"Back to camp."
Bieshu Feifan answered immediately, without the slightest hesitation.
At that, Shimura Daio fell silent for a long while before asking:
"What do we say when we get back?"
"What do you mean, what do we say? To whom? About what?"
Bieshu Feifan glanced at Shimura Daio, not understanding what he was thinking.
That question made Shimura Daio a little angry, and his voice rose.
"How we explain things to the Chunin and Jōnin, of course. The Chunin leading our team is dead now. Without a flawless story, neither of us will have an easy time of it. You've heard of the Konoha Interrogation Squad, haven't you?"
"Oh, that's what you meant?"
Bieshu Feifan replied casually.
"There's no need to say anything or come up with a story. We'll go back first, eat something, and get some sleep."
Seeing how utterly unconcerned Bieshu Feifan was, Shimura Daio gritted his teeth.
They had killed a Chunin from their own village!
He couldn't understand why Bieshu Feifan didn't get it. The kid was clearly pretty smart.
Seeing that Shimura Daio still didn't understand, Bieshu Feifan reached out and patted his back.
He had meant to pat his shoulder, but this time, Shimura Daio was positioned too high for him to reach.
"Daio, my man, on a battlefield where people die every day, do you think anyone will care about one Chunin's death? Think about it. Lord Takaichi was killed by the enemy. What's that got to do with us? What are you so nervous about?"
Shimura Daio thought it over carefully and felt that it did seem to make sense.
But he was still afraid.
"But, Feifan, even if we go back, why go to sleep?"
Bieshu Feifan rolled his eyes at Shimura Daio as though he were looking at an idiot.
With that way of thinking, it was quite a feat that he had survived this long.
"Because I'm sleepy. Really sleepy. Besides, with our Chunin leader dead, the higher-ups will assign us any missions themselves. Daio, the more eager you are, the more suspicious you look."
Shimura Daio shuddered. He said nothing, silently repeating to himself:
The more eager you are, the more suspicious you look.
On closer thought, that made fucking sense.
When they finally returned to camp, Bieshu Feifan didn't bother with anything else. He went straight to his tent, lay down, and fell asleep.
Shimura Daio lay on his bed too, but his guilty conscience kept him tossing and turning.
Listening to his comrades coming and going outside the tent, Shimura Daio felt as though they might charge in and cut him down at any moment.
He endured that worry until nightfall without falling asleep.
Then a shout rang out.
"Genin, come help."
Shimura Daio bolted upright. His right hand almost reached for his kunai, but fortunately, he stopped himself.
A Chunin poked his head inside.
He was very clean and seemed to be some sort of logistics supervisor.
Seeing Shimura Daio's dark expression and silence, the Chunin frowned.
"What, you don't want to? Which squad are you two from?"
Bieshu Feifan had been woken by the noise as well. After sleeping for half a day, he had finally recovered his wits.
But he still hadn't had enough sleep.
Bieshu Feifan was a little grumpy at being woken up.
"We're currently assigned to patrol duty, sir. If you want to reassign us, please bring written orders. Otherwise, we wouldn't dare disobey our captain's orders."
Hearing that the two Genin already had an assignment, the Chunin fell silent for a moment before asking:
"Where's your Chunin captain? Who is he? Where is he?"
At that question, Shimura Daio's heart gave a violent thump. He remained silent.
Bieshu Feifan, on the other hand, lied without hesitation.
"Lord Takaichi went on patrol with another Genin. We came back first to rest, ready to relieve Lord Takaichi whenever he returns. Sir, you're disturbing our rest. Are you trying to exhaust our patrol personnel so the enemy can attack? Sir, who are you? Please come with me to see the commander here."
The Chunin had initially been very annoyed by Bieshu Feifan's tone.
But before he could lose his temper, Bieshu Feifan leveled a serious accusation at him. His face darkened, and he left with a cold snort.
Only after the Chunin left did Bieshu Feifan turn to Shimura Daio.
"Who's our commander?"
Still shaken by that nerve-racking encounter, Shimura Daio immediately calmed down at Bieshu Feifan's question, returning to his usual numb expression.
"Jiraiya. A student of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi."
