thefictionvixens Chapter 148 Shocking Change
Chapter 148 Shocking Change
Chapter 148 Shocking Change
Task Center.
When Taiichi arrived, Yangping, Saori, and Xu were sitting around the wooden table, chatting and joking. Yangping's enthusiastic voice could be heard clearly even outside the tent.
"Taiyi!" Yangping was the first to notice Taiyi's arrival. He jumped up with a cheer, laughing and patting Taiyi's shoulder hard, almost making Taiyi stumble as he approached.
"We've been waiting for you to come out! The white coats at the medical camp can't compare to the fun of going on missions together!" He grinned, his familiar energy infecting everyone around him.
Saori stood up, a gentle smile playing on her lips: "Taichi, welcome back to the team." Her simple words conveyed an unspoken understanding.
"Team—Captain!" Xu seemed a little nervous. His poor performance in the previous mission made him somewhat unsure of himself in front of Taiyi. He had been working hard these past two days to try and make up for the lost points.
Looking at the three familiar faces before him, Taiyi felt a surge of warmth in his heart, and his smile became more genuine: "Yeah, I finally got things sorted out over there, so I came straight to join you!"
The group chatted and laughed as they walked toward the mission handover area. The Chunin on duty was organizing files when he heard someone coming. He looked up and saw Taiichi. He stood up almost reflexively, his face quickly showing respect and gratitude.
"Lord Taiichi, you—you're here to accept a mission?"
"It's Ryosuke. Your leg isn't fully healed yet, is it? Why are you out here already?" Taiichi recognized the ninja in front of him at a glance. His leg was supposed to be amputated, but it was saved thanks to Taiichi's treatment.
Ryosuke was even more excited to see that Taiichi could call him by name. "Lord Taiichi, the injury to your leg is much better now. The camp is short-staffed, so I can't go out on missions, but I can still handle these clerical tasks!"
Taiichi sighed inwardly, realizing that Konoha's strength was inseparable from these selfless lower- and middle-ranking ninjas. Yet, their contributions often went unnoticed by those in higher positions.
Taiyi stopped thinking about it. He wasn't in that position, so he shouldn't concern himself with its affairs. All he could do now was complete more tasks.
Taiyi randomly chose a patrol mission, since the missions here were all pretty much the same.
"Yes, Master Tai!" Ryosuke quickly found the corresponding mission scroll and respectfully presented it with both hands. Watching this scene, Yohei felt a strange sense of envy rising in his heart.
Everyone came to the camp together, yet Taiyi was able to gain everyone's recognition so quickly, while Yangping remained unknown. At this moment, Yangping understood the importance of ability even more.
Afterwards, the team went to the supply depot to collect the supplies needed for the mission. The ninja in charge of supplies treated Taichi with the same respect when distributing shuriken, rations, and signal flares.
"Lord Taiyi, this is the standard equipment for your team. We've also prepared some extra special medicines and antidotes for you, according to your needs," he said, deftly handing Taiyi a small bag containing medicine bottles.
"Lord Orochimaru specifically instructed that your needs be prioritized."
Taiyi accepted it and thanked him politely.
Yang Ping, standing to the side, also felt a sense of pride; the recognition of the strong made his chest rise and fall slightly.
He subtly straightened his back, his gaze sweeping over the unfamiliar ninjas around him, some nodding in greeting to Taiichi, others staring at him solemnly. A thought surged within him: "One day—I will be like that too!"
With sufficient supplies, the team embarked on a somewhat monotonous patrol route. The repetitive paths and repeated area checks, for Taiyi who had been busy with medical work, actually freed up some rare time for cultivation.
During any breaks between missions or short rest periods, Taiyi would find a quiet corner to resume his training in Ice Release Fusion.
Days passed in and around the camp. When the medical camp became increasingly crowded due to escalating conflict, Taiichi would return there.
Thanks to his superb medical skills and the efficiency of his shadow clones, the number of ninjas in the northern camp has decreased by three-fifths compared to before he arrived. As long as they did not die on the spot, there has not been a single case of a ninja who failed to be saved after being treated by him.
This further enhanced Taiyi's prestige in the northern camp, and Orochimaru secretly observed all of this without reporting it to the authorities.
When the medical camp is not busy, Taiichi will meet up with Yangping, Saori, and Xu to take on missions such as patrols, mopping-up operations, and reconnaissance.
Every mission involves danger.
During the mission, they encountered Cloud Village ninjas who came to investigate and cause damage several times. What else can be said? Whenever this happened, there was only one word: fight!
Thanks to the squad's strong combat capabilities and comprehensive configuration, every battle was clean and efficient, and none of the enemies they encountered were able to escape alive.
