Impoverished bait

A Jōnin led the way, with Chunin squads on either flank.

The group of thirty or so vanished into the evening rain of the Land of Rain in an instant.

One Jōnin led the group, which also included a dozen or so Chunin.

The rest were all Genin.

The captain of Bieshu Feifan's squad was Uchiha Ji, a Chunin.

Most of the squads were incomplete. Some Chunin even had only one Genin following them.

After a little observation, Bieshu Feifan realized how disorganized this group was.

Quite apart from anything else, the Genin varied widely in strength.

Bieshu Feifan, for instance, could not even keep up with the group.

They had barely left the camp before Bieshu Feifan, the youngest in the group, began falling behind.

The Jōnin leading them was traveling at their usual pace.

The Chunin had no trouble keeping up.

The older Genin could just about manage it too.

But Bieshu Feifan really was no genius. He was neither hiding his abilities nor deliberately holding them back. He genuinely could not keep up.

At first, he could keep pace with all his effort, but for Bieshu Feifan, this speed was no different from an all-out sprint.

Shimura Daio fared much better. He was seventeen, a standard Genin.

Seeing Bieshu Feifan panting at the rear, already showing signs of falling behind,

Uchiha Ji knitted his brows into a deep frown and slowed his steps slightly.

When Bieshu Feifan caught up, Uchiha suddenly kicked without any warning.

Bieshu Feifan, who was wondering whether to keep trying to follow, was caught off guard and took a heavy kick to the stomach.

"Urgh!"

Completely unprepared, Bieshu Feifan went flying backward.

He hit the ground and vomited up a considerable amount of stomach acid.

"Genin, slack off again, and I, Uchiha Ji, will kill you myself."

Uchiha Ji stood over Bieshu Feifan, who lay curled on the ground with his face twisted, and spoke in an icy tone.

In pain, Bieshu Feifan clutched his stomach, unable to answer or get up.

"Uchiha Captain, Feifan is only seven, and he doesn't have your Uchiha Clan's talent. This is all he can manage."

At this critical moment, Shimura Daio actually stepped forward.

Uchiha Ji did not look Shimura Daio in the face. He merely glanced sideways, two tomoe appearing in his eye.

Shimura Daio immediately felt cold chakra lock onto him. He involuntarily stepped back twice and swallowed.

"My clan uncle is Hokage Advisor Shimura Danzō."

Just then, two Chunin noticed what was happening.

"Chunin Uchiha, what's going on?"

The speaker was a Chunin not yet twenty.

Uchiha Ji pointed at Bieshu Feifan, who had just gotten up.

"He's trying to avoid going to the battlefield."

At that, the two Chunin immediately gave Bieshu Feifan hostile looks, their hands already reaching for their ninja tool pouches.

Bieshu Feifan suddenly felt a killing intent that made his scalp prickle.

In a group carrying out a mission like this, the Chunin in command would never allow a Genin who might leak intelligence to leave the group.

Whether Uchiha Ji was telling the truth or not, they would not waste time verifying it.

The best solution was to kill Bieshu Feifan, who could not keep up.

In that moment of danger, Bieshu Feifan's mind raced.

"Chunin sirs, my previous teammate was an Uchiha genius, but he died in battle, while an unremarkable Genin like me survived by luck. To complete this mission, and for Konoha, I request a transfer to another squad."

At those words, Uchiha Ji's expression suddenly grew calm.

He looked Bieshu Feifan in the face, red light flickering in his eyes.

The two Chunin who had stopped frowned. Uchiha Ji was taking his temper out on someone.

Given the Uchiha Clan's reputation in Konoha, neither Chunin doubted Bieshu Feifan's words.

As for Uchiha Ji, he disdained to defend himself,

which amounted to admitting that he had deliberately picked a fight.

The other Chunin, a man in his thirties, thought for a moment, then looked at Bieshu Feifan.

"Follow me, then."

Then he looked at Uchiha Ji.

"What do you think, Ji?"

Uchiha Ji snorted coldly, said nothing, and turned to leave.

Without the slightest hesitation, Shimura Daio looked at the Chunin who had taken Bieshu Feifan in and hurriedly spoke.

"Chunin sir, I'd like to follow you too."

All three Chunin, Uchiha Ji included, froze for a moment at those words.

