Enemy attack

The three-hundred-strong unit Bieshu Feifan belonged to marched down the road out of Konoha, amid both silence and chatter.

Bieshu Feifan looked at the new kunai in his hand. It was very sharp.

But,

it was still just a dagger.

Heading onto the battlefield like this, Bieshu Feifan suddenly felt his prospects were bleak.

Still, this dagger-no, kunai-that Hyūga Shupi had given him was already the best weapon Bieshu Feifan had.

Bieshu Feifan had only owned two kunai before, both scavenged from a rubbish heap. They were almost worn beyond use and were difficult even to practice with.

Unlike the worried Bieshu Feifan, his two teammates, Xiangjie Dashou and Maoxu Ang, had no idea how serious things were and chatted and laughed along the way.

This unit's mission was to transport supplies. Although Bieshu Feifan, as a genin, did not know where they were headed, he guessed it was most likely that meat grinder, the Land of Rain.

Because Hyūga Shupi was in Bieshu Feifan's squad, they were assigned to reconnaissance and lookout duty rather than the physical labor of pushing carts.

Their position was rather far forward, though, leaving him with the feeling that things could go wrong at any moment. Bieshu Feifan and the other two were the genin responsible for protecting Hyūga Shupi.

The troops marched in silence with their vast procession of supplies and soon disappeared from the gates of Konoha.

"Hey, you three, don't get too far away from me."

As evening approached, Hyūga Shupi looked at the three, who lacked any of the qualities of ninja, and felt they had strayed a little too far from him. He hurriedly reminded them.

Watching Hyūga Shupi scan the surroundings with his Byakugan activated, Bieshu Feifan moved a little closer to him.

Xiangjie Dashou and Maoxu Ang quickly moved closer too, only for Hyūga Shupi to shove them away, nearly knocking them over.

"Too close. You'll interfere with my attacks."

"Captain, what's your attack range? So I can judge the distance."

Maoxu Ang was a little annoyed at being shoved.

Hyūga Shupi deactivated his Byakugan and turned his head to look sideways at Maoxu Ang.

"What, want to see for yourself?"

Seeing that Hyūga Shupi was a little angry, Maoxu Ang was instantly frightened into silence.

Xiangjie Dashou hurried over to smooth things over.

"Hahaha, don't be angry, captain. He didn't mean it like that. He just hasn't seen much of the world and was curious, that's all. Haha."

Hyūga Shupi withdrew his gaze and said coldly:

"Stay at least one meter away from me, but no farther than two."

Xiangjie Dashou and Maoxu Ang both nodded in agreement, while Bieshu Feifan stayed out of their childish squabbling.

By now, Bieshu Feifan had finally found a relatively safe position: behind Hyūga Shupi, to his right.

The more capable Hyūga Shupi was ahead to his left, with the two cannon-fodder teammates, Xiangjie Dashou and Maoxu Ang, farther out. Ahead to his right was a supply cart, while behind Bieshu Feifan were other supply carts, some distance away but surrounded by plenty of people.

This way, even if someone launched a sneak attack, Bieshu Feifan felt he would be in a relatively safe position, with human shields on the outside and plenty of distance from the supplies on the inside.

Bieshu Feifan was very pleased with his judgment.

Having gotten nowhere with Hyūga Shupi, Maoxu Ang set his sights on Bieshu Feifan instead. He sidled over and whispered:

"Bieshu Feifan, why don't you look happy at all?"

Bieshu Feifan replied casually:

"I'm busy trying to keep up."

Maoxu Ang smiled and shook his head.

"Bieshu Feifan, you're the same as ever. Richuan really did look after you. Otherwise, with your brains, you'd probably have had a hard time becoming a ninja."

Bieshu Feifan quite agreed with that and nodded.

"Indeed. Richuan took very good care of me. I'm grateful to eighteen generations of his ancestors."

Maoxu Ang paused. Why did that sound like an insult?

Just as Maoxu Ang was about to say something, Bieshu Feifan suddenly noticed Hyūga Shupi ahead of them, his Byakugan activated, urgently gesturing to a chunin.

Enemy attack.

Bieshu Feifan immediately reached that conclusion. He hurriedly grabbed Maoxu Ang and ducked behind him.

"Maoxu Ang, come closer. Let me tell you something. In terms of seniority, Richuan is actually my grandson."

Maoxu Ang's expression froze. He thought Bieshu Feifan was lying, but he was still interested in hearing the gossip, and so Bieshu Feifan used him as a human shield in front of himself.

Just then, Hyūga Shupi shouted from up ahead,

"Enemy attack!"

Following Hyūga Shupi's cry, shouts of "Enemy attack!" rang out from several other places in the unit.

