Patrol Team

"Someone entered the country from here."

The red-haired boy squatted on the riverbank, rubbed a handful of sand, and said with certainty.

"Three people, two adults and one child, they haven't been gone long."

Before he could finish speaking, another red-haired girl rushed to the scene.

As the girl spoke, five more people arrived.

"There was a mudslide on Silver Peak Mountain yesterday, blocking the road connecting to the Land of Rivers. Perhaps they were travelers who came through the forest?"

The ninja in the lead frowned.

"No, there's something in the water."

A boy with pure white pupils made hand seals, veins like small snakes bulging around his eyes, scanning the slightly murky river.

"Found it."

The boy jumped into the river, dove down, and after about five or six seconds, resurfaced, swimming ashore with a shuriken clutched tightly in his hand.

"A shuriken?"

The leading ninja took the shuriken that had fallen to the riverbed, weighed it lightly in his hand, and his expression instantly became solemn.

"Good heavens, this is a standard Sand Ninja shuriken."

Shuriken are widely used weapons by ninja, and the shuriken made by different ninja villages are also different. Don't think these little things all look the same; they seem the same, but they are not.

Whether heavy or light, large or small, even with minute differences, shuriken are made differently according to the specific environmental conditions of each village. The most notable is the excellent rust resistance of Mist Ninja shuriken.

In an environment like the Land of Water, with its heavy moisture, ordinary shuriken would rust into scrap metal in just ten days to half a month. Only by adding some rust-preventing materials can this situation be avoided. Thus, shuriken from each country have many differences. Newcomers might not see any difference, but to experts, it's as clear as day.

Sand Ninja shuriken are a few points heavier than Konoha shuriken, with rougher edges. Moreover, judging by the degree of rust on the shuriken, this item was clearly dropped here recently.

"There are still traces of chakra remaining on it. It should have been infused with chakra this morning, Wind Release chakra," Katsuki observed the shuriken and made a judgment after sensing it.

"Two adults and a child. Regardless, this shuriken is enough to show that their identities are not simple, they are definitely not ordinary people."

Upon hearing the word chakra, Ninomiya Hao, the Konoha Jonin with the spiky hair, his voice instantly turned cold.

"We can't let these guys get away. Minato, use the Ninja Hawk to send word of this to the nearby defense forces. We'll go after them. There's a ninety percent chance they are ninja, spies infiltrating our country. Everyone, prepare for combat."

Minato quickly whistled, put the intelligence Kushina had written into the bamboo tube on the Ninja Hawk's back, and then the seven-person squad began to follow the traces left by the other party. Three people in the squad had reconnaissance abilities, so they weren't worried about not being able to catch up.

It is now Leaf Year 34, late summer.

More than a year, nearly two years, have passed since Kushina became the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

Hiruzen did not break his promise and did not force everyone to go to school. After several discussions, he issued temporary forehead protectors and began training under the leadership of a Jonin. In nearly two years, from initially taking on all sorts of odd jobs, they could now properly execute some standard patrol missions.

It can be said that they have grown a lot.

Katsuki, Kushina, Minato, Otoha, Otome, and Hyuga Tenzan, this group of six, under the leadership of Jonin Ninomiya Hao, are patrolling the western border. This area borders the Land of Rivers, and beyond the Land of Rivers is the Land of Wind.

Speaking of which, we have to talk about the details of the current Second Shinobi World War.

The war has been going on for about three years. The Land of Rain is completely devastated. Not only Konoha and the Rain Ninja, but the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind have also invaded the Land of Rain, taking advantage of the chaos. The Rain Ninja, already struggling under Konoha's pressure, nearly collapsed. If Hanzō hadn't shown great power on the battlefield, curbing the advance of the Sand and Stone Ninja, the Village Hidden in Rain might have been captured.

Since then, the war has entered a stalemate. The Land of Rain is ravaged by war everywhere, in complete disarray, and the situation is extremely chaotic.

Then, for some reason, the Sand Ninja clashed with Konoha, and the two sides began fighting in the Land of Rain. The relationship between Sunagakure and Konoha instantly deteriorated. Therefore, Hiruzen strengthened the patrol forces on the Land of Rivers front, and Katsuki and the others were also sent here.

I didn't expect that today they seemed to have caught a few small fish.

On a forest path, a man and a woman, covered in dust. The man carried a large pack on his shoulders, and the woman led a boy of about thirteen or fourteen years old. They looked like refugees. The Land of Rivers was not peaceful, and residents who could no longer survive often fled to the Land of Fire to seek a living. This was common.

However, when they spoke, it revealed that they were not refugees.

"We should be out of the Konoha patrol team's activity range now, right?"

The boy with short brown hair couldn't help but ask, looking around at the towering trees. He had never seen such a sight before.

"Rasa, be careful. We are refugees from the Land of Rivers now. Don't say such foolish things. Speak according to your identity. Think before you speak," the man turned back and reprimanded coldly.

"I know,"

The boy named Rasa pouted, but still obediently admitted his mistake.

"Alright, we should be safe now. Let's find a place to stay and confirm our identities," the woman came over to smooth things over.

The man nodded and continued to walk, his face full of sorrow, looking like he had truly suffered a disaster.

However, they hadn't walked far when Rasa's eyebrows twitched, and he suddenly felt a sense of dread. The man and woman also stopped, looking around with uncertainty.

"You three have gone to great lengths, plotting so meticulously to infiltrate our Land of Fire. May I ask your purpose?" A cold voice echoed through the forest, making it impossible to determine its origin.

"Swish swish!"

Two shuriken shot out from behind, aiming for the necks of the man and woman.

With two crisp clangs, the shuriken were deflected, splitting into four pieces and embedding themselves deep into the tree trunks.

Amazing!

In the darkness, Ninomiya Hao's pupils contracted. That man's strength was formidable, already at the level of a Special Jonin, and he was also skilled in the rare Wind Release Technique.

Of course, "rare" was only relative to Konoha. In the Village Hidden in Sand, at least six out of ten people had Wind Release chakra. It was unclear if it was due to geography or bloodline. The situation was similar in other countries: Stone Ninja excelled at Earth Release, Cloud Ninja mastered Lightning Release, and Mist Ninja naturally reigned supreme in Water Release.

In contrast, Konoha was a super-mongrel, with people skilled in all sorts of Release techniques.