Naruto: From Novice to Grave

The girl named Inuzuka Meiko didn't seem to talk much. She only glanced at Higashino Makoto and then ignored him, stroking her beloved dog's head. Her personality was completely opposite to that of her future cousin, Inuzuka Kiba.

Hyuga Tokuma waved and greeted him, "Yo, Makoto, long time no see."

"Long time no see, Tokuma, Muta."

"Hmm!" Aburame Muta responded, gave Higashino Makoto a serious look, and then said nothing more.

He didn't have a problem with Higashino Makoto, but it was just his personality. In the years they had been classmates, Higashino Makoto had never seen him exchange more than a few complete sentences with anyone.

You can see him at any class activity, but he's as quiet as a wooden stake. However, if you greet him, he will always respond promptly.

That's how their clan is—they're known for producing people who keep quiet and unassuming.

Seeing his long-desired opponent, Hyuga Tokuma teased, "You finally graduated! I thought you were going to stay in school for the full six years!"

"If circumstances allow, I wouldn't mind staying for a few more years."

"The school can't allow our strength to increase too quickly. Only by becoming a formal ninja can we get enough training. So, Shin, even if you graduate a year later, will you still be that monster who leaves me with no hope of victory?"

Higashino Makoto asked in surprise, "You don't actually want to have a match with me now, do you?"

"How could that be? Do you think I'm that incapable of distinguishing between what's important and what's not? But perhaps we can see who can kill more enemies in this war."

"Tokuma!"

"Um?"

Higashino looked intently into his almost entirely white eyes: "War is not a game. Rather than killing the enemy, I hope that you and everyone else can survive."

Hyuga Tokuma was silent for a few seconds before nodding: "I understand."

At this moment, his team leader, Jonin Hitsuki Sarutobi, said seriously, "You're absolutely right. Don't approach war with the same mindset you have when doing missions, or you'll die."

We must be on high alert to prevent enemy ambushes, especially as we approach the battlefield. Our reconnaissance platoon is the eyes of the team; we cannot let our guard down for a moment.

"Yes, teacher!" The three members of Tokuma's team immediately nodded in response.

----------

Among the five great ninja villages in the ninja world, the straight-line distance between Konoha and Kirigakure is actually the shortest.

Kirigakure crossed the sea and, using the former Whirlpool Country peninsula as their base, invaded the Land of Fire directly from the southeast.

Therefore, the so-called Eastern Front is more accurately described as the Southeastern Front. Unlike wars in other directions, the Southeastern Front was entirely within the Land of Fire's territory.

There is no buffer zone between the two sides; the sea is the buffer. The Konoha ninjas are obviously not foolish enough to go to the water to fight the Hidden Mist Village, because if they did, the other side would have a completely advantageous position.

Therefore, the support troops only need to cross a small part of the Land of Fire to reach the southeastern front.

It is known that Kakashi's team traveled from Konoha to Sunagakure to provide support, traversing most of the Land of Fire, the entire Land of Rivers, and the desert of the Land of Wind, which slowed their progress. It took them a total of three days.

At that time, Kakashi, Sakura Haruno, and Naruto Uzumaki all had the strength of Jonin.

Request: When will the support troops arrive at the southeastern front?

The answer is no.

Because there were many genin in the team, and in order to have the stamina to deal with unexpected situations, the jonin leading the team did not make the team move at full speed, and stopped to rest and recover their stamina every once in a while.

This is a prudent approach, and the other Jonin will not object.

Higashino and his group set off promptly at 9 a.m., and by the afternoon they were still within the Land of Fire.

As evening approached, Makoto Higashino, who was walking forward, suddenly stopped.

Something's up!

Gekko Cloud immediately used a special method to signal to his nearby companions. Seeing Sarutobi Hitsuki's puzzled look, he nodded slightly.

Soon, the entire support force halted its advance and hid on the spot. Several Jonin arrived shortly afterward, including adult ninjas from the Hyuga clan.

A Jonin from the Nara clan asked, "What's going on?"

Higashino Makoto immediately reported: "There is a lake at 1 o'clock directly ahead of us. There is a chakra reaction there, about 4 kilometers away. The number of people is... 15."

Upon hearing this, the adult ninjas of the Hyuga clan immediately activated their Byakugan, abandoning their nearly 360-degree field of vision and focusing their gaze in the direction Higashino Makoto had indicated.

