Chapter 379: Weakling Yahiko

Kazuyama nodded—he already knew the news.

Out of the three survivors, one had now been taken. Anyone would feel awful in that situation.

But this was the Shinobi World. People vanished or died mysteriously every single day. All he could do was offer some comfort.

"Yahiko, this isn't your fault. Even I wouldn't have had a good solution against that guy."

"Akaashi being taken… I'm guessing they want to use him to force Nagato to cooperate."

"Sigh... of course, that's just my speculation."

"I heard you've become the Village Head of Takigakure?"

To keep the sadness from lingering, Kazuyama changed the subject.

This wasn't the time to dwell in sorrow—there was still a war going on, and he didn't have much time.

Even if he'd gotten used to sneaking away during wartime, that was only because no one ever questioned him—plus, he had a powerful teacher backing him.

But now things were different. Orochimaru had left the village, which hit him hard.

He was Orochimaru's student. And even though he'd racked up plenty of battlefield achievements, if someone came looking to place blame, he'd be caught in it too.

Not that he cared much—it'd probably just mean being grounded for a while. Honestly, he could use the break.

"Yeah. Because you said your sensei was coming, Konan used that as an excuse to shut everyone up."

"Kazuyama, how's it going on your teacher's side?"

Yahiko might act like a confident leader in public, but in front of Kazuyama—both a mentor and a friend—he was humble.

Or maybe just scared. After all, that excruciating Thousand Years of Death still haunted him. Just thinking about it made him flinch. That pain had been burned into his memory.

"Yeah. I got a message—my teacher's already preparing to pull out of the battlefield."

"He'll be heading straight to the Land of Waterfalls."

"Before I came to Takigakure, I already visited the Daimyō's manor."

"The Daimyō's aware my teacher will be settling in the Land of Waterfalls. It's all been arranged."

When they heard that Kazuyama had already handled the Daimyō, both Konan and Yahiko were stunned.

That fast?

He'd already taken care of it—without saying a word.

Even Yahiko had planned to stabilize the village first, then go report to the Daimyō.

As the military arm of the Land of Waterfalls, the Village Head had to be recognized by the Daimyō. Without that, he'd be little more than a placeholder.

"Since you're Village Head now, you'll be dealing with the Daimyō too."

"Don't worry about him. He's just a guy who's let wine and women scramble his brain."

"When the time comes, my teacher can handle him. It'll be no trouble. You just focus on carrying out your plans in Takigakure."

Kazuyama gave Yahiko some much-needed reassurance. From Yahiko's perspective, they had just taken control of Takigakure, so he figured the Daimyō might try to trip them up.

But now, it seemed he'd been overthinking it.

With the Daimyō settled, a lot of things would become much easier moving forward.

"Kazuyama, do you have any ideas for improving the overall strength of our ninja?"

"To be honest, I'm totally lost."

"Konan already went and made a public promise, and now the pressure's all on me."

Yahiko had pinned his hopes on Kazuyama. Just look at Yugito—his so-called free-range disciple. Her growth was obvious day by day.

Right now, Yugito was clearly the most promising ninja in Takigakure. Her devastating Taijutsu combined with that strange Fire Release made her nearly impossible for even most Jōnin to handle.

Hearing Yahiko praise her, Yugito beamed, puffing out her chest and holding her head high with pride.

"What are you doing? Don't you even know your own standing?"

"You seriously think you can compare yourself to ordinary shinobi?"

"I'll let you be proud when you can actually beat me. You can't even touch someone like me—who doesn't even like fighting. What exactly are you so smug about?"

Yugito's cheerful expression froze instantly.

It was like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over her head—then a blaze ignited in her eyes.

"Damn it, Sensei! You've gone too far!"

"Other people praise their students—why are you always tearing me down?!"

"I challenge you to a duel!"

Her claws reappeared, glinting coldly as she glared at Kazuyama, clearly ready to throw down at the slightest provocation.

Kazuyama, of course, didn't hesitate to indulge her.

"That's more like it. I love how eager you are to get schooled."

"Once we're done here, I'll take a proper look at what you've got lately."

Tossing Yugito aside like an afterthought, Kazuyama turned his attention back to his real priority: Takigakure's development.

"If you want to raise a village's overall strength, there are two main paths."

"Combat capabilities and support capabilities."

"The first one? Forget it for now. You can't build that up in just a few days."

"So we start with the second—support. That means weapons and medicine to boost the shinobi's performance in battle."

A sharp gleam flickered in Kazuyama's eyes. He'd already mapped out his approach to ninja gear.

And of course, his trump card was still his teacher—Orochimaru.

Orochimaru wasn't just a scientist. He was also skilled in mechanical design and invention.

Having him take the lead on weapon development could push their gear to a whole new level.

And then there were the enhancement drugs—absolutely worth spreading throughout Takigakure's forces. With that, a significant power boost wouldn't take long at all.

"This one was made by my teacher. It temporarily boosts chakra output."

"This one boosts blood flow and puts the user into a high-energy state. Downside is, you'll feel pretty drained afterward."

Kazuyama placed several bottles on the table, explaining each as he went.

Hearing the effects, Yahiko and Konan's eyes lit up.

These were excellent enhancements.

If distributed properly, they could definitely give Takigakure a meaningful edge.

"I'll be staying here a while, waiting for my teacher to arrive."

"In the meantime, Yahiko, I'll be training you. So be ready."

"As Village Head, your current strength? It's unacceptable."

"At this rate, Yugito's going to leave you in the dust."

Kazuyama shot Yahiko a disappointed glance, clearly frustrated with how lacking his power still was.

He was a Village Head, yet only about as strong as a mid-tier Jōnin? That was ridiculous.

Too weak.

Back in the day, Yahiko probably would've sulked or protested.

But ever since Akaashi was taken, he had come to a painful realization—his strength just wasn't enough.

So when Kazuyama offered to train him, he nodded without hesitation.

He needed power. The kind of power that could protect the people he cared about.

Seeing this, Konan stepped forward as well.

"I want to train too."