Chapter 110: Chunin Squad Leader?
"Koshino, if I'm not here, where should I be?"
When it comes to the person Koshino least wants to see when injured, it has to be the man in front of him, Nara Shikaku.
It's not that Koshino is afraid of Shikaku; rather, he doesn't want Shikaku to see him injured.
In the village of Konoha, who cares about Koshino the most? It's not the Fourth Hokage, nor is it his good friends like Guy, Kurenai Yuhi, or others.
It's his uncle, Nara Shikaku! So, whenever he's injured, Koshino avoids facing Shikaku.
Especially when he sees the reproachful look in Shikaku's eyes, with a hint of pain hidden within, Koshino can't help but scratch his head awkwardly, maintaining a silly smile in front of Shikaku.
On the other hand, Guy is truly a master at lightening the mood!
Hearing Shikaku's cold snort, Koshino awkwardly keeps his silly smile, while Guy, upon hearing Shikaku's words, cautiously reminds him:
"Lord Shikaku, Koshino is Anbu, you must refer to him by his code name!"
"His code name is Shadow, Lord Shikaku, don't forget it!"
Guy's reminder leaves Shikaku, who was about to scold Koshino, silent, his facial muscles twitching fiercely.
As for Koshino, he struggles to hold back his laughter, almost giving Guy a thumbs-up.
However, Shikaku can't lose his composure in front of Guy.
So, after Guy's reminder, Shikaku lightly coughs and says, "Well... Guy, I have something to discuss with Shadow, so please excuse us."
"Yes, Lord Shikaku!"
Knowing the relationship between Koshino and Shikaku, Guy nods with a smile and leaves the room.
But as Guy leaves, Koshino clearly hears Guy's whispered reminder, which makes him realize Shikaku's identity as the commander of Konoha's rear forces!
Simply put, he's the BOSS of the unit Guy belongs to!
It turns out that after the Fourth Hokage dispatched Koshino and others to form the Blade Squad, he appointed Shikaku as the rear forces commander,
leading the ninja troops back to the Land of Fire to confront the Mist ninja unit that had infiltrated the country.
As for the Fourth Hokage himself, he also led ninja troops to engage the Mist ninja in open battle at the front.
From Koshino's perspective at the Konoha camp, the Fourth Hokage's battle at the front line is certainly under control.
The focus is on how Shikaku's leadership of the ninja troops in the rear will fare, as the conflict between Konoha and the Mist during the Third Shinobi War is nearing its end.
However, the more the battle heats up, the more intense it becomes.
So, ever since Shikaku led the ninja troops deep into the Land of Fire, the Blade Squad, previously dispatched by the Fourth Hokage, has been on Shikaku's mind.
On one hand, Shikaku worries about Koshino's safety while executing missions with the Blade Squad.
On the other hand, the situation of the Blade Squad directly affects the outcome of the rear battle.
Thus, after learning about Shikaku's identity from Guy, Koshino's silly smile disappears.
Now, Koshino no longer sees Shikaku as just his uncle but, like Guy, regards him as the BOSS. His expression turns serious as he reports to Shikaku,
"Lord Shikaku, Blade Squad member Shadow has successfully returned! Reporting to Lord Shikaku, may I ask how long I was unconscious?"
"About six hours."
"Six hours, huh?"
Calculating the time silently, Koshino takes a deep breath and continues, "Lord Shikaku, about six hours ago, Blade Squad was to rendezvous with another Anbu team of ours.
However, at the meeting point, we were ambushed by a Mist ninja squad. I'm afraid the entire other Anbu team was tragically wiped out by that Mist squad."
"We already know the Akatsuki-affiliated Mist Ninja squad members: biwa juzo, Fuguki Suikazan, and six other Mist Jonin.
Although our Blade Squad successfully eliminated all members of that Mist Ninja squad, due to the schemes of the Mist's Death Squad,
we are no longer combat-capable and had to temporarily withdraw from the battle."
"As for what happened afterward, our Blade Squad encountered Guy and safely returned to our camp!"
"Yes, I'm aware of all this."
Listening to Koshino's report, Shikaku nodded silently to himself.
He thought that surviving an encounter with two members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist was already a stroke of luck for Koshino,
so he wasn't planning to reprimand him for getting injured again.
However, recalling the members of the Mist Ninja squad Koshino mentioned, which included biwa juzo and Fuguki Suikazan, Shikaku couldn't help but furrow his brow and asked, "Are you sure it was biwa juzo and Fuguki Suikazan?"
"Absolutely!"
Koshino nodded confidently, "Because Lighning and Fierce lost their combat abilities due to Fuguki Suikazan's Samehada.
And the reason we had to fight that Mist Ninja squad to the death was also because of biwa juzo's Blood Mist Technique. So I'm certain that biwa juzo and Fuguki Suikazan were involved."
"But if they really participated, then that's truly strange."
Hearing Koshino's words, Shikaku's frown deepened, "Shadow, you should know that the Mist Ninja unit we engaged with was led by the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
According to our intel, biwa juzo and Fuguki Suikazan were still in the Mist's camp not long ago. How could they have split themselves to attack your Blade Squad?"
"Impossible!"
Before Shikaku could finish, Koshino exclaimed in surprise.
But just as that exclamation faded, both Koshino and Shikaku fell silent.
Clearly, both had some suspicions in their hearts, but neither voiced them.
Moreover, since Koshino was still injured, Shikaku felt there was no need to burden him further.
After a moment of silence, he smiled, patted Koshino's shoulder, and said,
"Shadow, you've done very well. Leave the rest to your uncle here. Also, don't worry about your teammates' injuries.
Besides you, who slept the longest, Swift, Lighning, and Fierce have already woken up. They probably just need about ten days of healing to fully recover."
"So, take a good rest today and temporarily forget about mission-related matters."
"Also, since Swift and the others need to heal, your Blade Squad is temporarily disbanded. Once they're fully recovered, you'll resume missions."
"Of course, during their recovery, you still have other tasks to perform."
"Get ready, tomorrow you'll report to Guy's squad!"
"I believe Guy's captain has a lot to teach you!"
After saying this, Shikaku was about to leave.
However, Koshino, curious about who Guy's captain was, directly asked Shikaku, "Uncle Shikaku, who is Guy's captain?"
"Guy's captain, huh!"
Hearing Koshino's question, Shikaku turned around, a mysterious smile playing on his lips.
Then, under Koshino's astonished gaze, Shikaku, before leaving, revealed a piece of information that left Koshino utterly puzzled! "Guy's captain is a very interesting person."
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