Chapter 238: War breaks out

The Land of Grass is a small nation located northwest of the Land of Fire.

Unlike the Land of Rice Fields and the Land of Rivers that Muzuki had visited before, the Land of Grass not only has its own Ninja Village, the Grass Ninja Village, but it is also considered one of the stronger small nations in the Ninja World.

However, the Land of Grass’s awkward location meant its limited strength had no opportunity to be displayed.

The Land of Grass borders four nations in total: two small nations and two great nations.

The two bordering small nations are the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Rain. The Land of Waterfalls is to the northeast of the Land of Grass, and due to its unique terrain, the Land of Grass has no way to expand into it. The Land of Rain, however, is easier to approach, with half of the Land of Grass’s land bordering it. But the Land of Rain is the strongest Ninja Village below the Five Great Ninja Villages, its strength too formidable to conquer.

The two bordering great nations are the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire. There’s even less to say about them; they simply cannot be provoked and can only humble themselves as subordinates.

During the Second Shinobi World War, the Amegakure had already proven the might of the Five Great Ninja Villages to the Ninja World. Even if there was a chance for a top-tier fight, on other levels, smaller Ninja Villages would simply be crushed by the Five Great Ninja Villages, ultimately leading to defeat.

As a small nation, the Land of Grass’s survival strategy was to support whoever was winning, so Konoha, which consistently won, became its steadfast ally.

Of course, the Land of Grass could not fully side with Konoha. While acting as Konoha’s subordinate, it would also show goodwill to Iwagakure, to avoid being conveniently dealt with during a war.

Although the Land of Grass tried its best to mediate, it still couldn’t avoid becoming a battlefield for the great nations’ clashes, because its geographical location was too advantageous.

Currently, the Land of Grass is the best, if not the only, battlefield for Iwagakure and Konoha to engage in combat.

Actually, the Land of Rain’s location is even better, but precisely because it’s better, it’s also more troublesome. If Iwagakure were to attack the Land of Fire through the Land of Rain, it would not only have to face the not-weak Amegakure but also arouse the apprehension of the Land of Wind, as the Land of Rain also borders the Land of Wind.

Iwagakure has no intentions towards the Land of Wind, so although the Land of Rain’s location is better, for them, the Land of Grass is the optimal route to invade Konoha.

Perhaps because the frontline situation was good, this escort mission went exceptionally smoothly. They didn’t encounter a single attack along the way, not even common bandits.

Muzuki thought about it and realized that ordinary bandits, seeing such a large convoy, would surely assume that Ninja guards would be hired if they used their brains even a little.

Of course, it could also be because during wartime, bandits didn’t dare to wander around recklessly, for fear of getting caught in Ninja battles.

“Hey, there haven’t been any enemies for so long. Could it be that Kakashi was right this time?” Obito sat on top of the carriage, looking around, but saw no sign of enemies, saying with some disappointment.

“I told you, before it was just bad luck. It’s impossible for there to be accidents four times in a row,” Kakashi said calmly.

He felt this was normal; this was how a C-Rank Mission should be. The previous times were truly unexpected accidents. The first and third times, calling them S-rank Missions wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

One time, two Jonin appeared, and another time, a Raikage candidate appeared. It was so exaggerated that Kakashi even wondered if he truly brought bad luck.

“How about a race full of youth and passion?” Might Guy enthusiastically invited.

“I refuse,” Kakashi immediately declined. During a mission, he didn’t want to engage in such meaningless physical exertion.

“Let’s not,” Obito also rejected Might Guy’s suggestion, because he felt he couldn’t win at all.

Obito wasn’t very keen on participating in such a meaningless competition that he was sure to lose.

If it were Kakashi challenging him, Obito would be very happy to accept.

“That’s truly a pity,” Might Guy said with a look of regret, then jumped off the carriage and ran at the same speed as the carriage.

Muzuki didn’t stop Might Guy. That amount of exercise was nothing to Might Guy, merely a warm-up.

Moreover, after leaving Konoha, Muzuki would occasionally activate a sensing Ninjutsu to ensure there were no enemies around.

If he could maintain the Byakugan’s activated state for a long time, it wouldn’t be so troublesome, but that would consume too much Chakra, making it very inefficient.

Since there were no enemies, a bored Obito went around chatting with the people in the supply convoy. They talked about everything: work, life, and family were all within the scope of their conversations.

“How much money do you get for completing a single commission?” Obito asked curiously.

“Commission?” The worker who was asked was initially a bit confused, then realized Obito might be asking about their wages.

“When there’s a lot of work, it might be seven thousand Ryo a month, usually around five thousand Ryo,” the worker thought for a moment and replied.

“Do you work very few hours each month? How is it only five thousand Ryo a month?” Obito scratched his head, asking in confusion.

The minimum reward for a D-Rank mission is five thousand Ryo, and such D-Rank mission rewards, which are at the lowest amount, are tax-free. Muzuki still divided the reward equally, so Obito could earn five thousand Ryo by doing four D-Rank missions, which usually only takes an afternoon.