Even during a reconnaissance mission deep behind enemy lines, they encountered a three-man elite Cloud Village squad, led by a seasoned Jonin.
The battle instantly intensified. The opponent's lightning release was swift and violent, and their taijutsu, enhanced by lightning, was also exceptionally sharp. This battle brought unprecedented pressure to the team.
The key to the battle was that the enemy easily exploited the team's weaknesses. In this battle, He Fengxu once again exposed his weakness as the weakest member of the team, and the enemy used him as bait to lure others to come to the rescue.
This resulted in both Yohei and Saori being injured in the battle. In the end, it was Taichi who killed the opponent by using his flame transformation ability and swapping vital points.
When Taiichi and his shadow clones carried their three teammates back to the camp, their pitiful state immediately attracted everyone's attention. Faced with everyone's concern and care, Taiichi could only manage a forced smile.
This battle was so brutal and frustrating. Despite having the upper hand, they still ended up in such a sorry state. It was infuriating.
The commotion at the camp naturally alerted Orochimaru, who was utterly astonished by the horrific state of Taiichi's team. However, when he saw the Jonin's corpse within Taiichi's sealing scroll, it all made sense.
Zina, a veteran elite Jonin of Kumogakure, is not only top-notch in strength, but what's even more disgusting is that he has no sense of being a master. He likes to target the weakest person in the enemy team and use them as a breakthrough to kill the enemy's masters.
His move is specifically designed for ninjas like Taiichi who value their comrades, and it often proves to be surprisingly effective.
After delivering his three companions to the medical camp, Taiichi came to report the mission to Orochimaru.
After finishing his business, Orochimaru asked the probing question: "Taiichi, what do you think? Should we consider changing teammates?"
Taiyi was clearly taken aback. Although He Fengxu's recent performance had indeed been terrible, he had never considered this kind of thing before. Everyone has moments of weakness.
Without Captain Yamaguchi's leadership, they wouldn't have achieved what they have today after graduation.
As if seeing through Taiichi's thoughts, Orochimaru continued, "Don't feel guilty. When you first graduated, you were only assigned D-rank and C-rank missions, but now it's war. You're not facing those D-rank and C-rank enemies anymore."
Orochimaru's words were like a resounding bell, striking Taiyi with deafening force.
Taiyi left the central camp, saying, "I need to think about it carefully!"
Seeing Taiichi's slightly disheveled figure, Orochimaru revealed a teasing smile, as if mocking his prey: "Taiichi, what will you choose? This is truly something to look forward to!"
When Taiichi arrived at the medical camp again, he heard Yangping's hearty laughter even before he got close. When Taiichi got closer, he found Yangping vividly explaining to everyone how he had slaughtered his way through the enemy, saved Saori and Suzu, and even risked injury to create an opportunity for Taiichi to kill the enemy.
Upon learning the truth, Saori covered her mouth and chuckled, while even Xu couldn't help but cough lightly, pressing her chest wound.
"Taiyi, you're back! Tell them quickly, is what I said true or not? These guys don't believe me."
Upon seeing Taiyi enter, Yangping, who was in the middle of his enthusiastic speech, disregarded his injuries and immediately jumped up, grabbing Taiyi and demanding that he testify.
"Yes, yes, yes! You're right!" Taiyi had no choice but to forcefully push him back onto the bed.
This caused everyone to burst into laughter again.
Seeing that Yangping was still trying to get up, Taiyi adopted a doctor's demeanor, his face stern as he reprimanded, "This is a medical camp. You're still not behaving yourself here. Do you want to suffer more?"
To be honest, Taiyi's stern face was quite intimidating. At least Yangping was frightened and obediently lay back on the bed, no longer daring to move around.
Taiyi then gave them a detailed examination and treatment. Fortunately, although each person's injury looked serious, it was actually just a superficial wound. Apart from the serious blood loss, the rest was not a problem.
"Taiyi, when can we go out?" Yangping, who couldn't stay still, asked about his injuries just a few minutes after lying down.
Taiyi rolled her eyes at him. "Now you know how painful it is? What were you doing before? I told you to practice more, but you were slacking off."
Yangping shrank back, thinking Taiyi was really angry, and muttered under his breath, "I train really hard, I don't even have much time to rest, okay?"
After checking on everyone, Taiyi said before leaving, "Two days of rest will be enough. Although you can't do strenuous training during that time, you can still practice your chakra control. You need to make the most of your time. This is wartime. Every bit of strength you have increases your chances of survival."
These words were not only spoken to Yangping, but also to everyone in the camp.
Watching Taichi's departing figure, Saori said, "Yohei, don't be angry. Taichi was just worried about you, that's why he said that. He was really provoked this time."
