To the Front! Night Raid!

Draped in a thick red coat, Takahashi Yū chatted and joked with the Sarutobi Ninja guarding the village gate.

With an arm around the bearded man, whose Sarutobi features were unmistakable, Takahashi Yū kept the Sarutobi Ninja from clocking out after his night-long shift. Takahashi Yū had arrived at the gate very early.

Takahashi Yū could not sleep. Now that he had decided to go to war, his blood was practically burning, and he simply could not lie peacefully in bed.

Even now, he could not sit still, dragging the bearded Sarutobi into conversation about anything and everything. The Sarutobi Ninja had checked his exit permit and knew the Undying Squad was heading out again today, so he patiently kept Takahashi Yū company.

"Sir, what time did you agree to meet? Why are you here so early?"

"Eight."

"Uh... then right now..."

"Six!"

Does that mean I have to make awkward small talk with someone radiating killing intent for two hours?

A drop of cold sweat rolled down the Sarutobi Ninja's head. He could no longer maintain his awkward smile.

Takahashi Yū did not make things difficult for the bearded man. He patted his shoulder and withdrew the arm hooked around him.

"Has your replacement arrived? Then go home and rest."

"No, Lord Takahashi Yū. Compared with you, what do we need rest for?"

The Cloud Shinobi's infiltration of Konoha had also forced them to step up the intensity of their searches.

"Captain!"

Yamanaka Ayano, wearing a small backpack and her hair in a high ponytail, waved to him from a distance.

"See? I knew they couldn't sleep either!" Takahashi Yū told the Sarutobi Ninja.

"Haha, you're here so early, Captain." Yamanaka Ayano smiled as she spoke to Takahashi Yū. She had not felt this at ease in a long time.

Within minutes of Ayano's arrival, several figures flashed into place.

"Captain!"

Takahashi Yū grinned broadly. Without a thermometer, the Sarutobi Ninja beside him could already feel his blood growing hotter and hotter.

He looked around: Uchiha Delia, Uchiha Kenichi, Uchiha Shunji, Yamanaka Ayano, Nara Yūma, and Gekko Yūma.

"Good! Let's go! Destination: the Land of Lightning!"

Takahashi Yū swept his arm forward and set off northeast!

"Yes!"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

Before the Sarutobi Ninja could react, they were already gone.

Why do these people look as happy going to war as they would going on a spring outing?

The Sarutobi Ninja wondered to himself, then suddenly froze. Coming to his senses, he rushed out through the village gate, cupped his hands around his mouth, and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Undying Squad! May victory be yours!"

Konoha's land truly deserved its reputation as the most fertile in the shinobi world. Even the fringes of the Land of Fire were thick with trees. Land that the Land of Wind dreamed of having for cultivation was treated as greenery in the Land of Fire.

The campfire crackled in the clearing. Every so often, it caught the pine resin seeping from the wood and flared upward.

The members of the Undying Squad sat around the fire. A day of travel had brought them close to the war zone.

To keep his teammates in good condition, Takahashi Yū had halted the squad and lit a campfire here. The Konoha Ninja forces were stationed only a few dozen li away, so they did not need to be overly tense.

Having gone without sleep the night before, Takahashi Yū's body was already signaling that it could fall into a deep sleep. He did not resist, simply lying down beside the fire and falling fast asleep.

Beside him, Yamanaka Ayano looked enviously at Takahashi Yū's back as he lay on his side. Muscle memory had already returned the others to their wartime routines; even when they slept, they slept lightly.

"I'm so jealous of the captain. I want to sleep like a log too!" Ayano whispered to the others.

"We're still a few dozen li from the war zone, and Konoha's forces are up ahead holding the line. There's no need to be so quiet." Yūma, roasting river fish beside the fire, did not seem to mind at all.

"This damn body tenses up so quickly!"

"Tell me about it."

"We'll reach the front tomorrow. Now I'm not excited anymore. I've already started missing the village," Yūma said listlessly as he turned the fish.

