Aoi Ren and his team were training at the Fourth Training Ground as usual.
With the war drawing near and personnel movements throughout the village, a tense atmosphere had begun to spread.
Over the past year and a half, all three of them had grown steadily stronger.
As Aoi Ren continued developing the power of his Glint-Glint Fruit, he had not only mastered its original abilities but also created several new techniques.
"Light Style: Healing Light."
A gentle glow enveloped a rabbit's injured leg in Aoi Ren's hands. The wound closed rapidly under the soft radiance.
Once the rabbit's leg had fully healed, Aoi Ren set it down gently.
"Wow, Ren, you finally did it!" Kurenai cheered in delight.
Indeed, this was one of the new techniques Aoi Ren had developed from his Devil Fruit powers. Its principle was similar to Medical Ninjutsu, stimulating the body's cells to promote healing.
But unlike Medical Ninjutsu, which consumed the patient's life force, Aoi Ren's light contained powerful life energy of its own. It not only healed without draining the patient, but could even replenish some of their vitality.
Beyond this healing ability, Aoi Ren had also developed several powerful offensive techniques, just waiting for the chance to be tested in battle.
Among the trio, Yugao specialized in kenjutsu, while Kurenai focused on genjutsu. The team had lacked a healer—Aoi Ren's new ability filled that gap perfectly.
In this year and a half, it wasn't just Aoi Ren who had improved. Kurenai had learned much from her father, even mastering a potent genjutsu called "Illusion Style: Nightmare Mirage," which showed the target their greatest fear, leaving them defenseless.
Yugao's Leaf-Style Sword Technique had advanced swiftly too. She could now use the "Leaf-Style: Crescent Moon Dance" with ease.
With their strength rising and missions piling up, all three had been promoted to chunin. During this time, Yugao had also become Aoi Ren's girlfriend, bringing the progress of that "School Tyrant Mission Part 2" to two-thirds complete.
Though Aoi Ren did want to finish the mission and earn another supreme lottery point, he wasn't the kind of person to treat feelings lightly. Romance had to happen naturally.
During wartime, the bar for chunin promotion was simple. Master three C-rank jutsu and you qualified. That alone showed how serious the conflict with the Lands of Wind and Earth had become.
Just as Kurenai and Yugao were celebrating Ren's successful new technique, Orochimaru appeared at the training ground.
"Ah, I'm sorry, my dear subordinates," Orochimaru said, though his tone was as cold as ever despite the apology.
"For a while, I have some matters to handle. You're all chunin now. You can manage missions without a jonin leader. During my absence, Ren will act as team captain. The next mission is already assigned."
"I hope when we meet again, you're all still alive."
He handed Ren the mission scroll, then vanished in a flicker.
...
After Orochimaru left, Aoi Ren opened the scroll to see the task.
"B-rank mission: investigate the merchant caravan."
Their assignment was to tail and scout a suspicious merchant caravan that had caught Konoha's attention due to its odd behavior.
In these chaotic times, even a small irregularity warranted scrutiny. They couldn't afford to overlook any potential threat.
Of course, they couldn't just attack. First they had to confirm the caravan's true identity.
If Konoha went around wiping out everyone on mere suspicion, the Land of Fire would descend into chaos.
Fourth Squad didn't need to fight unless forced to. Their mission was reconnaissance. If they discovered anything, they were to report back immediately.
But if the caravan was a front for enemy ninja, Fourth Squad could be attacked at any time. That was why this reconnaissance task rated as a B-rank mission.
After reviewing the assignment, Aoi Ren told Kurenai and Yugao to make their preparations, then meet at the village gate.
...
Leaving Konoha behind, the team set out.
Several days later, they reached a distant small town.
The latest intel placed the caravan there.
As Fourth Squad arrived, the caravan was just preparing to depart.
The trio shadowed them, watching closely.
At first glance, the caravan seemed perfectly normal. Dozens of people, none behaving strangely, all appearing to be ordinary civilians.
But after following for some time, Ren sensed something off.
"This caravan is suspicious."
His voice was low, but firm.
"What did you notice?"
Kurenai looked at him curiously, not seeing the cause for concern.
"Look closely. Every last one of them seems like an ordinary person."
Ren's eyes gleamed as he studied the caravan.
"And why is that odd?"
"If they're really merchants, why don't they have any ninja guards? In this chaotic era, no caravan travels without protection."
Kurenai's expression changed as realization dawned.
"You mean…"
"Exactly. There are enemy ninja hidden among them. No doubt about it."
"We don't need to know their exact purpose. We just have to confirm who they really are."
"Orochimaru wouldn't have assigned us this mission without prior intel. We just have to finish what he started."
Yugao nodded.
"Our task is done. But how do we get the report back?"
Kurenai frowned slightly.
"We can't let them out of our sight. If they vanish or hide, we're in trouble."
"Ren, you're the fastest. How about you go back with the report? Yugao and I will keep watch."
But Ren shook his head, his lips twitching slightly.
"That won't be necessary."
"Why not?"
"Because they've spotted us."
[ 250 - 1 Extra Chapter ]