Patrol

Early the next morning, Bai Ye got up as usual. It was still raining, though less heavily than yesterday. He put on dry clothes, slipped his sword back into his belt, and walked out of the tent.

The camp was already bustling. The scent of rice porridge drifted from the cooks' tent, while several shinobi squatted outside their tents eating breakfast. Bai Ye headed toward Jiraiya's tent and, halfway there, saw Minato approaching from the opposite direction.

"Morning," Minato said.

"Morning."

"Jiraiya-sensei told you to wait for him at the gravel field."

Bai Ye nodded and turned toward the gravel field.

After soaking in the rain all night, the gravel field was even muddier than yesterday. Bai Ye stood at its edge, drew his sword, gripped it in his right hand, and began to train.

Lightning Release chakra flowed from his palm into the hilt and along the blade. This time, the chakra lasted nearly twenty seconds. The lightning along the edge was steadier than yesterday, and its hum was denser and sharper. Rain struck the blade and was vaporized by the lightning, forming a thin ring of mist around it.

Bai Ye swung his sword. The blade cut through the rain curtain, drawing a pale blue arc. The severed rain burst apart on either side of the blade with a rapid crackling sound.

"Not bad."

The voice came from behind him.

Bai Ye turned around.

Minato stood at the edge of the gravel field, but there was someone beside him—Fugaku.

Bai Ye paused. It had been a long time since he had seen the two of them together.

"Why are you here?" Bai Ye asked Fugaku.

"Jiraiya-sama summoned me." Fugaku's tone was as calm as ever, but there was something new in his eyes—something Bai Ye had never seen in him before. Those eyes were blood-red, with two tomoe slowly turning within the pupils.

The two-tomoe Sharingan.

"Jiraiya-sensei said the three of us are to carry out a mission together," Minato said.

"What mission?"

"A patrol." There was a trace of confusion in Minato's voice. "We'll set out from the north side of the outpost, head west along the border of Konoha's controlled territory, reach the boundary of the Hidden Rain Village's sphere of influence, then return. About sixty kilometers in total, lasting two days and one night."

Bai Ye considered it. "Just the three of us?"

"Just the three of us," Fugaku said.

Bai Ye looked at Fugaku, and Fugaku looked back at him. They saw the same thing in each other's eyes—this was no ordinary patrol. It was Jiraiya's test for them.

The battlefield in the Land of Rain was far more complicated than the Hidden Sand Village front. Konoha, the Hidden Sand Village, the Hidden Stone Village, and the Hidden Rain Village were locked in mutual slaughter across this land. Their lines of control interlocked like jagged teeth; territory held today might belong to someone else tomorrow. A patrol mission in such an environment could encounter troops from any side at any moment.

Jiraiya seemed unreliable, but Bai Ye had gradually realized that his unreliability was only surface-deep. Everything he did had a purpose. Sending the three of them on a patrol alone was not for the patrol itself, but to help them regain their old sense of coordination on the battlefield. They had been apart too long. Each had trained along his own path, their fighting styles had changed, and their teamwork had inevitably weakened. If they did not adjust to one another again on a real battlefield, then when the time came for the three of them to fight side by side, a lack of coordination would get people killed.

Jiraiya had sent them on this patrol to rebuild their teamwork in a combat environment.

Bai Ye sheathed his sword, and the lightning on the blade went out the instant it entered the scabbard.

"Let's go," Bai Ye said.

Minato nodded. Fugaku nodded.

The three left the camp, heading north and disappearing into the morning mist and rain.

They set out from the north side of the outpost and headed west along the border of Konoha's controlled territory. They did not encounter any enemies along the way. The terrain in the Land of Rain was far more complicated than the Hidden Sand Village front. It was not desert and plains, but a mix of hills, marshes, and gravel slopes. The ground was always wet and soft underfoot. Without chakra reinforcing their steps, their boots would sink in with wet squelches.

Bai Ye walked between Minato and Fugaku, with Minato ahead and Fugaku behind. This had always been their formation. Minato was the vanguard—fast and quick to react, suited for scouting and clearing the way. Fugaku had the widest field of vision, making him suited to watching their rear and flanks. Bai Ye held the middle; his sword's attack range fell between Minato's Wind Release and Fugaku's Fire Release, allowing him to support either side.

After traveling around twenty kilometers, Minato suddenly stopped.

"Someone," Minato said.

Bai Ye heard it too. Not footsteps, but breathing—very light and faint, as if deliberately suppressed. It came from a patch of low woods about twenty meters ahead to their right. The rain masked most sounds, but this person's breathing was a beat faster than the rhythm of the rainfall, and Bai Ye's ears caught it.

Fugaku's Sharingan had already begun to turn. In an instant, his black pupils were dyed blood-red, two tomoe slowly revolving within them.

"One person," Fugaku said. "Not much chakra. Probably a genin."

Bai Ye rested a hand on his sword hilt.

"I'll take a look." Minato moved as soon as he spoke. His blond hair became an afterimage, and in the blink of an eye, he was at the edge of the low woods. Muddy water splashed beneath his feet, but before the droplets even fell, he was already twenty meters away.

Bai Ye followed behind. He was not as fast as Minato, but only half a beat slower. Fugaku moved last, his Sharingan open the entire time, its two tomoe slowly turning in his blood-red eyes as he missed no direction.