Obito’s words silenced the worker, who for a moment didn’t know how to answer.

Did they work very few hours? Of course not. They basically worked every day, but sometimes when the pay was higher, they were busy day and night.

“Of course, we ordinary people can’t compare to you Ninja-samas,” the worker finally said.

This was the disparity in the world. The cost of purchasing Ninja tools each month for a Ninja might be an expense that an ordinary family would struggle to meet in a year.

Obito somewhat didn’t understand the difference, why there was such a huge gap. He couldn’t figure it out.

When the convoy reached the border of the Land of Fire and was about to enter the Land of Grass, Muzuki had his disciples return to the carriages to be on alert.

“Next, we will be entering the Land of Grass. The Land of Grass is currently very dangerous, and you need to maintain sufficient vigilance at all times,” Muzuki reminded them with a serious expression.

“Thousands of Ninja are currently fighting in this country; anything could happen.”

Then, Muzuki spent half an hour lecturing, explaining the cruelty of war to his disciples.

Muzuki was capable of protecting himself and his three disciples in war, but he didn’t want Obito and the others to underestimate war because of it.

Any war is cruel, sacrificing many people and destroying many beautiful things.

Even the most boisterous Obito now showed a cautious expression, not uttering any words of doubt.

After entering the Land of Grass, it was as if the air itself gained a sense of grimness, and the environment along the road also began to change.

Muzuki and his group gradually started encountering Ninja, but they were either allied Konoha Ninja or Ninja from the Land of Grass.

Based on the atmosphere of the appearing Ninja, Muzuki guessed that the situation was still good; otherwise, the Ninja’s expressions would be even more serious.

“Am I finally going to have my first normal C-Rank Mission?” Muzuki thought to himself.

Having completed three C-Rank Missions but with no C-Rank completion records on their resume, their team was truly unique.

As they got closer to their mission destination, the more Ninja Muzuki sensed through his sensing Ninjutsu.

So Muzuki switched to using his Byakugan, because sensing Ninjutsu could only sense Chakra, while the Byakugan could directly see who the people were.

Every hour, Muzuki would activate his Byakugan to look around. All Ninja within a 1.5-kilometer radius had nowhere to hide from Muzuki’s Byakugan.

Finally, the supply convoy led by Muzuki arrived at Konoha’s camp on the Land of Grass battlefield without a single attack.

“Muzuki, why are you on the battlefield?” Seeing a somewhat familiar figure, Minato asked with some surprise.

In Minato’s understanding, it was impossible for Muzuki to be here, because Muzuki was a teacher, and it was still the time for Ninja Academy.

Unless Konoha was at a life-or-death moment, they wouldn’t send an excellent Ninja Academy teacher like Muzuki to the battlefield.

“I’m an intern teacher, you see. Actually, it’s pretty much like a Jonin in charge of a squad. This time, I’m leading the students to execute a C-Rank war mission,” Muzuki explained with a smile.

“I see, a logistics mission.” Minato looked at the supply convoy over there and roughly guessed what kind of mission Muzuki had taken.

“Muzuki, try to keep your students in the camp and don’t let them wander off. Iwagakure hasn’t made a move for two weeks, they might be planning a major offensive,” Minato reminded him. This camp was considered the rear of the front line, very safe.

He knew that two of Muzuki’s team were Ninja Academy students, so he was a bit worried.

“We won’t run around,” Obito felt underestimated.

“That’s for the best. Only by obeying your teacher’s commands can you become excellent Ninja,” Minato didn’t mind Obito’s words, instead responding with a kind smile.

“This guy really looks like Teacher Muzuki when he smiles,” Obito couldn’t help but inwardly complain, and his conjecture about Muzuki and Minato being long-lost brothers couldn’t help but resurface.

“It seems this mission won’t have any surprises,” Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief.

Arriving here already meant the mission was complete. All they had to do now was unload the supplies, rest for a bit, and then they could return to Konoha.

Crack!

Suddenly, an explosive sound rang out, and a flare shot up in the distance, blooming.

Rumble!!!

Immediately following was a violent explosion, the blaze so intense that it could be seen clearly even from a great distance.

“Damn it, Iwagakure has launched a large-scale surprise attack!” Minato’s expression turned serious.

That signal just now was Konoha’s highest-level alert signal on the battlefield. All Konoha Ninja who saw it had to prepare to join the fight.

Kakashi looked at the signal in the sky with a stunned expression. Even Ninja Academy students would know what that signal meant.

“Do I really bring bad luck?” Kakashi felt a little unsure of himself. As soon as they arrived at the battlefield, the highest-level alert signal was fired.

Muzuki was also a bit surprised; he also knew the meaning of this signal.

“Who could the enemy be? The Third Tsuchikage? It shouldn’t be that serious. Could it be…” Muzuki’s eyes flickered, guessing the main combat force of Iwagakure’s attack this time.

I’m not feeling well today, so there’s only one chapter. I’ll post more tomorrow depending on my condition.