Setting out from the entrance of Konoha Village at noon, it would take at least more than ten hours of travel to reach the front lines of the Land of Fire.
By dusk, Hakushi's group of six found a terrain that was easy to defend and hard to attack, where they rested for the night, preparing to depart again at dawn. By the next evening, they should be able to reach the Konoha Camp on the front lines.
This time, the border in the war between Hidden Sand and Konoha's ninja was located where the Land of Rivers met the Land of Fire.
This was a small country situated between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind, its northern part bordering the Land of Rain. While it had some ninja forces of its own, the organized Ninja Village there was too weak, almost unheard of throughout the Ninja Realm.
Thus, in this war, the ninja forces of the Land of Rivers could basically be ignored.
The six people were resting on open ground, but there wasn't much desire for conversation among them.
First, after rushing for most of the day, everyone was already feeling tired and just wanted to get some good marked rest.
Second, the two squads were not particularly familiar with movie each other.
Perhaps Jiraiya and Sakumo had a good relationship, but among Hakushi's team and Minato, there was little connection.
Even if they knew each other, it was just from occasionally hearing the other's name—a nodding acquaintance at best, not even ordinary friends.
"His strength is impressive."
Leaning under a big tree, Hakushi was still frowning, lost in thought about Natural Energy, when Ruri by his side suddenly spoke.
"What?"
Hakushi pulled himself from his thoughts and looked up instinctively.
"That guy doesn't have a single opening on him. Even when resting, he chose to defend on terrain that's easy to guard and hard to attack, and he was the first to assess the situation—which shows his analytical skills are top notch. Even when facing Captain Sakumo, he was neither arrogant nor pushy, unfazed by Sakumo's aura. He's very confident in his own strength."
Hakushi understood who Ruri was talking about: Namikaze Minato on the other side.
Hakushi nodded in agreement with Ruri's assessment.
A ninja personally selected by the Sannin for their side—how could that sort of person be simple?
Moreover, back in Ninja School, he'd already begun to show his prowess, a famous genius throughout the region.
By Hakushi's estimation, Minato's current strength had very likely already reached Jonin level.
"But compared to you, Ruri, he should still be a bit inferior."
Ayane said this with a smile at that moment.
Within Sakumo's squad, Ruri's strength was second only Hell to Captain Sakumo. Add in the Uchiha Clan's powerful bloodline ability, and even most Jonin found it hard to get the better of her.
"You can only know that by actually fighting."
Ruri, though proud, did not think Minato—who could serve by the Sannin's side—was just any typical Jonin.
Still, Ruri was also extremely confident in her own power, especially after mastering Natural Energy. Her Taijutsu alone would be a nightmare even for Jonin-level ninja.
Not to mention, in battle, you always had to watch out for her Sharingan.
All in all, if a real fight did break out, Ruri didn't believe she could possibly lose.
Of course, the other's strength was nothing to scoff at.
If circumstances allowed, she'd really like to test herself against him, but now—at this time and place—it was better to exercise some restraint.
"Alright, it's about time for patrol."
At this future moment, Hakushi stood up, bringing the talk about Minato to a close.
Even if they'd wiped out an elite unit of Hidden Sand on their last mission, and there'd been no reports of any attacks in the Land of Fire recently, they couldn't afford to let their guard down.
Once you stepped out of the village on assignment, you had to be twice as vigilant to prevent any unexpected incident.
Sakumo Squad's patrol duty was always done in pairs.
Hakushi and Ayane would be on duty for the first half of the night; Ruri and Sakumo would take the second half.
Now that it was about dark, Hakushi and Ayane began their first-half patrol, checking the area to see if any enemies were lurking nearby.
Nodding to Ruri, Hakushi and Ayane disappeared from their spot, starting their patrol.
Ruri watched their backs for a moment but said nothing.
For Hakushi's side, patrol was comparatively simple. After all, with Ayane's Byakugan, anything within a five-kilometer radius—even if an enemy came close—would have nowhere to hide from her gaze.
Though the range couldn't match that of a Perception Ninja, Perception Ninjutsu could only determine distance, direction, and the number of targets. Byakugan's 360-degree field of vision, however, could let them know what technique the enemy would use, and let them decide how best to counter to seize the advantage and quickly crush enemy morale.
Thanks to the Byakugan, Konoha had been able to avoid countless carefully laid traps in every war; any kind of enemy ploy or trick was rendered useless.
"This is far enough."
Reaching another stretch of forest, Hakushi stopped walking.
Ayane had already activated her Byakugan—if anyone approached the area, she'd notice instantly.
From here on, they just needed to make their rounds periodically, and the first half of the night's patrol would be done.
Hakushi pulled a slip of paper from his Ninja Tool Bag and handed it to Ayane.
Ayane didn't quite understand, tilting her head in confusion—but she took it anyway and, after looking around and finding nothing unusual, opened the paper.
On it was written—Are there any toads nearby?
"..."
Toads?
Ayane really didn't get why Hakushi was asking that, so she just shook her head slightly.