The girl named Inuzuka Meko did not seem very talkative. She merely glanced at Higashino Makoto once and then stopped paying attention, instead stroking the head of her beloved dog on her own. Her temperament was completely opposite to that of her future clansman, Inuzuka Kiba.
Hyūga Tokuma, on the other hand, waved and greeted him. "Yo, Makoto, long time no see."
"Long time no see, Tokuma, Muta."
"Mm." Aburame Muta responded with a sound, giving Higashino Makoto a serious look, and then that was the end of it.
It was not that he had any issue with Higashino Makoto; it was simply his personality. In all their years as classmates, Higashino Makoto had never seen him exchange more than a few complete sentences with anyone.
At the same time, you could see him in any class activity, yet he was as quiet as a wooden post. However, if you greeted him, he would always respond promptly.
That was just how their clan was—well known for producing taciturn people.
Seeing the opponent he had always wanted to defeat, Hyūga Tokuma joked, "You finally decided to graduate, huh? I thought you'd stay at the academy for the full six years."
"If circumstances allowed, I actually wouldn't mind staying a few more years."
"The academy can't make our strength grow quickly. Only by becoming formal shinobi can we receive enough training. So, Makoto, after graduating a year late, will you still be that monster who leaves me without any hope of victory?"
Higashino Makoto said in surprise, "You're not thinking of sparring with me right now, are you?"
"How could that be? Do I really lack a sense of priorities that much? But maybe, in this war, we can see who kills more enemies."
"Tokuma!"
"Mm?"
Higashino Makoto looked seriously into his nearly white eyes. "War is not a game. Compared to killing enemies, I would rather you and everyone else make it through alive."
After several seconds of silence, Hyūga Tokuma nodded. "I understand."
At this moment, their team-leading jōnin, Sarutobi Hiyoma, said sternly, "Makoto is right. Don't face war with the same mindset you use for ordinary missions—you will die."
"You must stay on full alert and prevent the enemy from launching a surprise attack—especially when we get close to the battlefield. Our reconnaissance squad is the team's eyes. We cannot relax for even a moment."
"Yes, sensei!" The three members of Tokuma's squad immediately nodded and responded.
...
Among the Five Great Shinobi Villages in the shinobi world, the straight-line distance between Konohagakure and Kirigakure was actually the shortest.
Kirigakure crossed the sea, using the peninsula of the former Land of Whirlpools as its foothold, and invaded the Land of Fire directly from the southeast.
So the so-called Eastern Front would be more accurately described as the Southeastern Front. Unlike the wars in other directions, the Southeastern Front was entirely within the Land of Fire's homeland.
There were no buffer countries between the two sides. The sea served as the buffer, and Konohagakure shinobi clearly would not be foolish enough to run out onto the water's surface to fight Kirigakure. If they did, the other side would hold an entirely advantageous environment.
Therefore, for the support force to reach the southeastern front line, they only needed to cross a little more than half of the Land of Fire.
Because this team has quite a few genin, and in order to preserve stamina to handle unexpected situations, the jōnin leading the team did not have them advance at full speed. They also stopped to rest at intervals to recover their stamina.
This was a steady approach, and the other jōnin would not object.
Higashino Makoto's group departed on time at 9 a.m., and by the afternoon, they were still within the Land of Fire.
It was not until dusk that the advancing Higashino Makoto suddenly stopped.
"Something's up!"
Gekkō Kumomi immediately used a special method to send a signal to nearby companions. Seeing Sarutobi Hiyoma's puzzled look, he gave a light nod.
Very quickly, the entire support force stopped advancing and hid on the spot. After that, several jōnin hurried over, including an adult shinobi from the Hyūga clan.
A jōnin from the Nara clan asked, "What's the situation?"
Higashino Makoto immediately reported, "At our 1 o'clock, there's a lake. There's a chakra reaction there. It's about 4 kilometers away. Headcount… fifteen people."
Upon hearing this, the adult shinobi of the Hyūga clan immediately activated the Byakugan, abandoning the near-360-degree field of view and concentrating their vision in the direction Higashino Makoto had indicated.
The long-range sight of the Hyūga clan's Byakugan varied from person to person. Depending on purity and strength, the distance one could see also differed.
The purest Byakugan princess of the main family, Hyūga Hinata, at around sixteen years of age, could see beyond ten kilometers when focusing her vision in a single direction.
