bookbashuk Chapter 141 The Prelude to War
Chapter 141 The Prelude to War
Chapter 141 The Prelude to War
Having figured everything out and prepared the supplies, Taiyi's team immediately set off for their mission area.
The mission is actually quite dangerous; how many enemies you will encounter and their strength are all completely unknown.
If they're unlucky and run into some elite squad, Taiichi himself might be fine, but the others would be in danger, especially the weakest one, Kaze.
After traveling for half a day, Taichi, as the only sensory ninja in the team, took the initiative to take on the sensory task.
The Chakra Perception Technique is activated every 10 minutes, and now that Taiyi's perception range has increased significantly with the skill level reaching Lv6, the clear perception range has reached 1.5 kilometers, and the blurry warning range has reached 2 kilometers.
While this viewing distance is far less than Hyuga's Byakugan, it is still considerably greater than that of Aburame and Inuzuka.
As the last runner, Kazefuzu felt a pang of resentment every time she saw Captain Taiichi unleash his ninjutsu. She, a rare Wind Release ninja, couldn't find a suitable place in the team.
Leaving aside the other members of the team, they all possess remarkable strength at a young age. Even the weakest member, Saori Furukawa, has a formidable sealing technique and a lightning ninjutsu that easily surpasses her own.
The youngest captain is a monster. He's proficient in everything from sensory perception and medical treatment to sealing techniques, ninjutsu, and taijutsu. This makes the eldest captain feel incredibly ashamed!
Just as He Fengxu was silently complaining, Taiyi, who was running ahead, suddenly spoke up: "Stop, let's take a break!"
The team stopped immediately. Yangping stepped forward and asked, "Taiyi, what's going on?"
"The area ahead is dangerous. Let's replenish our strength here, as battles could break out at any moment!"
Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement. There are no small matters in battle; victory or defeat often hinges on these subtle differences.
They were all experienced ninjas, and they were all using their most limited methods to recover their physical strength and mental energy.
Half an hour later, as Tai stood up, the other members of the team gathered around him.
"Next, I'll lead the way, with Yangping in the center providing support from all sides, and Shazhi and Xu bringing up the rear on either side behind Yangping. Forward!"
The four members of the team continued their journey in silence and soon entered the danger zone mentioned in the mission, the area where Konoha's logistics transportation frequently encountered accidents.
At this moment, the entire ninja world was in a state of tension, like a powder keg about to explode. Countries were constantly sending sabotage teams deep behind enemy lines to destroy the enemy's logistics facilities and supplies, all in order to gain an advantage in the upcoming war.
Espionage, sabotage, defense, and interception are constantly unfolding in the border areas of various countries, and this chaos is continuing to extend into the heartland of these countries.
Sure enough, after only two hours of patrolling, when Taiichi used his chakra perception again, a group of sneaky ninjas appeared in his perception.
"Attention, 1.5 kilometers ahead at the 2 o'clock position, there are 4 ninjas hiding, two in the trees and two in the grass. They should be Sand Ninjas, watch out for Wind Release and puppets."
With that, the team slightly changed direction and rushed straight towards the four Sand Ninja.
No need for inspection or probing; any ninja from other countries are killed on the spot. This is war.
"Yohei and I will launch a surprise attack, with Saori and Fumi assisting." When the distance was still two hundred meters, Taiichi gave his final instructions.
150 m.
100 m.
80 m.
As the distance closed to its limit, Taiyi immediately used his teleportation ability repeatedly, his figure becoming a blur, leaving a zigzag line in the forest, and quickly approaching the tree where the two were hiding.
Not to be outdone, Yang Ping charged forward another ten meters before also leaping out and plunging into the grass on the ground.
At this moment, Taiyi had already drawn his short sword, and a surge of fire-attribute chakra was poured into the blade, instantly forming a bright golden flame sword.
With a casual slash, Taiichi unleashed a fierce flame blade, cleaving a stunned Sand Ninja in two.
At that moment, Taiyi had already teleported to the tree, and with a swift horizontal slash, the remaining Sand Ninja who had just taken out his kunai for defense was cut in two along with the kunai.
Without a doubt, ordinary weapons without chakra protection cannot withstand the slashes of the Flame Blade.
On Yangping's side, having arrived a step later than Taiyi, he had already engaged the enemy. Taiyi merely glanced at him before turning his attention to another patch of grass, where the last Sand Ninja was entangled in Saori's electric net and was completely paralyzed.
Taiyi, of course, wouldn't let this opportunity to strike a victim slip by. He flashed past, and his short sword deftly pierced the enemy's heart.
By this time, Yangping had also finished off the enemy.
