On the way to the Land of Rain, Bieshu Feifan thought about a lot of things.
He had been conscripted,
perhaps not because he was normal, nor because he was abnormal.
But because Konoha was running short of cannon fodder.
This was another force of over three hundred, much like the force Bieshu Feifan had joined for his first battle.
But they were not transporting supplies, nor were they in a hurry.
Even the freshly graduated cannon fodder could keep pace.
Only this time, none of the cannon fodder were Bieshu Feifan's classmates.
Several Jōnin and dozens of Chunin led the force.
This was already a formidable force.
As they neared the border of the Land of Fire, the force split into three groups. Bieshu Feifan and Might Duy were not assigned to the same group.
There were enough Chunin this time, and once they had fully left the Land of Fire, Bieshu Feifan was assigned one.
The Chunin leading Bieshu Feifan this time was a very young man who looked to be in his early twenties.
Yet his face bore a world-weariness that did not belong to someone his age.
"I'm Weibei Tuisì. I specialize in Earth Release. Tell me what each of you specializes in, too."
As they traveled, the Chunin exchanged introductions with the three pieces of cannon fodder who had just been assigned to him.
Unlike before, Bieshu Feifan's two fellow cannon-fodder teammates had both been on the battlefield.
Both had hollow, numb eyes. They looked nothing like children in their early teens, but rather like walking corpses.
"Qiuteng. I specialize in close combat."
"Yeshan. I don't specialize in anything."
Both pieces of cannon fodder kept their introductions brief, with no intention of showing off.
"Bieshu Feifan. I specialize in Expounding the Will of Fire. Lord Hokage personally approved my promotion to Genin."
At Bieshu Feifan's introduction, the two pieces of cannon fodder merely glanced at him before losing interest.
Brats like this had died around them, one batch after another.
The Chunin, however, showed some interest.
"Bieshu, that's a rare name. But Genin Bieshu, being good at Expounding the Will of Fire isn't much use. Think about what other strengths you have."
Bieshu Feifan actually gave it some thought, followed by a long silence.
"All right, I understand."
Chunin Weibei had never really expected cannon fodder to have any specialties. He was merely asking as a matter of routine.
The cannon fodder who thought they had a special skill and had died beside him alone would have been enough to build a mound of corpses.
The four-man squad briefly introduced themselves, then continued running toward the meat grinder of the Land of Rain.
As they stepped onto the soil of the Land of Rain once more, the drizzle gradually grew heavier.
Qiuteng and Yeshan both visibly shuddered, seemingly a stress response.
Even their leader, Weibei Tuisì, took a deep breath.
Bieshu Feifan did not look well either,
he, Bieshu Feifan, had been forced back onto the battlefield of the Land of Rain.
This time, Bieshu Feifan's force had only just arrived at Konoha's camp in the Land of Rain and had not even pitched their tents before they were summoned to assemble in the square.
They stood in orderly ranks alongside the Konoha Shinobi already stationed there,
a full thousand or more.
Standing at the front of the force was a sinister-looking Shinobi.
Bieshu Feifan studied the man carefully,
long, straight black hair, male, pale complexion.
A guess formed in his mind: Orochimaru.
His heart immediately clenched. Following Orochimaru was no good thing.
And this mission looked like it was going to be a decisive battle.
Bieshu Feifan's heart involuntarily began to race. Suddenly, his old patrol missions seemed pretty good.
After they had stood in the rain for over half an hour, another group of Shinobi arrived.
Then the Jōnin all moved to the front of the force, while the Chunin stayed with their cannon fodder.
Bieshu Feifan's squad was in the middle.
This was a good position. Whether they charged or were ambushed, there would be some buffer.
Now that everyone had arrived, Orochimaru did not deliver any stirring speech to rally them,
he merely conferred with the Jōnin at the front,
and then, before Bieshu Feifan even knew where they were going or what they were doing, a Jōnin squad led him away.
"Chunin Weibei, what's our mission?"
Bieshu Feifan really did not want to stumble around blindly, so he asked.
Weibei Tuisì shook his head.
"Don't ask. Just follow, and don't fall behind."
Under the leadership of the many Chunin, the force of over a thousand quickly scattered through the forests of the Land of Rain.
The unknown,
at this moment, in the forest where only rain beat down, gave Bieshu Feifan a sense of eerie stillness.
Just as Bieshu Feifan was worrying, the sounds of fighting and the commotion of ninjutsu came from ahead.
Bieshu Feifan activated his Byakugan and looked toward the sounds,
over a thousand meters ahead, blurry figures were already locked in a chaotic melee.
