All Child Laborers, No Need to Fear

In the northeast of the Land of Fire.

After leaving the village, the Konoha squad headed straight for the border.

At first, Yuhara thought that Captain Hayasegawa's words were meant to ease everyone's tension. After all, they were all rookies with very ordinary strength, so describing the mission's difficulty and danger in simpler terms was a way to comfort people.

However, as they gradually approached the mission location, effectively entering an area where combat could erupt at any moment, Yuhara realized he was wrong... this captain genuinely believed the mission was not dangerous.

Even upon reaching the border, the twelve-person team maintained a dense formation.

As a reconnaissance ninja, Tigo wanted to say something to remind them, out of duty. However, Yuhara reached out and stopped her, because he felt that even a reminder might not be meaningful. It was better to observe the intelligence first.

"Captain Hayase, we've reached the border. Should we spread out into a search formation next?"

Everyone realized the inappropriateness of their current formation, so it wasn't long before someone couldn't help but suggest something to the captain.

"Spread out?" Hayasegawa glanced at the ninja, then shook his head with a look of helplessness:

"Don't just memorize tactical regulations. What's important is to analyze specific situations based on specific circumstances.

Spreading out is indeed the correct approach, but that's only if the team possesses a certain level of average strength and specialized skills. In the case of this team, if we adopt a dispersed strategy, we'll be quickly picked off one by one.

Only by staying together can this team exert its limited capabilities."

At first glance, what he said seemed to make some sense. However, after hearing his words, almost everyone concluded that this guy was an idiot. Even if some kind-hearted ninjas didn't think so maliciously, they would still feel that this captain's emotional intelligence was in the negatives.

Analyze specific situations based on specific circumstances? Don't disperse?

What is the primary need for ninja combat? What is the most important need? It's intelligence. The higher the efficiency of intelligence gathering, the more correct the tactical choice. It's common to trade ninja lives for intelligence. Even students from the Ninja Academy would use dispersed formations when they go to the battlefield; this is not something determined by strength at all.

Twelve ninjas, marching in a neat line along the border... the scene was truly magnificent.

Realizing that this captain was unreliable, all the ninjas with battlefield experience became highly vigilant. Because no matter what, a captain's order is a captain's order, and they had no choice but to obey.

This kind of patrol mission would definitely be a long-term one, and constantly following the orders of such a captain would be torture.

Every few steps, Yuhara would glance at Tigo. Only after Tigo shook her head indicating no abnormalities ahead would he feel slightly relieved.

By the time the team was nearing the coastline, the captain still hadn't issued any specific orders for different ninjas. This made the team look less like they were on a mission and more like they were on a picnic.

Even though he knew it might not be effective, Yuhara decided to try saying something. He quickened his pace, walked a few steps forward, and then said to the captain, "Captain Hayase, the closer we get to the coastline, the more dangerous it becomes. Should we consider positioning our reconnaissance ninjas further back? Also, given that this is a long-term mission, instead of fully committing to patrolling, shouldn't we choose a suitable location to set up camp or an outpost on the first day?"

Although Yuhara didn't understand tactics, he at least knew the importance of moving the radar back and prioritizing logistics.

"Genin, I'll say this one last time: stay where you belong, do what you're supposed to do, and don't cause trouble for the team, understand?"

The captain's reaction was, as expected, not surprising to Yuhara.

Seeing Yuhara obediently retreat, the captain, feeling he was speaking earnestly but actually speaking reluctantly, explained, "Ninjas like you are not sensitive to changes in the ninja world because you don't receive timely intelligence. Just a few days ago, Konoha and Sunagakure signed a ceasefire agreement, and the Ninja World War is about to end, understand? Don't be overly neurotic; it only makes you seem short-sighted."

Actually, it wasn't a ceasefire agreement, but the captain was too lazy to explain in detail.

However, in Yuhara's opinion, regardless of whether the Ninja World War was truly ending, even if it were, shouldn't a ninja stand their final post in such a situation?

In short, Yuhara now understood. This captain simply treated the local patrol mission as a "routine matter" and didn't expect any danger.

To the north was the weak and powerless Land of Hot Water, and to the east, Kirigakure hadn't crossed the sea in a long time. Wasn't this environment safe enough?

Theoretically, it was very safe. However, even in the safest Konoha, many ninjas died inexplicably every year.

In short, under the leisurely leadership of this captain who understood the general trend of the ninja world and judged that peace was on the horizon, the squad members, with their scalps tingling, gradually approached the coastline.

The weather that day was clear, and visibility was high, which was considered fortunate. As noon approached, the team passed a lake. They would reach the coast in about two more hours, then patrol along the coast until they reached their mission boundary, after which they would turn back.

Patrolling back and forth, and reporting to Konoha immediately if any trace of Kirigakure was found, was the content of this mission.

Before passing the lake, everything around was normal. However, when the team reached the lake, something unusual suddenly happened.

The calm lake surface suddenly churned with waves, and in an instant, four figures emerged from the water and onto the surface... they were Kirigakure ninjas. The Konoha side quickly confirmed their forehead protectors.

"Where are the reconnaissance ninjas? What are the reconnaissance ninjas for!"

Captain Hayasegawa immediately started jumping up and down in a fit of rage. However, the enemy was clearly hidden in the lake, and in such a situation, how could reconnaissance ninjas like Tigo have discovered them in advance?

But when Hayasegawa clearly saw the appearance of the four enemies, he immediately calmed down, even showing a look of confident understanding on his face—among the four enemies, besides one adult ninja, two of the remaining three looked only fourteen or fifteen years old, and the last one looked even younger, only seven or eight.

An (most likely) Chunin or (less likely) Jonin leading three Genin on a training exercise, this was Hayasegawa's judgment upon seeing the scene.

"Squad One, Two, Three, all units, attention! Eliminate the Kirigakure enemies immediately!"

Thus, the captain issued such an order. In his view, even though both sides were rookies, at least his side had a numerical advantage. Losing a few people to take down those four enemies would be a guaranteed profit.

At this moment, the four enemies looked at the Konoha team as if they were looking at a bunch of idiots.

"Run."

Yuhara took a deep breath and said to Tigo beside him. At this point, he no longer cared about the idiotic captain's idiotic order.

"?" Tigo looked confused.

"Run!" This time, Yuhara shouted loudly, so much so that all his teammates heard him.

Hearing someone retreating in the face of the enemy, Hayasegawa immediately became furious. Those four enemies were worth some merit, so why run now? What was there to be afraid of?

However, before the captain could speak, Yuhara continued, "The short one is Kirigakure's candidate for the Fourth Mizukage! Run! Let's save whoever we can!"

After saying that, Yuhara directly pushed Tigo backward.

Whether he was the Mizukage candidate or not, Yuhara wasn't sure. He said that only to quickly convey the opponent's strength. However, green hair, short stature, and a club on his back... the future Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, had such an iconic appearance.

The "ordinary leading ninja" that Hayasegawa thought of was named Juzo Biwa.

The two insignificant "fourteen or fifteen-year-old Genin" were Yagura Karatachi and Mei Terumi.

The "rookie" less than ten years old, from Kirigakure's famous Hozuki Clan, was named Mangetsu.

Captain Hayase's thinking wasn't entirely wrong; if they could eliminate these four enemies, it would indeed be a small but significant accomplishment.