Those who wanted to rest

The inexplicable skirmish was over.

Bieshu Feifan used the same old trick, fighting that Iwagakure Genin to the very end.

Bieshu Feifan survived.

When he felt the time was about right, Bieshu Feifan stabbed his opponent to death with a kunai, then went down himself.

The fighting between cannon fodder was actually meaningless. However fiercely they fought, once the Jōnin and Chunin settled their battles, the cannon fodder could only flee.

On the battlefield, a Genin's greatest use was to serve as cannon fodder,

draining the enemy Jōnin and Chunin of their chakra.

Rain still fell over the Land of Rain, though it had eased considerably.

Bieshu Feifan really was exhausted. He lay motionless on the ground and barely managed to reach out his right hand.

He felt the eyes of the Iwagakure brat he had killed.

Unfortunately, his opponent had no kekkei genkai and no special chakra.

Many of the Iwagakure Ninja who had been pursuing Bieshu Feifan and the others were wiped out by Konoha's arriving main force. The rest fled with their tails between their legs.

"There's another one alive here."

The team collecting bodies found Bieshu Feifan.

By nightfall, the rain finally eased, leaving only a light drizzle falling from the sky.

Bieshu Feifan arrived at the frontline camp for the second time and stayed in a tent... not far from the field hospital.

An examination found that Bieshu Feifan was uninjured, just exhausted, and apparently suffering from eye inflammation.

The tent was small, and Bieshu Feifan lay resting on one side.

On the other side was Shimura Daio.

He had survived too, and was just as drained. But Shimura Daio had not been as lucky as Bieshu Feifan. His forehead was injured and wrapped in a layer of bandages.

"Where's Uchiha Kun?"

Once he had recovered a little, Shimura Daio could not wait to ask.

Lying in the tent, Bieshu Feifan recalled the dangers of the day and sighed.

"I don't know. I handed him over to that Chunin."

"Which Chunin?"

Bieshu Feifan sneered.

"The one who blocked people and sent them to the front while hiding in the back himself."

At those words, a brutish face instantly appeared in Shimura Daio's mind, and his face fell.

"Did he die?"

"I don't know, but I think he's still alive. Someone like him wouldn't die so easily."

As he spoke, Bieshu Feifan quietly studied Shimura Daio's expression.

Shimura Daio let out a long breath, his expression dark.

"I think his name is Takaichi Wanmi. He's from a small clan. For ninjas from small clans like his, producing even one Chunin brings honor to their ancestors. No wonder he values his life so much. He might even be his clan's only ninja. If he dies in battle, that little clan of theirs will probably decline."

Shimura Daio shared everything he knew about Takaichi Wanmi.

Bieshu Feifan was rather surprised.

Shimura Daio had barely mentioned Uchiha Kun. It seemed this Takaichi Wanmi had really angered him.

After finishing what he knew about Takaichi Wanmi, Shimura Daio finally calmed down.

"What about Omori?"

Bieshu Feifan thought for a moment.

"The last time I saw him, I think he was following Uchiha Kun. I never saw him again after that."

"Then he's probably dead."

Shimura Daio spoke of Omori's life and death with complete indifference.

Just then, a hand roughly pulled open the tent flap, revealing a middle-aged man's head. He looked at the two of them.

"Genin, come help right away."

Both frowned. How long had they even been resting?

Normally, people coming off the front line should have had a whole night to rest.

Shimura Daio immediately objected:

"My orders were to rest tonight. Who are you? Show me your written orders."

The ninja who had come to fetch them was about to lose his temper at being refused when Shimura Daio spoke in a low voice.

"The Hokage Advisor is my clan uncle."

The man's temper vanished at once, and he immediately smiled.

"So you're a member of Advisor Shimura's clan. My apologies."

Then he immediately put away his smile and turned to Bieshu Feifan.

Bieshu Feifan's expression darkened. This was a background check.

"I'm an inheritor of the Will of Fire personally named by Lord Hokage. I'm here at the front to gain experience. I only take orders from Lord Hokage."

"Heh."

The ninja was amused, then looked coldly at Bieshu Feifan.

"Come on. Come help."

