Traveling through Naruto with Heroes of Might and Magic.

Qingwu then realized what was happening and pulled Tianzang into her arms, saying, "We're the Shadow Guards, we're comrades, we're roommates. You're not alone."

Xiyan leaned closer and said to Tianzang, "Yes, we are companions."

Hearing this made her feel much better; it turned out that... there were people who were even more lonely than her.

Red Bean blushed and tried to salvage the situation, saying, "There are quite a few soldier ration pills; Xiyan, you'll get some too."

Xi Yan rolled her eyes and didn't bother to argue.

In fact, she had more contact with Qingwu. They were teammates before joining the Dark Division. Later... perhaps the change in their status made it difficult for her to accept, and the two were not as close as before.

But she was never stingy when Qingwu needed help.

Sometimes Xiyan herself is not sure what her feelings are towards Qingwu; perhaps she feels more of a bond with her teammates.

However... when Riyueguang Hayate showed interest in pursuing her, her first instinct was to look at Qingwu's expression...

Shaking her head to clear her mind, Xi Yan turned to Qing Wu and teased, "Have you become so popular with girls lately?"

At this moment, the Shadow Guard had already walked out of the Konoha gates.

Behind him stood a row of friends bidding him a heartfelt farewell, while Matt Kai jumped around shouting things like "Youth" and "Burning."

Tianzang responded softly, "Qingwu has always been very popular with girls."

Xi Yan snorted dismissively, "It wasn't like this at school."

"What are you saying?"

Qingwu stroked his chin. "I've always been this handsome, and I've received a lot of love letters at school, haven't I?"

"Those naive little girls only care about appearances." Xi Yan always seemed to want to show off her uniqueness. "Ninjas are judged by their strength!"

Tianzang chimed in, "Strength... Qingwu is quite strong now too."

Xiyan: "..."

She stomped her foot angrily and took two quick steps.

Qingwu smiled from behind. At this moment, she was like a teenage girl. Wasn't it tiring to always be so reserved?

"Let's go!"

Kakashi didn't participate in the conversation. He turned around, waved to Might Guy, and jumped onto the treetop.

……

After leaving the village, Qingwu summoned four flying horses in an open area.

Xi Yan's mood improved considerably. "My saviors! I can rely on them to fly again."

Qingwu smiled but didn't say that these weren't the same two flying horses from last time.

Pegasus quickly soared into the sky and, after a day and a night of rapid travel, arrived at Konoha's main camp on the northwestern border of the Land of Fire.

The camp was built against the mountain and was heavily guarded.

The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder and dust.

The ninjas coming and going all walked in a hurry, and they all had more or less battle wounds on their bodies, but their eyes were sharp and their expressions were tense.

Clearly, the stalemate at the front was more severe than they had anticipated...

Chapter 119 is more than just ordinary border friction.

We've just arrived at the camp entrance.

Two Konoha ninjas guarding the entrance blocked their way.

Kakashi raised his hand, revealing the pass signed by the Hokage, and only then did the guards allow him to pass.

In fact, when the Shadow Guards are on missions, their attire and masks look no different from those of ordinary members of the Dark Guard.

A ninja on duty led the way, with the four following closely behind as they passed through the camp.

Along the way, many ninjas turned their heads, wondering what new instructions the Hokage's direct subordinate ANBU had brought by suddenly arriving in person.

Before long, they arrived outside the military tent.

After the ninja on duty reported the arrival, a steady yet somewhat weary voice came from inside the tent, "Come in."

Kakashi led the way by lifting the curtain and entering.

The tent was brightly lit, with a huge border map spread out on the long table in the center, surrounded by a jumble of intelligence scrolls.

Nara Shikaku was dressed in combat gear, with faint dark circles under his eyes, clearly indicating that he had been working hard and not getting enough rest for days.

Standing beside him was Bai Yunzaojian, the deputy, whose expression was solemn and whose arm was wrapped in bandages.

"Lord Shikaku, Lord Hayabusa!" Kakashi bowed.

Nara Shikaku smiled gently and said, "No need for formalities, please sit down. You arrived sooner than I expected."

Kakashi didn't explain much, he just nodded and led the three of them to their seats.

Bai Yun suddenly looked at the elephant-faced mask in the morning: "Is this Qingwu Jonin? It's so good that you can come to the front line."

Lu Jiu paused slightly, then looked at the elephant-face mask.

At the Jonin Conference after the New Year, he, as the leader of the Jonin team, did not participate because he was on the front lines, but the legend of Aogo's great battle against the Tsuchikage Onoki has been circulating on the border.

"Senior Zaojian!" Qingwu asked curiously, "Has the situation deteriorated to this extent? You personally went to the battlefield?"

If Shirakumo Hayato, who was the border commander before Nara Shikaku, also personally took to the battlefield, it means that the scale of the war may be larger than imagined.