However, there were no main-family members here. Hyūga Tokuma had not even activated his Byakugan like the others of his clan. Perhaps he had already opened it but had not yet learned the technique of concentrating his vision in a single direction to extend its range, after all, he was only nine years old.
The adult Hyūga shinobi could clearly do this. Even if he could not see beyond ten kilometers, four kilometers was still within his range of vision.
After observing, he said to several colleagues beside him, "They are Kiri shinobi—fifteen in total. Three are by the lakeside and seem to be preparing some kind of ritual. The remaining twelve are scattered around the perimeter on guard."
"Additionally, there is a restless mass of chakra spreading through the center of the lake area. Perhaps these Kiri shinobi are plotting something. What should we do, Captain Suzaku?"
The jōnin named Nara Suzaku was the commander of this support force. This was the Land of Fire, and he was familiar with the lake ahead; its area was relatively small.
After brief consideration, he said, "No matter what those bastards are planning, we definitely can't let them run wild in the Land of Fire. In terms of numbers, the advantage is on our side."
"Pass on my order: assemble the jōnin and chūnin to surround them. Each genin squad will be responsible for the outer perimeter. The requirement is that not a single enemy is allowed to escape."
"Yes!"
No one raised any objections. Once the orders were conveyed, the entire support force immediately moved, advancing toward the target in an encircling formation.
Including Gekkō Kumomi and Sarutobi Hiyoma, no one worried about the safety of the genin on the outer perimeter. If so many of them could not eliminate fifteen Mist shinobi, it would mean the enemy's strength far exceeded expectations.
If that were the case, whether the genin squads' leaders were present or not would make no difference—they would be doomed anyway.
Before long, as the encirclement tightened, the Kiri shinobi at the lakeside—who were busy with something unknown—finally realized that something was wrong.
It seemed that there were also shinobi among them who had some grasp of sensory techniques, but their sensing range was likely quite limited, probably not exceeding one kilometer.
There are very few people in the shinobi world with ultra-long-range sensory abilities. The Uzumaki clan once had Kagura's Mind Eye, but they have been completely wiped out, and the next person who might possess that ability—Karin—may not even have been born yet.
Perception of a nonhuman level like Senju Tobirama's is even rarer.
As for the rest—those who fight with dogs, those who use insects, and those with the Byakugan—almost all of them are gathered in Konohagakure. No wonder the other shinobi villages are constantly filled with envy, jealousy, and resentment toward Konoha.
After realizing that they had been surrounded, the Kiri shinobi reacted decisively. They immediately destroyed the ritual scrolls completely, and then… turned around and killed the three companions who had been responsible for the ritual, even attaching explosive tags to their heads and blowing them up.
This maneuver left the three adult Hyūga shinobi observing from different directions completely stunned. The fight had not even started yet, and they had already killed their own teammates as a sacrifice. Was this how ruthless Kiri shinobi were?
When they reported what they had seen, it only strengthened the Konoha shinobi's conviction that the other side had some unspeakable purpose. It seemed that, if necessary, they would have to leave a few enemies alive—or at least preserve some intact heads.
As the distance between the two sides closed, the remaining twelve Kiri shinobi immediately joined forces to activate Water Release: Hiding in Mist Technique. With the advantage of being near the lake and having a water source, thick chakra-laden mist spread outward in all directions.
Water Release: Hiding in Mist Technique is an extremely convenient D-rank ninjutsu. Every Kiri shinobi knows it, and it allows them to create favorable battlefield conditions for themselves.
The prerequisite is not running into Wind Release.
But that was impossible. Several Wind Release users in the support force stepped forward, and a combined C-rank Wind Release: Great Breakthrough blew the dense mist straight into the sky.
Sunagakure specializes in Wind Release, Iwagakure specializes in Earth Release, and Kumogakure specializes in Lightning Release. Only Konohagakure has every type of release, capable of meeting the needs of any opponent.
The twelve Kiri shinobi had never expected the mist technique to achieve much in the first place. It was merely a feint. After casting it, everyone took the opportunity to begin scattering and attempting a breakout.
Their main route of retreat was toward the lake, since water made them feel somewhat safer.
However, Nara Suzaku had already anticipated this. The largest number of shinobi were coming from the lake side, and the two sides quickly collided. The battle erupted instantly.
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