Night.
Team Kurenai and Team One did not continue their journey. Instead, they stopped to rest in an unnamed forest in the northwest of the Land of Fire.
A campfire burned steadily, sparks dancing above the crackling wood.
The red glow reflected on the faces of Yūhi Kurenai and Bai Xing, who were responsible for the latter half of the night watch.
The forest was silent. In the unseen gaps between the trees, darkness seemed to press in around the campfire.
Nearby, the other four were sleeping soundly in their outdoor sleeping bags, unusually relaxed.
"Genin Bai Xing,"
Kurenai said suddenly.
"May I ask you a question?"
She poked at the fire with a branch, shifting the leaves and twigs weighing it down, and continued calmly:
"Why do you insist on disguising yourself as a genin?"
Bai Xing, who had been slightly drowsy, instantly widened his eyes. But in the next moment, his expression turned sorrowful, and he gently shook his head.
"Jōnin Kurenai, you might not know my situation well enough."
"If I truly could avoid mistakes, I wouldn't still be stuck at the genin rank."
"Who in the village doesn't want to become a chūnin?"
Without official chūnin certification, one could never enter the village's core. Even academy instructors or exam proctors required at least a chūnin rank.
It also represented how much trust the village placed in you.
Kurenai glanced at the boy, then returned her gaze to the fire.
"With chakra control as perfect as yours, mistakes in ninjutsu shouldn't happen at all."
"But what I've seen from you feels like a false performance—like something inside a genjutsu."
During the day's travel, Kurenai had hardly slowed down at all. When they reached their resting spot, aside from Bai Xing, only Nawaki still had stamina. Shiranui Kumo, Might Dai, and Yūhi Shinku were all trembling with exhaustion.
Bai Xing had used Life Return to force sweat out of his body, his black eyes showing clear fatigue.
However—
From a jōnin's careful observation, Bai Xing had only entered that state in the last two or three minutes before arrival.
Bai Xing smiled helplessly.
"Thank you for the compliment, Jōnin Kurenai. But whether a genjutsu is false or not depends on the caster's ability."
"Just like the Kurama clan's bloodline ability—
they can turn false illusions into reality."
"You know quite a lot," Kurenai said, slightly surprised. "Even though the Kurama clan, like the Yūhi clan, has fallen into decline."
"Then what do you think of the Yūhi clan?"
"Not bad," Bai Xing replied.
"But not good enough."
"Overall, compared to the Kurama clan with awakened bloodline limits, it's still inferior."
"That's true," Kurenai sighed.
"It's just a pity that no one in the Kurama clan has awakened that bloodline anymore."
"Before long, they'll probably disband completely and fully merge into the village."
Maintaining a clan required funds. Aside from the major clans, smaller clans relied on cultivating talent in various fields to generate income and sustain internal order.
The Senju had once been a great clan, but they disbanded, distributing most of their resources and leaving only their ancestral estate for the remaining members.
The major clans now were the Uchiha, Hyūga, Nara, Yamanaka, Akimichi, and the later-rising Sarutobi, Shimura, Mitokado, and Utatane families.
Smaller ninja clans included Inuzuka, Aburame, Shiranui, Tsukigata, Hatake, Morino, Aoba, Yamashiro, Kurama, and Yūhi.
Families like the Kitada siblings—both ninjas—weren't considered ninja clans at all. They were just relatives after clan lands had been scattered, with no clan protection, forced to survive on their own in the village.
At present, the Mitarashi, Katō, and even the Yūhi clan were preparing to disperse their members.
Clan estates were land allocated by the village, granting clans the right to freely build within them—but they had to pay annual property taxes.
Private homes didn't have that issue. Lose them and they were gone.
But clan estates, even if destroyed, would be reallocated land—thoughthough reconstruction still came out of the clan's own pocket.
Moreover, clan leadership had to distribute supplies and cultivate their members.
Without talent to shoulder the clan's future, disbandment was inevitable.
Lost in memories of his childhood, Kurenai recalled a time when he wasn't yet the clan head. Back then, he hadn't understood why his father dismissed clan members without ninja talent.
Only after growing up did he understand his father's苦心.
"What do you think of Shinku?" Kurenai asked suddenly.
"I heard you're still single…"
At that, Bai Xing's expression instantly turned serious. He sprang to his feet with a whoosh, twisting around to scan the surrounding darkness.
"I think I heard the sound of a trap being triggered! Please excuse me while I go check!"
Kurenai: "..."
Watching Bai Xing's obviously theatrical movements—and his disappearing figure melting into the darkness—Kurenai could only smile wryly.
Perhaps… Shinku's fate with you hasn't arrived yet.
The calm, azure sea stretched endlessly under the sky. Two wooden boats were steadily making their way toward the Land of Whirlpools.
Two ferrymen, earning their living this way, rowed with all their might.
—A one-way trip cost only a thousand ryō.
Two boats meant two thousand ryō.
In wartime, that was cheap.
"We'll only take you as far as the Land of Whirlpools," one ferryman said worriedly.
"If we encounter ninjas on the way, please protect us."
On the boat, Kurenai smiled gently, reassuring him.
"Kirigakure of the Land of Water and Kumogakure of the Land of Lightning haven't joined this war."
"The route to the Land of Whirlpools is relatively low-risk, both by sea and land."
"So please rest easy. Even if we encounter rogue ninjas or pirates, we'll handle it."
Beside her, Yūhi Shinku nodded enthusiastically, pride in her voice.
"My teacher is a jōnin of Konoha~!"
She then patted her precious chūnin flak jacket, lifting her chin slightly.
"And I'm a chūnin of Konoha~!"
"Then I'm relieved," the ferryman said with a simple smile.
"But such a young chūnin—that's really rare."
"Of course," Shinku replied smugly.
On the other boat, the ferryman curiously asked about Team One. Hearing that they were all genin, his expression showed some disappointment.
Bai Xing leaned against the side of the boat, the salty sea breeze brushing his face. His gaze swept across the calm sea ahead and around them, unease growing in his heart.
—It was too smooth.
It felt like being invited straight into a trap.
During the two days of travel, they had encountered border patrols who reported no issues, stating that Konoha's sea outposts had detected no movements from the Land of Water.
So Team Kurenai and Team One arrived at a coastal village, asking if anyone was willing to act as ferrymen. Several experienced fishermen volunteered immediately, and two were selected.
The goal was to conserve stamina. Ninjas couldn't rely on chakra nonstop while traveling—if they ran dry and met an enemy, that would be disastrous.
Especially at sea.
At that moment, the weather over the ocean began to change.
The air turned damp and heavy. A pale white mist slowly crept into view, obscuring the surroundings and making the sea hard to see.
The boats continued forward. The Konoha ninjas grew more alert but didn't overreact—weather on the sea was notoriously fickle.
"Why is fog forming at this time?"
"It usually isn't foggy when we row through here…"
The ferryman's muttering struck Bai Xing and Yūhi Kurenai like a thunderbolt.
If an Uchiha with an activated Sharingan were present, they would see that this seemingly ordinary sea fog was saturated with Water Release chakra.
"Ninjutsu—Hidden Mist Technique!" ×N
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