Uchiha Ji had only two Genin under him, and now both were gone.

This was an outright slap in Uchiha Ji's face. Neither of the other Chunin spoke.

"All for Konoha."

Sensing something wrong with the atmosphere, Shimura Daio hurriedly added that.

Uchiha Ji's steps paused for an instant before he continued running forward.

Only then did the Chunin in his thirties nod.

"Keep up."

Clutching his stomach, Bieshu Feifan barely managed to follow.

Shimura Daio came closer and gave him a hand.

"Thank you."

Bieshu Feifan was genuinely grateful to Shimura Daio. Without his help, someone with so little ability to begin with, and who had just been kicked, would truly have struggled to keep up with the main group.

"It's nothing. All for Konoha."

As Shimura Daio spoke, he glanced in Uchiha Ji's direction.

For one thing, he helped Bieshu Feifan because he valued Bieshu Feifan's ability to survive.

Shimura Daio was not optimistic about this mission to destroy the Iwagakure Supply Station.

With Bieshu Feifan, who was good at staying alive, beside him, he felt a little safer.

For another, the one making trouble was an Uchiha, so he, Shimura Daio, had to lend the other side some support no matter what.

With Shimura Daio lending a hand, Bieshu Feifan could just about keep up without falling behind.

But they were only barely hanging on at the rear. Both had to exert themselves to avoid being left behind.

Iwagakure had many supply stations, but the target of Bieshu Feifan's group was not within the Land of Rain.

After crossing the last stretch of rainforest, they reached a range of bare, rocky mountains.

Looking at the noticeably sparser vegetation and lighter rainfall, Bieshu Feifan had a bad feeling.

Had they actually reached the Land of Earth?

At this point, the Jōnin leading them stopped and called several Chunin over to discuss matters.

The twenty or so Genin immediately began resting, gasping for breath.

Bieshu Feifan was in the worst shape of them all, because he was the youngest.

Aside from him, nearly all the Genin here were adults like Shimura Daio.

As the Jōnin began making arrangements, a dense swarm of insects suddenly emerged from a Chunin's body and flew into the distance.

Someone from the Aburame Clan!

Seeing it for the first time, Bieshu Feifan found it a little disgusting.

But this member of the Aburame Clan was actually not wearing sunglasses. That really was deceptive.

After they rested briefly where they were, the insects flew back into the Aburame Chunin's body.

The Chunin and Jōnin discussed things a little longer, then each nodded.

Looks like the assignment is here.

The Chunin in his thirties who had taken Bieshu Feifan in beckoned toward him.

Immediately, the four Genin under him gathered together.

The Chunin spoke as he looked over the four Genin under his command.

"You four, head east. There's an Iwagakure Camp there. Go there, ignore everything else, and do everything you can to destroy it."

After hearing these orders, Bieshu Feifan and the other three all fell silent for a moment.

These orders clearly made them bait.

Bait that was certain to die, at that.

Four Genin attacking an Iwagakure supply station was no different from going to their deaths.

For the Jōnin and Chunin who formed the main assault force, cannon fodder like Bieshu Feifan and the others would have accomplished their mission even if they drew away just one Iwagakure Chunin.

But if they refused, they would most likely be killed right now.

After several seconds, the four gave a ragged "Yes."

But Bieshu Feifan had no intention of leaving it at that.

"Chunin sir, I only have three kunai. What do you think would be more worthwhile, slashing grain sacks or slashing tents?"

The moment Bieshu Feifan spoke, Shimura Daio caught on.

"Feifan, my friend, slash the grain sacks. You can't eat tents. But if time allows, slash them all. That'll cause more damage."

The Chunin's face darkened.

"Use explosive tags."

"We don't have any."

Bieshu Feifan and Shimura Daio answered simultaneously.

The Chunin took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and handed each of the four Genin being sent to their deaths two explosive tags.

It was not that he was kindhearted. As bait, if they could not create a decent disturbance, how were they supposed to draw fire?

Still, even for a Chunin, eight explosive tags were a painful expense.

After receiving the explosive tags, Bieshu Feifan looked at the Chunin's dark expression and said,

"For Konoha."

That served as some consolation for the Chunin. Only then did he head east with a grim face.

As soon as they were out of the Chunin's sight, Bieshu Feifan and Shimura Daio exchanged a glance.