19, I've Got Connections!

With the events of last night serving as a prelude, Team Five's efficiency in gathering the next day was truly maximized.

Akimichi Todo and Erina, fearing that Nara Motonari would stir up more trouble, arrived at the scene half an hour early by tacit agreement.

Although Soji arrived slightly later, the three of them still converged about 15 minutes before the scheduled meeting time.

"Todo, Erina, good morning." Soji took the initiative to wave at his two teammates. "Sorry, I think I'm late."

"Not at all, we just arrived too early." Akimichi Todo scratched his cheek in embarrassment, while Erina took the opportunity to tighten the straps on her backpack.

Compared to Soji, who only had a standard-issue ninja tool pouch hanging behind him, the two students who arrived first seemed to have brought a significant amount of gear to prepare for emergencies.

While a ninja's physical fitness meant that this extra weight wouldn't affect their efficiency in the short term, it would inevitably become a burden if they encountered a situation requiring a long-distance march.

Therefore, as a fellow rookie on the battlefield, although Soji fully understood his companions' mindset, he couldn't simply let the necessary precautions slide.

—A truly objective and rational person always prepares a plan before a problem occurs.

In any case, Soji didn't want to wait until his teammates couldn't walk anymore before spouting sarcastic remarks or playing the bad guy.

"As the saying goes, 'a long journey makes a light load heavy.'"

"If you carry everything on your back just to prevent accidents, you'll only end up flustered and disorganized when you actually need to use them in a hurry."

"But if we don't prepare enough supplies, what if we encounter an unexpected situation like last night..."

"This is actually a matter of trade-offs and priorities—no one can be prepared for everything. It's not just about equipment; the same applies to strategy and tactics. Otherwise, the Second Hokage wouldn't have sacrificed himself to cover the retreat..." Soji shrugged and sighed helplessly.

"From a practical standpoint, we can only choose the tools that are truly useful within our limited load capacity. Forcing perfection will only lead to the opposite result."

"But what if the mission duration is long and we really need to carry a large amount of supplies?"

Erina pulled her backpack to the front, unzipped it, and looked left and right for a long time! She stared until her decision paralysis kicked in, yet she still couldn't pick out a few "useless" items: "You can't just swap out or change things like paper charms on a whim..."

Hearing this, Soji pointed to his own tool pouch and added, "During wartime, if there is a genuine special need to carry a large amount of ninja tools, or if certain special supplies need to be stored independently, the village provides point-to-point logistics services for squads operating on the front lines."

"Ninjas active on the front lines can simply deposit items that affect their weight distribution to the transport troops, who will then bring them to the front-line positions."

"I see!" The little chubby boy wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a sigh of relief.

Erina walked to the boy's side and asked curiously, "Where did you hear all this, Soji?"

"A senior who took good care of me at the hospital happened to experience the previous Great Ninja War." Soji tilted his head and offered a gentle smile. "Ever since I learned that the situation at the border was becoming increasingly tense, I often sought his advice. What about you, Erina? Didn't your parents give you any instructions?"

"No, no." The girl raised her hand and fanned it quickly in front of her nose. "My mother isn't a ninja, and my father is currently out on a mission, so there's no one at home to talk to me about these things~ I suppose Todo's situation is about the same, right?"

"Eh, that's about it, though my parents are both out on missions at the same time..."

"...Every family has its own difficulties."

Soji patted Todo on the shoulder.

The longing for their parents and the worry about the war were all left unsaid.

Just then, Nara Motonari arrived right on time.

Like Soji, when he discovered that his two disciples were carrying clearly overloaded bags, he first conducted a round of educational instruction.

After finishing all the same old advice, Nara Motonari finally revealed the main purpose of this trip.

"Unfortunately, we don't have time to get used to each other. Due to the rapidly deteriorating situation on the southwestern border, the Hokage has ordered the immediate construction of supply routes and the repair of all combat facilities."

"Therefore, Team Five will officially begin operations at 8:00 this morning to escort the medical team from Konoha Hospital to the border and move into the Jingu Forest Field Hospital currently under construction. You can hand over your excess equipment to the hospital for transport."

"There's such a good thing!"

Erina breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, but quickly asked again, "In that case, can I have them transport some other things too? I spent a long time picking things out last night, and a lot of large equipment was left in my home workshop!"

"In theory, it should be fine... but don't blame me if you get rejected by the hospital for having too much."

Halfway through his sentence, Nara Motonari suddenly remembered something.

He rubbed his chin and looked at the lightly equipped Yamada. "Soji, you are also on the list for the hospital's support mission, so you should know more about this situation than I do, right?"

"Yes." Soji nodded readily. "According to the hospital's plan, the transport capacity allocated to the escort troops is about 2 cubic meters per person, excluding food and water, of course."

"Only 2 cubic meters? That's not enough to pack anything!"

Erina pouted pitifully, her big, blinking eyes filled with hints...

Soji met this round of eye-attacks head-on, but his heart remained calm, showing no ripples at all.

He didn't give Erina a direct answer, but instead turned to Nara Motonari and Akimichi Todo, pulling the other two members of Team Five into the "group chat."

"That is the rule in principle, but for ordinary genin, I imagine there isn't that much luggage to bring. Therefore, setting aside the individual average, the hospital's support team actually has quite a bit of surplus transport capacity."

Soji paused for a moment. Then, he straightened his back and deliberately raised his voice. "In order to better complete the escort mission, and even more so to perfectly complete the construction of the field hospital, I think flexibly allocating some transport capacity is undoubtedly the optimal solution for the current situation."

"As one of the doctors from the hospital for this support mission, I am willing to act as a liaison to facilitate this. What do you think?"

"Since you've arranged things so thoughtfully, what objections could I possibly have?"

Having had a private talk with the Third Hokage last night, Nara Motonari was already mentally prepared for Soji's ability to handle affairs far beyond his peers.

So, while shrugging his shoulders, he signaled his other two disciples to speak up boldly.

"I don't need much, and I've already notified the hospital through the normal channels. If you two have any equipment that's inconvenient to carry, don't miss this opportunity!"

"Awesome! In that case, I have two multi-functional launchers, so I'll leave them to you, Soji~"

"Hmm... Soji, I also have some special ninja tools that coordinate with my family's secret arts... I'm counting on you!"

"Easy, easy. You two take your time talking; if I can arrange it, I definitely will."

As the saying goes, there are four great bonds in life: having been classmates, having served in the military together, having gamed together, and having split the spoils of a crime together.

Coming from a humble background, Soji did not hesitate to engage in "petty business" that benefited himself at the expense of the public, all to expand his social circle and lay the groundwork for his grander future plans.

In any case, Director Inoue Hisahide was not exactly a righteous man to begin with, so Soji felt absolutely no pangs of conscience about smuggling goods through his channels.

Well, what can you do? Who told me to have connections at the top?