The Land of Waves, an island nation that doesn't border any major countries, has almost no Ninja.
Coupled with its economic scarcity, this has led to the bad state of lives of its people, who can barely make ends meet.
But now, this country was uncharacteristically lively, with thousands of Hidden Mist Ninja swaggering through the towns and Villages ahead.
Meanwhile, every household had their doors and windows tightly shut, holding their breath and listening to the constant footsteps above, secretly praying for these Ninja to leave quickly.
"Lord Yagura, we will reach the border of the Land of Waves in another fifty minutes."
A Mist Jonin, marching, respectfully spoke to the figure in front of him to his left.
And when the person in front turned his head, it was quite surprising.
He was estimated to be 1.4 meters tall, with a baby face, green hair, purple eyes, and a scar resembling a stitch under his left eye.
He carried a stick-like weapon decorated with green flowers.
Despite his short stature, the Jonin did not dare to underestimate him in the slightest, maintaining a respectful demeanor.
"Have everyone hurry and reach the destination before dark to set up camp."
Yagura said with a serious expression, glancing at the tightly shut houses and streets around him, then gave an order after a moment of thought.
"Don't disturb these civilians; everyone, pay attention."
"Yes, Lord Yagura."
As the Mist Jonin responded, he turned and passed the order down layer by layer, which made some Kirigakure who had ill intentions give up and honestly focus on marching.
After all, the Hidden Mist Village's cruel punishments were well-known throughout the Ninja World; if violated, it was no different from a fate worse than death.
As time passed, only after all the Kirigakure had left did people dare to open their doors and windows, timidly peering out and looking around.
After confirming it was safe, they all let out a sigh of relief.
As everyone stepped out of their homes, the streets gradually became more crowded.
Looking at the distant Hidden Mist army, everyone's eyes were filled with worry and fear of war.
"War, it's about to begin again…"
An old man, bent with age, appeared leaning on a cane, sighing.
He was sixty-three this year; in a world where living past fifty allowed one to call themselves an old man, this elder could certainly be considered "long-lived."
"Village Chief!"
A commotion suddenly arose in the crowd, and then a strong middle-aged man pushed through the crowd and came before the old man, bowing respectfully.
"Grandpa, what should we do next?"
The Village Chief was the old man's grandson, while the old man's son and his wife had both perished during the Second Ninja World War, leaving their child to be raised by the old man.
The old man's cane struck the ground forcefully, his voice filled with solemnity.
"Everyone, leave the Village first; it's no longer safe here.
Let's find another place to continue living…"
At this point, the old man paused, then slowly spoke after surveying the crowd.
"It's better than losing our lives!"
The crowd fell silent.
After a while, everyone returned to their homes and began packing their belongings, preparing to leave this place where war was about to break out.
Although unwilling, what could they do without power?
They could only roar a few times to vent their emotions, then calm down and continue to strive for life and survival.
...
"Wake up, Ren."
Hearing the call in his ear, Ren opened his eyes and found that it was already dark.
Minato Namikaze was sitting beside him, looking at him helplessly.
"Oh, it's already dark."
Ren yawned, patting his face as he spoke to Minato.
"You can sleep even in this situation."
Minato looked at Ren, who was trying hard to wake himself up, with a helpless smile on his face.
After all, it was wartime; lying down and sleeping so leisurely was too relaxed, wasn't it?
"Well, isn't Minato Big Brother here?
By the way, are we almost there?"
After waking up, Ren leaned against the stacked supplies, looking at the increasingly humid environment and sparse vegetation nearby, stating with some certainty.
"That's right."
Minato Namikaze nodded, then said softly.
"At this pace, we'll be there in about half an hour.
After all, we're carrying these supplies; otherwise, we would have arrived two hours ago."
"Understood."
Ren nodded slightly, and just as he was about to say something, his expression suddenly changed.
He immediately turned to look at the nearby jungle, his fingers instinctively moving to his waist.
"Minato Big Brother, I've detected a large-scale unit about eight hundred meters away; their numbers are similar to ours, and…"
Ren narrowed his eyes, his sensory abilities pushed to their limit.
"It seems they've also detected us."
"Everyone, be on alert, prepare for battle!"
Minato Namikaze did not doubt the accuracy of the information but quickly ordered the unprepared unit to take action.
With Minato's command, all the Ninja immediately entered combat readiness.
And under Ren's perception, that unit of Ninja was approaching at the speed of a normal Ninja troop march.
In no time, the distance between the two sides had already narrowed to less than a hundred meters.
"That is…"
A large number of figures began to appear in the jungle, and after clearly seeing the leading figure, Minato Namikaze immediately relaxed his guard.
He looked at Ren, who was wide-eyed beside him, with a wry smile, then waved his hand helplessly as a signal.
"Alert canceled; they are not enemies."
"Minato?"
The leading figure on the opposite side slowly emerged from the jungle, illuminated by the Gekko.
The person's figure was revealed: dressed in Konoha battle attire, with three tomoe slowly rotating in his eyes, looking quite eerie.
"Long time no see, Elder Yusuke."
The person was none other than the Uchiha Clan's Great Elder—Yusuke Uchiha.
And the thousands of figures behind him also revealed themselves, all indeed wearing Konoha uniforms: some with dogs, some with insects, Byakugan, Sharingan, scattered across a large open space.
It was clearly the Konoha family style.
Both sides, upon noticing the other's attire, collectively breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that thousands of people had been tense for nothing, only to encounter their own people.
"Let's merge first."
Minato Namikaze said to Yusuke Uchiha, who then deactivated his Sharingan and nodded slightly to Minato.
"Good!"
Soon, the two teams merged, though the path became somewhat crowded.
However, fortunately, their speed was not significantly affected.
"I truly didn't expect to see you two here, Minato and Ren."
Yusuke looked at the two, a smile also appearing at the corner of his mouth.
After all, the two in front of him had good relations with their Uchiha, so he naturally didn't need to maintain that unapproachable expression anymore.
"Uncle Yusuke, glad to see you well."
Ren also responded with a smile, as it had indeed been a long time since they last met.
The last time Ren returned to the Village, he hadn't encountered Yusuke Uchiha, so he hadn't expected them to meet here.