Yangping shook his head. How could he blame Taiyi? If anyone should be blamed, it was himself for being too weak to protect his companions.
"Xu, once you've healed, you must cultivate even harder. You can't continue like this!"
"Yes, it was all my fault this time. I will definitely work harder!" He Fengxu nodded with a flushed face, looking like she was willing to accept the lesson.
Zina's death was like a thunderbolt, causing quite a stir not only in Konoha but also in Kumogakure.
He was not only a highly skilled ninja, but also a powerful high-ranking official in Kumogakure. Naturally, the cause of his death was quickly investigated and clarified by Kumogakure.
The name Matsushita Taichi appeared in the sight of the Cloud Village's higher-ups for the first time, and subsequently, various pieces of information about him were gradually gathered into the Cloud Village's hands.
After this battle, Taiichi became somewhat famous in the ninja world.
Of course, because of Zina's death, the Cloud Village's revenge soon followed, and the border conflict in the north was pushed to a new stage.
The sudden escalation of border conflicts kept Taiyi busy. He was either receiving treatment at the medical camp or being assigned to missions. After all, it wouldn't be good to leave a Jonin-level fighter idle.
Yangping, Saori, and Xu also left the medical camp soon after, and the three of them reunited with Taichi to begin accepting various missions.
The daily grind of missions gradually made Taiichi forget Orochimaru's warnings. But having learned his lesson, Taiichi spent more time keeping an eye on Kazefuru during these missions, fearing he might cause trouble again.
That day, the team members went to the mission office to receive their mission again. Due to the escalation of the conflict, the mission office had been much busier recently, but people still greeted Taiyi in a friendly manner.
Seeing that the number of tasks on the task list was not decreasing at all, but rather increasing, everyone could feel the tension of the current situation.
"Captain, what do you think of this mission? It feels like completing it would be a great help to the current situation!" He Fengxu said, pointing to one of the missions with a look of surprise.
Everyone looked in the direction he was pointing, and a mission came into view: Destroy the supply warehouse, mission level A.
"I've never seen a mission like this before!" Yang Ping exclaimed, then asked the chunin on duty, "Why isn't there a description for this mission?"
"To prevent information leaks, these types of tasks can only be accessed after they have been accepted." The staff member explained diligently while handling their work.
Yangping turned to look at Taiyi, but the final decision still rested with Taiyi. However, He Fengxu's words, "It will greatly help the situation," deeply moved him.
Seeing Yangping's expectant expression, Taiyi thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. If he didn't take it, someone else would. Anyway, they were all missions, so it didn't matter which one he did!
The staff quickly brought over the mission scroll, handed it over to Taiyi after completing the mission handover.
After finishing, he didn't forget to congratulate Taiyi's team on completing their mission soon.
Taiichi opened the mission scroll, and the four members of the team gathered in a circle to look at the mission description: The reconnaissance ninja recently discovered a Kumogakure supply warehouse on an island near the Land of Hot Springs. Because it is located at sea, there are not many guards, so the mission was directly posted in the mission center.
After reading the mission briefing, everyone felt that the mission was not difficult. With their strength, as long as they sneaked in silently, destroying it would not be difficult.
So, after making preparations, Taiichi's team set off directly towards their destination.
On the second night, after two days and one night of travel, the team finally found the island mentioned in the mission. The island was indeed small, barely big enough to build a warehouse.
The four-man team lay in ambush in the shadows of the reef, their eyes piercing the darkness as they looked toward the faintly visible warehouse in the distance.
Taiichi released his chakra perception, and instantly everything in the warehouse appeared in Taiichi's mind: two Jonin and two Chunin. The number of people was indeed small, and it was completely within the team's ability to handle.
"Let's rest for a bit, and then sneak in again before dawn," Taiyi instructed everyone.
The four members of the squad each found a spot, closed their eyes, and rested, conserving their energy for the upcoming battle.
As dawn approached, everyone snapped out of their daze and gathered around Taiyi.
"Go!" Taiichi's voice was softer than the sea breeze; he barely even mouthed the words, but everyone clearly understood his command.
make.
The squad moved swiftly, using the undulating terrain and a few low bushes to conceal themselves, like four flowing ink streaks, silently flanking the rear of the main warehouse building.
There was no wall surrounding the warehouse, only a symbolic wooden fence that could be easily scaled. Close to the warehouse's cold stone walls, shadows completely enveloped them. Taiichi and Saori exchanged a glance; the former's senses detected nothing unusual.
Taiyi carefully sneaked into the warehouse and gestured for everyone to split up and search for supplies.
Just then, a piercing scream suddenly rang out behind Taiyi. Taiyi and Yangping, who were walking in front, turned around abruptly, and the scene that came into view made their pupils shrink.