Then, at that very moment, large numbers of ninja in yellowish-brown flak jackets emerged ahead of the road and on both sides.

They were Sunagakure ninja.

The instant Bieshu Feifan recognized them, countless flying needles shot toward them, along with innumerable Wind Release Ninjutsu, all hurled at the transport unit.

"Protect me!"

Hyūga Shupi shouted, but the terrified Xiangjie Dashou and Maoxu Ang failed to react at all.

Seeing the wave of attacks about to reach him, Hyūga Shupi grabbed Xiangjie Dashou beside him and held him in front of himself.

Bieshu Feifan also held down Maoxu Ang, who had recovered his senses and was trying to flail about.

The moment their defenses were in place, countless senbon shot into their ranks, and screams erupted throughout Konoha's transport unit.

"Organize a defense! Protect the supplies!"

Amid the Sunagakure ninja's attacks, a jonin leading the unit roared orders as walls of earth rose from the ground, blocking the Sunagakure ninja's first wave of attacks.

Only then did Bieshu Feifan, hiding behind Hyūga Shupi, dare to poke his head out for a look. Maoxu Ang, whom he had kept in front of himself, was covered in steel senbon, and his wounds were slowly turning black. The senbon were poisoned.

"Bieshu Feifan, I... you... mother..."

Blood spilled from Maoxu Ang's mouth as he pointed at Bieshu Feifan, but he could no longer get the curse out.

"Brother Mao, you wouldn't have survived that anyway. I thank you for your sacrifice, brother."

Bieshu Feifan felt not the slightest guilt about using Maoxu Ang to die in his place.

Because the blame for this lay with the incompetent Lord Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

As Maoxu Ang breathed his last, there was a thud ahead to the right. Xiangjie Dashou had fallen to the ground too, his body likewise covered in steel needles.

Hyūga Shupi, meanwhile, looked a little disheveled but was uninjured.

Just then, countless hurried footsteps approached, and a puppet vaulted over the earthen wall and charged at them.

"Protect me!"

Hyūga Shupi shouted. Although he had not called a name, Bieshu Feifan knew he was calling for him.

Bieshu Feifan's face instantly darkened, and he shouted as well:

"Captain, hurry up and take out the enemy with your eye technique, the best in Konoha!"

Even as he shouted, Bieshu Feifan had already retreated to a spot farther from the supply carts.

War was all about logistics, and that principle held true even in the Shinobi World. Bieshu Feifan decisively put distance between himself and Hyūga Shupi.

By now, the Konoha ninja had also begun fighting back. Several jonin led twenty or thirty chunin in flak jackets to intercept the attacking Sunagakure ninja.

Bieshu Feifan knew his own abilities. Bullying ordinary people was fine, but against ninja, he was nothing.

Still, Bieshu Feifan did not dare openly slack off or desert.

He found a spot with more Konoha ninja, picked up stones from the ground, and threw them like shuriken.

The stones Bieshu Feifan threw probably contributed nothing to the battle, but they still kept him busy enough to work up a sweat.

"Where's your kunai?"

Someone finally could not stand it any longer and roared at Bieshu Feifan.

Hearing someone address him, Bieshu Feifan immediately seized the opportunity and squeezed into the middle of the crowd.

He showed his ninja tool pouch to the veteran genin in his twenties who had shouted at him. There were only two rusty kunai worn down almost to needles, along with the brand-new kunai he held in his hand.

He had recognized the man as another genin because he had no flak jacket either.

"My kunai are right here. If you need them, they're yours. Don't be shy."

Bieshu Feifan promptly took the two kunai out of his pouch and handed them to the veteran genin who had called out.

He watched the veteran genin silently accept his two rusty kunai.

Bieshu Feifan took the opportunity to remain in the crowd, then continued shouting and throwing stones, his whole approach being that even if he achieved nothing, he had at least put in the effort.

Just then, Hyūga Shupi crawled over, covered in blood and dragging half a puppet's wreckage on his body.

"Save me! I'm a reconnaissance ninja from the Hyuga Clan!"

Another half-puppet was pursuing him from behind.

At the sight of the badly wounded Hyūga Shupi, Bieshu Feifan's heart gave a jolt.

These injuries are just right. Half-dead, but still able to crawl over on his own.

Could the first windfall from my cheat finally be within reach?

At that thought, Bieshu Feifan shouted:

"Hurry and save our fellow Konoha ninja!"

That shout actually worked. Someone really did rush out to block the pursuing half-puppet.

Bieshu Feifan also reached out to pull Hyūga Shupi over, but his eyes were fixed firmly on that pair of Byakugan, and he showed no sign of wanting to save his life at all.