"Ah, it's so comfortable after a bath."
Ayane walked over from the other side of the woods, wet long hair draped over her shoulders, her skin still glistening with moisture, glowing pale and slightly flushed.
Following behind her was the silent Ruri.
Hakushi glanced at the two of them, quickly pulled a kunai from his Ninja Tool Bag, and said to Ayane and Ruri, "Before you come over, say the password first."
"Password?"
Ayane was momentarily stunned.
Beside her, Ruri's face was expressionless as she began forming seals, chakra gathering in her mouth and then unleashed at once:
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A massive fireball came blasting straight at Hakushi.
Hakushi dove to the side in a scramble, barely dodging the fireball's attack.
Seeing the scorched trees behind him, sweat beaded on his face.
"So, how was my answer to the password?"
Ruri smiled, and seemed ready to unleash a second fireball.
Hakushi stood up, the corner of his mouth twitching. "O-okay. That'll do. It was just a joke, you didn't have to actually hit me with Fire Style, right?"
"Isn't this way more convincing?"
Ruri replied with righteous confidence.
"Yeah, it's a lot more convincing than a simple password..."
Hakushi sighed and rubbed his sore butt.
"Hakushi-kun, you're too much. For a moment, I really thought we'd agreed on some secret password before."
Ayane walked over and said.
Hakushi was just about to speak when Ruri looked around, didn't see Sakumo nearby, and asked, "Where did Sakumo-sensei go?"
"He went looking for food. There's not much left in the backpack. We'll have to resupply at the outpost tomorrow."
Hakushi took out his backpack as he spoke.
"I really want some Ichiraku Ramen. Eating dry rations and wild game all the time out here, I've almost forgotten what ramen even tastes like."
Ayane rubbed her little belly and sat on a rock griping.
"Bear with it. It'll be much better when the war's over."
These days, Hakushi and the others mostly ate cold food, only gathering local ingredients when supplies were running low. Even then, it's simple stuff: fishing in the river, foraging wild greens and mushrooms in the woods, just to supporting themselves.
"Hakushi-kun, why not invent some kind of portable ramen?"
"Soldier Rations Pills are worth considering, but ramen... forget it."
Hakushi shook his head, not availing Ayane's request.
"Alright, let's just eat more at the outpost tomorrow. Just now, did you and Sakumo-sensei notice anything odd here?"
Ruri scanned the line of trees with invariably high alertness.
"No, Sakumo-sensei and I were just chatting about the next Hokage candidate."
Hakushi told the truth.
"Huh, Hakushi-kun, you care about spearheading stuff like that?"
Ayane was a little curious.
Hakushi glanced at Ayane.
"Because Sakumo-sensei is the Jonin closest to the Hokage seat. In another ten years, once the Third grows old, the calls for Sakumo-sensei to become Hokage will probably be the loudest. Even the Sannin would likely come in second. He's the natural pick."
Hakushi analyzed calmly.
Neither Ruri nor Ayane contradicted Hakushi's viewpoint.
That was indeed the case. Konoha's White Fang was now the Jonin with the highest support, above even the Sannin.
"The village is just a country. To move up politically, you need more than just support from the civilians. Sakumo-sensei can't win over the Ninja Clans, and with his personality, he's not suited to being Hokage. Sometimes, prestige is a double-edged sword—it can help you advance but also..."
Ruri leaned against a tree, arms crossed, her expression serious. At the end, she didn't finish her sentence.
As a seed ninja raised by one of the major clans, Ruri wasn't ignorant of politics; she just wasn't interested in it.
Sakumo had enough reputation, strength, and virtue, but support from ordinary people alone was never enough to become Hokage.
In Ruri's eyes, so-called "civilian ninja" were never a unified bloc. Their factions were complicated, and their interests too scattered. Unless someone coordinated them, they'd never become a real force.
In contrast, most ninja clans were already united by common interests. They knew what they were after, what they would gain, what they would give up—their objectives aligned.
"Remember this: Hokage...it's just a boring game of upper-class power shifts. It's got nothing to do with those at the bottom."
Hearing Ruri say such things, Ayane looked a little worried. "Um, Ruri, isn't that kind of harsh? I think only someone recognized by the whole village can be Hokage."
"Are you stupid? If they didn't do it this way, the Hokage's reputation would've been trashed ages ago. You're from a big ninja clan too. Don't tell me, from your status and awareness, you still don't get what really makes a Hokage? As far as I'm concerned, if you have power and the will, the Hokage title is within your reach. Sakumo-sensei just lacks that kind of ambition. That's why he's an outstanding Konoha Jonin, but he's just not cut out to be Hokage."