Weibei Tuisì heard the noise too, then gave Bieshu Feifan a hand signal.
Bieshu Feifan's face immediately darkened,
he should have brushed up on that book of combat hand signals.
Back at school, to better remember the twelve hand seals for performing ninjutsu without getting confused, Bieshu Feifan had neglected his study of combat hand signals.
"Chunin Weibei, what are you trying to say?"
At Bieshu Feifan's words, Weibei Tuisì, Qiuteng, and Yeshan all froze,
and gave Bieshu Feifan strange looks.
Bieshu Feifan's face darkened further.
"Hey, hey, I became a ninja because of my outstanding Will of Fire. I'm not familiar with what they taught at school."
Weibei Tuisì's face darkened too.
"Forget it. Follow me, and kill any enemies you encounter."
With that, Weibei Tuisì stepped forward again.
Bieshu Feifan and the other two visibly hesitated for a moment.
But if they stopped advancing now, they would most likely be dealt with as rogue ninja.
As the squad advanced, the sounds of fighting grew louder, and Bieshu Feifan's heart sank further.
Cold sweat also broke out on the faces of the other two pieces of cannon fodder.
Clearly, none of them wanted to go onto the battlefield.
Just then, Bieshu Feifan frowned. An ominous cloud of mist was drifting toward the right side of their squad.
Bieshu Feifan quietly shifted toward the left side of the squad.
His Byakugan had spotted something wrong with that cloud of mist.
Soon, Bieshu Feifan's squad came across bodies.
Some belonged to Konoha, others to other ninja villages.
Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Amegakure.
There were even Shinobi corpses from who knew where.
It truly was one huge free-for-all.
Ahead, they could already see great masses of Shinobi locked in battle.
Bieshu Feifan swallowed. With his scrawny little limbs, he feared he would die the moment he went in.
But their leader, Weibei Tuisì, charged onto the battlefield with his men without hesitation.
Damn it, I'm screwed! I've got to run!
Bieshu Feifan roared inwardly, but Konoha Shinobi surrounded him, leaving him no chance to flee.
Fortunately, the enemy Weibei Tuisì had picked was a Shinobi from the Land of Rain whose strength was quite ordinary.
Facing Bieshu Feifan and the others in their four-man squad, he could not fight back at all.
But Bieshu Feifan was somewhat dissatisfied.
This Weibei Tuisì killed the Land of Rain Shinobi in just a few moves, then continued charging toward another Land of Rain Shinobi on the right.
Seeing that it was a Land of Rain Shinobi, Bieshu Feifan felt slightly reassured.
A small country like the Land of Rain did not have many Jōnin, and its Chunin were only average in strength. Good, good.
"Surround him!"
Weibei Tuisì shouted, but Bieshu Feifan, Qiuteng, and Yeshan were half a beat slow.
Only after Weibei Tuisì had charged out did the three follow.
Weibei Tuisì noticed what the three were up to, and the corners of his mouth turned down, but he did not lash out.
The Rain ninja was also a Chunin, because nearly all the Genin had already died.
He fought as he retreated, soon withdrawing into the mist on the right.
Only at this close distance did Bieshu Feifan realize that the mist was dark purple and rapidly sweeping toward them.
Bieshu Feifan was startled. Could this be that Ibuse's poison?
He had neither a gas mask nor poison resistance.
Bieshu Feifan immediately planned to turn and leave.
Fortunately, Weibei Tuisì also recognized the poison and shouted:
"Fall back! That's Ibuse's poison!"
Just then, the Rain ninja who had run into the poisonous gas launched a counterattack.
Several blades of water shot out of the poisonous mist, hurtling at tremendous speed toward the three pieces of cannon fodder, Bieshu Feifan, Qiuteng, and Yeshan.
"Damn it."
Weibei Tuisì cursed. He was not confident he could save all three pieces of cannon fodder.
But since the enemy had not attacked him, Weibei Tuisì had no intention of saving them either, fearing that the enemy would seize the opportunity to strike.
Bieshu Feifan had already seen this with his Byakugan and dodged easily.
Surprisingly, Qiuteng and Yeshan also avoided the attack.
Sure enough, those who survived the battlefield were no fools.
But although the two had avoided the water blades, their foreheads were covered in cold sweat.
Had they reacted even half a second later to that attack, they would have died.
Unable to do anything about the Rain ninja inside the poisonous gas, Weibei Tuisì made a hand signal and led his men away.
This time, although Bieshu Feifan still did not understand it,
when it came to running away, he was second to none.
"Come on, let's go help Lord Orochimaru."
The moment Weibei Tuisì spoke, he made people want to punch him.
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