I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 156 Don't let your food out of your sight

"Alright! Stop grinning like an idiot and hurry up and clean up the mess."

Jiraiya patted Tatsuma on the back of the head, urging him to hurry up and clean up the scene. If the wire was left in place, the Rain Ninja might realize that the attackers were not Sand Ninja.

However, those steel wires were difficult for the enemy to detect, just as difficult for their own people to detect. It took the three of them most of the day to deal with those Tsunades before they were sure that everything was clean.

Throughout this process, Chenma remained aware of his surroundings to avoid being seen by others doing their cleanup work.

After cleaning up the scene, they did not immediately return to the camp. Instead, they took a long detour, passing various rivers to conceal and clean their tracks and body odor, changing their clothes and appearance time and time again.

However, while cleaning up, they "accidentally" left some extremely subtle traces. It took them two days to get close to the Sand Village's camp before they changed direction and moved to Danzo's camp without leaving a trace.

This operation involves two camps. If the operation is successful, the camp in the Fire Rain Battlefield will be able to reduce the number of times it is harassed by the Rain Ninja, while on the Wind and Fire Battlefield side, the Sand Ninja is very likely to suffer a strong counterattack from the Rain Ninja.

Although only three people are carrying out the mission, whether the mission is completed or not needs to be confirmed with the two camps. The best way to confirm is face-to-face, since both letters and communications will leave traces and may even be intercepted.

This approach of leaving loopholes is naturally not allowed, so even if face-to-face interaction is less efficient, it is the only way.

Upon arriving at the camp, Jiraiya was summoned for a talk by Danzo, who grumbled about not even being allowed to drink a sip of cold water before heading towards the command tent, leaving Tatsuma and Minato to enjoy what was considered a sumptuous lunch on the battlefield.

Tatsuma and Minato didn't stand on ceremony either, after all, they had been on a mission for the past few days, from luring the Rain Ninja to fighting, to misleading them later, which took three days, and they had been living in the wild for those three days.

Although they brought a lot of clothes to conceal their whereabouts and took many showers to avoid lingering odors, their hygiene was acceptable. However, they couldn't be picky about food and could only eat soldier's rations.

Finally, they could enjoy hot food, so they naturally didn't hold back. Just as the two were eating heartily, several figures crept furtively toward them, and the two, still on guard, immediately sensed them.

However, they didn't care at all, since they were all people they knew very well.

"Rip~"

"Snap!"

Two emerald green figures burst through the tent and collapsed onto the ground inside, with Inuzuka Tsurugi, Aburame Shiki, and others on top of them. Apart from Nawaki, the others were all Tatsuma's classmates.

Because Rope Tree trained together a lot, he became very familiar with them, so even after coming to this camp, they often hung out together.

Hyuga Sento has gradually drifted apart from his clan, as this camp is home to many Hyuga clan ninjas, including the clan head Hyuga Hideaki and his two sons.

However, even on the battlefield, the Hyuga clan is extremely particular. Sento might have been able to accept it in the past, after all, he had been used to it for so many years.

However, after becoming the head of the Hyuga clan, he found it difficult to accept the clan's rules. Furthermore, after being led by Nawaki to use a bodysuit to bind his ninja way, which allowed him to unleash his true "heretical" nature, he grew to dislike the Hyuga clan's rules even more.

Of course, perhaps Sento also wanted to distance himself from his clan to avoid hearing those who said he should be glad he had lost a loved one.

Minato pulled his seat closer to Tatsuma, making more room, and smiled as he asked the others, "If you're not full, would you like to come and eat?"

Rope Tree and Sento, who were pressed to the ground, nodded repeatedly. Sento, in particular, was so anxious that his eyes almost popped out because he couldn't get up from being pressed down by everyone. If he hadn't just recently learned about the Rejuvenation Technique and hadn't mastered it yet, he probably would have used it.

Most supplies in the camp, especially food, are rationed, and people cannot eat as much as they want. This is easy for adult ninjas who need to control their weight and have already adapted to this method to accept.

However, it is "cruel" for young ninjas who are still growing, since children at this stage need a lot of nutrients to help them develop, and their appetite and food intake are greater than that of many adults.

Minato and Tatsuma were very familiar with this situation. It wasn't that they were also craving these people, but rather that there was a similar person at the Fire Rain Camp—Akimichi Choza.

Back in the village, he had never gone hungry, and every meal was a delicious feast. But what about the battlefield? He had been eating rations on the way, and when he arrived at the camp, he found that the food was rationed.

Even though Shikaku repeatedly explained to him that the village wasn't targeting him, but was simply doing something they had to do to better control and calculate the remaining supplies, Dingza still couldn't accept it.

