A gesture of unclear meaning

They headed out on a mission.

But Uchiha Kun had accepted the mission, and Bieshu Feifan and the other two had no idea what exactly they were supposed to do.

Uchiha Kun had no intention of explaining in detail, either.

As far as he was concerned, his three teammates would be no help to him at all.

Especially Bieshu Feifan, a thing whose specialty was Expounding the Will of Fire. He really had no idea why the Third Hokage had let someone like that graduate.

The four passed through a stretch of forest, encountering several groups of Konoha ninja returning from the front along the way. All were severely wounded, missing at least an arm or a leg.

The sight left the two newcomers, Bieshu Feifan and Omori, trembling.

Omori was simply afraid.

Bieshu Feifan, meanwhile, worried that he would end up like that too, or even remain here forever.

"Where are we? And where are we going?"

After a long while, Omori finally could not bear the oppressive atmosphere anymore and spoke, breaking the grim silence.

But the moment Omori asked, Uchiha Kun and Shimura Daio both looked at him as though he were an idiot.

Their looks made Omori deeply uneasy.

"I really don't know! Nobody told me where we were going!"

Bieshu Feifan had not intended to speak, but after hearing Omori, he could not resist complaining too.

"Nobody actually told us where we were going. Lord Hokage just sent us straight to the battlefield with the Jōnin and Chunin."

Uchiha Kun shook his head in disappointment.

"This is the Land of Rain. You're both so stupid. Can't you tell from the weather? No wonder you've only just become Genin. I, Uchiha Kun, have already been a Genin for three years. Hmph, hmph."

At that, Uchiha Kun even lifted his chin.

None of the other three responded to Uchiha Kun. After another stretch of silence, Shimura Daio spoke again.

"Going by the usual procedure, we should be relieving the Shinobi stationed at the front. Judging by our direction, we'll probably be facing Sunagakure next."

"You're a little smarter, unlike those two. One specializes in shuriken throwing,

"and the other...

"Hahaha, specializes in Expounding the Will of Fire~~ Hahaha.

"But don't get cocky. You aren't necessarily all that smart, either. You're probably just older."

Uchiha Kun's mouth was as obnoxious as ever, but none of the three paid him any attention.

Hearing that they would be facing Sunagakure again really gave Bieshu Feifan a headache.

Those Sunagakure ninja had far too many puppets, making them extremely unpleasant to fight.

Their weapons were poisoned, too.

Following Uchiha Kun, and led by that unnamed Chunin, the five squads reached a dilapidated camp without incident.

This was to be Bieshu Feifan and the others' temporary frontline camp.

It was dilapidated and desolate, with faint bloodstains on the ground and several Sunagakure ninja corpses not far away.

The moment they arrived, they heard the groans of the wounded.

There were also Konoha ninja on patrol.

Each squad consisted of a Chunin in a vest leading several young Genin with hollow eyes.

Bieshu Feifan frowned. Across two lifetimes, this was his first time on a battlefield, and things were even worse than he had imagined.

"You newcomers, hurry over and help."

The four had only just reached the front and had not even familiarized themselves with the situation before the Chunin in charge called them over and took them out on patrol.

None of the five squads got any rest. They started their assignments immediately.

Uchiha Kun seemed accustomed to this and did not answer the Chunin.

He merely turned to beckon Bieshu Feifan and the other two, then began patrolling with practiced ease.

Shimura Daio did the same, expertly checking anything suspicious along their route.

Bieshu Feifan and Omori, on the other hand, were textbook cannon fodder rushed into service before they were ready, not even qualified to be Genin.

The two practically just ran along behind them, avoiding explosive tags through sheer luck.

Bieshu Feifan was doing all right. Since absorbing Hyūga Shupi's Byakugan ocular power earlier, he had learned to use it proficiently and could activate his eyes from time to time to check for ambushes within several hundred meters.

Omori had it much worse. He truly had no scouting methods whatsoever and could only run around in trepidation.

Although the Ninja Academy had taught them how to scout and patrol on a battlefield,

the problem was,

those with better grades had already become cannon fodder ahead of them.

Someone like Omori, who had only now learned one of the Three Basic Jutsu and become a Genin, would be a poor student at any time.

Taking advantage of the temporary lack of danger, Bieshu Feifan hurriedly drew a kunai and cut off a straight branch, then tied another kunai to it to make a long spear.

"Hey, you, the one who specializes in the Will of Fire. What are you doing?"

Uchiha Kun noticed Bieshu Feifan's actions and frowned slightly.