Baiyun patted his bandaged arm lightly in the morning and said in a solemn tone, "Iwagakure has been continuously reinforcing its troops, I believe you have all heard about it."

The four members of the Shadow Guard nodded. Before they came, the Third Generation Leader had given them a briefing on the situation at the border.

Baiyun got up early and pointed his finger at the northwest supply line area on the topographic map:

"The Hidden Rocks are launching frequent surprise attacks, with their main force concentrated in the eastern canyon. Our weakness lies in this supply line that runs through the northwest."

He paused, then continued:

"Iwagakure previously sent three waves of elite troops to raid the supply lines at night. Although they were all repelled by Konoha, they suffered heavy losses."

"My injury was sustained during that night raid two weeks ago. The Hokage sent you here because he trusts the Shadow Guard's abilities and hopes that you can safeguard this crucial rear base."

Having received instructions from the third generation leader in advance, Shirakumo was clearly guiding them toward a "suitable" mission.

However, the task allocation for the Shadow Guard was also approved by both him and Nara Shikaku.

Supply lines are indeed very important.

Because being a ninja is a profession that excels at surprise attacks.

If logistics go wrong, there's no point in fighting the war.

Nara Shikaku added, "What's even more troublesome is that Iwagakure seems to have their eyes on this line, with small teams constantly operating around it that they can't be driven away."

Besides surprise attacks, ninjas are also extremely skilled at concealment.

To clean up the rear, the number of people required could be several times greater.

Kakashi asked the question that concerned him most, "Who is the commander of Iwagakure?"

“It is the eldest son of the Earth Shadow—Yellow Earth,” Shikaku replied in a deep voice.

Yellow earth... A burly figure appeared in Qingwu's mind. In the original work, he was a powerful man who could control the Ten-Tails using earth-style techniques.

"Qingwu-jun, be careful," Baiyun said early in the morning.

"The previous commander of the Iwagakure border, Wenya, died at your hands. Once you show your face, you will definitely become an S-rank mission target of Iwagakure."

This is also one of the reasons why Shirakumo Hayato and Nara Shikaku reached a consensus on the task allocation of the Shadow Guard.

Although Qingwu's summoned beasts are powerful weapons on the battlefield, they do not want the war with Iwagakure to escalate further while the peace talks with Kumogakure are still ongoing.

……

After exchanging information, the Shadow Guards figured out what they were up to.

Under the astonished gazes of Nara Shikaku and Shiraku, Qingwu healed the latter's injuries with water magic.

Shikaku laughed and said, "No wonder you said it was great that Jonin Qingwu could come to the front line."

In the morning, he said, "I wasn't referring to medical ninjutsu. I didn't know before that Jonin Qingwu's medical ninjutsu was so exquisite."

Shikaku asked curiously, "Then what are you referring to?"

Without hesitation, Zaojian replied, "Of course, it's the Summoning Jutsu. Jonin Qingwu has many different types of summoning beasts, which can save us a lot of manpower."

Lu Jiu's heart skipped a beat, and he looked at Qing Wu, about to speak—

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps sounded outside the tent, and a ninja covered in blood stumbled in, looking flustered. "Enemy attack!"

Nara Shikaku's heart sank, but he calmly said, "Don't panic. Tell me how many people are here."

"At least five Jonin have attacked the warehouses and outposts along the western supply line. Our men can't hold them off, and the fire has already started to spread!"

"Damn Iwa ninja!" Baiyun shouted angrily, then immediately turned around. "Lord Shikaku, I'll take men to provide support right away."

"Wait!" In this critical moment, Lu Jiu remained calm and composed. He raised his hand to stop Bai Yunzaojian, his brows furrowed. "Something's not right."

Shikaku quickly said, "The previous raids by Iwagakure were all conducted at night."

"Just a few days ago, the eastern battlefield had just experienced a major battle, and our defensive line was forced to retreat five kilometers."

"If you lead men there now, the eastern defense line will be left undefended."

Baiyun was startled in the morning, realizing that there were also experts in Iwagakure, but fortunately Shikaku remained calm.

“But…” Bai Yunzao, who was also very clear about the situation, gritted his teeth and said, “But if there is a problem with the western supply line, we will face the consequences of running out of food and medicine, and the consequences will be unimaginable.”

The situation inside the tent reached a stalemate. The fact that Iwagakure dispatched more than five Jonin to attack the supply line proved their determination.

However, the defensive line on the east side cannot be retreated any further.

Otherwise, the connection between the Land of Fire and the Land of Waterfall would be severed, making it extremely difficult to obtain support from their ally, Takigakure.

The four members of the Shadow Guard exchanged glances. Before they came, they hadn't expected the conflict with Iwagakure to have reached this point.

This is no ordinary friction or conflict; with all sorts of strategic maneuvers and surprise attacks, it's already a full-blown war.

Perhaps... the only thing both sides have been relatively restrained in is that they haven't yet used "large-scale weapons" like the Tailed Beasts.