"Think about it. If not for our fourth battalion taking on this mission, if not for our vigilance in detecting the anomaly early and decisively choosing to retreat, what would have been the outcome if it were any other team with slightly less experience or strength?"
Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions gradually changed, a mixture of lingering fear and realization.
Seeing this, Shinichi Higashino continued, "We might have been completely wiped out, captured, or tortured into revealing information about the village, causing significant losses to the village. Now, we've seen through this trap and successfully escaped before the enemy's main force could encircle us. We not only preserved ourselves but also verified the falsity of this intelligence and prevented other units from being annihilated as a result. Isn't this a great achievement?"
At this time, another older Special Jonin, looking at Might Duy being supported and the battle marks on Shinichi Higashino, still hesitated and said, "But captain, even if this deserved a merit, the reason we were able to see through the trap and retreat successfully is because of you and Duy…"
"Our fourth battalion is a unified whole. There is no you and me here, only us!"
Shinichi Higashino interrupted again, his gaze sweeping over everyone.
"I gave the order to retreat. Even if something happens between Senior Duy and me, you can still bring back the intelligence and report everything that happened today in its entirety. You can let the village know what kind of traps the Village Hidden in the Cloud set up and what kind of power they used. And each of you has carried out my orders as the captain very well."
"Therefore, the credit belongs to everyone."
Shinichi deliberately stated, we are one, intentionally emphasizing the shared label of the fourth battalion, thus blurring the lines of his personal achievements and elevating them to a collective level.
Psychologically, this gives each member the illusion of equality, acceptance, and indispensability.
Yes, it's an illusion.
But politics is often built on carefully maintained illusions. In order to protect the honor and interests of this team, they will more actively defend Shinichi, the captain who gave them the label.
"This..."
At this moment, several team members wanted to say something, but seeing Shinichi's calm gaze, they remained silent.
The silence lasted for a few seconds, then someone nodded slightly.
Then came the second, the third, and countless more, and then no one spoke.
Seeing this, Shinichi Higashino nodded slightly and looked away.
"Rest for five minutes, then we will head back."
"Understood."
As soon as the words fell, Shinichi began to use medical chakra, combined with some basic massage technique, to relieve Might Duy's severely overloaded muscles and burning chakra pathway system after opening the seventh gate, while calmly calculating in his mind.
In recent days, he has demonstrated a clear message to all his subordinates through his actions: In times of danger, the captain goes first! In times of retreat, the captain covers the rear!
In his previous life, Shinichi was an avid reader of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. He knew that the Shu Han faction had cultivated a cohesive force that transcended self-interest and bordered on faith. Therefore, despite Emperor Liu Bei's repeated hardships and wanderings, he always had a group of people who steadfastly followed him to the death.
Therefore, Shinichi himself has been trying his best to cultivate this charismatic leader image, giving his subordinates a sense of security, belonging, and even faith, making himself the soul and backbone of the team, so that everyone is willing to follow and admire him, and making the team members believe that they are following a captain worthy of entrusting their lives to.
But is charisma and a sense of responsibility enough to inspire others?
It may be enough for some people, but not for most.
Shinichi understood very well that ninjas were, first and foremost, a tool. But they also had families to support, ambitions to fulfill, and a thirst for resources.
Therefore, after demonstrating the responsibility and charisma expected of a leader, he then drew inspiration from the clear and efficient system of binding interests and rewarding merit in the Cao Wei Dynasty, making a promise, this glory will never be enjoyed alone!
Charisma attracts and unites people, making them willing to follow!
Incentives bind and motivate people, making them feel secure enough to stay!
Only by combining the two can a true, loyal, and efficient core group be created, one that possesses both conviction and practical motivation.
His fourth battalion is being molded into such a force, and he, Shinichi Higashino, is both the banner of their faith and the guarantor of their interests.
And through them, he wants more people to know one thing: if you follow me, Shinichi Higashino, your efforts will be seen, your contributions will be rewarded, your safety will be given priority, and glory is something we all share.
From the day Shinichi figured out the operating logic of his system panel, he clearly understood one point: if he wanted to keep growing stronger, he had to make more and more people sincerely admire him, worship him, and even believe in him!
....
After reporting the incident of being ambushed by the Village Hidden in the Cloud to Orochimaru, Shinichi returned to his own tent.
It's unclear whether he heard what Shinichi had said to the fourth battalion before, or whether he had this plan all along.
After listening, he didn't say much, but just praised him for doing a good job and said he would recommend him for credit later. Then he told Shinichi to go and rest.
Shinichi now understands Orochimaru's attitude towards him. Just like how Orochimaru treated Sasuke Uchiha in later years, he makes no attempt to hide his strong interest in him and is generous with his appreciation and rewards, which actually makes things easier.
At the same time, Shinichi also learned two other important pieces of information from Orochimaru.
On the Village Hidden in the Cloud side, a new batch of reinforcements will arrive at the front line in the next few days. The number of people is quite large, and it is said that the two-tailed Jinchuriki, rumored to be coming, is among them.
Shinichi had no idea how Orochimaru had obtained such detailed information, but this meant that the pressure would increase dramatically.
Meanwhile, Konoha was concerned about the recent frequent actions of the Village Hidden in the Mist on the southeast coast, which seemed to be taking advantage of the situation and preparing to invade.
In order to stabilize the situation in the southeast… the third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had no choice but to send his two old partners, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, to the area to keep watch, just in case.
Koharu and Homura Mitokado.....
In his previous life, Shinichi had indeed seen in some scattered discussions of settings that these two advisors were described in official databooks or materials as extremely powerful, especially Homura Mitokado, with some claims even stating that at his peak, his strength could rival the third Hokage.
Of course, the veracity of this claim is questionable, since they are portrayed in the story as conservative, stubborn politicians with no record of taking direct action.
However, since the third Hokage entrusted him with the important task of guarding the southeastern coast where conflict might erupt, even if his strength wasn't entirely on par with the third Hokage's, he was definitely a true powerhouse in the Shinobi World, at least at the Kage level or close to it.