Chapter 185: Sima Yi Trains the Army

Sima Yi, the army roster has been organized.

After Zilai also left, Sima Yi smoothly took over command of the army, and the recovering Nara Rokuku temporarily stayed on as an assistant.

Oh? Haha, thank you, Senior Nara.

Yesterday the Hokage sent a message, planning to pull back some troops from the Hot Springs Country's defensive line to ease supply pressure; this roster arrived just in time. Let's discuss together which units should be withdrawn.

Sima Yi raised his hand, indicating that Nara Rokuku should sit down.

Nara Rokuku acknowledged, then placed the roster before Sima Yi, and continued: "Sima Yi, after each war ends, the Hokage selects rear troops and then chooses another garrison force to replace them. This time, should we also seek approval?"

Nara Rokuku knows the current Hokage has a close relationship with the person before him, and also knows that this person differs from ordinary Uchiha; the Konoha higher-ups' past deeds are unlikely to be hidden from him, so he says nothing.

"The army arrangement has been fully entrusted to me by the Hokage; no need for doubt."

"Understood."

Nara Rokuku nodded, then silently counted his breaths in mourning for the Hyuga Clan and the Sarutobi Clan.

"Currently the camp still has over 6,500 wounded. By convention, we should leave a thousand to guard this place, five hundred on the second line, and the rest should be withdrawn to the Village."

The Konoha and the Cloud Village fought two wars; the Konoha deployed over 9,000 troops in total, but most of the wounded were sent back to the Leaf after the war. The remaining ones are either lightly injured or too severely wounded to leave.

After a period of recuperation, under Sima Yi's treatment without medication, most severely injured ninjas have recovered.

"Leave two thousand here, five hundred on the second line, and keep the other arrangements unchanged."

"Sima Yi, which unit do you plan to keep? Hyuga Higashihiko has over a thousand, so supplementing would be convenient."

Nara Rokuku thoughtfully suggested.

Sima Yi looked up at him and smiled: "The Hyuga Clan will certainly keep some, but this head of the clan should return to the Village early. Keep Hyuga Hisa, select another thirty Hyuga members, and let Hyuga Higashihiko take the rest away."

Hm? Nara Rokuku was startled, surprised, then nodded and replied, "Yes."

Then he ticked Hyuga Hisa's name on the roster.

"As for the troops' status, this time we'll select from each unit."

Sima Yi picked up the roster, which he had Nara Rokuku prepare in advance; it lists not only names and ages but also their chakra attributes and the Five Escape ninjutsu they have learned.

Of course, most Genin know nothing beyond the Three‑Body Technique, so they are naturally not Sima Yi's targets.

"Select those who have already mastered the Five Escape ninjutsu, four hundred from each division; keep some medical ninjas and reconnaissance ninjas as well. If insufficient, supplement with outstanding Genin."

Nara Rokuku did not object, though his expression was somewhat curious; he restrained his curiosity and asked nothing.

Sima Yi thought approvingly; no wonder the third generation liked to use people from the Nara family. Since the next task isn't secret, he asked proactively: "Senior Nara, which of the Five Great Nations has the stronger ninja army?"

"You can call me Rokuku, Sima Yi." Nara Rokuku stood, thought briefly, and replied: "Among the Five Great Nations, naturally our Konoha is the strongest, but in recent years the Village has clearly been declining, and the Fire Nation has always been a target, facing multiple enemies in each war."

"Now even the great lords are cutting military budgets, while the Cloud Village's strength keeps rising; at this rate, in a few years the Cloud Village will surpass the Leaf and become the top of the Five Great Nations."

Sima Yi wasn't asking that, but he stroked his beard and said, "Rokuku has a clear understanding of the Village. So, ignoring the Village and top‑tier elites, which village's large corps have stronger combat ability?"

Rokuku immediately realized his mistake, thought again, and replied, "Without elite influence, the Iwa Village's large corps are stronger; they excel at group ninjutsu, and a successful surprise attack could end a battle instantly, though with reconnaissance ninjas present, such a scenario is unlikely."

"Indeed, I've spent time on the battlefield, especially in this clash with the Cloud Village. Though it was a full‑scale war, I found that the Village's ninjas prefer squad‑based combat, and fortunately the Cloud Village does the same."

