When Shinji arrived in the main tent with Neji in a hurry, Jiraiya was looking at the military report with a frown.
Hearing the sound, he looked up and said, "Oh, it's Shinji, come here quickly."
Jiraiya's hearty voice immediately eased the atmosphere in the main tent.
Shinji nodded to the several Jonin present. The Jonin who were originally seated also stood up and greeted Shinji.
Seeing this, Jiraiya did not stop them, and only spoke when it was time, "Alright, that's enough for now, we'll discuss it again later."
Hearing this, the Jonin did not hesitate and left the main tent one after another. It was clear that Jiraiya had something to say or a mission for Shinji.
When only Choza, Shinji, and Neji remained in the main tent, Jiraiya finally looked at Neji.
He praised, "I didn't expect that your disciple has also started performing missions."
"Alright, Jiraiya-senpai, just say what you need to say." Shinji interrupted Jiraiya, as there's a time for chatting.
Reminded by this, Jiraiya finally reacted and laughed heartily, "Hahaha. It's a habit."
"Take a look at this mission scroll."
As he spoke, Jiraiya picked up a mission report from the table and handed it to Shinji.
Shinji opened the scroll and read its contents, which made him frown involuntarily.
Jiraiya said with a calm expression, "Although there hasn't been much progress on the front lines for now, the exposure of these several routes in the rear makes it necessary to be cautious."
"This is a mission that was relayed from the village yesterday, so I've been waiting for you to arrive."
Shinji looked at the mission on the scroll and nodded after a while, saying, "I'll do my best to complete it. Is there a time limit?"
The mission written on the scroll was simple: Hiruzen wanted Shinji to clear out the infiltrating Iwagakure squad as quickly as possible.
Hiruzen also issued a mission to the Land of Waterfall, instructing Takigakure to send a squad to prevent further Iwagakure infiltration.
"The sooner, the better." Jiraiya said with a solemn expression.
Shinji paused upon hearing this, then reacted and looked at Jiraiya.
Such urgency for him to complete the mission meant that Iwagakure had already made a move.
Seeing Shinji's expression, Jiraiya naturally knew he had realized it.
He said with admiration, "Iwagakure's recent troop numbers have noticeably increased. I'm worried that a major battle will break out in the next few days."
The conflicts of the past two months had only been mutual probing and small-scale skirmishes at most. But now, if Iwagakure can no longer sit still, it means a major battle is about to begin.
"I understand. Within three days, I'll give it my all."
Seeing this, Shinji no longer hesitated and readily agreed.
Once a major battle begins, the logistics department will no longer have extra energy to spare. It's best to resolve it as quickly as possible before the fighting starts.
"Good, I'll leave it to you. Do you need any additional personnel for your squad?" Jiraiya nodded and then asked.
After all, this mission was not easy, and Shinji's statement here was like making a military pledge.
As his senior, Jiraiya naturally wouldn't set up his junior for failure. So he thought of offering Shinji some help in terms of strength.
Shinji pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Temporarily replacing team members would require a period of adjustment."
"It's better for my current squad to continue. At least we can ensure strict adherence to commands."
Jiraiya's gaze involuntarily fell on Neji. In truth, he wanted to replace Neji. However, once a major battle unfolds, Neji would be in even more danger here.
So he nodded in agreement. "Alright, you have two hours to rest. There are some locations on the scroll."
"These were summarized by the Jonin who performed transport missions, and they should be able to give you some help."
"Understood." Shinji nodded, then led Neji out of the main tent.
Choza watched Shinji leave, then turned to Jiraiya and asked, "Jiraiya-sama, do we really not need to send more people?"
Jiraiya shook his head. He wanted to, but the number of Jonin on this front line was limited.
"There's no other way. For now, this is all we can do."
Jiraiya remembered something and asked Choza, "By the way, has Fugaku's team arrived yet?"
Choza shook his head. "Not yet. The village only mentioned sending them yesterday, so for now, the earliest they could arrive would probably be the day after tomorrow."
The Uchiha clan being sent out by the village at this time meant that the outlook for this major battle was not optimistic. Once it began, it would be a battle to determine victory or defeat.
Jiraiya nodded and continued to spread out the map, beginning to ponder.
As they moved further away from the central command tent, Neji finally spoke, "Sensei, you should have replaced me, actually."
Shinji turned to Neji upon hearing this and waved his hand, saying, "Neji, there's no need to underestimate yourself. Your strength is already greater than that of an average Special Jonin."
"It's just that you've always been training with Naruto and the others, so you haven't had an accurate understanding of your own capabilities."
This wasn't Shinji lying. Neji's talent was already good. Coupled with his training under him for the past two years, his strength was already considerable. What he lacked was battle experience, which could only be honed gradually.
"Let's go. We'll meet up with Yushu and the others, rest up, and then depart." With that, Shinji headed towards the logistics camp.
Neji stood rooted to the spot for a while, then clenched his fists and followed Shinji's steps.
—
At the logistics camp, Yushu and Koto were stunned when they heard Shinji explain the mission.
"This mission won't be easy, so if any of you feel you can't handle it, you can withdraw." Shinji said, looking at the two.
His own thoughts were one thing. Whether Yushu and Koto could accept it was up to them.
"Yes, Shinji-sama." Koto replied without hesitation, nodding.
The Yamanaka clan was already on good terms with Shinji, and the clan head knew that he had recently started following Shinji again. He had instructed him to always follow Shinji's arrangements.
Yushu pondered for a moment, then looked up at Shinji and said, "Shinji-sama, I need to resupply my materials."
Hearing this, Shinji naturally had no objections.
Yushu herself fought using various methods. Compared to Kenjutsu, she could unleash more combat power using scrolls and Fuinjutsu.
"No problem. I'll talk to Choza-senpai later, and he can arrange it for you." Shinji nodded.
Such items were the least lacking here right now.
Yushu smiled upon hearing this, saying very casually, "Then I have no problem."
Seeing that his teammates had no issues, Shinji made the arrangements.
"Alright, we'll rest for two hours now, get all the necessary items ready, and then we'll depart."
After all, time was short, and the mission was critical.