Ruri wore a confident smile, as if no one could ever find fault with her reasoning.
Ayane puffed her cheeks in protest, looking rather indignant.
"Okay, okay, you two. We're still a long way from picking the next Hokage. For now, the most important thing is finishing the missions we've been assigned here."
Hakushi hurried to play mediator.
He'd figured out Ruri's temperament ages ago.
She didn't really hold Hokage in especially high regard.
She only respected the current Third Hokage—Hiruzen Sarutobi—as a powerful ninja, not for the title itself.
As long as you understood that, it was easy to see that Ruri's mind was remarkably direct and straightforward.
Not long after, Sakumo returned from hunting, coming back with two wild rabbits and some fish—a dinner to be enjoyed that night.
But first, they needed to find a safe place to lie low within the vast forest, hiding their tracks.
◎
The next day, they arrived at the nearest outpost.
It had already been devastated. The buildings were mostly collapsed, and more than ten Konoha Ninja lay on the rubble, blood flowing everywhere.
With Sakumo's squad came a small Anbu team.
This Anbu team consisted of one Squad Leader and three members.
The Squad Leader was a Jonin; the three members included one Special Jonin and two Chunin.
Hakushi was desperately trying to save a Konoha Ninja lying in a pool of blood, whose chest cavity had been blown apart by an Explosive Tag—hovering at death's door.
Yet the man wasn't dead yet; his will to live was remarkably stubborn.
With the outpost buildings leveled, Hakushi could only perform emergency surgery outside. But he couldn't promise the man's survival rate.
By the time they'd arrived, the wounded Konoha Ninja had already missed the best window for surgery.
Whether he survived was up to fate—whether his will could carry him through.
Sakumo and the others didn't interrupt Hakushi's operation, searching instead through those ruins for further traces.
"It was a large-scale Earth Style Ninjutsu that collapsed the outpost buildings straight away. What followed was a sudden ambush. The people here barely had time to react—it was almost a wipeout at first contact."
The Anbu Squad Leader spoke through his mask, giving a concise account after conducting a professional survey.
"One Jonin, six Chunin, eleven Genin—and they couldn't even put up a fight?"
Sakumo's gaze was grim.
"It's very likely the same special Hidden Sand team your squad ran into two months ago."
The Anbu Squad Leader answered.
"Have we confirmed who they are?" Sakumo looked at him.
"Their leaders are a male-female pair of Hidden Sand Jonin: Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law. They're both top experts in Hidden Sand's Puppet Corps. As for the Earth Style Ninja who can so easily split the battlefield, there's no info for now."
Sakumo nodded at the debrief.
Just then, Ayane walked over to report: "Sakumo-sensei, some of the outpost's supplies were taken, and what remained was burned. What should we do next?"
"Let's check the other outposts later. By the way, can we get another Anbu squad dispatched here?"
Sakumo turned to the Anbu Squad Leader.
"Impossible. No matter what, the village always keeps at least two Anbu units. The other one is supporting on the front lines, gathering intelligence from the shadows. Right now, we're the only Anbu team available. Even with the Security Team's help, the village's defenses are already spread dangerously thin."
"In any case, I'd like to see more reinforcements, especially tracking specialists. I know we're short on people, but this isn't the time for hesitation."
"Understood. I'll report to Hokage-sama. Whether we can get more manpower depends on his decision."
"Thanks."
The Squad Leader signaled, and the other three Anbu nodded in understanding, then disappeared using Instantaneous Body Jutsu.
"Will it work, Sakumo-sensei?" Ayane asked.
Sakumo shook his head. He couldn't guarantee the village would send more people to investigate.
With only Ayane's Byakugan, their search range was still too limited.
The enemy also had excellent Perception Ninja, and their anti-recon skills were top-notch. They purposely sought out weakly defended outposts for raids, stirring chaos inside the Land of Fire. Over time, this put enormous pressure on Konoha Ninja at the front.
But the Land of Fire was vast, and that Hidden Sand squad was always moving unpredictably, roaming with no pattern—making the search exceedingly difficult.
Back with Hakushi, he'd finished the operation, now bandaging the wounded's external injuries.
"Hakushi, how is he? Will he wake up?"
"Depends purely on his will to live. I've done all I can."
Hakushi packed away the Medical Ninja kit and put it back in his backpack.
Sakumo patted Hakushi on council.
"You've done all you could. Medical Ninja aren't gods."
For Sakumo's reassurance, Hakushi had nothing left to say.