Tenten: Believe Me, I Really Am Innocent

Rock Lee Li was walking back with a frustrated look on his face. Tenten's expression wasn't good either. Both of them had some injuries, and it seemed that they hadn't had time to clean up before returning from the battle to report for duty.

"What if we lose our supplies? We'll be punished, won't we?" Rock Lee said with a face full of grief and indignation, tears streaming down his face. "Are we going to be punished by having to walk upside down around the camp five hundred times?"

"It can't be that outrageous, Rock Lee." Tenten rolled her eyes. "Most of the grain we're transporting is fake; it's just a decoy."

"Don't worry, nothing will happen."

"Really? Tenten!" Rock Lee immediately perked up. If he weren't covered in dust and dirt, he probably would have cheered a few times.

Tenten looked helpless, feeling no joy whatsoever. He was only relieved that their mission this time was to act as bait to probe the enemy; losing the fake supplies was no big deal.

All things considered, the mission wasn't a failure.

"Rock Lee! Tenten! Over here!" Naruto spotted them Teuchi. "Come on over, let's grab something to eat together!"

This guy has no sense of responsibility for going to the battlefield, but the camp doesn't restrict them from speaking, as long as they don't make any too much noise.

Putting everything else aside, Naruto genuinely eats whenever he has food, regardless of the occasion. He seems to think, "Since things have come to this point, I might as well eat first."

Neji was recovering from his injuries and could only eat light porridge; he refused to go home to rest. He was also avoiding certain foods and didn't eat with them. Rock Lee, ever the easygoing one, completely forgot about the mission failure.

He's Tenten sighing and complaining, making Naruto feel helpless.

"What's wrong with you?" He put down his chopsticks and said, unable to contain himself any longer, "Weren't you on a mission with Rock Lee? What, you failed alone?"

"No, that's because," Tenten repeated the story.

"That's it?" he asked in surprise.

"But the mission failed, that's a fact." Tenten was a little depressed, and ignoring the camp's rule against drinking, she picked up her glass and took two big gulps.

"Don't overthink it, it's just a small mission. Anyone would have failed." Naruto didn't say anything like the mission wasn't important; for Tenten, the mission was work.

"By the way, what brings you here?" Tenten asked belatedly, having composed herself.

"No reason, just a conscription. Kakashi sent me." Naruto picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks. The tableware, food, and even the fuel on the table were all things he had prepared from his Sealing Space.

"Oh, this isn't like you at all," Tenten, somewhat bewildered.

Rock Lee didn't sense anything was wrong; weren't ninjas supposed to be conscripted? Now that the Five Great Nations were forming Allied Shinobi Forces, ninjas from each country were being drawn and sent to the front lines.

"What are you saying?" Naruto chuckled and brushed it off vaguely.

He joined the war solely to free up some time, so he could have a suitable excuse to disappear for a while with Ino and Hinata. There were some things he didn't want everyone to know.

Actually, lately, Naruto has gotten used to spending time with Ino Hinata every day or every other day, and sometimes he even wonders why Kabuto just kills himself.

But there's no way around it; you still have to face the things that need to be faced.

"Neji's injury." Tenten couldn't hold back anymore when she mentioned Neji's injury. "If I hadn't held him back, Neji wouldn't have been injured so badly."

"Tenten, don't say that. There was nothing we could do that time." Rock Lee put down his chopsticks. "Neji did that so that the three of us could come back alive. You don't need to blame yourself too much."

Although Rock Lee is emotional, he is also very rational. He cried when Neji was injured, but he is much calmer now that he has accepted it.

Naruto leaned on the table, urging people to drink and eat while skillfully changing the subject. He only talks so much when he's drunk; it's nothing really, it's better to say it than keep it bottled up.

Night had fallen.

Naruto couldn't sleep in the middle of the night and had drunk too much. When he got up to pee, he happened to see a familiar figure under the moonlight, staggering around the camp.

"Who is it, drinking in the middle of the night? Aren't we not allowed to drink?" he muttered, not thinking much of it, and went to find a place to relieve himself.

As I was returning to the tent and about to enter, I suddenly felt something soft under my foot, which startled me. Looking down, I saw, holy crap, a dark figure lying on the ground.

He crouched down to examine it, and his expression immediately became quite interesting.

Just then, a patrol came by, and Naruto didn't hesitate. He stepped into the tent and then reached out a hand to drag the person inside.

In the dim candlelight, Tenten's pale face was revealed, showing her discomfort of wanting to vomit but being unable to.