The entire battle, from Taiichi's instantaneous teleportation to the complete annihilation of the enemy, took less than 30 seconds, and the enemy consisted of four Chunin.
Behind the bushes, He Fengxu stared wide-eyed, her mouth slightly agape, frozen in place, her hand seal, which was only half-formed, stopping in front of her chest.
He hadn't really grasped the concept since he had only performed B-level and C-level missions before, but today was the first time he had seen the rest of the team go "full power".
Her lightning-fast speed and ruthless swordsmanship left him far behind, even Saori's rapid ninjutsu releases were beyond his reach. Throughout the entire battle, he didn't even have time to unleash a single ninjutsu.
This made him wonder: could he really be of any help in carrying out the mission with this team?
"Quickly, clean up the battlefield."
A soft shout interrupted his train of thought; he couldn't help with the fighting, but he couldn't afford to fall behind in cleaning up the battlefield.
A week after the mission began, the team gradually became familiar with the mission's rhythm.
Besides the four enemies they encountered at the beginning, the team encountered a total of six waves of enemies over the next few days. The vast majority of them were Chunin, and the number of enemies varied each time, ranging from seven or eight to as few as two or three.
The only time he encountered a Jonin was when he ran into Kazefuzu. It was a real crisis. If Taiichi hadn't used Phoenix Flame to disperse the opponent's fire jutsu in time, the newly promoted Chunin Kazefuzu would probably be charred by now.
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The Jonin also failed to escape, successfully becoming Taiichi's first Jonin achievement in this mission.
After this period of intense fighting, He Fengxu has finally caught up with the team's pace. At least she won't be unable to help at all from beginning to end like she was the first time. This is a huge improvement.
"Over the past few days, everyone's teamwork has improved significantly, especially yours, Xu, you've made great progress!"
After nightfall, the team found a sheltered spot, and the four of them sat around the campfire.
In early spring, the night air still carries a strong chill.
The burning fire not only dispelled the surrounding darkness but also brought warmth to everyone.
Taiyi occasionally turned over the branches stuck in the ground, on which were skewered four large fish that he had just caught. With the occasional spill of special seasoning, a rich aroma wafted into everyone's noses.
A sound of swallowing saliva was heard, and everyone's eyes turned to Yangping, who was blinking.
"Haha, why are you all looking at me? It smells so good! Aren't you all tempted?"
Everyone smiled knowingly upon hearing this, continuing to stare at the roasting meat by the campfire. Before long, the fish were cooked, and Taiyi distributed one to each person.
Yangping couldn't wait to take a big bite, and the scalding hot fish made him exhale repeatedly.
He Fengxu, who was standing to the side, also took a bite of the fish. Her eyes lit up immediately, and she no longer cared about her manners. She began to devour the grilled fish.
Only after the entire grilled fish was in his stomach did he let out a long sigh of relief. "Captain, it's so much better to do missions with you! Not only are the missions more efficient, but there's also so much delicious food. Back in the day, I was just eating dry rations!"
"Really? Really? Tell us how the other squads carry out their missions."
Yangping was also very curious. Their team hadn't changed much since its inception, and with Taiyi, an all-around talent, they basically lacked nothing. During missions, they lived a life that, while not extravagant, was certainly comfortable with food and drink.
"Back then, we were on a long mission and spent a month in the wilderness. During that time, we ran out of the dry rations and ration pills we brought with us, so we had to make do with whatever we could find and eat it all—" He Fengxu said, looking as if she was looking back on a painful memory.
Yang Ping was full of curiosity. Wasn't this the same as what they were doing now? Was there any difference?
Looking at Yang Ping's blank and ignorant expression, He Fengxu sighed helplessly: "You have to understand, not everyone is good at cooking, and our team back then was exactly the opposite. The things we made were only good enough to fill our stomachs."
As she spoke, Kazeko even made a vomiting gesture, which made Yohei and Saori burst into laughter.
After a long day, everyone was exhausted. After chatting for a while, Taiyi told everyone to prepare to rest.
Of course, taking turns on guard duty is necessary to ensure everyone's safety.
"Xu, you and I will keep watch for the first half of the night. You and Saori, you two will keep watch for the second half."
Everyone agreed with Taiichi's arrangements. Yangping and Saori also quickly fell asleep, replenishing their energy from the day's activities.
The campfire crackled and popped, and Taiyi sat to one side, occasionally poking at the wood to make sure it burned brighter.
Seeing that Kazeka was silent on the other side, Taiichi, as the team leader, couldn't help but start a casual conversation: "Kazeka, how have you been feeling lately? Are you still keeping up with the team's pace?"
