"Cold Feather" might not have been very effective, but Habara still had "Blazing Feather" He conjured a dark red, superheated iron sword in his right hand and once again slashed at Dodai's "rubber" defensive wall. This time, the blade cut through much more easily.
However, a large glob of viscous, snot-like substance immediately flew towards Habara and Tenzo, threatening to engulf them. It had the texture and the color of snot, and Habara instantly felt the grim reality of war.
"Tenzo!"
"Got it."
Tenzo didn't need Habara's warning. He'd already erected a wide wooden shield in front of Habara, blocking the enemy's attack.
"Excellent. From now on, you can change your name to Tenzo Oakenshield," Habara said, successfully pulling back and praising Tenzo.
Seeing that this enemy was using both "rubber" and what seemed like "superglue," Habara decided that today wasn't a good day for grinding experience. Without hesitation, he turned to Tenzo and said, "Don't waste time. Let's retreat."
Tenzo nodded, and the two immediately turned and ran, leaving Killer Bee staring blankly.
"Huh…" This time, not being harassed, Bee felt like something was missing.
Habara and Tenzo retreated towards the Land of Rice Paddies. After putting a safe distance between themselves and the enemy, Tenzo finally asked, "Habara, is it really okay for us to retreat like this?"
Tenzo had a very good habit. Even if he had doubts, he would always follow orders first and ask questions later, once they were safe.
"Tenzo, haven't you noticed that over the past six months, the fighting spirit of ninja on both Konoha's and Kumogakure's sides has drastically decreased? Opposing sides often just stare at each other from a distance, and even if they accidentally run into each other, they quickly disengage. Both we and Kumogakure have seen a significant decrease in casualties during this period. This shows that people are tired of fighting… In this general atmosphere, if we're too aggressive, we'll stand out in a bad way," Habara explained.
Tenzo's expression became thoughtful.
The first part of Habara's statement was undeniably correct. After that major battle, such a trend had indeed emerged on the battlefield. Konoha and Kumo ninja often just glared at each other without engaging. As for the second part of his statement, that was pure nonsense. It was simply because he couldn't grind experience and gain benefits that Habara decided to retreat so cleanly.
After Habara and Tenzo returned to the camp, they soon received a notification from the organizational department.
"Habara and Tenzo, you two are up for a break period. The replacement ninja have just arrived at the front lines. You can return to the village for some rest… Hopefully, you won't be back at the front lines. It's time for the war to end."
The ninja briefly informed Habara and Tenzo before leaving the tent. He still had to notify others… Even in this routine notification, the ninja's sincere hope was evident.
Who didn't want the war to end sooner?
At this point, Sunagakure, Konohagakure, and Kirigakure had achieved a three-way ceasefire. Only Konoha and Kumogakure, Kumogakure and Iwagakure, and Iwagakure and Kirigakure still had sporadic clashes. As for the smaller ninja villages, several had been completely razed to the ground by the Five Great Nations since the start of the Third Shinobi World War. Amegakure, initially the most aggressive, had also fallen completely silent… Due to the "Demigod" Hanzo's presence, Amegakure seemed quite formidable at first glance, but a small country had no real war potential. Soon after the early stages of the war, Amegakure became inactive.
Being able to take a break was a good thing. Kakashi's team had already returned to Konoha last week, and now it was Habara's and Tenzo's turn, which was normal. After receiving the notification, Habara decided to rest for one night and return to Konoha the next day.
Although it was a bit of a shame to lose the opportunity to grind "elite mobs," Habara was eager to contribute to world peace. However, he needed to convince Kushina Uzumaki first.
Early the next morning, Habara and Tenzo packed their belongings and headed home.
Meanwhile, the front-line commander, Jiraiya, finally remembered something.
During Habara's Chunin Exam, Jiraiya had already noticed that he could use natural energy. However, at the time, Jiraiya's focus was entirely on Orochimaru. During the decisive battle six months ago, Jiraiya discovered that Habara was on the front lines.
Jiraiya could tell that Habara hadn't undergone any specialized training. This was because Habara's use of natural energy was extremely crude, with a significant amount of energy wasted. But even so, as a young ninja who could adapt to and use natural energy, Jiraiya considered Habara a rare talent.
People who could inherit senjutsu were few and far between. After seeing Habara, Jiraiya naturally had some thoughts. But considering Habara's close connection to Orochimaru, Jiraiya began a long-term observation of Habara. After observing him for six consecutive months, Jiraiya felt that Habara was decent, at least without any major personality flaws.
