Traveling is a very monotonous task, but when you stop to rest, eat, and replenish your strength, it is a pleasant experience.
"Rest for one hour, eat and replenish your strength." Without even a drop of sweat, White Fang, who was leading, squatted on a tree trunk, made a hand gesture, and then spoke.
Miki and the other two stopped, but they didn't gather together.
"Byakugan!" Hitomi let out a clear cry and observed the surroundings with her Byakugan.
"Very good, it seems you haven't let your guard down," White Fang said.
"Isn't this common sense we learned in school?" Hitomi said, "What's so good about it? No situation, everything is normal."
Hitomi deactivated her Byakugan.
After she spoke, Miki and the other two simultaneously landed from the tree.
"However, you're being too cautious," White Fang said, "We haven't left Konoha's territory yet, and the vicinity is safe."
"The Land of Fire is full of forests. When you can't see obvious woodland, you're almost out of the Land of Fire's range."
"There's always a 'what if'," Miki looked at White Fang and said, "Details determine success or failure."
"You're right." With that, White Fang lifted his mask, revealing his mouth, and said, "It's time to eat. You didn't forget to bring supplies, did you?"
"Wow, you did that on purpose, didn't you? You never mentioned it," Hitomi said, "dog senior is really mean-spirited."
"Isn't this common sense?" With that, White Fang pulled out his ninja tool pouch, took out a few military rations, and put them in his mouth to chew.
"Hmph, of course we have common sense," Hitomi said, "Military rations? You're not just eating that, are you?"
"I'll also drink water." With that, White Fang unhooked his water bottle and said, "Military rations with water, that's an old tradition, and it's quite good."
"That's because you're used to it!" Hitomi said, "I won't eat it like that. Military rations are too unappetizing."
"How can you say that? It's just a bit dry," White Fang said, "It's rich in various nutrients, has thirst-quenching dried plums, can quickly relieve hunger, and replenish stamina. The seniors all say it's good, it's just that eating too much makes you bloated, and also..."
White Fang looked at the three girls, hesitated, and after a moment of internal struggle, said, "It's not very good for bowel movements."
"Are we going to eat this three times a day during the mission?" Chiri asked curiously.
She subtly changed the subject.
"In principle, open fires are not allowed," White Fang said, "to prevent our position from being exposed."
"But..." White Fang scratched his head and said, "After all, we're outside the Village, and no one is watching. You won't secretly go back and report us, will you?"
"No way!" Hitomi said, "So, what do we eat in the wild?"
White Fang scratched his head and said, "Whatever we can find."
"What a tough Anbu life," Hitomi said weakly, "My illusions are shattered."
"What did you think Anbu was?"
"Mysterious, powerful, coming and going like the wind, accompanied by death?" Hitomi said, "I never expected Anbu to be like this, not elegant at all."
White Fang scratched his head and said, "Want some military rations? I brought a lot."
"No, thanks." Hitomi shook her head and said, "I'll see if there are any cute little guys nearby."
With that, she prepared to activate her Byakugan.
"Hitomi, there's not enough time," Miki said, then clapped her hands together and pressed them to the ground.
Summoning Technique
Seeing this, White Fang's eyes widened under his mask.
He wasn't curious about what was summoned, but rather about the clapping of her hands.
This...
What kind of monster is this?
White Fang scratched his head vigorously.
He was a bit confused about whether he was the one who was off, or if Miki was.
After the smoke from the Summoning dissipated, a pile of wriggling grubs appeared on the ground, enough for ten people, a lot.
Indeed, this fellow was off.
White Fang's eyes widened in surprise and he exclaimed, "You're not just eating this, are you?"
"How could we be? Don't we also have water? Bugs with water, the more you eat, the better it tastes." Hitomi said, grabbing a handful, and then looked at Miki, pouting, "Miki, can you roast them for me?"
Upon hearing this, as Miki reached out, a pile of small, crimson beetles crawled out.
Seeing this, Hitomi neatly rolled up her sleeves, drew her sword, pried up a large stone from the ground, sliced it into thin pieces with two cuts, and then placed the stone slab on the Flamebug.
