Patrol, Merchant Caravan

Itachi stared fixedly at him.

He seemed unmoved by his words and was still waiting for Tobitake Tonbo's answer.

"You're really a stubborn kid. The so-called Will of Fire is about protecting—protecting what you want to protect. As for having to choose between family and the village, that isn't within my considerations.

With the time spent considering that, we might as well surpass First Hokage Hashirama Senju and your clan's Madara Uchiha, gaining the power to have both.

Choices are for the weak. The strong take it all."

Tobitake Tonbo spoke slowly.

The Susanoo-Clad Buddha; the two of them could destroy four nations.

Who would dare oppose them? Who could oppose them?

Itachi Uchiha's eyes shifted. He felt that Tonbo-senpai was right, but he did not believe anyone could be invincible beneath the heavens.

Therefore, when there was no possibility of reconciliation between the village and the clan, choosing one of the two was necessary.

He quietly committed Tobitake Tonbo's words to memory. At the same time, he understood that he would gain no further inspiration from this senior.

But he would not give up on becoming a bridge to ease the relationship between the clan and the village.

Mitaraishi Anko's irritated expression vanished, and she sneered. "You sure have beautiful dreams. Even Lord Third Hokage couldn't do that. There was even the Fourth, and the Legendary Sannin were all cautious on the battlefield. When necessary, choices still had to be made."

Even she had needed to choose between Orochimaru and the village. In the end, she chose the village.

Orochimaru, too, had to choose between the village and his own ambitions.

"That's why I said your question is incredibly boring, especially Itachi's, with that look like he absolutely has to know!" Tobitake Tonbo said helplessly.

"Everyone's will is different. You can only get a reference from others, but no one can make the choice for you. You'll have to rely on yourself."

At last, he pointed at his head and spoke to Itachi.

"I understand, Tonbo-senpai."

Realizing there was no use asking further, Itachi was straightforward about it.

"Hey, don't think what happened earlier is over. Sooner or later, I'll beat you up." Anko recalled eating the chili peppers, tears welling in her eyes. It had been unbearable.

Caw, caw!

Hoot, hoot~

Animal cries occasionally rang through the forest.

"All right, we've rested enough. Time to get to work. We didn't come here to chat. Look how motivated the captain is."

Feeling his strength recover, Tobitake Tonbo spoke.

They needed to finish the mission quickly so they could return to Konoha before the next handover.

Itachi Uchiha and Anko also grew serious.

"Understood."

"This is a new piece of technology from the Land of Fire: a radio."

Tobitake Tonbo tossed each of them a device worn around the neck. It resembled the neckband earphones from his previous life, only smaller.

"A radio?"

The two accepted the radios and examined them carefully.

They had a rounded, curved design.

"Yeah, it's only come out in the last year. It's rather bulky, and its range is only one kilometer, but it's still better than nothing."

Tobitake Tonbo nodded.

He had bought these in the Land of Fire. The technology was still lacking; the short range and bulkiness were its flaws.

It also had its advantages. At short distances, they could contact one another at any time.

"Give it a try."

Tobitake Tonbo explained how to use them, then moved some distance away to test them.

"Hello, hello, can you hear me?" Tobitake Tonbo's voice came from the device around Itachi's neck, and it was extremely clear.

He looked around to make sure Tobitake Tonbo was not speaking nearby. The sound was entirely coming from the thing around his neck.

His eyes gradually brightened.

Following Tobitake Tonbo's instructions, he fiddled with it. "Received, received."

"Oh, this is good stuff. How did I never find this before? When I lead a team in the future, I'll definitely have to equip one." After only two sentences, Anko's voice came through the device as well.

"Patrol in your own ways. Don't exceed the radio's range. Report any abnormalities immediately." Hayama Shirakumo's voice also came through.

"Huh? Captain, you have one too?"

"Because the captain and I are classmates. With something this convenient, of course I had to discuss it with the captain first."

Tobitake Tonbo said.

Blue sky, white clouds.

Rustle, rustle~

"That is the main trade route between the Land of Iron and the Land of Fire. About three kilometers ahead is where the trade caravan was robbed."

Tobitake Tonbo sat atop the flying hawk, using binoculars to inspect the area.

A broad road appeared before him, with towering trees on either side. The road stretched onward, long and far.

This was already the fifth day of their border patrol, yet there had not been the slightest progress.

Tobitake Tonbo's sensory abilities, Itachi Uchiha's Sharingan, Anko's legless-creature reconnaissance, and the captain's extensive experience.

Yet they had failed to find even the slightest clue.

He had even received the captain's permission to inspect the entire route from the Land of Iron to the Land of Fire.

"Hm? Is that a caravan trading ore?"

Suddenly.

A convoy entered his sight.

There were roughly fifty people and more than a dozen horse-drawn carriages, with escorting ninja patrolling around them.

Judging by how cautious they were, they likely knew of the recent troubles as well.

Tobitake Tonbo pressed the radio. "A mineral caravan of roughly fifty people has entered the patrol range. The possibility of an enemy interception cannot be ruled out."

"Received."

"Received."

"Received."

After receiving their replies and confirming that none of their voices sounded wrong, he fixed his gaze on the caravan. He recorded the number of people, number of carriages, their expressions, and the tracks left by the carriages in his mind as a planar image using polar coordinate equations.

Then he took out paper and a pen and wrote it down.

"Something's off!"

Looking at the data in his hands, he noticed that several people wore unnatural expressions, their eyes darting around covertly.

From time to time, they glanced at the patrolling guard ninja. When they looked at the carriages, their faces showed subtle expressions that did not quite fit.

Individually, it was normal, but when all the data was put together, it instead seemed somewhat abnormal.

He then guided the flying hawk above a forest and slowly descended.

Hayama Shirakumo and the other two were already waiting.

"Did you find something?" Hayama Shirakumo asked.

"Yes. Based on my analysis, this caravan has been targeted, and there are spies among them. If my guess is right, once they travel a little farther to a narrower stretch of road, someone will launch an attack."

After carefully recalling everything and confirming that he was not mistaken, Tobitake Tonbo spoke to the captain.

"Hm? How could you tell from so far away that there were spies in that caravan?" Anko was extremely curious upon hearing this.

Itachi also looked at him.

If he had already approached them, he would definitely have told his teammates. Since he had not said anything, it meant he had discovered it through observation.

Tobitake Tonbo said, "Transformation Technique. No matter what kind of Transformation Technique it is, it transforms the user into a reference target. Among the people who appeared earlier, several had improper microexpressions. Normal humans can't make those expressions. It should be because their Transformation Technique wasn't proficient enough."

"Furthermore, there is an excellent ambush location ahead. Combined with our previous intelligence, we can infer some things.

Of course, I can't rule out the possibility that I made a mistake. But even if I did, it doesn't matter. It would only prove that the caravan is safe."

All the data formed a closed loop, just like police evidence. Once the loop was complete, the probability became infinitely close to one hundred percent.