Minato."
"Namikaze Minato?" Shikaku looked at his notebook, then nodded at the Third Hokage.
"Approved."
The Third Hokage turned to Kato Dan.
"You'll also accompany Rei to the battlefield. Strike a decisive blow against Iwagakure to make them think twice before acting again."
Kato Dan was a veteran shinobi from the same era as the Sannin.
In the original timeline, he was supposed to die in a conflict between the Cloud and Sand villages.
But thanks to Rei's unexpected emergence, Dan had survived.
Tsunade had also avoided developing her blood phobia and remained active on the battlefield.
Because of Rei, Konoha had gained two major assets.
Not to mention, after three years of training, Dan's strength was now in a completely different league.
With orders given, Konoha's war machine roared to life once again.
The entire village was wrapped in a solemn, tense atmosphere.
After all, war was never easy.
It brought only death and separation.
Countless shinobi received urgent orders to gather under Rei's command and prepare for the battlefield ahead.
Simu's home was no better either.
Kushina glared at him fiercely.
"I want to go to the battlefield with you!"
"I also need to go!"
Mikoto raised her hand as well.
Under the impact of Simu's thundering Eight Trigrams day after day, Mikoto had successfully awakened her Sharingan, the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Her strength was now comparable to the average Jōnin.
But even a Jōnin was just a bigger pawn in war.
It was possible to be swallowed up and die at any time.
"I also want to go with Simu-kun..."
This time, even Ling Yi voiced his desire.
They had been around Simu for a while now.
If he didn't agree, they wouldn't let him go.
Simu could only sigh and say that he would take them to the battlefield after they became stronger.
"I'll take you there when you become the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki."
Kushina pouted.
"Do you promise?"
"I promise."
Without further delay, Simu turned into a flash of light and landed at Konoha's gate.
A team of six ninjas had been waiting there for a long time.
Along with the two thousand men from the border troops, a total of 8,000 troops would be fighting against the Rock Shinobi.
In addition to Minato and Kato Dan, Kakashi, Obito, and Rin also joined this battle.
Simu stood at the forefront.
The justice cloak behind him swayed in the wind, showing his Admiral-like appearance.
"It's rare. Mr. Simu actually looks a bit handsome."
Obito whispered to Rin.
Rin smiled softly.
"Actually, Mr. Simu is very reliable."
"Tch, he's reliable, alright. He knows how to embezzle our rewards every day..."
Obito's grumbling was drowned out by the sound of marching troops.
Simu led thousands of ninjas atop a huge two-tailed beast, heading straight for the border.
On a hillside at the border between the Kingdom of Shan and the Kingdom of Fire, the base of the Fire Country rebels was located.
It was said to be a rebel army, but in reality, it was a force composed of rogue ninjas who had been circulating in underground gold exchanges for years.
Their number was about four to five hundred people.
It was completely a team fabricated by the Rock Shinobi Village to disrupt the situation.
"Boss, you said we were so blatant, will Konoha come for encirclement and suppression?"
Although they were all desperate ninjas, Konoha's reputation was well known. Many were worried they would suffer retaliation.
The leader of the rebel group was a ninja named Akanishi Jin.
This man had been a Jōnin of Konoha, but defected during a mission.
Since then, he had survived as a bounty hunter and eventually became the leader of the rebel army through cooperation with various forces.
He coldly glanced around.
"Brothers, Konoha is facing many crises right now, and they can't protect themselves."
"What we need to do is take advantage of their weakness and strike them down!"
"How did the great nations treat us in the past? Now we take revenge!"
"Let them feel the power of wandering ninjas!"
Akanishi Jin's speech had a strong infectious power.
After all, many of the ninjas here were wanderers.
Having been pushed aside by various ninja villages for years, they had finally come together, and now they were eager to make something of themselves.
It would be great if they could take revenge on the great powers.
Sure enough, after Akanishi Jin's encouragement, fanatic expressions appeared on the rebels' faces.
"That's right! We want to give those big countries a taste of their own medicine!"
"We want to create our own ninja village and become the overlord of the ninja world!"
The entire stronghold was filled with a fervent atmosphere.
Until suddenly, a ninja ran in from the outside in a panic.
"Boss, bad news! Konoha's army is here!"
The rebels, who had just been united, panicked immediately.
"What should we do?"
"Didn't you say Konoha wouldn't come?"
"Why are they here?"
Akanishi Jin's face turned ashen. He was indeed just a mob leader.
"Shut up. Let's see who Konoha sends to die this time!"
Akanishi Jin's words silenced the crowd.
He walked out of the stronghold slowly.
Then, he saw a giant beast standing in the distance, glaring at them coldly.
Its entire body was wrapped in faint blue flames.
It was the Two-Tails.
Simu stood atop the Two-Tails with his hands in his pockets.
"Is that guy the leader of the rebel army...?"
Simu slowly took off his glasses.
Then he drew out the mace he had specially commissioned from a forging ninja in the village.
The weapon weighed a thousand pounds, with sharp iron teeth capable of tearing enemies apart at any moment.
Obito and Kakashi exchanged glances after seeing this scene.
If this was used in training, wouldn't they already be dead?
Just as Akanishi Jin was about to open his mouth to negotiate with Simu, he saw the figure in the distance slowly descend.
Then Simu raised the mace in his hand.
Numerous purple-red lightnings crackled around Simu's body.
A terrifying aura surged from him, like an ancient monster suddenly awakening.
The raging Armament Haki combined with the thunder wrapped around the mace.
"Sea King."
Simu uttered softly.
Then, all the energy that had been dormant for so long was unleashed in an instant, like a baseball being thrown.
Akanishi's eyes widened.
No way. Is he going for the big attack right away?
The violent energy ravaged the entire stronghold.
A terrifying dark-red energy column obliterated the entire mountain where the rebel army was stationed, and it disappeared from the world.
Looking at the mountain that had vanished without a trace, Konoha's fighters finally understood why the village had made Simu the chief general this time.
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