Chapter 35

If the patrol hasn't taken care of them, there shouldn't be anything serious, but it's better to prepare for various scenarios.

"Two shinobi at the level of ordinary genin from other villages and one at the level of our chuunin, so they're well within our capabilities."

"Yeah, our team isn't just three genin and a jounin, but two inexperienced chuunin and two average jounin. Against a much weaker opponent, we should manage without losses, especially in the case of a surprise attack."

"Then what are we waiting for?" I stretched my shoulders and cracked my neck, signaling full combat readiness.

Inside, anticipation slowly awakened—it was time to test the skills acquired through so much training and self-improvement, in a real battle. Not that fights with Mito-chan or invited 'friends' from Canada were vastly different, but the awareness of our own safety, even in the worst case scenario, greatly helps.

"If everyone has their spare equipment with them, we can set out," nodded our sensei.

Silently presenting scrolls pulled from pockets—for better mobility on our first journey outside the village—we followed Hyuga.

"How far do we need to go to reach our destination?" Tsume asked.

"According to the ANBU report, the camp is an hour's run away, so for us, that's approximately two and a half hours, maybe three if we conserve energy," answered our sensei. "You've outgrown ordinary genin now and shouldn't have much trouble with a short journey at a fast pace. So follow me! If we're lucky, we'll catch the camp sleeping, making our mission to eliminate them even easier."

Turning, Kanade ran towards the eastern service gates, and we followed her. Since there were already enough people on the streets, we had to leap onto roofs and sprint across them towards the village's exit. After a couple of minutes, our team signed out with the duty chunin and ran through the open space between the village walls and the forests, diving into it without paying attention to the road.

The Fire Country's forest can hardly be called ordinary, even with a very large stretch, as it more resembles a park. Let it be a park with simply gigantic trees, whose branches are ideal for shinobi movement, but still a park. No thickets, tangled undergrowth, or anything like that. Of course, we haven't traveled far from Konoha yet, but I doubt other countries have the same vegetation. Well, except for the Land of Forests (where the Senju supposedly originated).

If this is Hashirama's work, he solved several problems at once, starting with providing advantageous terrain for local shinobi and ending with various economic perks for the country as a supplier of unique wood. Of course, it's a little scary at first to climb to heights of dozens of meters, jumping from branch to branch, but after moving across rooftops, you quickly get used to it.

After a while, Hyuga signaled us to form a marching order with me at the rear, partners on the sides, and her in front, providing a very good view of the beautiful long legs of the kunoichi, tightly wrapped in fabric and a firm buttocks. Hmm, time to visit Mito. With some difficulty tearing my gaze away from the tempting sight, I focused on the surrounding environment.

If I don't distract myself urgently, running will become very uncomfortable, even if such a faux pas won't be noticed from the outside thanks to the cloak. Automatically noting an ANBU ninja moving some distance behind us, I returned my thoughts to a rather interesting topic.

The progress of the shinobi world. After sifting through heaps of books, diaries, and historical works in the library, it must be acknowledged that it is precisely the shinobi who are the cause of the halt in progress in this world. At least, this can be said specifically about technological progress.

Even during the times of clan wars, which lasted for quite a long period—several hundred years—there wasn't much time for science amid constant clashes between clans. The common people here are at least surviving, not engaging in science. The Daimyo are occupied with maintaining their own territories and certainly won't fund research. Trade doesn't thrive much in such conditions, even with relatively peaceful coexistence among shinobi entities. That's regarding technological progress.

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