Sure enough, the three Genin running around everywhere-Bieshu Feifan and his companions-were soon spotted by a patrolling Chunin and dragged into helping with patrol duty.
Of the three cannon-fodder Genin originally assigned to this Chunin, two had stepped on Explosive Tags, leaving one dead and one seriously wounded. The remaining one had been scared witless.
None of the three was particularly willing, but when they saw the Chunin's look, they still didn't dare refuse.
"Sir, on our way back just now, we were ambushed by the enemy. The Chunin leading us is probably still fighting hard right now. Could you..."
After much hesitation, Wenshu finally brought up what he had wanted to do all along.
But the Chunin didn't care in the slightest.
"Running into enemies here is normal. There's no need to bother."
Hearing the Chunin say that, Wenshu's lips worked, but in the end, he didn't argue his case.
When dawn came, the night of patrolling finally ended, and Bieshu Feifan was just about to head back to rest.
Then Takaichi Wanmi woke up. Looking at the three listless Genin, his expression immediately turned displeased, especially toward Bieshu Feifan.
But Takaichi Wanmi said nothing. Brats like Bieshu Feifan could die at any moment; he didn't want to waste his breath scolding him.
Today's patrol continued, with Bieshu Feifan and the other two still out front and Takaichi Wanmi bringing up the rear.
Bieshu Feifan wore a grim expression and said nothing. He hadn't rested in days, and now his whole body felt as though it were floating. He could pass out at any moment.
Bieshu Feifan glanced back at the refreshed Takaichi Wanmi, and anger immediately welled up inside him.
Then his anger flared, giving him the nerve to do something vicious.
In his fury, Bieshu Feifan immediately squeezed out every bit of chakra he could, pushing his Byakugan to its limit as he searched desperately for enemies.
Bieshu Feifan was lucky. A few hundred meters to his left, a squad of Sand Hidden shinobi was on patrol, also consisting of one Chunin leading three pieces of cannon fodder.
Bieshu Feifan's lips twisted into a crazed smile. He gradually put distance between himself and Shimura Daio, then crept to the left.
A few dozen meters from the Sand Ninja, Bieshu Feifan left a long trail of footprints, carved a conspicuous Konoha symbol into a tree trunk, and added an arrow.
Bieshu Feifan wanted to rest so badly that he didn't care even if he lured the enemy over. As long as he could go back and rest, nothing mattered to him anymore.
He had his Byakugan, after all. He could always avoid danger in advance.
Before long, the patrolling Sand shinobi spotted the traces Bieshu Feifan had left.
"Captain, should we follow?"
One cannon-fodder Genin asked his Chunin captain.
The Sand Hidden Chunin sneered and stroked his Puppet.
"Follow, my ass. Only you lot would fall for such an obvious trap. You're all idiots, just like the Konoha fool who set it. Come on, we'll go around."
Bieshu Feifan returned to his usual position in the squad, then waited and waited, but the Sand Hidden shinobi never came after them.
Activating his Byakugan for a look, Bieshu Feifan's face immediately darkened. That Sand Hidden squad had actually walked away without discovering his trail.
Bieshu Feifan cursed inwardly.
Sand shinobi are all fucking morons. No wonder they lose every war. With shinobi this incompetent, their fucking country would've fallen long ago if the Land of Wind weren't so barren.
Cursing aside, Bieshu Feifan still had to keep trying to lure the enemy over.
Then Bieshu Feifan made an excuse about needing the toilet and left the squad.
Activating his Byakugan again, Bieshu Feifan found another patrolling Sand Hidden squad.
Then Bieshu Feifan ran ahead of them and took a shit.
Not long after Bieshu Feifan left, the Sand Hidden patrol caught the fragrance he had left behind.
One Sand Hidden cannon-fodder underling poked at Bieshu Feifan's turd, then reported to the Chunin in charge:
"Sir, it's fresh. He just left. The smell leads that way."
The Chunin leading the Sand Hidden squad was an ordinary-looking middle-aged man. He held a Kunai, his face expressionless.
"Lead the way."
The cannon fodder who had reported it went through several changes of expression, but finally began tracking Bieshu Feifan by the smell of his shit.
After returning to his squad and patrolling for a while, Bieshu Feifan finally spotted the Sand Hidden squad a few hundred meters away, following the smell toward them. He immediately grinned.
Good.
A standard squad led by a Chunin would be more than enough to give Takaichi Wanmi trouble.
