"Neji, how is it?"
Some time had passed since the last mission.
During this period, Shinji's team had successively taken on several C-rank and B-rank missions.
It wasn't until now that they were finally able to accept an A-rank mission. This was only possible with Hiruzen's approval, as Konoha was currently at war with Iwagakure and Sunagakure.
The strength they displayed was almost universally recognized, and the mission load had become even heavier.
Shinji's team alone had three Jonin and Special Jonin, so to avoid wasting their talent, A-rank missions had to be issued.
At least Neji was not weak, and in the reports from these past missions, Hiruzen had clearly seen Neji's growth, which led him to agree.
"No problem, sensei." Neji nodded, then leaped back to the team.
"No suspicious targets have been seen around for now." Neji said with a serious expression.
Shinji nodded and then continued to move forward.
This mission was to transport supplies to the Land of Grass front line. The war had been going on for almost two months now.
Ōnoki was exasperated. After all, his Four-Tailed Jinchuriki was currently in Konoha's hands.
And the war on the front lines had been stagnant, as their opponent was Jiraiya, an experienced ninja who had gone through the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars.
Meanwhile, the Sunagakure front was constantly urging him for an explanation.
How could Ōnoki possibly compensate for so many lost supplies?
So, Ōnoki's attention turned to Konoha's supply convoys in the rear.
After all, Konoha's forces had been on the Land of Grass front line, and transporting supplies there would undoubtedly require a long journey.
Although Takigakure had been warned by Konoha not to allow Iwagakure passage, it still couldn't stop Iwagakure's small teams from infiltrating.
Therefore, Konoha had already had its supplies intercepted several times in the past half-month.
Generally, missions to transport supplies to the front line were classified as B-rank, led by Jonin with Chunin for transport.
However, with Iwagakure's continuous harassment, the losses were no longer small, so they were reclassified as A-rank missions.
"Alright, keep moving." Shinji instructed the supply convoy behind him.
Hearing Shinji speak, the team slowly began to move forward again.
Yushu was at the rear, while Koto was vigilant in the middle. Neji led the way, with Shinji supporting from the side.
Seeing the team start to move, Shinji led Neji to sit on top of a carriage.
If they were simply traveling, they would follow the ninja's own routes, but now they were with the supply convoy and could only slowly move forward in the carriage.
"Sensei, what is war like?" Neji, who had deactivated his Byakugan to rest, asked Shinji beside him.
"War, huh?" Shinji pondered for a moment, as he had only experienced it once himself.
The direct confrontation of troops was left to Kakashi, so for a moment, he didn't know how to explain it.
"Specifically, I can't explain it clearly, but what is clear is that—"
"No matter your strength, once you are on the battlefield, everyone is equal."
"Equal?" Neji was startled, not quite understanding what that meant.
"Yes, unless your strength can influence the situation on the battlefield, otherwise, sometimes, even small mistakes can lead to unexpected consequences." Shinji nodded, and this was not him talking nonsense.
Nawaki, although he was a Genin at the time, still had Senju blood, yet he was still killed by an explosive tag.
"The battlefield is a meat grinder, built from countless lives."
Listening to the examples Shinji gave, Neji couldn't help but nod.
There were all kinds of situations, and there were many instances of Jonin dying on the battlefield.
Shinji ignored Neji's contemplation. After all, the cruelty of war could not be represented by merely speaking of a few events or examples.
They stopped and started along the way, taking much longer than previous missions.
Fortunately, there were no major obstacles along the way, and the few Iwa ninjas they encountered were dealt with by Shinji and his team without much trouble.
However, as they got closer to the Land of Grass front line, Shinji became somewhat uneasy. After all, this transport route was one of the few unexposed lines. Yet, there were already traces of Iwagakure.
But with no intelligence, Shinji could only shake his head. If he couldn't figure out such a matter for now, it was better to deliver the supplies as quickly as possible.
For the rest of the time, Shinji and Neji began to take turns sensing, striving to deliver the supplies in the most secure manner.
Perhaps he was overthinking it, at least the supply convoy arrived safely at Konoha's camp in the Land of Grass.
"Shinji! You've finally arrived!"
Just after they had handed over the supplies to the ninjas in the camp, a familiar voice sounded from afar.
Shinji turned his head and saw Choza walking quickly towards them.
Neji quickly bowed in greeting. He had been training with Choji and others and would often go to the Akimichi clan to eat and drink. Neji had already known Choza for a long time.
"Oh, hello Neji, I didn't expect you to have graduated already." Choza was surprised to see Neji, then understood.
"Choza-senpai, what is this?" Shinji looked at Choza with a hint of curiosity, as when he first saw Choza, the expression on his face was one of relief.
Choza thought of the serious matter and looked at Shinji with a solemn expression. "If you hadn't arrived within these two days, I estimate I would have had to lead a team to investigate."
"Huh? Why?" Shinji was startled.
"I don't know what's going on, but Iwagakure seems to have gone mad. Even those few routes that had been hidden were successively discovered."
Choza's face was very grim. These routes were painstakingly developed by the Akimichi clan.
"What are the losses?" Ahinji's brows furrowed.
Just as he had worried, the exposure of these routes meant that Konoha's subsequent supply transport would become even more difficult. This was not good news for Jiraiya, who was on the front lines.
"Although there were still losses, they were not plundered by Iwagakure. With the experience from the previous times, this time, the transport teams were basically equipped with multiple Jonin."
"It's just that these routes can no longer be used subsequently."
Choza said this, then remembered to ask Shinji, "By the way, did you encounter any Iwa ninjas on the way?"
Shinji nodded and said, "Yes, but it was just a small team. It felt more like they got lost and ended up there."
"I dealt with them before they could send out any messages."
"Phew—"
"That's good, at least there isn't absolutely no fallback."
Choza breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this.
"By the way, come with me first. Jiraiya-sama has something for you."
After Choza finished speaking, he gestured for Shinji to follow.
Without hesitation, Shinji instructed Yushu and Koto to coordinate with the camp's ninja there, then called Neji and walked towards the main tent.