Neutral territory

The morning mist had yet to clear, hanging gray over the clan compound. Yawning, Setsuna ambled toward the gates to join the "errand" mission Izuna had mentioned.

He took his place at the very back of the group, since he was the shortest and youngest.

Fifteen children were taking part in this errand. The oldest was eight, and the youngest was Setsuna, at five and a half.

The Uchiha had a simple reason for choosing children for this mission-they weighed less.

Many pressure-triggered traps and mechanisms would detonate the instant an adult stepped on them, but a child might not weigh enough to depress the trigger. That meant they could survive, deliver supplies to the front, and get a taste of war's cruelty along the way.

It served several purposes at once, and so it had become a standard warm-up for young Uchiha before they truly entered the battlefield.

Before they set out, the Jonin leading them, Toshihi, warned each child, "Don't let anyone outside know you're Uchiha, or you'll make yourselves targets for capture.

"The Sharingan is a kekkei genkai everyone covets. Even if you haven't awakened yours, they'll find every possible way to torture you until you either die or awaken it."

At Toshihi's signal, his deputy, Tetsukawa, handed each of them a kunai and six bamboo shuriken.

Setsuna looked at the six pieces of bamboo in his palm, then at the kunai behind his waist that barely qualified as an iron weapon. His brows knitted tightly.

He complained without restraint, "With weapons like these, how are we anything but easy pickings?"

Toshihi glanced down at him.

"With those little bodies of yours, if you run straight into an enemy Chunin or Jonin, the outcome will be the same whether your shuriken are iron or bamboo."

He paused. "Iron shuriken are precious, and they're heavier. With your wrist strength, you wouldn't have any accuracy throwing them. Bamboo is easier for you to control."

"I'll keep an eye on you," Toshihi said, his gaze passing over every child's face. "If you encounter real danger, I'll do my best to rescue you."

Setsuna noticed that he hadn't said he would definitely save them, only that he would do his best.

Kagami Uchiha stood beside Setsuna, rubbing the handle of his kunai over and over until his knuckles turned white.

"Don't be nervous." An older child patted his shoulder, trying to sound relaxed as he reassured him. "These missions usually go fine. We've taken this route plenty of times, and our own people are guarding the edge of the Neutral Zone."

Kagami forced a smile and nodded.

Before they departed, Toshihi went over the route one last time.

They would leave the Uchiha Clan Compound, cross a stretch of low hills, and enter the Neutral Zone.

The so-called Neutral Zone lay outside any ninja clan's sphere of influence. It was disputed territory between the clans, with no clear claims, and the most chaotic of buffer zones.

Only after crossing the Neutral Zone would they reach the Hagoromo Clan's battlefront.

Toshihi told them that the advance force had already gone ahead to provide reinforcements. They would follow the same route, with Uchiha stationed every kilometer. The route had been checked for traps, though he couldn't guarantee every last one had been cleared.

The main problem, however, was still the Neutral Zone. The Uchiha couldn't station troops there. Scouts from various clans, unaffiliated ninja, bounty hunters, and even members of the Fuma Clan and Senju Clan could all turn up there.

"Stay absolutely alert," Toshihi lectured, his hands behind his back. "Once you're through the Neutral Zone and inside Hagoromo Clan territory, you'll be halfway to safety."

The children obediently nodded and shouldered their assigned packs.

The packs were filled with medicine, shuriken, explosive tags, and soldier pills.

Setsuna had been assigned a medicine pack. It was the lightest of them all, and the only one someone his size could carry.

Beside him, Kagami adjusted his straps, then turned toward Setsuna, who was struggling with his own straps with his brows twisted into a knot. "I'll protect you, Setsuna," he said reassuringly.

Setsuna didn't even look up. "Who needs you to protect me? Just don't hold me back."

Kagami didn't get angry. He smiled and returned to his place in the group.

The group set off, more than a dozen small figures racing down the trail behind the clan compound.

Toshihi led from the front, while Tetsukawa brought up the rear. The children stretched into a single file, weaving between the trees.

The sky gradually brightened, and the morning mist cleared. Sunlight fell through gaps in the canopy, casting dappled patches of light across the ground.

If not for the faint explosions occasionally drifting in from the distance, the forest might even have been considered beautiful.

After nearly four hours of running, Toshihi raised a hand on a small hillside. The group stopped immediately, everyone crouching low and holding their breath.

The edge of the Neutral Zone lay just ahead.

Here, the forest abruptly changed.

Weapon marks scarred the trees everywhere. Strips of cloth hung from some trunks, embroidered with the crests of different clans. Their varied colors swayed gently in the wind.

They were boundary markers, each strip representing a clan's sphere of influence.

The wreckage of battle littered the ground. At the edge of the woods, a tree so thick it would take three people to encircle it had been blasted apart at the middle. A broken kunai lay half buried in the dirt.

The children swallowed nervously.

Kagami asked softly, "Lord Toshihi, why... do we have to fight?"

Crouching at the edge of the hillside, Toshihi studied the safe routes through the Neutral Zone and answered without looking back, "Because of hatred. The Senju killed my father. My father's father died beneath a Senju blade. Kagami, your father died at their hands too."

"For resources," Setsuna's still-childish voice suddenly cut in.

Everyone turned. Setsuna stood at the back of the group with one hand in his pocket, looking cocky.

"There are only so many patches of farmland here, and only so much mission money from the Daimyo. If we don't fight for it, don't seize it, we'll all starve."

He had once read that in a forum post while a player had left him grinding materials on auto.

While analyzing the economic structure of war, that political blogger had devoted an entire article to arguing that "the fundamental driving force behind war is not hatred, but a zero-sum struggle over land and resources."

Toshihi turned to look at Setsuna, his brows drawing together as he scolded him. "What is this outrageous nonsense? Who are you to speak ill of the Daimyo?"

"Ding! Negative remarks about the Daimyo-rebellion points +1." The system's notification sounded right on cue, leaving Setsuna momentarily stunned.

Huh? So bad-mouthing the Daimyo counted as rebellion too!

Then... could insulting the Senju earn rebellion points? What about the Hagoromo? Would hostile remarks about other clans trigger the system's judgment too?