Someone was crouched in the low woods, dressed in dark combat gear. His forehead protector was caked with mud, making it impossible to tell which village he belonged to. He looked twelve or thirteen, quite a bit older than Bai Ye and the others. A fresh wound on his left arm was still bleeding. Rain diluted the blood as it dripped from his fingers to the ground. A kunai lay by his hand, but he was not holding it.

Minato stood before him, looking down at him.

The person raised his head. There was no fighting spirit in his eyes, only exhaustion and fear. His lips moved, and his voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible.

"Don't kill me," he said.

Minato did not move.

Bai Ye walked over, glanced at the man, then examined the wound on his left arm. It was not deep, but it was long, stretching from the elbow to the wrist, as though some sharp blade had sliced through it. The flesh had split open, exposing dark-red muscle beneath. Blood had already stained half his sleeve a deep crimson. Rain washed over the wound, diluting the blood into pink water.

Bai Ye assessed the wound. After a month with the medical corps, he had learned one thing: wounds could reveal a great deal. The edges of this wound were neat, without any signs of tearing, meaning it had been caused by a sharp weapon rather than explosive shrapnel. There was no blackening and no sign of poison. Though the injured shinobi had lost a fair amount of blood, he remained conscious and his breathing was fairly steady. His life was not in immediate danger.

"Did you get separated from your squad?" Minato asked.

The person nodded slightly, as if even nodding would pull at the wound.

"Where is your squad?"

"Scattered," he replied hoarsely, as if something had scraped raw across his throat. "Yesterday afternoon... we ran into a Konoha patrol and got scattered."

Minato looked back at Bai Ye, then at Fugaku.

Bai Ye understood what Minato meant: how should they deal with this person?

"Let's question him first."

Minato crouched and looked into the man's eyes.

"How many people do you have in the buffer zone?"

The man hesitated, his lips moving. "I don't know... I was assigned to outer patrols. I don't know the overall deployment."

"Who is your captain?"

"I don't know... I was only recently assigned here."

Minato sighed. None of the three had interrogation ninjutsu. He raised a hand and knocked the genin unconscious, then stood up. He looked at Bai Ye, then turned toward Fugaku, who was approaching slowly through the rain behind them, his deep blue eyes fixed on him. The three formed a triangle around the injured genin, enclosing him in the center.

"Troublesome," Fugaku spoke first. His steady voice carried bone-deep coldness. "He's lying, and he's stalling for time, waiting for his companions to rescue him. Kill him."

Minato abruptly turned his head. He had not expected Fugaku to suggest that.

Fugaku's expression did not change. His Sharingan continued to turn calmly as his gaze shifted from the injured shinobi to Minato. His tone was as if he were stating the most ordinary fact in the world.

"Kill him, and our route won't be exposed. We won't leave trouble behind," Fugaku added.

Minato frowned slightly, half his profile blurred by the rain.

"Take him back," Minato said, calm but unquestionable. "There are plenty of interrogation specialists in the camp who know mental ninjutsu. A living enemy genin is far more valuable than a corpse. He might provide details on troop deployments at frontline outposts, information about commanders, and more."

After the two of them had finished, Bai Ye offered his own view.

"We follow him for two days." Bai Ye stared at the injured shinobi, keeping his voice low. "Let him lead the way. Follow him to their outpost."

Bai Ye's reasoning was simple. If they let him go, his injury would keep him from moving fast, and he would definitely head for the nearest friendly outpost. By following him, they could locate the enemy outpost.

"That plan is too risky for a battlefield." Fugaku remained firm, his Sharingan scanning between Bai Ye and Minato as his tone sharpened. "His injuries are not light, and we don't know how far their outpost is. We may encounter other enemies along the way. We can't gamble. The best solution is to make him disappear completely."

"The Uchiha Clan head's precious son really is ruthless," Bai Ye said with a curl of his lips, suddenly switching into mockery mode.

Fugaku narrowed his eyes and shot back without yielding, "Your combat intelligence is an insult to the entire Uchiha Clan."

"Enough."

Minato's voice was not loud, but it cut between their stares like a blade through tofu.

"Neither of you is wrong," Minato said, gentle yet steady. "But this is wartime. Bai Ye, your tracking plan requires us to follow him continuously through this area, and enemy patrols could appear here at any time. Even if he is injured, he may encounter people coming to meet him. At that point, we won't be the hunters—we'll be the prey."

Then he turned to Fugaku. "Fugaku, although your plan is indeed simple and safe, we have a mission assigned by Jiraiya-sensei. We can't return without even a single piece of intelligence. We wouldn't be able to explain that to him."

The rain poured down. The three fell silent for several seconds.

"Take him back," Minato said at last, gentle but leaving no room for argument.

Fugaku did not object again. He merely deactivated his Sharingan, his black eyes gazing into some point within the rain curtain, his expression calm. Bai Ye said nothing more either. He released his grip on the hilt and sheathed his sword as rain ran down his arm.

After binding the enemy, Bai Ye slung him over his shoulder.

"Let's go."

Minato led from the front, while Fugaku took the rear. His Sharingan opened again as he watched closely for any sign that they were being followed.