Naruto: From Novice to Grave

Gekko Hayate didn't quite understand his father's sudden decision.

Why walk slowly when the distance is so short and a ninja could get back quickly?

Isn't the scenery along the way beautiful? It's all forest, not much different from the large training grounds in Konoha Village.

However, Jonin always have their reasons for doing things, and Hayate Gekko was merely curious and didn't question them. Shin Higashino also didn't ask further, but quietly sensed his surroundings.

Due to his fusion with white natural energy, his perception is unique, divided into active and passive modes.

If he doesn't activate it at all, it's in passive mode, with only the most basic alert capabilities. The range isn't large, but it's enough to ensure that he won't be approached silently.

Ninjas are good at ambushes, which is a terrible ability for someone who wants to take him down using the same methods as Lao Liu.

If you enable the perception search yourself, it will be in active mode, which will greatly increase the range and precision.

As expected, he sensed someone rapidly approaching from behind them. It was the same three genin squad from the same village they had encountered that morning; Higashino truly remembered their chakra aura.

From what I sensed, the other person was just traveling normally, not like they were following me. Since everyone's tasks were similar, it was normal to run into them on the way back.

What was unusual was his teacher's decision to lead them back slowly, as if he was intentionally waiting for them. But judging from what happened that morning, this genin squad was not someone he knew.

Soon, the three, who were rushing on their way, encountered Yunjianban and his group, who were slowly returning to the village.

They jumped down from the tree and respectfully bowed to Moonlight Cloud.

This is the basic etiquette for a genin when encountering a high-ranking ninja from their own village.

Meeting twice in one day can be considered fate. They exchanged names and got to know each other. As they were all comrades from Konoha, Higashino and the others did not show any contempt for each other because the other was an older genin.

That would be extremely impolite. What if it provokes someone into shouting something like, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river; don't underestimate a young man's potential"?

What? The Higashino Makoto squad are even younger boys? That's alright then.

As for why these low-ranking ninjas were still in the village during wartime? Because sending them to the front lines was pointless; it was no different from sending them to their deaths than wasting kunai and shuriken.

Perhaps the three of them had already been to the front lines, but were simply too terrified to continue.

A ninja who has lost his courage will only increase the enemy's battle merits if he goes to the front line, and may even drag his own side down. It would be better for him to stay in the village and work as a laborer, at least he can create some economic value for Konoha.

There's a saying that goes something like this: "It's not the god-like opponents you should fear, but the pig-like teammates."

Mighty was just staying in the village doing low-level tasks during the war, but his situation was different because no one knew his true strength, so naturally no one would take him to the battlefield.

When he learned from the ninjas who had returned to the village to rest that the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were carrying out a frenzied hunt against the ninjas of Konoha, he immediately fought his way to the scene, achieving great feats of valor and luckily saving his son's life.

But not all ninjas wear masks.

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The captain of the genin squad, a young man who looks to be in his early twenties, is named Ritsu. The two team members are named Yuta and Yuto, who are brothers. Not only are their talents similar, but their personalities are also extremely alike.

They followed timidly behind their captain, not daring to look at Gekko Kumomi, a Jonin, the whole time, seemingly not very brave.

All three were ordinary commoners with no surnames, just like the former Higashino family.

However, the ancestors of the Higashino family were fortunate enough to be born during the establishment of the ninja village, became ninjas, and achieved significant accomplishments, so they would specifically choose a surname for themselves.

This surname could be a place name, object name, or something else related to an achievement.

This is how many commoner surnames in the ninja world originated.

Clearly, none of these three families had any accomplished ancestors; perhaps they were all the first generation of ninjas in their own families.

As for what happened to them, everyone tacitly refrained from asking too many questions to avoid embarrassment.

Ritsu seemed quite interested in Higashino and the others: "Senior Kumomi, judging from the ages of your disciples, are they this year's graduates?"

"Ah, yes, I just graduated and I don't know anything yet."

"I see. Then it's true that we need to do more D-rank missions to gain experience. But they must be very outstanding juniors to receive guidance from such a powerful Jonin as you."

"Hahaha!" Moonlight Cloud seemed quite happy to hear others praising his disciples: "Their strength is indeed not bad, but the biggest problem is that they have never seen blood. So I plan to do another day of D-rank missions tomorrow, and then use higher-level missions to show them what real combat is like."

"Oh, I'm so envious. You're already getting involved in high-level missions so quickly. Unlike us, our talent and strength are limited, and we can only do some insignificant things in the village."

"Don't say that. We're all contributing to the village; there's no difference in status."

"Thank you for your comfort, senior." Ritsu sincerely expressed his gratitude to Gekko Unmi, because the other party's words had saved him some face in front of his junior.

So he thought for a moment and said, "As a senior to my juniors, I am undoubtedly a failure, but I can still offer some advice based on my own experience."

For example, encountering a bloody and brutal scene for the first time might cause serious psychological problems. Perhaps we can use other methods to help people transition through this experience first.

Moonlight Clouds seemed intrigued: "Oh? Like what?"

"The farm outside the village issues missions to eliminate ferocious beasts every spring and autumn. The spring mission is around these days. Although it is a D-rank mission, it is risky, so not many genin are willing to do it. Perhaps they can give it a try and get used to the feeling of bloody killing in advance."

"That's a great idea indeed, your suggestion has been a great help."

"Not at all, I'm glad you found it useful."

Higashino Makoto and Gekko Hayate exchanged a glance and understood where the problem lay.

It's fine for Lü to ask a few more questions when he sees a promising junior, but he's being a bit too enthusiastic.

Our teacher was a bit too talkative today, and he even unintentionally revealed a lot of information about our team.

This is not to say that the ninja from the same village in front of me necessarily has ulterior motives, but that doing so violates the ninja code.

Ninjas, regardless of their rank, are theoretically only allowed to discuss their mission plans with their teammates or superiors, and will not share them with others, even insignificant genin.

At the same time, you must also adhere to the principle of confidentiality and not inquire about the details of other people's missions.

Unless the two are very close, they will occasionally talk about unimportant things as topics of conversation, but it is clear that Tsukikage and Ritsu's relationship is not that close.

Uzuki Yugao and her two brothers felt that their captain was having a great time chatting.

Higashino Makoto and Hayate temporarily put their suspicions to themselves.

Gekko Kumo was a mature Jonin; he wouldn't speak carelessly. He must have his reasons for doing this.

The two groups returned to Konoha together in this harmonious yet strange atmosphere.