After a rare and much-needed rest, the White Fang Squad plunged back into its endless missions.
With its "mana fully restored," the White Fang Squad worked with terrifying efficiency, throwing the situation along the Land of Water's borders into utter chaos.
This made the White Fang Squad a true thorn in the Mist Ninja's side.
The White Fang Squad moved swiftly and silently along a narrow path worn by waves and time.
They had just successfully raided a Kirigakure supply convoy. Although they had not wiped it out, they had caused enough confusion and delay to deal an effective blow to the enemy's supply lines.
Now, the squad was eager to break contact and return to a relatively safe area to rest.
Days of intensive infiltration, reconnaissance, and assault missions weighed on every member like a burden that grew heavier by the hour.
The faces of the three young genin-Shinji Uchiha, Hizashi Hyuga, and Miwa Kato-were etched with exhaustion they could no longer hide. Their lightweight ninja armor was caked with mud, sweat, and patches of dried blood, both their enemies' and their own.
Yet their eyes remained sharp and focused, like young beasts keeping constant watch in a forest riddled with danger. They dared not relax for even a moment.
Even during this seemingly brief lull after breaking contact, their nerves remained taut. They maintained the highest level of wartime vigilance, listening for every unusual sound on the wind and scanning every shadow within sight.
Their instructor, Hatake Sakumo, moved silently at the front, like an alpha wolf leading his pack.
He kept his presence subdued, almost blending into his surroundings, but his hawklike eyes were sharper than those of the sea eagles circling beneath the gloomy sky. They silently swept over the ominous stretch ahead known as the