"Focus on patrolling. Don't cause me trouble."

Omori and Shimura Daio also looked curiously at Bieshu Feifan.

Bieshu Feifan immediately explained:

"This is a long spear. You can call it a lance, too. Every inch of reach gives you an inch of advantage. I'm contributing to Konoha."

Uchiha Kun gave a contemptuous laugh.

"Ignorant brat. For Shinobi, it's speed, strength, and ninjutsu that matter. Killing the enemy as fast as possible is the right approach."

"And you're using a cumbersome weapon like that? Heh. Bieshu Feifan, was it? You're interfering with my mission."

As he spoke, Uchiha Kun's gaze grew dangerous, and anger gradually crept across his face as he looked at Bieshu Feifan.

"Captain Kun, I'm a Will of Fire Shinobi personally appointed by Lord Hokage. Are you dissatisfied with Lord Hokage's orders? Are you targeting me, an inheritor of the Will of Fire, because Lord Hokage isn't from your Uchiha Clan?"

Uchiha Kun had genuinely thought the spear was not portable enough and really would affect a Shinobi's speed.

But when Bieshu Feifan leveled such a weighty accusation at him, his temper instantly fizzled out.

He could not think of an answer and ultimately remained silent with a dark expression.

And so, the little disturbance subsided for the time being.

Bieshu Feifan broke into a cold sweat from fright. Fortunately, he had managed to bluff Uchiha Kun.

Although Bieshu Feifan was somewhat afraid of Uchiha Kun, he considered the spear the best weapon for him. This was a matter of life and death, and he was unwilling to abandon it just because Uchiha Kun said so.

But Bieshu Feifan was not simply acting recklessly, either.

With the Byakugan to observe his surroundings, he could spot targets in advance, then thrust his spear at most once before running away.

So the spear would not actually affect Bieshu Feifan's fighting, because he had no fighting ability to begin with.

As Uchiha Kun led them onward on patrol, Shimura Daio secretly gave Bieshu Feifan a thumbs-up.

Omori, meanwhile, wore a calm expression, and there was no telling what he was thinking.

As the squad continued patrolling, a sudden explosion sounded not far off to their right.

Uchiha Kun hurriedly stopped and made a hand signal to the other three.

He was met with silence.

A moment passed.

"What's the captain gesturing?"

Omori, a poor student in every sense of the word, could not understand Uchiha Kun's hand signal at all and finally asked his two teammates.

"It means, 'Quiet. Follow me.'"

Once again, Shimura Daio provided the explanation.

Uchiha Kun's face darkened.

Looking at Omori and Bieshu Feifan, whose specialty was Expounding the Will of Fire, he lost the last shred of hope he had.

These two might genuinely be idiots.

Uchiha Kun led the three as they quickly crept toward the explosion.

Then they saw that one of the patrol squads that had come with them was fighting a Sunagakure squad with the same composition.

The leader on the Sunagakure side was also a standard Genin, with a puppet, locked in an evenly matched fight with the Genin leading the Konoha side.

The Konoha squad's lead Genin had already mastered the Three Basic Jutsu and was holding his own against Sunagakure's puppet.

Then there were the other Genin on both sides, all children of around ten, working hard to demonstrate what a fight between weaklings looked like.

From a distance, it looked like gangsters brawling with daggers.

At the sight, Uchiha Kun grinned and made another hand signal to his three teammates.

There was no movement behind him.

Uchiha Kun looked back, only to find Bieshu Feifan and Omori exchanging bewildered looks.

"The captain means for us to cover him and make sure the surrounding area is safe."

Once again, Shimura Daio provided the explanation.

And once again, Uchiha Kun's face darkened.

But this did not affect Uchiha Kun's actions. As Shimura Daio led the two idiots in keeping watch over their surroundings, a red gleam flashed in his eyes, and he instantly charged at the three Sunagakure weaklings.

Bieshu Feifan, who had long since confirmed with his Byakugan that they were safe, kept his attention on Uchiha Kun the entire time.

The instant Uchiha Kun activated his eyes, desire flared in Bieshu Feifan's heart.

The Sharingan. I really want it.

The Uchiha Clan's fighting ability was indeed astonishing. He killed all three weaklings, who were on the same level as Bieshu Feifan, in a single second.

Only when they were struck did the three Sunagakure Genin realize someone had ambushed them.

Seeing Uchiha Kun's performance made Bieshu Feifan want to go gouge out his eyes right away even more.