Chapter 65

The look of a Hidden Village during Wartime was a lot different than I expected. For one thing, every Konoha Shinobi was issued a Wartime Identification Card that we had to keep on us at all times, even while inside Konoha. For another, various goods started being rationed, which had led to a major black market cropping up as the Merchant's Association couldn't sell as much of various wartime goods to the public at large and needed a way to recoup lost profits. True, they were able to sell those goods to the Village, but at a vastly reduced price. I wasn't sure what I'd been expecting of Wartime Measures, but it wasn't this. Not in Konoha. Not when the war was against a minor village like Otogakure.

Regardless, it really drove home the idea that the Hokage was a Military Dictator more than she was an elected official. The Konoha Council was reduced to a Wartime Planning and Advisory Staff, as well. That was something that no doubt gave Hiashi Hyuga some measure of relief, especially with the political beating he and his faction had taken recently. Not just from being the big losers of the Chunin Exams or not getting the Hokage position, either. The Hyuga Faction's backing of Uchiha Sasuke had blown up in their faces now that Sasuke had turned traitor.

My Dad had said that the Hyuga's one saving grace was that we were now on a Wartime Footing, which meant that not only were Council Politics on pause, but that the Hyuga had a chance to regain political standing via their Shinobi performing well in the war. Hell, Neji had been promoted to Chunin thanks to his performance on our recent Strike Force mission, which already helped the standing of the Hyuga. Now they had a chance to get more promotions and gain back some of their lost political capital and goodwill.

As for the rest of us, a major offensive was in the works striking at multiple Otogakure Bases to roll back the front lines further away from the borders with Fire and Hot Springs Countries. I only knew specifics because my Dad was the Quartermaster General of Konoha and on the Council's Wartime Planning and Advisory Staff. According to my Dad, Otogakure only had around three thousand Shinobi in total, more than Kusagakure but less than Takigakure. It was a mid-sized Hidden Village, if just barely. Comparatively, Konoha can muster around fourteen thousand Shinobi if all the reserves are mobilized. Theoretically, we should be more than capable of wiping out Otogakure without even fully mobilizing.

The issue was the Oto Bases near Hot Springs Country. Northern Hot Springs Country had recently become something of an unofficial Area of Influence for Shimogakure, and Intelligence put a high likelihood of Shimo bases in Northern Hotsprings Country. Shimo by itself wasn't a problem, even if they threw in with Orochimaru and Otogakure. They only had an estimated Five thousand Shinobi at full muster, putting the total number of enemies at somewhere around eight thousand. That'd take a partial mobilization to deal with, but it would be doable.

The issue was that Shimo was allied with Kumo and Iwa. Kumo and Iwa both had fifteen thousand Shinobi in total at Intelligence's best estimates. Neither had demobilized fully after the last war and both could bring their mobilization up to full muster within days. That put the number of enemies we would be facing at thirty-eight-thousand Shinobi. Our own allies would need to be drawn in just to stand a chance, and that would turn a war against Otogakure into a Fourth Great Shinobi War. That was something that had to be avoided.

That was why Uncle Shikaku had devised Operation: Grass-Cutter. A targeted series of surgical strikes on Oto Bases near the borders of Fire and Hotsprings Country that would eliminate that risk. Thanks to the Intel we had picked up in our last mission, we knew where the bases were and would be able to strike them with a high degree of certainty that we wouldn't be about to draw Shimo, and thus their allies in Kumo and Iwa, into a bigger conflict by doing so. Once we rolled back the Oto bases away from the borders, we'd be free to crush Oto with a massive assault. At least in theory.

In the meantime, I kept up my training as we prepared for Operation: Grass-Cutter. I worked on Gai-Sensei's Omote Renge (Front Lotus) and Ura Renge (Reverse Lotus), Kakashi's Chidori (Thousand Birds), and Asuma-Sensei's Fūton: Suiran Reppū (Wind Release: Verdant Mountain Gale) Jutsu. Over the two-week interval it took for the Partial Mobilization to be completed and preparations for Operation: Grass-Cutter to be made, I managed to get down the Omote Renge and Ura Renge, along with the Chidori. The Suiran Reppū was still giving me a bit of trouble, though. Likely it was because I wasn't a natural wind element. My Elements were Yang, Steel, Fire, and Lightning, with Lightning being opposed by Wind. I'd thus far been able to learn a number of low and mid-level Wind Release Jutsu through sheer talent and dedication to training, but it looked like if I wanted to learn higher-level Wind Jutsu like the Suiran Reppū, I was out of luck until I could get training in the Nature Transformation itself. Possibly not even then.

It was frustrating to hit that sort of wall, but I could respect it. My primary affinity was Fire, after all, and I had problems even learning simple Water Release Jutsu. Hell, my Yang Affinity meant that I was also pretty hopeless at Genjutsu as well! I should be used to this sort of thing by now. At any rate, this was bound to come up eventually, just based on my experience with Water Jutsu and Genjutsu. Mind you, there was one person in the Village who had mastered each of the five basic elements.

