Reinforcements Arrive

After confirming that Genma could practice the Earth Dragon Bullet on his own, Kamise Yushi left immediately.

Genma knew full well that Kamise Yushi still had to instruct Kurenai, who had also completed the tree-climbing exercise. Just thinking about it made him look forward to it.

After all, if he could casually pull out something like the Earth Dragon Bullet, he could probably produce some formidable sword technique too.

It was quite a while before Kamise Yushi returned, and only then did Genma form hand seals and create a Shadow Clone.

He was practicing ninjutsu now, and ordinarily he definitely would not have used a Shadow Clone to speed things up. But the situation was truly not good at the moment. Any amount of acceleration helped.

After learning about their opponents, the three of them knew they were outmatched. Under Kamise Yushi's guidance, they all began training desperately.

Even Kamise Yushi, who had brought all this about, found the extent of their determination unbelievable.

However, after learning about the Rainbow Mist Mountain ninja from Genma, he felt much more at ease.

Come to think of it, it was certainly good for fledgling ninja to grow gradually, step by step. That way, they could avoid dying young before reaching their potential.

But gradual growth was for peacetime. War could begin at any moment now. These young ninja needed heavier burdens and faster growth if they were to better survive what lay ahead.

The three had solid foundations. After three days of grueling training, they might not have been without a chance against a Chunin. Thus, while Kamise Yushi was worried, he was also greatly looking forward to it.

During the three days spent waiting for reinforcements, the three barely rested except to train, but the results were gratifying as well.

Namiashi Raidō had learned tree climbing and was proudly sitting atop a tree to rest when Genma arrived beneath it carrying a basket.

"Raidō, hurry down and eat."

"Oh, okay!"

Namiashi Raidō immediately perked up and raced down from the treetop. Once he reached a certain height, he kicked off the trunk and leaped down.

Genma did not even blink at Raidō's showy move. Instead, he said coldly, "What are you standing around for? Take it yourself and eat. My hands are overworked from training—I can't get it for you!"

Only then did Namiashi Raidō notice that Genma's bandage-wrapped hands were trembling slightly. More precisely, the basket was trembling.

"You're too useless, aren't you? How did you end up like this just from practicing ninjutsu!?"

Today was supposed to be the day they met up with the reinforcements, and they would likely move out tomorrow. Thus, Genma had been the first one ordered to stop training and assigned to deliver food.

But the strain from training twice as much was naturally severe. Raidō, unaware of the reason, was actually mocking him for it. Genma could not stand it, yet he could not exactly beat him up either. Gritting his teeth, he said, "I'm going over to Kurenai's. Finish eating and practice your swordsmanship!"

"Uh, I'll go eat at Kurenai's too~"

However, the moment Namiashi Raidō took a step, Genma shot him a fierce glare.

"You're not going. Stay right here!"

What a joke. After three days of ultra-intense training, he had barely even spoken properly with Kurenai. How could he let this third wheel tag along?

After being scolded by Genma, Namiashi Raidō seemed to realize something, and his heart immediately soured.

"Fine, I won't go. Just remember the telescope you promised me~"

Seeing Namiashi Raidō looking so aggrieved that he was about to cry, Genma's stern expression softened somewhat.

"I know. I guarantee it'll be binoculars. But if we make it back alive, I'll treat you all to a feast too!"

"Re...really? Yay! We'll definitely make it back alive!"

Namiashi Raidō's face immediately lit up. Sitting on the ground, he opened his lunchbox and began wolfing down the food.

Seeing Raidō eat so happily, Genma finally relaxed and left with the basket.

After walking for a while, he gradually began hearing the sound of something cutting through the air. Genma knew he was approaching where Kurenai was.

From those sounds alone, Genma could tell Kurenai was swinging a blade, though he could not tell what sword technique she was practicing.

The three of them often practiced swordsmanship, but the fact that Kurenai could now make her blade whistle through the air truly piqued Genma's curiosity.

When he reached Kurenai's vicinity, Genma saw the girl training so diligently it made his heart ache.

Though they had seen each other from time to time and asked after one another, the two had tacitly smiled and replied, "Pretty good."

But today, he had the chance to look at Kurenai properly, and he discovered that her bandages had been stained red.

Her hands must have been rubbed raw, yet she still had not stopped training.

Why was she working herself so hard? Genma could not understand. Was it only to become independent, to prove to her father that she could protect herself?

Genma truly wanted to persuade her to stop and let him protect her.

But he knew that not only was his strength insufficient, this era would not allow it either.

Even a ninja as powerful as Minato still had times when he could not look after his students.

And he was only a Genin now. How could he guarantee that he would protect her completely?

A faint sense of unwillingness welled up within him as he slowly approached Kurenai.

"Genma? Are you done training?"

"Training? I wouldn't say I'm done. It's just that Sensei thinks we might fight tomorrow, so he told me to stop."

Seeing his long-missed beloved, Genma still wore a bright smile right away.

"Is that so? You came to bring food?"

"Mhm. You usually hide it well, but you need me right now~"

Genma's smile widened, while Kurenai, who had stopped training, frowned as the pain in her hand began to affect her.