Naruto had intended to wake her, but he was afraid she would vomit all over him, even if it was inside the tent, it would still be disgusting. Seeing that she wouldn't wake up anytime soon, he opened the Gate of Hades, picked up Tenten, and stepped inside.

~~

Kusagakure Building.

Boom! A bolt of lightning crashed down on the Kusagakure Building, and the afternoon sky turned gloomy.

The dark clouds in the sky could no longer hold back the thousands upon thousands of tons of rain. Hundreds of millions of raindrops fell straight down from the clouds like swords, neatly cutting through the sky with fine lines.

"Jin, the situation at the front of the Allied Shinobi Forces is critical. I order you to depart for the Qu Gong Frontline in three days!"

The bloated officer's half-obese face was partially hidden in the darkness, his eyes exceptionally fierce, like a ferocious beast ready to devour its prey.

"May I ask?" The female ninja raised her head. She was none other than Orochimaru's subordinate who had been electrocuted by Naruto during the Chunin Ninja Exams six years ago. At that time, she failed her mission and then disappeared without a trace.

"Military matters are of paramount importance. Are you going to disobey orders?" The mission officer glared at her, his fat face jiggling, his eyes sinister, as if he were about to pull her bones out and smash them.

"No, I just wanted to ask if, sir, it's possible..." Jin's thin body trembled slightly, and he lowered his head again, it was impossible to tell whether it was anger or fear.

The Qu Gong Frontline was the very front line where the Allied Shinobi Forces and the White Zetsu army clashed, a veritable meat grinder on the battlefield. The Land of Grass also sent troops to join the Allied Shinobi Forces, though in small numbers.

"Within three days, the Qu Gong Frontline!" The Fat Pig Mission Officer's expression was ferocious. He stood up like a mountain of flesh, and the noble ornaments on his head shook violently.

"Who do you think you are, trying to bargain? I gave you a chance before, but you didn't take it. Now, even if you beg me on your knees, it won't work! Get out!"

Boom!

The door slammed shut; the unexpected turn of events had disrupted all her plans.

Six years ago, Orochimaru initiated the Konoha Crush operation ahead of schedule. When the mission failed, Kin witnessed the deaths of his comrades and realized that he was just another cannon fodder.

Terrified, she didn't seek out Orochimaru but instead took advantage of the chaos to escape Konohagakure. Over the years, she had lived in many chaotic countries, such as the Land of Rain and the Land of Tea.

Later, she stumbled upon some opportunities and discovered that she seemed to have a talent for assassination. But a few days ago, that fat, aristocratic mission officer approached her, implying that he wanted to experience what it was like to be a female assassin.

Damn it, Jin almost slaughtered that fat pig on the spot. But considering the influence of the fat pig nobleman in the Land of Grass, and the fact that he still had to live in this dilapidated family of Grass, he just turned away with a cold shoulder.

But a few days later, disaster struck. During a mission, she suddenly felt dizzy and was nearly killed by the enemy. After barely escaping death, she discovered that someone had poisoned her supplies.

She was extremely dizzy at the time, and her body relied entirely on muscle memory and the instinct for survival to keep her alive.

But misfortune never comes singly. The Medical Unit ninjas regretfully told her that although her life had been saved and her body was no longer seriously injured, the poison had already seeped into her bones, and it seemed her Road to Ninja was coming to an end.

That damned Fat Pig Mission Officer bullied her because she had no backing and no future. When one plan failed, he came up with another, intending to send her to the front lines as cannon fodder.

Before my injuries have fully healed, going to the front lines means I'm facing a nine-out-of-ten chance of death.

Knowing that making a scene would be useless, she held back her anger and calmly left the house.

She stopped when she turned into a long, deserted corridor, her face suddenly darkening as she spat angrily onto the ground.

"You fat pig! You're kicking me when I'm down!"

"Even a pig is slim compared to you. You're so fat and you still want to taste it, *****!"

In the distance, the sky remained overcast, stretching as far as the eye could see. Looking up a little further, one could see a vast expanse of white mist and some thick, dark gray clouds.

Surrounding the Kusagakure Building are some low, red houses, huddled together, with alleys and lanes connecting them in a dense, intricate network.

Without warning, a branch-shaped bolt of lightning struck heavily from the sky, followed by a deafening boom and rolling thunder.

Minami Wave Female Ninja Kin's heart grew heavier. In three days, she would be sent to the Qu Gong Frontline, a battlefield known as the meat grinder of the Land of Fire.

