Reaching the Front Line

"Mm! Riko! You should return to the village with Jiraiya-sama. Although I've treated your injuries, you still need to rest and recuperate slowly to reach your best condition."

Haku remained silent for a moment before continuing.

"Besides, the squad is short on members, and you..."

"Okay! I'll return with Jiraiya-sama."

Without waiting for Haku to finish, Hyuga Riko interrupted his unfinished words.

"I'll wait for you to return to the village. Be careful."

Looking at Hyuga Riko's worried eyes, Haku nodded, his gaze filled with determination, but he said nothing.

"Alright, I've finished packing. Riko, we need to get going. We still have to rush back to the village to report what happened here."

Jiraiya interrupted Haku and Hyuga Riko's conversation, called Riko to depart for the village with him, and then muttered to himself in a low voice.

"This time, Kirigakure sent so many Jonin to the Land of Fire. There must be some conspiracy. I need to go back and have the old man prepare early."

"That Minato! We're quite close to the front lines now. Kirigakure lost nine Jonin here, so the possibility of you encountering danger shouldn't be that high. But you two still need to be careful. Alright, we're leaving now."

After giving another instruction, Jiraiya set off with Hyuga Riko.

"Haku, how are your injuries? Do they affect your movement?"

Watching Jiraiya disappear into the distance, Minato Namikaze asked Haku with a hint of worry.

"It's nothing serious. It won't affect our travel. A few more days of rest at the front line will be fine. Let's set off soon too. The front line is waiting for our supplies."

"Okay!"

Minato Namikaze replied and then took the lead in clearing the path.

Watching Minato Namikaze ahead, Haku thought about the current situation as he traveled.

The enemies this time were a total of nine ninja from Kirigakure, and they even sent out ninja from a Bloodline Family with such distinctive abilities. Kirigakure clearly intended to make some moves while the major ninja villages were fighting amongst themselves.

Kirigakure is isolated overseas. If they come to the mainland to cause trouble, aren't they afraid that Konoha and the other ninja villages will have the time to declare war on them?

"Hmm? No! That's right, they want to deplete their strength! That way, Madara Uchiha can better control Kirigakure! This guy can not only deplete Kirigakure's strength but also the strength of the other villages."

"I don't know what his situation is like now. It seems I still need to be careful. It won't be fun if he targets me now."

Jiraiya's return to the village was also a coincidence. The attack happened just as Jiraiya was returning. If Jiraiya had returned a little later that night, even Minato Namikaze might not have survived.

Now, with the loss of only two relatively unimportant Chunin, they had completely annihilated Kirigakure's nine Jonin.

Judging solely by the battle record, it could be considered a great victory.

Moreover, Uchiha Yu's choice this time was a bit strange. Someone who wanted to live so badly chose to perish with the enemy this time.

And she left her Sharingan behind in advance for Hyuga Riko to give to me. She probably knew she wouldn't have the chance to give it to me herself, or perhaps she didn't want to see me one last time.

They could have chosen to conserve their strength. The ninja from the Kaguya Clan had already used the Fern Dance. Their chakra and bodies shouldn't have been able to last much longer. Why did they still use the pre-arranged Explosive Tag trap?

"So Riko, where are you now?"

Haku opened his palm and looked at the intact eyeball preserved in his palm.

He sighed. He didn't delve deeper into his thoughts. His current strength wasn't enough to figure out the reasons behind all of this. Haku had a feeling that a huge vortex was waiting for him.

Food should be eaten bit by bit, and roads should be walked step by step. The most important thing now is to reach the front line, recover from his injuries, and strive to improve his strength.

Then, he would follow Orochimaru and see if there was an opportunity to kill more enemies and obtain more Origin Energy to awaken the System.

Haku felt that the System should have other functions. If he could awaken the System this time, it would be of great help to his growth.

Moreover, the Origin Energy collected should have other uses besides awakening the System. He had snatched it from the World Will.

"Haku, what's wrong? Are you still feeling unwell? How about we stop ahead and rest for a while?"

Seeing that Haku hadn't caught up, Minato Namikaze slowed down and came beside Haku, asking.

"It's fine. I was just adjusting. I'm okay now. My body doesn't affect my travel anymore."

Responding to Minato Namikaze, Haku quickened his pace.

Seeing Haku return to his normal speed, Minato Namikaze didn't think much of it and quickened his pace to follow.

A few hours later.

The war front command post of Konoha and Kumogakure.

"What? What did you say? You encountered ninja from Kirigakure less than half a day's journey from here."