Then she placed the grubs one by one on the stone slab, and after a flash of cold light from her sword, she chopped down a large tree, quickly carved out three pairs of wooden chopsticks, handed them to Miki and Chiri, and then pulled out various small bottles of seasonings from her pocket, meticulously sprinkling them evenly.
Soon, a wonderful aroma wafted out.
White Fang watched Hitomi's practiced movements with admiration.
Goodness, this fellow is really capable...
The trees in the Village must have suffered a lot at her hands.
White Fang sniffed.
It was the smell of alcohol, so fragrant.
But eating bugs, White Fang felt a little numb in his head.
"Where are my chopsticks?" White Fang asked.
The numbness was strangely comfortable.
Miki couldn't help but look at White Fang and said, "You can eat this?"
"I've eaten everything!" White Fang said with a hint of pride, "When there's nothing to eat, anything can be eaten. I just haven't tried bugs yet."
"You're not bad, you know," Hitomi said, "You have good taste!"
Then she drew her sword, and with a flurry of sword shadows, she quickly carved out a pair of chopsticks in less than two seconds.
White Fang glanced at Hitomi.
That sword speed and swordsmanship.
Fast, accurate, ruthless, her control was truly terrifying.
Not a single wasted sword stroke.
Not to mention her unsealed Chakra ninjutsu.
White Fang took the chopsticks and asked expectantly, "Can I eat now?"
"Yes, you can." The head chef, Hitomi, waved her hand cheerfully and said, "Plenty for everyone, don't be shy."
"Then, I'll dig in," White Fang said, putting his hands together.
Who would eat military rations when there's real food?
His mouth was already so bland it tasted like birds.
"It smells delicious," White Fang praised.
"It's becoming more and more disillusioning," Hitomi said, continuously grilling the bugs, "It feels like a picnic."
She picked up a bug and placed it on a palm-sized stone slice, handing them to Miki and Chiri.
"Isn't it good?" Miki said, taking the stone slice, picking up a grub and putting it in her mouth, and softly said, "When it's time to relax, relax to your heart's content, otherwise you'll eventually be crushed."
"Exactly," White Fang agreed, "The bug is right."
"Hitomi is too tense." As someone who had been with her for ten years, Chiri understood Hitomi well.
"No, I'm not!" Hitomi mumbled, "You are too, aren't you? You've run out of things to say."
Hitomi understood Chiri just as well.
Everyone gets nervous the first time they kill someone on a mission.
White Fang remained silent. Verbal comfort for such matters was limited; one needed to adjust psychologically on their own. Everyone went through it this way.
But he still wanted to say something.
"The first time I killed someone, my whole body was trembling," White Fang said, picking up a grub and putting it in his mouth.
"Was it very scary?" Hitomi asked.
"Very scary," White Fang said, "I still feel that way now. The Ninja World is terrifyingly cruel."
"Life or death, it's just an instant."
"It's as if the life I lived before had no meaning."
"How did you overcome it, Captain White Fang?" Hitomi asked.
"I got used to it." White Fang's answer was very ordinary, ordinarily terrifying.
"Terrifying," Chiri said softly, lowering her head, delicately taking small bites of the roasted grub.
White Fang scratched his head and said, "No, I think you two are much more terrifying than me."
Then he looked at Miki and asked, "What do you think about killing?"
"Me killing?" Miki said, "It's just the Village's orders, there's no need to be troubled by it."
White Fang scratched his head.
It seems this fellow doesn't need his comfort.
Wow, a bonus chapter for the Alliance Leader.
Also, I really can't speed up. I can only write for a maximum of six hours a day, squeezing out rest time.
Three updates are pretty much the limit.
By the way, can I pay off the debt in installments?
Currently, there are fifteen chapters after release. I previously estimated that ten or so would be enough. At this rate, I won't be able to keep up with the plan, my saved drafts.
Also, I really can't add any more chapters now; I need to schedule recommendations, and the word count is getting a bit high.
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