Naruto: The Teaching System - 266

Chapter 266: Eliminating the Iwagakure Squad

When Sawada hurried to the main tent with Neji, Jiraiya was frowning at military reports. Hearing the sound, he looked up and said, "Oh, it's Sawada. Come over here."

Jiraiya's cheerful voice immediately eased the atmosphere in the main tent. Sawada nodded to the few jōnin present. The jōnin who had been sitting also stood to greet Sawada with respect.

Seeing this situation, Jiraiya didn't stop them, only speaking at an appropriate moment. "Alright, let's end here for today. We'll discuss again later."

Hearing this, the jōnin without hesitation left the main tent one after another. It was clear that Jiraiya had something to say or a mission to assign to Sawada.

When only Chōza, Sawada, and Neji remained in the main tent, Jiraiya finally looked toward Neji. He remarked, "Didn't expect your disciple to be already taking on missions, Sawada."

"Alright, big brother, just say what you want to say." Sawada directly interrupted Jiraiya, as there was no time to chat.

After being reminded, Jiraiya finally reacted, laughing heartily. "Habit, habit. Take a look at this mission scroll."

As he spoke, Jiraiya picked up a mission report from the desk and handed it to Sawada.

Sawada opened the scroll and read its contents, involuntarily furrowing his brow. "Though the front line hasn't made much progress yet, the exposure of several rear routes has made maintaining caution necessary. This mission came from the village yesterday, so I've been waiting for you to arrive."

Jiraiya spoke with a calm expression.

Sawada looked at the mission on the scroll. After a moment, he nodded and said, "I'll do my best to complete it. Is there a time limit?"

The scroll described a simple mission: Hiruzen Sarutobi hoped Sawada would eliminate the infiltrating Iwagakure squads as quickly as possible. Hiruzen Sarutobi had also directly issued orders to the Land of Waterfall, instructing the Takigakure ninja village to dispatch a squad to prevent further Iwagakure infiltration.

"The faster the better," Jiraiya said with a grave expression.

"Hearing this, Sawada paused, then met Jiraiya's gaze. Jiraiya's eagerness to deploy them immediately could only mean one thing: Iwagakure had already taken action, Sawada realized.

Seeing Sawada's expression, Jiraiya naturally knew he had grasped the situation. He remarked, "Iwagakure's military strength has noticeably increased recently. I'm worried that a major battle will break out in the coming days."

The conflicts of the past two months had been at most mutual probing and small-scale skirmishes. But now, if Iwagakure could no longer remain unscathed, it meant a major battle was imminent.

"I understand. Within three days, I will give it my all!" Seeing this, Sawada no longer hesitated and agreed readily. Once a major battle erupts, the logistics department will have no extra energy to spare. It's best to resolve this as quickly as possible before the conflict breaks out.

"Good, I'll leave it to you. Does your squad need additional reinforcements?" Jiraiya nodded, then asked.

After all, this mission was not easy, and Sawada's words here were like swearing allegiance to the military. As his older brother, Jiraiya naturally wouldn't let his younger brother fail. So he wanted to help Sawada in terms of strength.

Sawada paused in thought, then shook his head. "Switching team members requires an adaptation period. My current squad is best kept as is. At least we can ensure strict command adherence."

Jiraiya's gaze involuntarily fell on Neji. Truth be told, he had wanted to replace Neji. However, once a major battle erupted, Neji would be more in danger here. So he nodded in agreement. "Alright. You have two hours to rest. The scroll has some marked locations. These are summaries by jōnin executing transport missions, and they should provide you with some help."

"Understood." Sawada nodded, then led Neji out of the main tent.

Akimichi Chōza watched Sawada leave, then turned to Jiraiya and asked, "Jiraiya-sama, do we really not need to send more people?"

Jiraiya shook his head. He very much wanted to go himself, but there were limited jōnin at the front line. "There's no other way. For now, we can only do this. By the way, has Fugaku's squad arrived?"

Jiraiya remembered something and asked Chōza.

"Not yet. The village only said yesterday they'd dispatch them, so they can't arrive before the day after tomorrow at the earliest." Chōza shook his head. The village sending the Uchiha Clan at this time means the prospects of this major battle aren't optimistic. Once fighting begins, it will be a battle to determine who will claim victory or defeat.

Jiraiya nodded and continued spreading out maps, beginning to think.

As they moved further from the central command tent, Neji finally spoke. "Sensei, actually, you should replace me."

Hearing this, Sawada turned to Neji, waved his hand, and said, "Neji, there's no need for self-deprecation. Your strength has already far surpassed that of an ordinary Special Jōnin. It's only because you've always trained with Naruto and the others that you lack an accurate understanding of your own abilities."

This wasn't Sawada lying. Neji's talent was originally quite good. Combined with two years of training under his guidance, his strength had become quite considerable. What he lacked was combat experience, and combat experience could only be accumulated gradually.

"Let's go. We'll rendezvous with Yusuke and the others, rest properly, then set out." So Sawada headed toward the logistics encampment.

Neji froze in place for a while, then clenched his fists and followed in Sawada's footsteps.

At the logistics encampment, Yusuke and Koto were shocked upon hearing Sawada explain the mission.

"This mission is not easy, so if either of you feels you can't handle it, you can withdraw." Sawada looked at them both and said. After all, his own thoughts were one thing. Whether Yusuke and Koto could accept it was up to them.

"Yes, Sawada-sama," Koto answered without hesitation, nodding.

The Yamanaka clan had always maintained close ties with the Hagoromo family. When their clan leader learned that one of their members had recently been assigned to serve under Sawada Hagoromo, he instructed her to follow his orders without question

Yusuke paused in thought, then raised her head to look at Sawada. "Sawada-sama, I need to replenish my supplies."

Hearing this, Sawada naturally had no objections. Yusuke employed various combat methods. Compared to swordsmanship, she could use scrolls and Sealing Jutsu to unleash greater combat power.

"No problem. I'll discuss it with Senpai Chōza later. He can arrange it for you." Sawada nodded and said. Such items were least lacking here now.

Yusuke smiled upon hearing this and casually said, "Then I have no problem."

"Alright, let's rest for two hours now, prepare all necessary supplies, then we'll set out." Seeing his teammates had no objections, Sawada began arranging everything. After all, time was pressing and the mission was crucial.