This world is unfair; the only way to avoid being bullied is to climb up the social ladder. If I ever gain power, I'll make sure they all get their comeuppance, one by one.

Anyway, I'll be going to the front lines in three days, so I have no more worries. I'm so young, and I have deep-seated internal injuries. Relying solely on my assassin talent would just be suicide.

She knew best what the situation was like in Kusagakure; it was on the verge of collapse and wouldn't last much longer. She had only stayed there because it was profitable, and was just waiting for it to crumble.

But now she was furious. Why her of all people! Now that things had come to this, she finally understood that in Kusagakure, without power, you are nothing!

I'm so unwilling to accept this!

It was late at night.

The Fat Pig Mission Officer emerged from the courtyard of the Kusagakure Building, swaying slightly as he held an umbrella. He paused for a second, showing no intention of leaving. He was waiting for his guards to come and carry him home; mission officers never went out alone.

The lamplight was dim, and the light rippled like soybeans in the drizzle.

The Minami Wave Female Ninja Kin, quietly flipped over and moved from the other side of the wall to the side of the mission officer, holding a cloth bag in her hand and with a cold expression.

With a whoosh, the sack flew like the wind, heading straight for the Fat Pig Mission Officer's head. The female ninja, Jin, could no longer hold back and kicked the officer who had been covered in the sack fiercely.

She didn't stop until blood splattered through the sack and soaked her hands. With a swift and decisive motion, she stabbed the Fat Pig Mission Officer into the sack, and he instantly died.

As the night rain fell, the female ninja Jin turned and left, disappearing silently into the alleyway.

~~

After a whole night, the clouds dispersed, the rain stopped, and dawn broke.

A half-foot-deep pool of water on the cement sink reflected a girl's clean face.

Tenten, she scooped up a handful of water and splashed it on her face, carefully washing away the stains on her clothes. She then wrung out the water and hung the clothes in the yard to dry in the wind.

The sunlight was a bit dazzling, filtering through the thick leaves and dappling the concrete ground.

She stood in front of an old-fashioned building. There was no courtyard wall in front of the door, only an ancient tree growing on the side of the alley.

Several three-story bungalows with red roofs were huddled together, with the first floor of the left and right houses serving as storerooms. The courtyard was completely open, with three small pebble paths in the middle and rows of white and green pine needles planted on both sides.

She didn't know where Naruto had found the small courtyard; she only remembered that she had gotten drunk the day before, and when she vaguely opened her eyes, she found that her clothes had been changed. It seemed that she had vomited all over herself, and her dirty clothes were lying to the side.

Naruto was sleeping on the sofa. When he saw that she was awake, he didn't say anything. He told her to wash her face and get something to eat, as he had things to do later.

"Where is this place?" she asked.

"The Land of Grass." Naruto made a shushing gesture. "You were drunk yesterday, and I really didn't want you to throw up in my tent, so I brought you out with me."

"Aren't we on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning?" Tenten was stunned, looking at Naruto with a bewildered expression. "Have we gone too far?"

"You don't need to worry about that. Anyway, you've already figured it out. I'm not really here to join the war." Naruto pouted, but Tenten really knew him well.

Back when he was on a mission with Team 3, Tenten's predictions of Naruto's various outrageous behaviors were incredibly accurate, sometimes even to Neji.

Naruto couldn't hide it anymore, and he was too lazy to keep it a secret anyway, since Tenten knew his secret and wouldn't tell anyone.

"Shouldn't we just go back? What if they find out we're not here?" Tenten looked at Naruto with a worried and conflicted expression.

"Why go back?" He rolled his eyes. "Since we've already come out, we can't go back empty-handed. Otherwise, what would we say? Desertion in the face of battle?"

"I was drunk, I... I wasn't! I woke up here!" Tenten cried out in alarm.

"Oh, is that so? Then you can talk to the executive officer." He said nonchalantly, "Anyway, I need to finish my work before I go back. You can handle it yourself."

Fortunately, Tenten adapted quickly and didn't ask Naruto how he brought her here. After finishing her laundry, she looked around, as if she were on a visit.

Naruto had already prepared breakfast, and the two of them sat together at a table, eating slowly and carefully.

"Why did you come to the Land of Grass?" Tenten asked.

"Of course I came because I had something to do. You don't want to fight a pointless battle, do you?" Naruto glanced at her. "The Allied Shinobi Forces' idea was never very good to begin with; it was a last resort."

"The Land of Grass has just experienced a great upheaval. It's hard to say whether they are friend or foe. They dare to take it over without fear of being betrayed."