Lord Third had done so through a lifetime of training and hard work. They didn't call him the Professor for no reason, after all. Unfortunately, I couldn't just go and ask the Old Man for training. He may have retired from active duty once he'd handed the Hat over to Lady Tsunade, but he was still on the Council's Wartime Planning and Advisory Staff. It would be criminal negligence not to take advantage of his experience to help plan, after all. Most of the ranking Shinobi were.

I couldn't even get help from Asuma-Sensei because he'd had a new team of fresh Academy Graduates foisted on him by Lady Tsunade. Apparently, he'd done so well with my team that Lady Tsunade wanted to see if it would become a pattern. I'd found that out when I'd gone to ask him for advice at the usual spot, though to get there, I had to flash my Wartime ID Card to a pair of bored-looking Chunin guarding the entrance to the training grounds.

 When I arrived at the Team Ten Training Ground, instead of Asuma-Sensei calmly sipping tea, having a smoke, or maybe playing a game of Shogi with Shikamaru or one of his other friends, he was teaching a trio of kids. I recognized one of them right away, Junko Shimura was the grand-niece of Danzo and widely regarded as a prodigy with Wind and Earth Jutsu. So much so that even Danzo had recognized that and made her the heir to the Clan. The other two I wasn't sure who they were, one was a Hyuga Boy and the other was a Kurama Girl. That meant that the new Team Ten was another team with a Genjutsu Specialist, Taijutsu Specialist, and Ninjutsu Specialist on it. I guess if it ain't broke, don't fix it had been the motto there.

"Oi, Asuma-Sensei! They've got you teaching another team already?" I called out as I approached the Training Ground.

"Yeah, there's a War on and Lady Tsunade figured I did such a good job with you, Shikamaru, and Ino that she'd foist another group of kids on me." Grinned Asuma.

"Akimichi Choji, you taught the Second Coming of the Three Worthies?" Questioned the Kurama Girl. She had her brown hair done up in a ponytail and was wearing a sky-blue kyudogi and black hakama with a Lacquered Leather Muneate over it and bore a bow and quiver of arrows.

"Please, Hotaru, that is such a grandiose term. They're just like any other Shinobi, they simply got lucky." Scoffed the Hyuga. He wore the everpresent Hyuga white Dogi and had his own, dark purplish, hair cropped close in order to avoid someone grabbing hold of it in Taijutsu spars. His pale lavender eyes weren't scrunched into the Byakugan yet, but I knew from dealing with Neji and Hinata that he was close to doing so, if only to check me out.

"That's what Lord Hizashi told you, eh Tensai? I guess being from the Main House, you've got to parrot everything, huh?" Queried Junko. She was wearing a dove gray Dogi with a Kusari Chain Lining and her black hair was pulled into a braid down her back.

"You're one to talk. Did not Lord Danzo make you his heir? Should you not be parroting his statements, to use your crude terminology?" Scowled the Hyuga, Tensai.

"I don't suck up to my Great Uncle, Tensai. If you knew the man, you'd know that doing so would be pointless." Shrugged Junko.

"Forgive my teammates squabbling, Akimichi-San. They had a rivalry for the position of Rookie of the Year. Junko wound up taking that as well as Top Kunoichi, and Tensai hasn't stopped needling her since Graduation." Apologized the Kurama, Hotaru, bowing to me.

"Don't worry about it. Please, call me Choji. Can't have my Kohai being all formal." I chuckled.

"Thank you, Choji-Senpai." Beamed Hotaru as she straightened.

"So if Junko is the Rookie of the Year and had a rivalry with Tensai, does that make you the dead last or did they do away with that after my class graduated?" I asked.

"Unfortunately not. My academics were sound, and I was able to perform the Academy Three, but my specialties are in Kyudo and Genjutsu, both are subjects not graded in the Academy Graduation Exam, and neither call for much in the way of taijutsu sparring and physical conditioning. Not in the way that the Practical Exam calls for." Intoned Hotaru.

"On the whole, their class did pretty well for Hotaru to be the dead last. At least so I'm told. Mind you, your class had a couple of civilian kids in it while theirs didn't, so that's probably some of it." Offered Asuma-Sensei.

"Right. So, introductions. I'm Akimichi Choji and I'm your Senpai. My team and I were Asuma-Sensei's last team. I'm sure you know about us, though, being Clan Kids yourselves." I introduced, bowing.

"Shimura Junko, nice to meet you, Senpai!" Smiled Junko, bowing back.

"Indeed. I am Hyuga Tensai, of the Main Branch of the Hyuga Clan. I have heard things about you and your team." Nodded Tensai, bowing only as far as propriety demanded.

"I'm Kurama Hotaru, Senpai! Is it true your team killed a Dai Onikuma during the last Chunin Exams after helping rescue the Hokage?" Chirped Hotaru, inquisitively as she bowed again.

"It's more like we got our Summons to kill the Dai Onikuma for us. We also weren't alone, we had others with us, like Naruto." I downplayed.