"That's what I'm saying. We're just gluttons for punishment! Once we go back, we'll want to come here again. We're probably sick."

Lying on the ground with a blade of grass between his lips, Uchiha Shunji gazed at the stars and spoke in an even tone.

I hope my Sharingan can advance further this time.

Uchiha Delia recalled the clan secrets the elder had told her. War was the best catalyst for the Uchiha. According to the elder, Delia's ocular power had already reached the peak of three tomoe.

The aroma of grilled fish spread through the woods, and even the sleeping Takahashi Yū's nose kept twitching.

With his eyes closed, Takahashi Yū snatched the grilled fish from Yūma's hand, stuffed it into his mouth, chewed it up roughly, and swallowed.

"That's it! That's it! This is exactly how it felt!" Holding the wooden skewer, Yūma clutched his forehead and shouted while protecting the other fish.

"Hahaha! Didn't you know the captain likes eating in his sleep?"

Everyone smiled at the comical sight. Only Ayano wore a bitter smile. In the past, the captain had always stolen Takeshi's food...

Sigh...

Ayano set her backpack on the ground as a pillow and lay down on the soft fallen leaves, gazing at the boundless starry sky. Like glittering jewels set in the deep night sky, the stars shone with a mysterious light.

Boom!

A muffled blast came from far away, and everyone immediately assumed a defensive stance!

Takahashi Yū propped up his head and rubbed his eyes, which had yet to open fully. Hm? My mouth tastes like grilled fish.

Up in a tree, Nara Yūma narrowed his eyes at the distant firelight.

A night raid? Judging by the commotion, it looks pretty large!

"Is the Land of Lightning front always this wild?" Takahashi Yū rose from the ground and rubbed his head as he asked the others.

In the Land of Wind, they had fought in small squads. Large-scale battles like the one in the distance only happened when the Sand Shinobi were driven into a corner and committed to a decisive battle.

"It's the terrain. The Land of Wind is all desert. No one can sustain the daily living costs of large-scale operations. They can only scatter across the oases, occupying and garrisoning them."

"The Land of Lightning has towering mountains, but the countries bordering us are mostly plains. And the Cloud Shinobi specialize in Lightning Release, which makes too much noise when used. Rather than constantly moving troops around, they might as well fight head-on in the plains!"

"Unless we let the Cloud Shinobi into the Land of Fire!"

Takahashi Yū listened to Nara Yūma's fluent explanation without taking much of it in. All he knew was that Kumogakure's Highland Barbarians were reckless brawlers!

Rubbing his head, Takahashi Yū continued questioning Yūma.

"So what's your assessment, Master Strategist?"

"There probably isn't any need to worry. Night raids like this should happen fairly often. Judging by the lightning and flames, everything is on the perimeter, with no sign of pushing inward."

"Lord Danzo should have preparations in place!"

"Really, Yūma? My eyesight isn't very good, but why do I see lightning flashing back and forth inside the camp?"

Shimura Danzō was panting as he spat out a Vacuum Wave. Had he heard Nara Yūma's words, he would surely have grabbed him by the neck and demanded to know what sort of preparations could stop someone like his captain.

Watching the Third Raikage rampaging through the camp, Danzo felt humiliation surge in his heart. The Third Raikage was intent only on inflicting more casualties on Konoha, unwilling to spare Danzo even a moment's attention!

Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sakumo, was clashing blades with the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki outside the camp, while Danzo and a host of shinobi chased the Third Raikage.

The Third Raikage had cunningly slipped up with only a handful of elite shinobi. While the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki held off White Fang, who could barely keep pace with the Third Raikage, the Third Raikage darted into Konoha's camp and picked off the weakest targets.

The Third Raikage did not even glance at anyone who could slightly slow his killing. Killing more rank-and-file shinobi would reduce the losses among Kumogakure's own rank and file, giving him more room in his subsequent war plans.

There was little risk anyway. The Third Raikage already knew Konoha's camp thoroughly. No one there could keep him from leaving!