Scout

"Even though I had so much left, it still felt like it wasn’t enough."

Two A-Rank Plot Points had vanished at once, leaving Xu Yue’s once-full pockets noticeably lighter.

He still had one S-Rank Plot Point, but he already had a use for that…

The consequence of squeezing Tsunade’s 20 points of favorability dry was that, once Xu Yue had learned everything he could, she grabbed him by the neck, hauled him out of the tent, and kicked him away.

In Tsunade’s words, Xu Yue’s ability to protect himself was now sufficient for the battlefield. Boys still needed to go through more hardship.

It was practically a 180-degree reversal from Tsunade’s attitude and plans when Xu Yue had first arrived.

And as the number of wounded soldiers he treated while studying Medical Ninjutsu suddenly surged, Xu Yue vaguely sensed that the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire had likely moved beyond their probing stage. Both sides had truly worked themselves into a rage and begun an all-out clash.

The Land of Fire was vast and rich in resources, with abundant supplies and sufficient manpower.

But because of the harsh environment and their own elite-soldier policy, the Land of Wind also displayed its tenacious side once the intensity of the conflict rose.

Konoha clearly held an obvious advantage in every respect, yet they were unable to take the enemy down quickly. Xu Yue had also begun carrying out battlefield missions. As the situation grew increasingly tense, Tsunade could hardly allow combat power at the level of a "Special Jonin" to go to waste.

Still, compared to starting out in the cannon fodder camp, Xu Yue always felt there was something wrong with the way he had entered the battlefield…

Kikyo Castle itself stood amid the desert and rocky wasteland near the border. Going deeper into the desert and passing through the brief stretch of the Land of Rivers brought one into the Land of Wind. At that moment, three figures were speeding across the sands.

Amid the dull silence of their journey, a voice broke the group’s quiet.

"Yue, not many from your Uchiha Clan came to the Land of Wind battlefield this time. It seems your clan has always protected its genin quite well."

A handsome long-haired man in a ninja vest spoke to Xu Yue beside him, whose eyes looked half-dead. His tone carried a hint of teasing, as though he were simply trying to find something to talk about during the boring trip.

Xu Yue felt no ripples in his heart.

If I remembered correctly, wasn’t I supposed to be a newbie on my first Promotion Mission? Why had I been assigned this kind of deep reconnaissance mission behind enemy lines? Shouldn’t I have been slacking off in the cannon fodder camp?

And fine, even if they assigned me here, why did they send two other Reincarnators to team up with me?!

Because of his Anbu and Uchiha Clan identities, Xu Yue did not wear his usual business smile this time. He remained cold and aloof throughout.

These teammates had not originally been assigned to him. It seemed they had used some connections to replace the original team voluntarily.

Did their experience in the cannon fodder camp make them think there was some plot to dig out of me?

You’re veterans of the Reincarnation Space too. Couldn’t you keep your cool? With such an obvious question, anyone could tell you were trying to find out where to obtain a rare Single Tomoe Sharingan.

Still, they did not know he was also a Reincarnator, so it was understandable that they asked such a foolish question.

Seeing that Xu Yue did not react, the handsome long-haired man gave their other teammate a look.

"Yue, you’re not even twelve yet, are you? To be able to take on a mission deep within enemy territory alongside us at that age, you must be considered a genius even within your clan."

The other man, an older and kindly-looking uncle, shifted to a different approach.

Young people always liked this sort of flattery.

"Do you look down on the Uchiha Clan?"

Yet Xu Yue turned around and displayed Ao Tian’s Uchiha-like arrogance to the fullest, leaving both men awkward.

It felt as though they had kissed someone’s cold ass.

Damn it. I knew the Uchiha Clan was hard to deal with!

Who knew what the higher-ups in the legion were thinking? Recently, they had actually started placing importance on the Uchiha Clan, the very clan that would be massacred later.

After learning that a lone Uchiha clansman was mixed into the cannon fodder forces on a secret mission, they sent the two of us over.

Sure enough, Uchiha are all still this annoying!

Why invest so much in this bloodline limit? It was extremely difficult to obtain, its effects were mediocre, and it was far inferior to putting effort into the Byakugan.

Didn’t the mission involving the Byakugan show some promise last time? Although it failed, they should have continued researching in that direction.

I heard that it wasn’t just our side. Members of other teams entering Ninja War scenarios at different stages had also begun leaning toward the Uchiha Clan.

It was just that many elite teams entered timelines after the massacre, when there were barely any Uchiha left. The main burden fell on unlucky people like us in this timeline.

And all it took was a casual command from that big shot at the camp, and the two of us had to run our legs off.

The two of them could not help sighing. What a pity this guy had not awakened his Sharingan. Otherwise, they could have joined forces and taken him out in some deserted corner, then concealed it from each other and report him as a battlefield casualty when they returned.

Should we find a way to provoke him on the battlefield? I heard the Uchiha Clan’s Sharingan could only awaken when one suffered an enormous mental shock.

Then it might very well be a rare Single Tomoe!

"Hmm? Something’s coming. Everyone, be careful."

The handsome long-haired man seemed to possess some sort of sensory ability. He raised a hand, signaling them to stop.

Even Xu Yue was somewhat surprised, and he studied the man carefully.

The faint blue glow in his eyes was likely a vision-related ability. But in this terrain filled with sand dunes, even if Xu Yue activated his Sharingan, his sight would be obstructed from all directions. Did he have some kind of high-altitude perspective ability?

As he considered this, Xu Yue looked up. Sure enough, a faintly blue, translucent outline of a bird hovered in the sky.

Perhaps it was some kind of summon or familiar that could share its master’s vision.

"Who are they? How many? Do we need to avoid them?"

The middle-aged uncle clearly knew his companion’s ability and asked calmly.

Given their current status, whether as Reincarnators or ninjas, they deeply understood the importance of intelligence. The fact that even this two-man outing included someone skilled in reconnaissance showed how seriously they took it.

"It’s a Sand Ninja scout squad. Three people as well. Judging from their movement speed, they should be a standard Chunin squad. One of them is dressed rather strangely."

Chen Yang, the handsome long-haired man, exchanged a meaningful look with Tan Gong, the middle-aged uncle. Tan Gong immediately understood that there was likely a Reincarnator among the approaching group!

They could now more or less confirm one person. As for the other two, they had no idea whether they were natives or Reincarnators fully disguised as Sand Ninja.

The two exchanged looks and signals, and Xu Yue naturally understood what they meant.

"Since they’re a scout squad, let’s test them first. If we can’t defeat them, we retreat."

Their mission was clear: gather intelligence, not fight as their primary objective. Encountering enemy ninjas within enemy territory meant fighting if they could win and preserving their strength if they could not.

And as long as scout squads tested each other and found their combat strengths to be roughly equal, unless they had received some absolute order from above, they would tacitly stop after a "polite probing."

"In desert terrain, there’s no need to compete with them in stealth. We might as well take the initiative and test them first."

Tan Gong, the middle-aged uncle and temporary team leader, made the suggestion. Xu Yue and Chen Yang both agreed.

The three then headed toward a sand dune ahead and to the side. The enemies were approaching from the other side, hidden behind the dune…