So it really was Jiraiya. Bieshu Feifan nodded.
He hadn't mistaken that white-haired Shinobi whom several Iwagakure Jōnin had ganged up on earlier.
Now calm, Shimura Daio looked at Bieshu Feifan.
"You certainly sounded imposing just now, but offending a Chunin wasn't wise. Feifan, you were too rash."
Bieshu Feifan sneered.
"Someone like him orders other people around whenever he likes. If I hadn't stood firm, you and I... or at least I, might already be working for free again."
Shimura Daio didn't respond. He shook his head before asking:
"What do we do next, then?"
Bieshu Feifan took out Takaichi Wanmi's biscuits as he lay down.
"Nothing. Eat and drink our fill, then keep sleeping."
Bieshu Feifan had made up his mind. Unless a new captain came, he would keep using Takaichi Wanmi's name to rest until he ran out of food.
And so, for almost the next two days, no one actually came to disturb Bieshu Feifan's rest.
It wasn't that they didn't want to, but rather that the higher-ups wouldn't focus their attention on Genin.
At most, they would pay some attention to where Takaichi Wanmi, a Chunin, had gone.
As far as the higher-ups were concerned, if something had happened to the Chunin, the Genin would naturally be gone too.
Only when a Chunin went around rounding up Genin did he find Bieshu Feifan and Shimura Daio.
Rustle.
Someone pulled open the tent flap, revealing a figure who wasn't particularly tall or imposing.
Startled, Bieshu Feifan and Shimura Daio abruptly sat up.
"You're Takaichi Wanmi's Genin?"
The newcomer's voice was flat, without a trace of emotion.
"Yes."
Shimura Daio answered instinctively.
"Good. From now on, I'm your captain."
The man at the entrance took two steps back as he spoke. Though he said nothing more, his meaning was clear.
Bieshu Feifan and Shimura Daio exchanged a glance, quickly got up, and stepped outside to look.
The newcomer wore clothes bearing a Ping-Pong Paddles emblem.
An Uchiha.
Shimura Daio frowned, but a flash of fervor crossed Bieshu Feifan's eyes.
The Uchiha before them was already an adult, at least twenty years old.
He wasn't tall, but he was handsome.
Noticing the strange shifts in their emotions as they looked at him, the Uchiha was a little puzzled.
"I'm Uchiha Ji. Now, come with me on a mission."
Hearing that they had to go on another mission, Bieshu Feifan and Shimura Daio both frowned without answering.
Uchiha Ji sneered.
"What, is there a problem?"
"No problem. It's just, where's our Takaichi Captain? He hasn't explained anything to us about changing assignments."
Bieshu Feifan spoke off the cuff, not wanting to go on any mission at all.
"He's dead."
Uchiha Ji kept it brief and said little else.
But his words made Shimura Daio let out a long sigh of relief.
Since they knew Takaichi Wanmi was dead yet no one had come looking for trouble, that hurdle could be considered behind them.
Uchiha Ji spoke even less than Uchiha Kun had before. He led Bieshu Feifan and Shimura Daio straight to join a group of twenty-odd people, with no intention of explaining the mission.
Seeing so many people, Bieshu Feifan had a bad feeling.
"Captain Ji, what's our mission?"
The Uchiha replied indifferently:
"A surprise attack on the Iwagakure Rear Supply Station."
Bieshu Feifan and Shimura Daio both froze for a moment, then exchanged a glance, each seeing disbelief in the other's eyes.
Weren't surprise attacks supposed to be carried out by experts?
What could Genin like them do there?
Especially Bieshu Feifan. He was cannon fodder who hadn't even mastered the Three Basic Jutsu. Just keeping up with a Chunin's speed would be an achievement.
And he was supposed to launch a surprise attack?
Bieshu Feifan was very puzzled.
Had Konoha's commander already become this detached from reality?
Looking at his two pale-faced subordinates, Uchiha Ji gave a cold smile, then turned his head away in disdain.
Before long, a Konoha Jōnin arrived. He looked over the twenty-odd people, his gaze lingering on Bieshu Feifan for an extra moment, then his face filled with displeasure.
But he said nothing, merely waving a hand.
"Move out."
Before you continue