The distance at which the white eyes of the family can see far varies from person to person, depending on the purity and strength of their eyes.

The purest Byakugan princess, Hinata Hyuga of the main family, was around 16 years old when she could see more than 10 kilometers away in a single direction.

However, there was no main family member here, and Hyuga Tokuma hadn't even opened his Byakugan like his clansmen. Perhaps he had already opened his Byakugan, but he hadn't yet learned the technique of focusing his gaze in one direction to extend the distance, after all, he was only 9 years old.

The adult Hyuga ninjas could clearly do that; perhaps they couldn't see more than 10 kilometers away, but 4 kilometers was still within their field of vision.

After observing, he said to his colleagues, "They are Hidden Mist Ninja, 15 people. Three of them are by the lake, seemingly preparing for some kind of ceremony, while the other 12 are scattered around on guard."

Furthermore, a restless chakra permeates the center of the lake. Perhaps these Hidden Mist ninjas are plotting something. What should we do, Captain Suzaku?

The Jonin named Nara Suzaku was the commander of this reinforcement. This place was also in the Land of Fire, and he knew about the lake in front of them; it was relatively small.

After a brief moment of thought, he said, "No matter what those bastards want to do, we can't let them run rampant in the Land of Fire. In terms of numbers, we have the advantage."

"Pass on my order: assemble Jonin and Chunin to surround the enemy. Each Genin squad will be responsible for the outer perimeter. The order is: do not let a single enemy escape."

"yes!"

No one objected. Once the order was given, the entire support force immediately sprang into action, closing in on the target in an encirclement formation.

Including Gekko Unmi and Sarutobi Higetsu, no one was worried about the safety of the outer genin. If so many of them couldn't kill 15 Kirigakure ninja, it meant that the enemy's strength was beyond imagination.

If that's the case, then it doesn't matter whether the leader of the genin squad is there or not, since they're doomed anyway.

Before long, as the encirclement tightened, the Hidden Mist ninjas who were busy with something by the lake finally realized that something was wrong.

It seems that some of them are ninjas with some sensory abilities, but their sensory range should be very limited, not exceeding one kilometer.

People with superhuman sensory abilities are extremely rare in the ninja world. The Uzumaki clan had the Kagura Mind's Eye, but they are extinct. The next Karin who can do this may not have been born yet.

Such superhuman perception as that of Tobirama Senju is extremely rare.

The rest of the ninjas—those who play with dogs, insects, and those with Byakugan—are basically all gathered in Konoha. No wonder the other ninja villages are always filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred towards Konoha.

Upon realizing they were surrounded, the Mist Ninja acted decisively, immediately destroying the ritual scroll and then... swiftly eliminating the three companions in charge of the ritual, even blowing them up with explosive tags on their heads.

This action left the three adult Hyuga ninjas, who were positioned in different directions, completely dumbfounded. What did it mean to sacrifice a teammate before even starting the fight? Are all Kirigakure ninjas this ruthless?

After they reported what they had seen, the Konoha ninjas became even more convinced that the other side had ulterior motives. It seemed that if necessary, they would have to leave a few alive, or at least take their heads intact.

As the two sides closed in, the remaining 12 ninjas inside immediately joined forces to activate the Hidden Mist Technique. Approaching the lakeside and taking advantage of the water source, the dense fog containing chakra spread outwards.

【Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique】is a very convenient D-rank ninjutsu that every Hidden Mist ninja knows, allowing them to create favorable battlefield conditions for themselves.

The premise is that you don't encounter Wind Release techniques.

But that was impossible. Several ninjas from the support force who knew Wind Release stepped forward, and a combined C-rank Wind Release: Great Breakthrough blast blew the thick fog into the sky.

Sunagakure specializes in Wind Release, Iwagakure specializes in Earth Release, and Kumogakure specializes in Lightning Release. Only Konoha has all kinds of Release techniques, which can meet the needs of different enemies.

The 12 Hidden Mist ninjas hadn't expected the Hidden Mist Technique to be of any use; it was just a smokescreen. After the technique was used, everyone took the opportunity to scatter and break through.

They mainly retreated towards the lake, since the water made them feel safer.

But Suzaku Nara had anticipated this, and the largest number of ninjas came from the lake. The two sides quickly clashed, and the battle broke out instantly.