He Fengxu looked up at the captain opposite her. In the light of the campfire, the captain's face glowed with a warm red light. "Very good, Captain. I feel that my strength has improved a lot during this period."
How could she not improve? Everyone in the team except herself was a monster, making her, the normal person, seem like an idiot. Who could understand this stark contrast? He Fengxu could only silently complain in her heart.
"If circumstances allow, I will let you take on more roles. Your strength is still too weak. If you continue like this, you'll only get yourself killed if you stay with the team."
Taiichi hadn't expected the new members of the team the village assigned to him to be so weak. Normally, this wouldn't be so bad; they could just practice together more.
More exercise.
But now we've basically entered wartime, and they're carrying out war missions. This is very dangerous; war missions are intense and unpredictable, and no one knows whether a mission originally classified as A-level will suddenly encounter enemies beyond its level.
Actually, Taiichi misunderstood the village. On the surface, Taiichi's team consisted of newly promoted Chunin, and adding another newly promoted Chunin wasn't such a bad arrangement.
They never imagined that the squad's actual combat strength far exceeded their theoretical strength, which led to the current awkward situation.
As He Fengxu listened to Taiyi's words, his old face flushed red. Was he being disliked, and by someone much younger than himself? But there was nothing he could do; it was the truth, and he could indeed feel that he was holding the team back.
If this situation doesn't change, either the team's mission efficiency will be further slowed down to accommodate him, or he will die on the battlefield one day due to the high intensity of the mission.
"Thank you, Captain. I will definitely do my best."
"You stay here, I'll go survey the surroundings." Taiyi made an excuse to leave, mainly to give Hefengxu some time to think on her own. If she wanted to join the team, her current strength was definitely not enough, after all, they were not a team specifically for training newcomers.
Nothing happened during the first half of the night. Taiichi woke up Yohei and Saori, and then it was their turn to keep watch for the second half of the night, while Taiichi and Suzu went to rest.
And so, the night passed peacefully. In the morning, the four of them ate breakfast and tidied up. Taiyi then formed a few hand seals, and the ground beneath his feet churned slightly, swallowing up all traces of their overnight stay.
The four-man team then continued to roam the border area. During this time, they encountered other cleanup teams, exchanging information and sometimes cooperating to capture some cunning enemies.
To ensure the safe transport of supplies to the front lines and the safety of towns in the Land of Fire, all the foreign ninjas who have infiltrated the country must be eliminated without exception.
The four moved lightly through the forest, the rustling of leaves in the breeze masking their movements. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting shadows on the trees and making the forest less gloomy.
He Fengxu followed closely behind Yangping. After several days of intense fighting, he realized that deadly dangers could suddenly appear in this tranquil forest at any time, and that sticking close to his teammates was the best way to survive.
"Stop!" Taiyi suddenly raised his fist, and the team instantly halted, forming a defensive formation around Taiyi. Taiyi lowered his voice: "At 11 o'clock ahead, 800 meters away, there are 8 people advancing in an attack formation towards us."
"Judging from their aura, there are four Jonin and the rest are Chunin. The enemy must have sensory ninjas who have already locked onto us and are charging straight at us."
He Fengxu's back tensed, and his Adam's apple bobbed; he was clearly frightened by Taiyi's words.
Yang Ping licked his lips, his eyes blazing with overwhelming fighting spirit: "Four Jonin, that's great! Taichi, now I finally don't have to fight you for them anymore!"
Saori, unlike her usual gentle demeanor, looked at Taiichi with eager anticipation, clearly having full confidence in the team's strength.
Taiichi looked at the trusting expressions on the two people's faces and laughed heartily. A surge of pride rose in his heart. So what if they were four Jonin? With his current strength, how could he not even be able to handle four Jonin?
He sensed that the eight people opposite him, with four Jonin as the spearheads and Chunin scattered on both sides, were charging towards him.
Taiyi informed his companions of the situation, and the squad charged towards the enemy in the same formation.
A faint whooshing sound came from the forest, and eight figures swept through the bushes like ghosts. The scarred ninja at the head of the group had his eyes slightly closed, as if sensing something. He was clearly the sensory ninja.
"They're charging in too!"
"Oh, you've got guts. You spotted us but didn't run away."
"A bunch of brats, just making a death throes!"
In the time it takes to say a few words, the short distance of a few hundred meters is nothing more than a blink of an eye for the two opposing ninja groups.
Seeing the Sand Ninja appear in their field of vision, Taichi and Yohei exchanged a glance and accelerated in unison. They wanted to draw the enemy's firepower to prevent Saori and Suzu from being attacked by Jonin from the start.
Here, Taiyi's position is even further forward, like a real sharp knife, thrusting at the opponent under the strongest pressure.