"Our mission this time is to patrol this area and ensure that no enemy ninja infiltrates the Land of Fire."
On the border of the Land of Fire, Shimura Danzō pointed to a marked region on the map as he spoke.
Lately, the various great nations had been sending ninja squads into the Land of Fire.
As the Hokage, Senju Tobirama naturally had to send his own forces to intercept them.
The Land of Fire was simply too vast. Even though the important areas were guarded by different clans from Konoha, there were still many who managed to slip through.
Renya's team was tasked with eliminating those intruders.
Shimura Danzō put away the map and waited for Renya's command.
"Split up. If you run into danger, fire a signal flare."
Renya looked at the two of them.
"Don't try to be a hero. If you can't win, run. Hold out until backup arrives."
"Understood!" Shimura Danzō and Koharu Utatane responded in unison.
Their patrol range was roughly ten kilometers in diameter, while other areas were being handled by other squads.
They had to keep moving constantly to prevent enemies from blending in unnoticed.
Renya parted ways with the other two and leapt into the treetops, disappearing into the forest.
...
Night fell over the border of the Land of Fire. Renya's figure flitted between the trees, his three-tomoe Sharingan glowing faintly crimson in the dark.
This was his third consecutive day on patrol. The scent of gunpowder still lingered in the air.
"These guys are getting bolder and bolder," Renya muttered quietly.
The first day after arriving had been uneventful—no enemies encountered.
But starting from the second evening, he had been running into enemies trying to sneak into the Land of Fire now and then.
Fortunately, they were all weak and easily dispatched.
Renya had thought things would calm down for a bit. Instead, by the third day, the number of infiltrators had only increased.
Today alone, he had killed no fewer than ten enemy ninja.
They came from Kirigakure, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure. Some even hailed from smaller nations.
It seemed that after Senju Hashirama's death, these people could no longer hold themselves back.
For now, it was only skirmishes at the border, with every nation still testing the waters.
These ninja weren't an actual invasion force—they were scouts, probing Konoha's strength.
Once the probing ended, the real war would begin.
"This kind of probing won't last for more than a few days..."
Perched on a tree branch, Renya took a book out from his cloak and began to read.
He needed to master the theory behind the Flying Thunder God technique before full-scale war broke out. Any spare moment he had, he used to study.
The current situation was only causing light pressure on Konoha.
But once war broke out in full and all the great nations attacked the Land of Fire at once, there would be no time left to study ninjutsu.
Renya wanted to learn as much theory as he could in the limited time available.
The Flying Thunder God technique was almost inhuman in its complexity.
The theory alone was incredibly time-consuming. Even memorizing the contents with the Sharingan wasn't enough—memorizing and understanding were two entirely different things.
He needed to comprehend the technique and understand how to apply it.
It was like learning math—just memorizing formulas wasn't enough. You had to know how to use them to solve problems.
Right now, Renya had memorized the formulas but had no idea how to solve the problems.
This kind of space-coordinate-based ninjutsu was nearly impossible to learn quickly unless you were exceptionally gifted.
Otherwise, why would it be that, after all these years since Senju Tobirama invented the Flying Thunder God, only Namikaze Minato had mastered it?
After a while, Renya yawned, stood up, and resumed his patrol.
Their squad was stationed here for a full month. Only after that would a new squad rotate in.
Rest was done in shifts during the day—two patrolled while one rested, then they rotated.
But at night, no one could rest. Enemies usually moved under the cover of darkness, and the chances of infiltration were much higher at night.
Renya pulled out two soldier pills from his ninja pouch and forced them down.
Soldier pills were commonly used during missions, as they restored chakra and physical stamina, helping maintain peak condition.
They were useful, but they tasted awful.
For someone like Renya who was used to gourmet meals, they were nearly impossible to swallow.
But the situation didn't allow for choices. He couldn't exactly start a campfire and cook in the middle of the forest.
That would only expose his location and bring real trouble…
Just then, Renya's ears twitched. He turned his head sharply toward a distant sound.
Three ninja wearing head coverings were walking toward his position.
Their attire clearly marked them as Sunagakure shinobi.
Because Renya was standing in the treetops, concealed by the night and the thick foliage, they hadn't noticed him overhead.
The three Suna-nin moved swiftly and silently, keeping low to the ground.
The leading jōnin spoke to his comrades,
"We've successfully infiltrated the Land of Fire. Now we lie low and wait for orders from the Kazekage-sama!"
"Yes, sensei!" the two young Suna-nin replied excitedly.
They were fresh genin, and their first mission was to follow this jōnin in infiltrating the Land of Fire.
If they succeeded, they would gain significant merits, which they could exchange for powerful ninjutsu—making them stronger.
The jōnin looked at their excited faces, a flicker of pity flashing in his eyes.
Aside from himself, everyone on this mission was expendable.
When necessary, he could abandon the two and escape.
Trading the lives of two genin to buy time for one jōnin's escape—
That was a worthwhile deal.
In war, genin were just cannon fodder.
Especially those who had only barely become genin in their teens—they were cannon fodder among cannon fodder.
Their only value was in trading their lives for intelligence for the village.
"I hope you two can survive this mission…"
Before he could finish his sentence, Renya's katana had already been drawn three inches from the sheath. A colorless, odorless poison was slowly dripping along the blade's grooves.
The Sunagakure shinobi had no idea that death loomed above their heads.
As they passed beneath Renya's tree, he launched down like an arrow from a bow.
The Suna jōnin sensed the danger and tried to dodge—
But the blade had already sliced across his throat.
He collapsed without even managing a scream.
Warm blood splashed onto the faces of the two young Suna-nin. Their minds went completely blank.
They stood frozen, trembling uncontrollably, their faces twisted with fear.
They had just become ninja. They had never seen such a bloody sight before.
Watching their jōnin leader die before their eyes, they couldn't even muster the will to resist.
"S-Senpai, please spare us!"
They dropped to their knees, sobbing, tears and snot running down their faces.
All of their earlier excitement was gone, replaced with sheer terror.
Only now did the two genin understand the cruelty of the ninja world…
"We don't want to die! Please, we beg you, let us go!"
But the only response was the sound of a blade slicing through the air.
Renya's katana easily pierced both of their throats.
The pleas stopped.
The crimson light of the Sharingan reflected off their twitching corpses.
Renya calmly sheathed his sword, the red fading from his eyes.
"You think you can infiltrate the Land of Fire and still walk away alive? Life's not that easy."
Just then, he heard the sound of battle erupting in the distance.
Renya leapt back into the trees, vanishing into the night like a blur—leaving behind three gradually cooling corpses.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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