So he decided to meet with Habara and have a chat.
That morning, after handling the general front-line affairs, Jiraiya said to the attendant ninja beside him, "Is Jonin Habara on a mission today? If he's not, please ask him to come see me."
The ninja hurried away and quickly returned, bringing back the news that Habara had already taken leave and returned home.
So, Habara was too eager to get off work. Being too eager to get off work wasn't a good thing. The "Konoha blessing" of good fortune had not descended upon him.
...
After returning to Konoha, Habara slept for three days straight in the hotel room he'd become accustomed to. Once he'd fully recovered his energy, he got to work… He started writing.
Habara was very efficient. In just two hours, he finished writing two documents, and they were full of substance, not fluff… These two documents were titled:
He planned to take these two documents to Kushina Uzumaki. Shortly after he left his room, he ran into Tenzo, who was bored out of his mind. Habara said to Tenzo, "Tenzo, tomorrow, find Kakashi Hatake, and the two of you come to my plot of land outside the village. We're going to celebrate my moving into my new house."
"Oh, okay," Tenzo agreed at first, but he quickly realized something was off. Didn't Habara only have a bare, desolate plot of land? Where did this new house come from? And what was there to celebrate?
Tenzo didn't yet know that Habara was planning to conscript them for construction work. Wood was a non-issue, but for the earth element, he needed Kakashi Hatake. While theoretically, Tenzo could use Earth Release since he could use Wood Release, his situation was similar to Habara's. Habara should also be able to use Earth Release, but no one had ever taught him.
Similarly, no one had taught Tenzo Earth Release.
That's why Habara needed the manual laborer, Kakashi.
Setting aside Habara's personal construction plan, he once again went to Kushina Uzumaki's residence.
Although Kushina Uzumaki had inherited the Fourth Hokage's political legacy, she also faced some problems. For example, what suitable position could she find in Konoha?
Advisor? She was too young, and she needed a position where she could actually do things, not just talk. The Anbu? That was even more out of the question. Specialized departments responsible for other affairs, such as the Intelligence Division? However, those positions were like a radish in a hole, each one filled, and Kushina Uzumaki didn't want to displace anyone. So, after much thought, this matter proved to be quite difficult.
Since the matter was difficult, Habara reappeared before Kushina.
"Habara, I heard you returned to Konoha two days ago. How are you? Are you well-rested?"
Upon seeing Habara, Kushina Uzumaki asked with a smile. Clearly, she paid close attention to Habara's whereabouts, which is why she knew he had returned to Konoha so quickly.
"I'm still a little unaccustomed to being away from the battlefield," Habara replied, shaking his head. He glossed over his personal matters and continued, "Kushina-sama, please take a look at this. I just wrote it after returning to the village."
"This is…"
Kushina took the two documents. At first, she didn't pay much attention, but as she read, her expression gradually became serious.
After reading them once, she even reread both documents. Fortunately, they weren't too long, so Habara didn't have to wait long.
Seeing Kushina place the two documents on the table, Habara immediately asked, "Kushina-sama, what do you think of these two proposals?"
Kushina didn't directly answer Habara's question. She simply looked at him with a gaze full of surprise. After staring at Habara for a while, she finally spoke, "Habara, are you really only sixteen years old? These are not the kinds of issues a young ninja would normally consider, nor are they the kinds of concrete suggestions a young ninja would be able to offer."
"Kushina-sama, I'm seventeen," Habara corrected.
Kushina: "…"
Was there really a significant difference between being one year older or younger?
Although Kushina felt that the suggestions Habara proposed were things the Hokage should be thinking about, in reality, Habara had just cobbled together some random nonsense. After all, this world was essentially a stage for village-level brawls. Even though the scale of the war wasn't small, it was still just a large-scale village brawl.
If we were to talk about the political vision of the Hokage or the Kage of other villages, it could be said that they had almost no political vision. Their overall level might not even be comparable to a half-baked amateur like Habara.
Okay, actually, Habara wasn't even as good as a half-baked amateur.
"These two proposals can be submitted directly to the Hokage… We can skip the stage of a civilian ninja mutual aid organization. We can openly strive to establish a new organization," Kushina then said.
In fact, the core arguments of the two documents Habara provided could be summarized in two points:
First, a Five Kage Summit and worldwide disarmament.
Second, an honor system for ninja.
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