"You're a summoner?" Questioned Junko.

"I happen to be the one and only Boar Summoner. My Teammates are also the Crab and Iguana Summoners, though Ino barely counts since she never seems to Summon Iguanas when she can use her own skills to win." I answered.

"What use are summons if you don't use them?" Huffed Tensai.

"What use are you as a Shinobi if you only rely on Summons for everything? I for one applaud the reluctance to become dependent on summons." Shot back Junko.

"Oh great, here we go again." Muttered Hotaru.

"Well, before my students get to squabbling again, maybe you should tell me why you were looking for me? No offense, Choji, but it seems like you being here is aggravating Tensai." Questioned Asuma-Sensei.

"Right, well, I was trying to figure out how to perform the Suiran Reppū like you do, but I'm running into problems, Sensei." I admitted.

"Not surprising given your secondary Lightning Affinity. I'm guessing you were hoping I could teach you the Wind Transformation Training Method?" Queried Asuma-Sensei.

"Yeah. I didn't realize you'd taken another team, though." I sighed.

"Hey, don't sweat it too much. I might have another team, but I can spare a couple hours to track down the instruction scroll for you. It probably won't be as good as having a teacher but with the war on and everything. . ." Trailed off Asuma-Sensei.

"No, I get it, Sensei. We'll need these kids trained up fast." I nodded.

"Hey! We're only like a year younger than you!" Protested Junko, sidetracked away from her argument with Tensai.

"A year's a long time in terms of Shinobi. Especially with how this last year has gone. As it is, right now, none of you three would be able to even so much as scratch me if we were to fight." I informed.

"It's true. That's a good lesson to learn early, by the way. You can't break past your limitations if you don't know where they are." Added Asuma-Sensei.

"I suppose that does make some sense." Grumbled Tensai.

"I still don't like it." Frowned Junko.

"I don't like it either, but I guess we'll just have to train hard so we can stand eye to eye with Senpai." Shrugged Hotaru.

"That's the spirit. You don't have to like it, but it's a good thing to keep in mind." Nodded Asuma-Sensei before he turned to me.

"Choji, I'll have that instruction scroll for you by the start of next week. You should go now, I'm sure you've got training to get to and I need to drill these three in teamwork some more. They could clearly use it since they seem to like starting arguments so much." He intoned.

"Right, I'll see you later, Sensei. You three listen to Asuma-Sensei, all right? He knows what he's talking about." I responded.

"We will Senpai!" Chorused Junko, Hotaru, and begrudgingly, Tensai.

Then I made my way off the training ground and headed for my Clan Compound to get in some last-minute Taijutsu practice in the Akimichi-Ryu Dojo. I spent the rest of the day going over my various Taijutsu and Bukijutsu forms before I was called into the main house for dinner. I made a quick stop at my room for a shower and change of clothes, then headed downstairs.

If there was one place in Konoha that the rationing seemed not to affect, it was my Clan Compound. The Clans were all allotted extra rations for everything, as the majority of Konoha's more elite Shinobi Forces consisted of Clan Shinobi. With us Akimichi, those extra rations were extended even further, given how our Ultimate Clan Yang Jutsu required us to be of a specific body weight. That plus the Clan's habit of stockpiling along with my Dad being the Quartermaster General meant that we were in no danger of coming up short in anything, not even stuff like Sugar, even with the rationing in place. Dinner was, accordingly, a hearty and flavorful meal.

Over the next few days, I trained almost exclusively my Taijutsu and Bukijutsu. I had all my techniques learned, which meant that it was time to continue training my foundation. Until Asuma-Sensei came through with the Wind Nature Training Scroll, it wasn't like I could learn the one Jutsu I had a scroll for that I hadn't learned yet anyway. It just made sense to switch to training my basics until I got it.

Unfortunately, I wouldn't get the chance to grab that training scroll before everything for Operation: Grass-Cutter was complete. I was summoned to a briefing of all Chunin in Konoha at the Hokage Tower by Lady Tsunade at the end of the Week. When that happened, I knew it in my bones that this was it.

We were finally, officially, going to war. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here we get a bit of a look at the measures Konoha is taking for Wartime. There is more than just Rationing and ID Card Implementation, but Choji hasn't seen them. For instance, he hasn't needed to go to Konoha General Hospital. If he had, he would have seen the Medic Training Courses that Tsunade implemented to ensure enough skilled medics were around during Wartime.

We also get to see that Asuma has another team. There's been a new graduating class of the Academy that has a couple of prodigies in it as well. Two of them are on the new Team Ten, Shimura Junko is a Ninjutsu Prodigy, while Hyuga Tensai is a Taijutsu Prodigy. Neither are on the same level as Choji, Shikamaru, or Ino when it comes to Genius, they're more comparable to Sasuke, only without the complex that Sasuke had.

At any rate, the next chapter will involve the Briefing for Operation: Grass-Cutter.

Stay tuned. . .