The Great Battle Begins

Watching Zhou Duan shove the item into his hands, Inuzuka Rui was torn. On one hand, the potion he held was far too potent. On the other, Yakushi Maru's pained howls from nearby broke his heart. Thankfully, someone who'd been watching from the shadows stepped in and got Rui out of his predicament:

"Zhou Duan, that's enough. I used my position to assign you to this task, and Inuzuka Rui was in the wrong this time. I'll make sure he learns his lesson when we get back. You've had your revenge after putting Yakushi Maru through all that, haven't you? Stop now. The night patrol is already on its way!"

As the one who had deliberately assigned Zhou Duan to Inuzuka Rui's team and kept them under surveillance the whole time, Inuzuka Jin had been in an incredibly awkward position:

Though the Konoha Guard still hadn't given a clear answer about White Wolf Maru because of pressure from the Third Hokage, there was no need to guess who'd pull a ridiculous stunt like plucking a dog's fur. It had to be Zhou Duan, notorious throughout the village!

After getting hold of the chopsticks Zhou Duan had used at Ichiraku Ramen, clan leader Inuzuka Ryo held them up to White Wolf Maru's nose. Tears immediately welled in White Wolf Maru's eyes!

It wasn't a huge deal, but it wasn't nothing, either. They were all shinobi from the same village. The clan leader wasn't especially close to Hatake Sakumo, but they got along well enough. More importantly, Hatake Sakumo was one of the village's core figures, a pillar of strength.

And, taken at face value, what Hatake Shudan had done wasn't that serious. A brat had shaved his own dog, and thanks to the potion, White Wolf Maru's fur had grown back soon enough!

That was the whole story. But every member of the Inuzuka Clan who was close to White Wolf Maru was furious about it. So when Inuzuka Jin received the news at the front, he deliberately assigned Zhou Duan to Inuzuka Rui, who had also heard what happened.

Inuzuka Jin's intentions were good: You shaved White Wolf Maru's fur, so I'll teach you a proper lesson. I won't make things too hard for you; I'll just let off some steam. We're all part of Konoha's power structure, so the patrol shinobi will turn a blind eye. That way, even Hatake Sakumo wouldn't have anything to say.

But who could've expected this? Inuzuka Jin marveled that Hatake Sakumo was no ordinary man—and the adopted son he'd taken in was even more impressive. A mere genin had left Inuzuka Rui, an elite jōnin, crying and begging for mercy. It seemed his revenge would have to stay buried in his heart forever!

"All right, kid. Don't drag your feet!"

Seeing Zhou Duan still hesitating, Inuzuka Jin rubbed his temples with a headache:

"I had people watching you all day. You finished dealing with that sewage pool in less than half an hour. You spent the rest of the time figuring out how to deal with Inuzuka Rui!

"I just don't get it. Lord Hatake Sakumo is the very soul of honor and integrity. How did he end up adopting a devious, underhanded kid like you?"

"Lord Inuzuka Jin, you've openly insulted me by calling me a devious, underhanded scoundrel. That's a grave slander. And you've even admitted to having me watched. I'll report this to Konoha exactly as it happened. But..."

Zhou Duan held out a hand to Inuzuka Jin and gave him a look that everyone understood:

"If you give me something nice for free, I can pretend I didn't hear any of that!"

"The front is seeing frequent troop movements right now. We can't easily reassign squads..."

Inuzuka Jin clearly ignored Zhou Duan's words:

"You'll stay under Inuzuka Rui's command. Whatever else you say about him, he knows how to keep personal and professional matters separate. And after what happened today, I doubt he'll give you any more trouble. Inuzuka Rui, don't look at me like that. You didn't handle your own business properly, so you'll have to deal with the consequences!"

With that, Inuzuka Jin didn't wait for anyone to react. He punched Inuzuka Rui hard in the back of the head, then vanished from the spot!

"Don't charge in the moment you reach the battlefield. Our clash with the Sand shinobi will take place on open ground. Before the battle begins, both sides will exchange large-scale ninjutsu attacks for a while.

"At that point, your job isn't to charge forward blindly. Focus on dodging and protecting yourselves. Each side will have dedicated assault shinobi rush into battle first. Your job is to wait for the right moment, then follow the main force into the fight..."

"When you charge, try to follow the paths taken by the shinobi ahead of you. This may sound irresponsible, but you're strong genin. You can do more damage to the enemy if you stay alive..."

"I know you've managed to kill chūnin above your rank, but try not to challenge stronger opponents anyway. It isn't worth it. Save your strength and kill more genin..."

"Don't try to finish off wounded jōnin or chūnin. They're high-ranking shinobi, so they'll definitely have a trick up their sleeve. That trick could leave you reduced to ash..."

"Remember, unless you're as strong as an elite jōnin, don't draw too much attention on the battlefield. You could easily become the target of a concentrated attack!"

Inuzuka Jin had been right. Inuzuka Rui was still a very capable squad leader. He kept personal matters separate from professional ones, and over the next two days, he never tried to make things difficult for Zhou Duan over what had happened.

Of course, it was also possible the guy had been scared off by Zhou Duan's shameless underhanded tactics. Zhou Duan already knew most of what Rui covered, but the briefing still filled in quite a few gaps in his battlefield knowledge, including the trap tactics the Sand shinobi had recently introduced.

"Hatake Shudan, Namikaze Minato, Senju Nawaki, Hyuga Hyakusho, I've covered most of the key points about the battlefield. There's one last thing I want to tell you..."

Inuzuka Rui looked at the four of them seriously:

"Battlefields have an enormous impact on shinobi. No matter how well you prepare beforehand, once you're out there, the battlefield will affect you. You might cower somewhere, or you might get so fired up that you charge recklessly at the enemy.

"But for shinobi experiencing their first battle, the most common thing is to get swept away from their squad the moment the fighting begins. That's an extremely dangerous situation. I want you to have a plan of your own for how to find your teammates if you get separated."

"I thought of that a long time ago!"

Zhou Duan pulled a potion from his robes and showed it to everyone:

"I just made this potion today. After a shinobi drinks it, their body gives off an extremely faint scent that's almost impossible to detect. Only my summoned Ninja Turtle can pick it up, and even the overpowering smell of blood on the battlefield won't affect its ability to track it.

"But it doesn't last very long, so if possible, I'd like you to drink it right before we enter the battlefield!"

"Looks like you won't have to wait!"

A resounding blast of a horn echoed through the valley. Inuzuka Rui's expression turned grim:

"That's the wartime assembly signal. The great battle—has begun!"