"When will the war finally end?"
Koharu asked softly as she used medical ninjutsu to treat Danzo.
Her eyes were a little dim. Since birth and even after becoming a ninja, this was the first time she had experienced a war.
The peaceful life they once had was gone forever...
To be honest, she really didn't like this kind of life.
War only brought suffering and death.
In just a few days, many comrades from Konoha had lost their lives.
If possible, she hoped the war would end immediately.
That way, they could return to a peaceful life again...
Renya lay on the ground, using his arm as a pillow, gazing up at the deep blue sky.
Hearing this, he turned his head to look at Koharu.
"The war hasn't even started yet. It won't end for a long time to come."
There were only two ways to end this war.
One was for Konoha to subdue the other villages, forcing them to surrender voluntarily.
The other was for Konoha to be defeated...
"Konoha will definitely win!" Shimura Danzo said with firm eyes.
"Danzo is right. We will definitely win!" Koharu's previous gloom lifted, and she clenched her fists excitedly.
Renya looked at the two, full of passion, and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly as he whispered,
"That's the spirit."
Lately, the two had been obviously off their usual state.
Perhaps due to prolonged high alert, their minds were hazy, and their whole bodies listless.
This was probably a chain reaction from experiencing war for the first time. It would be best if they could adjust themselves.
"You two go patrol first. I need to rest," Renya said tiredly as he stood up and found a concealed spot to lie down.
These days, he had hardly rested properly; his body was nearly exhausted.
If he couldn't maintain adequate rest, it would be very dangerous in battle.
Not long after lying down, Renya fell asleep.
Koharu and Shimura Danzo exchanged a glance and continued patrolling through the forest.
They knew Renya was very tired. Of all of them, he had rested the least in the past few days.
They weren't sure if the enemies who infiltrated the border had been wiped out, or if they were hiding somewhere.
During the daytime patrols, they hadn't seen a single enemy, so their work pressure had eased a lot.
By the time Renya woke up, it was already afternoon.
He looked at the setting sun and shook his head helplessly.
"Those two really... didn't even bother to wake me up."
There were twelve hours of daylight, and everyone could rest for four hours.
Renya had slept from morning until afternoon, but neither of the two called him.
This meant Danzo and Koharu sacrificed their own rest time to let Renya rest...
Adequate sleep helped ease Renya's exhausted body.
When he arrived at the team's gathering spot, he saw Koharu carrying a handful of wild fruits in her clothes.
"Renya-kun, you're awake?"
"Try some. These are wild fruits I just found," Koharu handed Renya two of the largest fruits.
"Thanks." Renya took them without hesitation and started eating.
After eating rations for several days, his mouth was almost numb with blandness.
Although the wild fruits didn't taste very good, both of them ate with relish.
"Where's Danzo?" Renya asked.
Koharu handed him another wild fruit.
"He's patrolling the east side. He'll be back soon."
Renya nodded and continued eating.
Not long after, Shimura Danzo arrived at the gathering spot.
"Danzo, come try these wild fruits!" Koharu smiled, pointing to the few fruits on the ground.
Danzo sat cross-legged in front of them.
He looked at the three fruits left on the ground and without hesitation picked up two and handed them to the two.
Koharu quickly waved her hand, explaining,
"Danzo, Renya and I already ate. These are saved just for you."
Danzo looked at them suspiciously, clearly not quite believing their excuse.
"We already ate. You eat them yourself," Renya said.
With Renya's affirmation, Danzo finally started eating.
"Don't do this again in the future..." Renya said quietly.
Shimura Danzo and Koharu were a little stunned but quickly understood what he meant.
"Renya-kun, we didn't encounter enemies during the day, so we wanted you to get more rest," Koharu smiled.
Danzo nodded in agreement.
"You've had the least rest these days. You really should take good care of yourself."
If Renya really wasn't tired, he wouldn't have slept until the afternoon.
Hearing this, Renya fell silent.
Danzo and Koharu were truly thinking about him. This feeling of being cared for by comrades was actually quite nice.
"I've rested enough today. Tomorrow, it'll be your turn," Renya said.
The two nodded, showing no intention to refuse.
Renya stood up, gripping the hilt of his ninja sword with his right hand.
"You two rest a bit longer. I'll go patrol first."
With that, Renya's figure flashed and disappeared.
"Here." Danzo tossed a wild fruit to Koharu.
"Huh?" Koharu instinctively caught it, looking at the fruit with puzzlement.
"Danzo, aren't you going to eat?"
Danzo stood up, dusted off his clothes, and left without looking back.
"Too sour. I don't like it."
Koharu smiled as she watched Danzo walk away.
"So Danzo actually likes sweets."
She carefully put the wild fruit into her ninja tool pouch, planning to eat it later with the rations.
After finishing these tasks, she set off to patrol in the opposite direction.
Night was always full of danger; vigilance was necessary.
In a bush, a Sand ninja wearing a headscarf clenched his fist.
"Damn it, am I the only one left?!"
Originally, twelve Sand ninjas had successfully infiltrated this region of the Land of Fire.
But in just a few days, all contact had been lost.
His secret signal got no response, which meant all his comrades were dead.
The complete loss of his comrades terrified this Sand ninja.
This mission was led by three Jonin, one of whom was a powerful puppeteer!
Now all were missing without a trace. It was obvious they were dead.
If even the Jonin were dead, then this Chunin was even more scared.
He was now stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Continuing deeper into the Land of Fire was surely a death trap, but leaving risked encountering Konoha ninja patrols.
So these days, he hid in bushes, afraid to show himself, terrified of being discovered.
Looking at the rations in his ninja pouch, the Sand ninja breathed a sigh of relief.
With enough supplies, he wouldn't need to worry about survival for a while.
As long as he could hold out until the Konoha ninja left, he would be safe.
Just as the Sand ninja dreamed of the future, a cold, emotionless voice sounded behind him.
"Found you, little rat."
The Sand ninja turned his head in terror and met a pair of crimson eyes.
"Damn it!"
The thought had barely formed when his head was severed from his body.
Renya sheathed his sword, sneering contemptuously.
"You really thought hiding would keep me from finding you?"