Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 262 on Tactics

“Hui’s territory is already saturated. If we continue to expand, we will face the problem of insufficient combat power. However, the desire for expansion among the people is quite high. The children from the original base have grown up under the influence of our ideology and are spontaneously expanding outwards... I am very worried about their safety.”

This problem had been brewing for some time, but the personnel shortage worsened after the Land of Snow was incorporated into their territory, especially for combat-oriented personnel. Even including underage Uchiha children wasn't enough. It's important to understand that even within the entire ninja world, the Senju and Uchiha clans possessed exceptionally high average strength. This led to Hui's extremely strict evaluation criteria for combat-oriented personnel, even more stringent than Konoha's. Hui truly succeeded in preventing children from participating in combat, which gradually strained their personnel allocation.

"The first phase of military training has begun, and the production line for the new weapons is about to go into operation. My suggestion is to temporarily suppress the fighting spirit of the civilians. As long as we safely get through the vacuum period, it's only a matter of time before we have the combat power to wipe out the five great powers." This was the first time Fugaku had reported with such confidence. As the only one left to guard the homeland, he was naturally entrusted with the important task of training the army and building the production line.

"This weapon is new, and our previous troop deployments are probably not applicable. It will take time for the new army to become combat-ready, and we must face the strength of the traditional armies squarely. We can despise them strategically, but we must take them seriously tactically and avoid unnecessary sacrifices." Tobirama, who had commanded large-scale battles, was more experienced in this area; he had won a war by exploiting the information gap between Konoha and the other nations. When the four nations thought Konoha was a sitting duck without Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, the Second Hokage taught them a harsh lesson.

"But...the best way to train an army is still through actual combat, right?" Izuna pointed out a crucial issue. "Since we've never encountered this kind of weapon before, even if we try to simulate it using illusion magic, it will be very different from reality..."

Izuna's voice trailed off, and the room fell silent. The newly appointed head of the firearms research and development department sensed something unusual; he noticed a restless eagerness on many people's faces.

“Well, this weapon is still in the verification stage. The first batch is just for testing... You’re not really planning to use them in war, are you?” Mahan said anxiously.

"It wouldn't be a waste to simulate a real battle while testing," Hashirama said with a smile, "Can I sign up to be in the first batch?"

Tobirama covered his face, indicating he couldn't bear to look at his older brother. He was actually a little tempted to try it himself, but he held back to maintain his dignity...

"Is it a gunfight? I want to sign up too!"

"Me too! I've been craving it for ages!"

Mahan looked around at the eagerly signing people with utter shock. He had previously thought that Hui was a laid-back organization that only liked to invent and build things. It turned out that they were actually quite warlike.

Seeing that the meeting was about to veer off course, the head of the table, Jinlun, slammed his fist on the table to quiet the noise.

"What we're testing is the increase in combat effectiveness for a relatively ordinary person after they get a gun. What are you all doing here?"

Ma Han secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that Lord Jinlun was relatively composed and could easily keep these people in check. Unfortunately, he relaxed too soon.

"Recruit people from the logistics department, focusing on those who haven't become ninjas before. These people will form red and blue teams to engage in gunfights in various terrains."

Oh no, these guys are all crazy!

As for appeasing Ma Han, that was naturally handed over to his good deputy. The whole of Beichen was excited about the news, after all, who wouldn't want to be the first to try something new?

As for the training grounds? You deserve a map editor like Hashirama Senju. Poor Hashirama, he could only watch others play with guns while he had to work himself to the bone to prepare the training grounds—he was heartbroken. Naruto originally wanted to help, but Tobirama firmly refused, citing the fact that the Impure World Reincarnation technique wouldn't cause him fatigue, and forcefully sent him back to Konoha.

I must say, Naruto has been incredibly busy lately.

Hui's situation had finally stabilized, and the daily pressure wasn't so great anymore. But then, after completing a mission in March, not only did his territory expand again, but he also acquired a spaceship that treated him as its captain. Some permissions on the spaceship could be delegated, but others couldn't, so to fully explore the ship, he had to be present in person. However, that wasn't the end of it. Konoha defined this mission as a long vacation, which meant that once he returned, he would have to become the Fifth Hokage's slave.

The major case at the beginning of the year uncovered too many people, and Konoha was once again short-handed. Tsunade didn't even spare Jiraiya, who was out having fun, sending him out on missions every now and then, focusing on making full use of resources. Now that spring's busy work is finally over and they've had their holidays, it's time to get back to work and get back to work!

So, Shikamaru was rightfully assigned to Naruto. The Fifth Hokage directly tasked him with training him to the point where he could take over the mission allocation department within six months. It would be a waste not to put his combat power, which was enough to rival that of the Kage, into the combat department to make him shine.

Naruto, of course, understood Tsunade's good intentions. She wanted him to showcase his skills in front of the older generation and gain more support. Ultimately, ninjas are judged by their strength. Even when he was a lazy brat who fell asleep at the sight of documents in his previous life, he was already a Hokage candidate. There was opposition, but it wasn't much. Why? Because he was one of the strongest ninjas in the world at the time! But wait, isn't this a bit too hasty? He's only fifteen, not twenty-five. Is she expecting him to break his father's record and become the youngest Hokage?

In short, Naruto's long-term "leisurely" life in Konoha came to an end. His bittersweet career as a prolific S-rank mission taker began.