Forward, Forward, Forward

Just as the assembly deadline was about to pass, Uchiha Otoha finally appeared. He wore a combat uniform embroidered with the Fire Fan Clan crest, with his forehead protector strapped across his brow. Only... for some reason, he looked rather listless.

Seeing Otoha standing alone, Kushina could not help asking, "Why didn't Otome come with you?"

Otoha subconsciously rubbed his butt. It still hurt a little; he had been kicked several times before leaving home.

"Y-you... what kind of reaction is that?" Katsuki's mouth twitched. Otoha's movement had startled him. Damn it, why was he rubbing his butt? That could easily cause a misunderstanding.

"Otome can't come. My dad said it was enough for me to go to war alone. Otome is still young, so she stayed home." Otoha did not notice Katsuki's look. He was staring at the mass of genin gathered before them.

"But Aunt Tsunade..." Kushina was no fool either, and she stopped halfway through her sentence.

As long as people existed in this world, there would inevitably be classes. And where there were classes, there would be privilege.

Given the status of Otoha and Otome's father, pulling Otome out of this mission was no big deal. Even if Hiruzen had arranged the mission himself, he could not be bothered as long as it did not affect his goals. Danzo was keeping an eye on the Uchiha Clan anyway. All Hiruzen needed to do was maintain the balance between the two sides, rather than completely favor either one.

Sure enough, when Tsunade counted heads, she did not include Otome. Once she confirmed that everyone was present, they set off immediately, without a single word of nonsense.

One large cart after another rolled out through Konoha's main gate. Tall, sturdy mules and horses pulled carts piled high with supplies, while the genin spread out to guard both sides. Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya respectively watched over the front, middle, and rear of the convoy.

The ninja world was a strange one. Motion picture technology had already appeared, yet engines had still not been invented. Fortunately, ninjas were all swift runners. When they ran at full speed, they were as fast as the wind, hardly slower than trains.

But while ninjas could run all over the world on their own legs, transporting supplies gave the leaders of every major ninja village a terrible headache.

War cost money. Food, weapons, clothes, bedding—every last one of those things cost money! Well, more importantly, getting supplies to the front lines quickly and safely was the highest priority.

Yet such enormous quantities of supplies could only be hauled on flatbed carts by mules and horses. Before coming to this world, Katsuki had questioned why they did not use methods like scrolls or Space-Time Ninjutsu to transport supplies. It would be both safe and fast.

But after truly arriving in this world, he understood how naive that idea was. First, Space Scrolls were not something you could find everywhere. Second, their storage capacity was extremely limited. They could be used to transport scarce, urgently needed supplies in small quantities, but large-scale material transport still relied on the primitive method of animal power.

Otherwise, the price of the Space Scrolls alone could exceed the value of the supplies being shipped. That would be completely putting the cart before the horse.

As for Space-Time Ninjutsu, those capable of mastering it were all top experts. Not only were they few in number, but using such experts as porters would be like shooting sparrows with pearls. No one who was not an idiot would do something like that.

Thus, animal-powered transportation remained the mainstream in the ninja world.

This naturally gave rise to wartime tactics targeting enemy supply transport behind the lines. Scouts and spies used every possible means to sabotage the enemy's rear supply routes. Minato's famous battle at Kannabi Bridge in the future would be a classic example of this kind of warfare.

But for now, Minato was still walking alongside the carts!

"Why is that guy Minato in the same team as my sister? Why? Damn squad system..."

Katsuki ground his teeth in resentment as he stared at the swaying figure in the formation ahead.

Ninja combat used a squad system, with three people to a team. Among genin and chunin, the three-man squad was the most perfect combat arrangement. That was not empty boasting by some random person; it had been established through the trials of the Warring States era and the First Ninja World War.

Thus, Katsuki's little group was inevitably split apart. Unfortunately, Minato and Kushina had been assigned to one team, while he and Otoha had been kicked into another. Even after walking all morning, he was still stewing over it.

There were three people in their team. Besides Katsuki and Otoha, the third was neither a stranger nor someone they knew well—the cataract-eyed boy, Hyuga Tenzan.

Watching Katsuki mutter to himself, Hyuga Tenzan could not help growing suspicious. This teammate did not seem very reliable. As for Uchiha Otoha, he was beaming with delight at having escaped his sharp-tongued little sister. He could not maintain the Uchiha Clan's cool, aloof demeanor at all, letting out a silly chuckle every now and then.

Hyuga Tenzan's heart instantly turned cold. Damn it, something's wrong here. These feel like two deadweights! I'm doomed, I'm really doomed! Under the squad system, one unreliable teammate could drag the entire team to its death!

Though the saying, "Not afraid of godlike opponents, only afraid of piglike teammates," had not yet become widespread, ninjas shared similar thoughts. These days, teammates often meant comrades bound by life and death. Once on the battlefield, they entrusted their lives to one another.

Hyuga Tenzan felt unprecedented distress, while the main force continued steadily onward.

They left Konoha and raced northwest. But mules and horses could only move so fast, and someone like Jiraiya could not sit still for long. At this point, Jiraiya had not yet begun his writing career. Aside from training, his leisure activities consisted of visiting nightclubs or peeping.

They were on the road now, so there was nowhere to visit. As for peeping, was he supposed to watch two monkeys doing that out here in the wilderness? He had not sunk quite that low yet. With nothing to do, Jiraiya wandered around the convoy, and then spotted one of his observation targets: that red-haired little girl... with that blond brat beside her!

"Well, since I'm bored anyway, I might as well use this kid to entertain myself!" Jiraiya stroked his chin and grinned wickedly.

Minato was carefully talking with Kushina, completely unaware that a turning point in his fate was about to arrive.

At the same time, Katsuki finally suppressed the resentment boiling in his chest. No matter how dissatisfied he was, he could not do anything to anyone right now. To put it bluntly, he did not yet possess enough strength or status to make others take him seriously.

Marching was a dull, tedious affair. It was even more agonizing when ninjas could not stretch their legs and run freely. Most of the genin shuffled along with the main force in low spirits, and few remained energetic.

Katsuki mingled in the middle of the formation. During the noon meal break, he put on that set of Weighted Training Gear forged from refined iron. His body immediately looked a full size bulkier. However, most of the people around him did not know him well and did not notice the change in the little bean sprout. Otoha, meanwhile, already knew how crazed Katsuki was about training.

The only child who did not know what was going on, Hyuga Tenzan, stared wide-eyed at Katsuki, who had somehow grown a full size fatter after finishing his meal. His mouth hung open in shock. W-w-what was going on?

A wail rose from the bottom of his heart!

He was filled with deep unease about the future. Why were his teammates so bizarre?