As the Sand Hidden squad gradually approached, Bieshu Feifan casually moved closer to Shimura Daio, nudging him toward the right.
Shimura Daio didn't understand and was about to speak when Bieshu Feifan cut in first:
"Daio, my friend, the left side is close to the Sand Hidden lines. Patrolling to the right makes more sense."
Hearing this, Shimura Daio found it reasonable enough. But the battle lines were interwoven, and he didn't know which side the Sand Hidden positions were on.
Still, after spending these past few days together, he had a fair amount of faith in Bieshu Feifan's ability to survive.
As Bieshu Feifan and Shimura Daio patrolled toward the right, Wenshu, left on his own, didn't dare stray too far from them, so he followed as well.
Under Bieshu Feifan's unobtrusive guidance, the patrol squad took a turn to the right.
Takaichi Wanmi didn't find anything wrong with it either. On patrol, they naturally couldn't keep going straight forever.
Without giving it much thought, Takaichi Wanmi followed them around the turn, placing himself directly between the pursuing Sand Hidden squad and Bieshu Feifan's group.
Bieshu Feifan kept his Byakugan active the whole time. At last, the Sand Hidden squad was about to catch up.
And Takaichi Wanmi still hadn't noticed.
Good, just keep it like this. Bieshu Feifan suddenly picked up his pace, widening the gap between himself and Takaichi Wanmi, who had yet to react.
Takaichi Wanmi didn't immediately hurry after them. He was used to letting his subordinates scout the way.
If nothing happened, he could catch up later just the same.
Just then, Takaichi Wanmi suddenly felt his scalp prickle.
He turned to see a large handful of Shuriken flying straight at him.
Enemies?
When did this happen?
As Takaichi Wanmi stared in shock, four people had already emerged behind the rapidly approaching Shuriken.
One of them was a Chunin, forming Hand Seals to perform a ninjutsu.
Takaichi Wanmi's reaction was reasonably competent. He swiftly drew a Kunai and knocked aside the incoming Shuriken with a few quick movements.
By then, the Sand Hidden shinobi had finished his Hand Seals. Aiming both hands at him, he swept out a Wind Blade.
Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique.
Takaichi Wanmi had just deflected the Shuriken when he saw a Wind Blade slash toward him.
In the urgency of the moment, Takaichi Wanmi had no time to use ninjutsu and could only dodge aside.
The Wind Blade skimmed past his scalp and sliced through a large tree.
Just as Takaichi Wanmi steadied himself, a Senbon pierced his left leg.
At the same time, several soft thuds rang out as more Senbon and Kunai embedded themselves in the tree trunks around him.
It was the work of those three Sand Hidden Genin.
Gritting his teeth, Takaichi Wanmi quickly pulled the Senbon from his calf. The wound wasn't deep.
But the Senbon was poisoned. Purple discoloration appeared around the wound and continued to spread.
Though furious at being ambushed, Takaichi Wanmi didn't dare face a complete Chunin squad alone. He hurriedly retreated while shouting:
"Wenshu, and what's-his-name and the other one, come help!"
The Sand Hidden Chunin sneered while continuing to form Hand Seals:
"Still trying to call for help? Finish this quickly."
Taking advantage of Takaichi Wanmi's impaired movement, the three cannon-fodder Genin quickly drew and threw Shuriken and Kunai, keeping him from running fast.
Then the Sand Hidden Chunin took out a scroll and summoned a cockroach-like Puppet.
Bieshu Feifan and Shimura Daio, who were running away as hard as they could, both heard the cries for help behind them. But both pretended not to hear and ran even faster instead.
Wenshu, on the other hand, was an honest kid.
"You both heard that, right? Lord Takaichi needs help."
Bieshu Feifan shook his head.
"I didn't hear anything. Maybe your hearing's bad."
Shimura Daio shook his head too.
"I didn't hear anything either, but he seemed to be calling you."
What a joke. If even a Chunin needed help, who would go over there to die?
Especially with someone like Takaichi Wanmi. He would never take the front line himself; he would only use his subordinates as cannon fodder.
While Wenshu hesitated with a dark expression, another shout came from behind:
"Aah! Wenshu, and those other two what's-their-names!"
Hearing "those other two what's-their-names," Bieshu Feifan and Shimura Daio ran even faster.
Only Wenshu remained torn between running and staying.
Finally, after hesitating for a long time, he heard another cry:
"Wenshu!"
With a grim expression, he turned and ran back after all.
Before you continue