Both sides are of comparable level; even Iwa Village isn't much stronger.

"Operating in squads has long been tradition; they share bonds and trust, allowing them to fight confidently and ensuring that injured members have cover for retreat."

Nara Rokuku began outlining the advantages of squad tactics; Sima Yi nodded without objection. After all, this isn't a previous life, and rigid formations would be unsuitable, requiring adjustments.

"Rokuku makes a good point, but abandoning the power of large‑scale ninjutsu would be a pity; wouldn't it be wonderful to combine the two?"

"Combine? How… how to combine?"

Sima Yi smiled lightly and said, "Unify."

The ninja world has no concept of universal unification yet, so Nara Rokuku naturally didn't consider that direction. After pondering briefly, he realized, his eyes filled with surprise.

Rokuku's expression turned uneasy as he said, "That might be somewhat difficult…"

It's not just difficult; the vast majority of ninja clans would not agree.

"Hehe, then each must rely on their own abilities. I trust Senior Nara is clever, so decide early; I greatly admire Nara."

Rokuku's breath caught; he lowered his head to look at the roster in his hands.

Grass Country, Konoha's ninja camp.

"A ninjutsu scroll? Is this for me?"

A Chunin squad composed entirely of civilians was privately summoned to Danzo's camp tent; Danzo casually praised them and handed a ninjutsu scroll to the four as a reward.

The four had just become Chunin, the main force on the battlefield, living a hard life daily; never having seen such a display, their hearts raced, and they stared in disbelief at Danzo, clutching the scroll.

"Your performance is good; I have high hopes for you. Train diligently, and if the chance arises, I will let you join the Root to defend the Leaf in darkness and uphold the true ninja way."

Danzo's expression was cold, his words calm; this demeanor instead stirred the four into great excitement.

"Thank you, Lord Danzo, for valuing us; we will certainly work hard on our training!"

"Hmm, go down now. Remember, don't tell anyone about the ninjutsu."

"Yes!"

After the few left, Danzo's mouth twitched slightly.

Too easy; it turns out winning hearts is that simple. Once these people mature, the Hokage seat will be within grasp.

"But proceeding like this is too slow; we need to speed up. We must recruit most of the Chunin before returning to the Village."

Genin mortality is too high, and each year few graduate; thus numbers are lower than Chunin, so in prolonged wars Chunin become the main battlefield force.

"Lord Danzo."

While he was thinking, Hattori Ryozo's voice suddenly came from outside the tent. Regarding this newly recruited Jonin, Danzo still admired him. "Come in."

After Danzo consented, Hattori Ryozo immediately entered the tent, half‑kneeling, and said, "Lord Danzo, the Chunin under my command have all been arranged; they will come to pay respects over the next few days."

"Hmm, good."

"But..."

"But what?"

"But would this be too slow? Although it could reduce the chance of other Jonin discovering it, Lord Tuan Zang can at most meet a handful of people each day; at this rate, it would probably take at least half a year for all the Chunin in the camp to understand Lord Tuan Zang's intentions."

Fu Bu Liangsan lowered his head and voiced his concerns; Tuan Zang deeply agreed, yet was helpless.

In fact, persuading a few people to join the Root is no great matter; he is confident that even if Shisui knows, he won't say much.

But spreading the net to all Chunin would be easily noticed as a problem by Shisui.

"Do you have any method?"

Tuan Zang looked at Fu Bu Liangsan, a hint of expectation in his eyes.

"Lord, why must you do it personally? You can completely enlist some ninja who are loyal to you to help carry this out. As long as you make them remember this is your grace and keep the secret, one person leads two, two lead four; spreading this way, within less than ten days all the Chunin in the camp will understand your good intentions."

Additionally, you can offer rewards; the more people spread it, the more advanced ninjutsu they can obtain, or the chance for personal guidance from you. In this way, they will naturally work hard to help.

Of course, the most important thing is that we only need to focus on those few at the start; the others have never seen Lord Tuan Zang, so secrecy is not an issue.

Fu Bu Liangsan finished in one breath, but saw Tuan Zang frown and remain silent for a long while.