After all, he was genuinely hungry every day. The thing he did most often in the camp was to ask the thin-looking ninjas or female ninjas during mealtimes if they could eat a whole box of food.

If the other party said they couldn't eat or could only barely eat, he would give them a pleading look, hoping these ninjas would give him some food. Using this trick, Dingza did manage to trick them into giving him quite a bit of food.

However, after Tsunade discovered that he had tricked the wounded into giving him food, he was severely beaten by Tsunade without any mercy, and he never dared to play tricks again.

Here, although there isn't someone with an extraordinary appetite like Choza, physical practitioners like Nawaki and Sento still have astonishingly large appetites. Nawaki is a little better off, as he can get some food from his teacher.

Unable to go to the battlefield, Sento, who spent his days helping out and training in the camp, couldn't stand it anymore. So today, while training, he accidentally saw Tatsuma and Minato enjoying this feast all to themselves with his Byakugan, and that's when he brought his friends over.

Qian Dou struggled to get to the table as quickly as possible, but being held down by the others, he could only watch helplessly as his classmates got off him and ran to the table.

Even Aburame Shii, who was also unable to get up due to the situation, managed to use the insects to claim a dish. With the insects, everyone else selectively gave up on that dish. Aburame Shii, who slowly got up from the ground, also revealed a smug smile.

He had a backup plan: if the students refused to eat the food, he would let insects lay eggs on it and see if they could still eat it!

When Nawaki and Sento broke free from the crowd and arrived at the dining table, apart from the food that Tatsuma had foreseen and placed in their bowls, there was only half a pot of rice, some soup, and a plate of vegetables covered with insects.

Although they were filled with grief and indignation, they still ate half a pot of rice with the soup. Even if there was only white rice left, let alone soup, they couldn't let their youth be wasted!

Before long, apart from Tatsuma, Minato, and Shiki Aburame who were still leisurely eating, everyone else was either sitting or lying on the ground resting.

Having finally had a full meal, Inuzuka Tsuru stroked the head of Kuromaru, who was also lying on his back with his paws full, and said to Tatsuma and Minato, "What brings you two here today? No, that's not how it works."

"Can you come again tomorrow? Ideally, you could come every day?"

"If you come every day, you won't get this kind of treatment. Consider this a reward."

Tatsuma swallowed the food in his mouth before speaking to Inuzuka Tsurugi. Upon hearing this, everyone's faces showed regret. After Sento had eaten and drunk his fill, his brain had been replenished with sugar, and his intelligence had regained its dominance. He quickly realized something.

"A reward? What mission did you complete?"

Upon hearing this, everyone showed expressions of curiosity and envy. After all, all they did here was do laundry, cook, and deliver various documents and supplies, which was even more boring than being at school.

Rope Tree's experiences on the battlefield became a rare pastime for them, but Rope Tree's experiences were too monotonous, as if he went to the battlefield for only one thing, which was to clear mines!

After hearing it a few times, they got tired of it. Now that Tatsuma and Minato were here, they wanted to hear different battlefield stories. Tatsuma frowned slightly, looking deep in thought, his youthful face full of stories.

Just when everyone thought he was about to reveal some dramatic battlefield experiences, Tatsuma said quietly, "It's a classified mission, it can't be leaked."

"cut!"

"Whoa~"

"Fine, I won't talk about it then. What's the big deal?!"

Although they were all booing, the envy in their eyes was undeniable. After all, carrying out secret missions, defeating powerful enemies, and encountering beautiful/handsome ninjas from other countries were the most attractive parts of those ninja stories.

However, they all understood what a classified mission meant. Seeing that Tatsuma and Minato couldn't explain, they stopped asking and started complaining about how boring the camp was.

Minato could occasionally chime in on their conversation, but Tatsuma remained silent, having never experienced the monotonous life of the battlefield.

When he first arrived at the camp, he was pulled in to be a medical ninja. He then took on both combat and medical work, and occasionally had to come up with ideas to open up the leaders' minds. Boring? His dark circles and his afflicted left shoulder certainly didn't agree.

However, Tatsuma didn't say anything. After all, it was his own choice. If he wanted to join Konoha Hospital or the Sealing Team, he wouldn't even have to come to the front lines, just like Kushina who was assigned to the Sealing Team after graduation.

Since you chose this path, don't complain about how much hardship you've endured. Don't be like that player who took a shortcut and keeps saying their path is always the most difficult.

Just as everyone was chatting, Jiraiya, who was starving and had a dry throat, finally finished his report and was preparing to make do with the leftovers.

"Hey, where's my food?! Where's all that food I have on the table?!"

(End of this chapter)