"Take a rest. If you face the enemy like this, they might kill you without even having to put in any effort."

As he spoke, Genma walked over to Kurenai, led her beneath a tree, laid a piece of cloth down for her, and gestured for her to sit.

Kurenai was not the type to stubbornly reject such advice. Instead, she sat down shyly and obediently, making Genma's heart itch a little.

"Your hand seems injured too. Are you really okay?"

Facing Kurenai's question, Genma held out his hand and waved it in front of her.

"My hand's fine—much better than yours, at least. I can't hold things steadily, but feeding you is no problem. Hehe~"

As he said, Kurenai really did have trouble even eating now, which gave him an opening.

But Kurenai was slightly annoyed. Pinching Genma's weak spot, she said, "All you think about is that. Even if I can't eat with my hands, I can still make you behave!"

"Yes, yes, I promise I'll behave. I promise I'll focus on feeding you!"

After a burst of piercing pain, a tingling warmth spread through him, and the tenderness in his heart flared up like fire.

Genma's gaze grew heated as well, making Kurenai too embarrassed to meet his eyes. She could only turn her head aside.

"Hey, look at me. Come on, open your mouth~"

Genma, delighted by Kurenai's shy appearance, took out the lunchbox and scooped up a small spoonful of rice for her.

Such a shameless request made Kurenai unbearably embarrassed, yet a faint longing slowly arose within her. In the end, she still turned back to face Genma.

"Mm, that's more like it. Come on, open up. I'll feed you~"

Genma set down the relatively heavy lunchbox. He held the spoon in one hand and placed his other beneath it, watching intently as Kurenai opened her small mouth, as though this were the most important thing in the world.

Unable to bear Genma's blazing gaze, Kurenai tried her hardest to roll her eyes upward, avoiding looking at him.

This left Genma rather depressed. Was he really that hard to look at?

But no matter what, he had successfully fed her the first bite. That was a milestone.

Before, they had only picked food for each other. How could that compare to today's great achievement? Come to think of it, he really had to thank Teacher Yushi.

As he continued feeding Kurenai, the gloom in Genma's heart vanished completely, as though he had come back to life.

Kurenai, too, was gradually affected by this ambiguous behavior. As though she had taken some miracle medicine, her smile slowly bloomed.

Boom!

After finishing their meal and resting for a while, they suddenly saw the emergency signal Kamise Yushi had arranged beforehand.

The signal made quite a commotion, but it was also very convenient. All they needed to do was tie an Exploding Tag to a Shuriken, fire it into the air, and detonate it instantly.

Apparently, the village currently used this method to assemble teams, though only in emergencies.

For Kamise Yushi to use an emergency signal, it could only mean either that enemies had arrived or that reinforcements were coming.

The three of them immediately rushed toward the source of the sound and soon spotted five figures.

The five figures did not appear to be fighting, so they were probably reinforcements. Everyone could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Once Genma saw their builds and roughly made out their faces, he was stunned.

The blond, sunny, handsome one—wasn't that Minato?

The silver-haired one wearing a mask and carrying a short blade—wasn't that Kakashi?

And the one jumping and waving from a distance—who else could it be but Obito?

Though Rin was quiet, the warm smile on her face was just as unforgettable.

The three quickly arrived at Yushi's side, but the moment they did, Obito began shouting.

"Wow, wow! On our first joint mission, we ran into Genma and Kurenai! This is awesome!"

Though Obito was enthusiastic, someone who had been forgotten darkened his face. "Hey, hey, Obito, am I not good enough!?"

"Oh, you're..." Obito scratched his head. After thinking for a long while, his eyes suddenly lit up. "Washi! You're Washi, right? We met during that survival exercise last time!"

Seeing Namiashi Raidō's body tremble slightly as though he were holding something back with all his might, Kamise Yushi hurriedly reminded them, "Ahem, all right, Raidō. Obito, we have business to attend to."

"Cough, cough cough..."

Stopped by Kamise Yushi, Namiashi Raidō seemed as though his anger had choked him. He pounded his chest several times.

"Your teachers and Yushi have told me about the situation, but we don't know the enemy's strength. Even if all of us go out together, it would still be very risky. So, we've decided to scout first, then make a plan."

The handsome blond Minato spoke unhurriedly, drawing everyone's attention to himself.

"Since Minato is far stronger than I am, all actions this time will be under his command. Understood, Genma, Kurenai, Raidō?"

"Understood!"

Though Yushi's request left Kurenai and Raidō somewhat puzzled, the three immediately responded.

Seeing Yushi so generously build him up, Minato stopped being modest and stepped forward with a smile.

"Since that's the case, let's organize the scouting team immediately. On my side, it'll be Kakashi and me. What about your side, Yushi?"

"On my side, it'll be Genma and me. But we've overtrained these past few days, and Kurenai is injured too. We need some treatment."

"All right, no problem. Rin, treat them first."

Rin came over to Kurenai and Genma. After speaking with them for a while, she began treating them.

Is there a problem with the title? If it says "Untitled," that wasn't my intention. It seems it got censored...