According to his original plan, this suggestion would never have been approved.

Initially, Tuan Zang only wanted to select a few talented Chunin for early investment, but now he realizes this action can bring him great reputation and support, so his goal gradually shifts from filling the Root to courting Chunin.

"Your method is good, but those initial people need some safeguards."

Tuan Zang pondered briefly, chose to agree, but he does not trust anyone outside the Root, so he plans to carve the Tongue‑Plague Root‑Eradication seal onto the first few, to prevent them from speaking what they shouldn't.

Fu Bu Liangsan lowered his head, his gaze flickered, but he did not hesitate and immediately replied, "Lord, you are wise!"

Tuan Zang nodded with satisfaction; the problem was about to be solved, which lifted his spirits, and he promptly produced a relatively practical B‑rank ninjutsu and tossed it to Fu Bu Liangsan.

"You're quite good; this is for you."

"Thank you, Lord!"

Leaf, Hokage Tower, the atmosphere was exceedingly solemn.

Twelve hand‑picked Jonin, arranged in two rows front and back, half‑kneel before Shisui.

"Leaf's finances can no longer be delayed; if the Village cannot obtain sufficient funds quickly, we will have to cut the number of ninja, which is unacceptable for the entire Village."

Leaf's finances reflect not only Leaf's strength and its ability to respond to external wars, but most importantly and fundamentally the income of Leaf's ninja.

The bulk of Leaf's fiscal revenue actually comes from mission rewards; ninja in the Village take on missions, earn rewards, and the Village takes a cut.

Now the fiscal gap keeps widening, directly reflecting that the number of mission commissions and total rewards are continuously declining, which affects the tangible interests of every Leaf ninja.

Therefore, after Shisui issued a command, the Village immediately selected qualified strong individuals, and all clans and divisions cooperated fully.

"Lord Hokage, please give orders!"

Everyone knew this mission was far from ordinary; they had already said goodbye to their families and prepared for certain death.

Shisui saw this, nodded, and immediately had a member of the ANBU distribute scrolls to them; the scrolls came in two colors, representing Heaven and Earth, each person received one, making exactly six teams.

"You two will operate as a pair; the scroll records your mission objectives and the detailed contents of this assignment. The mission details must not be mentioned to outsiders; everything inside concerns the Village's future."

The group wore solemn expressions, and then the ANBU members fetched twelve masks for them.

They took the masks, instantly understood Shisui's meaning, and put them away.

"Yes, Lord Hokage!"

Shisui rose, his expression heavy as he looked at the group, and slowly said, "This journey is fraught with danger yet unavoidable. I will watch your departure from Hokage Rock; the future of Leaf now rests with you all."

The group was moved, and each replied, "Yes!"

Holding the scrolls, they each left the Hokage Tower; they still needed final preparations, and that evening they departed the Village one after another.

"It's actually this kind of mission!"

After the two left Leaf, they immediately opened the mission scrolls to exchange and verify information; a quick glance instantly revealed surprised expressions.

The two were teammates; the mission scroll was shared, not for outsiders, and they only understood why there were separate Heaven and Earth scrolls after seeing each other's mission details.

Because the mission objectives and intelligence were simply too many.

However, they only exchanged a glance and said nothing; after recording each other's scroll contents, they simultaneously destroyed the scrolls, then removed their foreheads, put on masks—one a snake mask, the other a monkey mask—and thereafter their code names became Monkey and Snake.

After a moment of silence, they turned and left together.

Suddenly, the ninja wearing the snake mask halted, as if recalling something, and turned to look into the distance.

The Monkey asked puzzled, "What's wrong?"

The Snake gave no reply; the eyes behind the mask narrowed, as if straining to see something.

"There is Hokage Rock! That must be the Lord Hokage!"

The Monkey excitedly pointed at a black spot on Hokage Rock and said.

"Exactly, it's Lord Hokage, definitely Lord Hokage; he is really watching us."

The Snake also nodded in agreement, his words tinged with excitement.

"Let's go, don't keep Lord Hokage waiting too long; we must go carry out the mission."

"Then may our martial fortunes flourish."

(End of Chapter)