The Great Battle Begins

Looking at the item Zhou Duan shoved into his hand, Inuzuka Rui fell into a deep dilemma. On one hand, the potion he held was too harsh. On the other hand, Yakushi Maru's pained howls from afar made Inuzuka Rui's heart ache terribly. Fortunately, someone who had been observing in secret helped Inuzuka Rui out of his predicament:

"Zhou Duan, stop. I'm using my authority to assign you. Inuzuka Rui was in the wrong this time. I'll educate him properly when we get back. Yakushi Maru was made to suffer so much, you should have your fill now. Stop, the Night Patrol is already on their way!"

As someone who had deliberately placed Zhou Duan under Inuzuka Rui and had been monitoring them in secret, Inuzuka Jin was in an extremely awkward position:

Although the Konoha Guard Unit had not given a clear answer regarding the White Wolf Maru incident due to pressure from the Third Hokage, they didn't even need to think about who would do something as ridiculous as shaving a dog's fur; it had to be Zhou Duan, who was infamous in the village!

After obtaining the chopsticks Zhou Duan had used at Ichiraku Ramen, Clan Head Inuzuka Ryo placed them in front of White Wolf Maru's nose. White Wolf Maru's eyes immediately welled up with tears!

This matter was neither big nor small. They were all ninjas from the same village. The key was that although the Clan Head and Hatake Sakumo's relationship wasn't particularly close, it wasn't bad either. More importantly, Hatake Sakumo was a core member of the village, a pillar of support.

And Zhou Duan's actions, if seen from a small perspective, were nothing major. A brat shaved his family's dog's fur, and with the effect of the potion, White Wolf Maru's fur quickly grew back!

That was the situation, but any member of the Inuzuka Clan who was close to White Wolf Maru couldn't stand it. So, when Inuzuka Jin, who was on the front lines, received the news, he deliberately assigned Zhou Duan to Inuzuka Rui, who had also received the news.

Inuzuka Jin's intention was good: You shaved White Wolf Maru's fur, Zhou Duan, so I'll teach you a lesson. I won't make it too difficult for you; just let off some steam. We're all core members of Konoha's power structure, so the regular patrol ninjas will just turn a blind eye. This way, even Hatake Sakumo won't be able to say anything.

However, he never expected this! Inuzuka Jin sighed, thinking that Hatake Sakumo himself was not simple, but his adopted son was even more formidable. A mere Genin could make a Jonin like Inuzuka Rui despair and cry for mercy. It seemed that revenge would have to remain buried in his heart forever!

"Alright, kid, don't be so reluctant!"

Inuzuka Jin rubbed his temples, looking at the still hesitant Zhou Duan:

"I've had people monitoring you for a day. You solved that sewage pond in less than half an hour. The rest of the time was spent thinking about how to deal with Inuzuka Rui!

I just don't understand. Lord Hatake Sakumo is an extremely upright person, so how could he have adopted such a cunning and treacherous brat?"

"Lord Inuzuka Jin, you publicly insult me by calling me a cunning and treacherous person. This is a great slander against me. Moreover, you actually admitted to using surveillance methods on me. I will report this matter truthfully to Konoha. But then..."

Zhou Duan extended his hand towards Inuzuka Jin, giving a look that everyone understood:

"If you give me some benefits for free, I can pretend I didn't hear any of this!"

"The front lines are currently experiencing frequent troop movements and cannot easily change teams..."

Inuzuka Jin clearly ignored Zhou Duan's words:

"You will still be under Inuzuka Rui's responsibility. I won't say anything else, but this kid separates personal matters from official duties very clearly. And I believe that after today's events, he won't trouble you again. Inuzuka Rui, don't look at me like that. If you can't handle your own affairs, you have to bear the consequences!"

After speaking, Inuzuka Jin didn't wait for anyone's reaction. He gave Inuzuka Rui a hard punch to the back of his head and flashed away!

"When you get on the battlefield, don't rush forward immediately. The area where we engage the Sand Ninja is an open field. Both sides will use large-scale ninjutsu to bombard each other for a while before engaging.

At this time, your job is not to charge forward mindlessly, but to dodge as much as possible and protect yourselves. There will be specialized assault ninjas from both sides who will engage on the battlefield first. Your job is to wait for the right moment to follow the main force and kill the enemy..."

"When charging, try to follow the path cleared by the ninjas ahead. Although it sounds a bit irresponsible, you are very strong Genin. You can inflict more damage on the enemy if you survive..."

"I know you have the ability to kill Chunin above your rank, but you, Man, should still try not to challenge opponents above your rank. It's not worth the risk. Try to conserve your strength and kill more Genin..."

"Try not to finish off low-health enemies who are Jonin or Chunin. After all, they are high-level ninjas, and they will definitely have a trick up their sleeve. You might be annihilated without a trace by that trick..."

"Remember, on the battlefield, unless you have the strength of a top-tier Jonin, try not to be too flashy. You might become a target of concentrated attacks!"

Inuzuka Jin was right. Inuzuka Rui was a very competent captain. He clearly distinguished between personal matters and official duties. Two days passed, and Inuzuka Rui did not make things difficult for Zhou Duan because of what Zhou Duan had done that day.

Of course, it was also possible that he was scared off by Zhou Duan's shameless underhanded tactics. Although Zhou Duan already knew most of what was said, he still gained a lot of battlefield knowledge and information about new trap tactics recently developed by the Sand Ninja.

"Hatake Zhou Duan, Namikaze Minato, Senju Nawaki, Hyuga Hyakusho. I've covered most of the key points for the battlefield. For you four, I have one last piece of advice..."

Inuzuka Rui looked at the four of them seriously:

"The battlefield has a huge impact on ninjas. No matter how well-prepared you are before the battle, you will be affected once you're on the battlefield. Perhaps you'll cower and hide, or perhaps you'll charge at the enemy with hot-blooded recklessness.

But for ninjas on their first battlefield, most of them will be separated from their squads the moment they clash. This is a very dangerous situation. I hope you will have your own contingency plans for how to find your teammates if you get separated."

"I've already thought of that!"

Zhou Duan took out a bottle of potion from his pocket and showed it to everyone:

"This is a potion I just made today. After a ninja drinks it, it emits a very faint scent that can almost block all detection. Only my summoned Ninja Turtle can distinguish the scent, and it won't be affected even by the pungent smell of blood on the battlefield.

However, its duration isn't very long. If possible, I'd prefer to have you drink it before entering the battlefield!"

"It seems you don't have to wait!"

A loud horn blast echoed through the valley. Inuzuka Rui's expression turned serious:

"It's the wartime assembly order. The great battle--has begun!"