That didn't bluff him!

Bieshu Feifan took a deep breath, unwilling to move.

Then he saw the middle-aged ninja's expression grow increasingly dangerous.

Bieshu Feifan immediately smiled.

"I'll be right there."

Shimura Daio looked at Bieshu Feifan and shook his head without speaking.

Only after leaving the tent did Bieshu Feifan get a clear look at the man's attire.

He wore a flak jacket, so he was at least a Chunin.

His black hair was tied up in a Pineapple Head-shaped ponytail.

The Nara Clan?

Many others had been called to help like Bieshu Feifan. All were uninjured cannon fodder who had just come off the battlefield.

Only after they had walked some distance from the camp hospital did the Nara clansman speak:

"See the fallen ninjas over there? Lend a hand and take them fifty li to the rear."

Hearing that they would be leaving the front line, the dozen or so Genin forced into helping were delighted. Their earlier dissatisfaction instantly vanished, replaced by boundless energy. They wished they could immediately haul the bodies away from the front at a hundred-meter sprint.

Bieshu Feifan had not expected a chance as good as this to leave the battlefield to fall to him.

The dozen or so Genin, all around their early teens, pulled wooden carts loaded with bodies away from the front line as fast as they could.

With everyone eager to arrive, they raced through the fifty-kilometer journey in no time.

Then the Nara ninja called everyone to a stop and formed a few hand seals whose purpose they did not know.

Before long, a dozen or so other Nara ninjas emerged from the darkness and took possession of the bodies.

Under the expectant gazes of Bieshu Feifan and the other Genin, the Nara ninja led them to another location to collect a dozen or so carts of supplies.

Then they headed back to the front.

The dozen or so Genin wore dark expressions, remaining silent the entire way and moving very slowly to wordlessly express their dissatisfaction.

The Nara ninja did not hurry them, merely leading the way at a leisurely pace.

These tasks should have been done by those Nara ninjas in the first place.

After finally returning to the very front, Bieshu Feifan had just set down his supply cart and was about to hurry off to rest.

Several people with long, straight black hair and Byakugan immediately approached.

"You lot, come help."

Before they could lie down, Bieshu Feifan and the dozen or so Genin were called over by the Hyuga ninjas.

This time, the Hyuga ninjas wanted them to tidy their tents and clean the bodies of their fallen clansmen.

Quite a few of the latest batch of Hyūga sent to the battlefield had already died.

Hyuga bodies were not transported like those of ordinary ninjas.

The recently arrived Hyuga were still unfamiliar with life at the front and needed people to look after them, so they took it for granted that they could call civilian ninjas over to serve them.

But just as the others were quietly sighing,

Bieshu Feifan's attention sharpened. There were Hyūga bodies?

Soon, a young bearer of the Caged Bird Seal took Bieshu Feifan over to clean the Hyūga clansmen's bodies.

Looking at the dozen or so bodies lying in a tent, Bieshu Feifan's heart instantly burned with excitement.

"Wash them carefully. Don't leave a single stain on anyone from our Hyuga Clan."

The Hyūga youth who had brought them to clean spoke sternly, issuing his orders in a tone that brooked no argument.

Bieshu Feifan was the most enthusiastic. As he washed the Hyūga bodies, his fingers secretly touched their eyes.

This one won't do. He's been dead too long.

This one won't do either. His eyes are too badly damaged.

This one won't do either.

Nor this one.

Just as Bieshu Feifan was cleaning the tenth body, his heart suddenly jolted.

This one most likely died just today.

His fingers slipped past the eyelids and touched the eyeballs.

Special chakra. Absorb.

At once, a stream of chakra unique to the Byakugan flowed into Bieshu Feifan's body through his index and middle fingers.

Bieshu Feifan showed nothing, but inwardly he was overjoyed.

Tonight's hard work was worth it.

After helping the Hyuga Clan, Bieshu Feifan really wanted to rest too.

As he left the Hyūga tents, Bieshu Feifan encountered a female Chunin.

"Everyone, the medical tents need a few helpers. Please follow me."

The faces of Bieshu Feifan and the others immediately darkened.