Setting out from Konoha Village at midday, it takes at least a dozen hours of travel to reach the frontline battlefield of the Land of Fire.
By evening, Hakushi and his team of six found a strategically advantageous spot to rest for the night, preparing to set out again at dawn, and by the next evening, they should reach the Konoha Camp at the frontline.
This war between Hidden Sand and Konoha had its borderlines at the junction of the Land of Rivers and the Land of Fire.
The Land of Rivers is a small country located between the two great nations, the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind; its northern part is adjacent to the Land of Rain. Although it has some ninja forces, their organized ninja villages are too weak, with no notoriety in the Ninja Realm.
Therefore, in this war, the ninja forces of the Land of Rivers can be almost ignored.
The six of them were resting in the open, but their desire to communicate with each other was not very strong.
Firstly, after rushing for most of the day, everyone's bodies were already fatigued, and they all hoped to rest well.
Secondly, the two teams weren't very familiar with each other.
Maybe Jiraiya's and Sakumo's relationship was good, but Hakushi and his team had no connection with Minato.
Even if they recognized each other, it was just by hearing the other's name casually, like mere acquaintances, not even close friends.
"His strength is formidable."
Hakushi, leaning against a big tree, was pondering about Natural Energy when Ruri suddenly made this remark.
"What?"
Hakushi ended his thoughts and instinctively looked up.
"This guy has no flaws at all. Even when resting, he chooses advantageous terrain to defend himself, and he judged it at the first instance, showing that his analytical ability is top-notch. While facing Mr. Sakumo, he remains unassuming and isn't intimidated by Sakumo's presence. He's very confident in his own strength."
Hakushi understood that Ruri was referring to Namikaze Minato, who was on the other side.
Hakushi nodded in agreement with Ruri's evaluation.
How could a ninja following the Sannin be simple?
Moreover, during his time at Ninja School, Minato had already stood out as a renowned genius.
According to Hakushi's estimation, Minato's current strength might have already reached Jonin Level.
"But compared to you, Ruri, he's probably still a bit behind."
Ayane said with a smile then.
Ruri's strength in Sakumo's team was second only to the captain, Sakumo. With the excellent bloodline abilities of the Uchiha Race, an ordinary Jonin would have difficulty gaining an advantage over Ruri.
"You only know such things after a fight."
Ruri, although proud, felt that Minato, who was capable enough to follow the Sannin, was not comparable to an ordinary Jonin.
However, Ruri was very confident in her own strength, especially after mastering Natural Energy. Her Taijutsu alone could be incredibly troublesome for Jonin-level ninjas.
Moreover, during battle, they would also have to be vigilant about her Sharingan constantly.
Overall, if a battle did happen, Ruri didn't believe she had any chance of losing.
But the fact is, the opponent's strength was indeed significant.
If the situation allowed, she very much wanted to probe a bit. However, at times like this, in such locations, it was better to exercise a little restraint.
"Alright, it's almost time for the patrol."
At this point, Hakushi stood up, ending the conversation about Minato.
Even if their last mission annihilated an elite unit from Hidden Sand and there haven't been any reports of destruction within the Land of Fire recently, they couldn't let their guard down.
Whenever leaving the village to carry out missions, they had to be twice as vigilant to prevent any unforeseen incidents.
Sakumo's team's patrol tasks were always conducted in pairs.
Hakushi and Ayane were responsible for the first half of the night, while Ruri and Sakumo took the latter half.
Now that night had almost fallen, Hakushi and Ayane began their patrol, checking around to see if there were any enemies lurking.
With a nod to Ruri, Hakushi and Ayane disappeared from the spot, commencing their patrol duties.
Ruri watched their retreating figures for a moment and said nothing.
The patrol task was relatively simple for Hakushi's group, especially with Ayane's Byakugan. Within a five-kilometer radius, any approaching enemy would find it impossible to escape the Byakugan's sight.
Although in terms of range, the Byakugan couldn't compare with Perception Ninjas, Perception Ninjutsu could only determine distance, direction, and the number of targets. In contrast, the Byakugan's full surveillance capabilities could reveal what techniques the enemy was using and how they should counterattack, swiftly suppressing the enemy's morale.
Thanks to the Byakugan, Konoha could avoid any carefully laid traps by the enemy in each war, rendering any of the enemy's conspiracies and deceptions ineffective.
"About here should be enough."
On reaching another forest area, Hakushi stopped.
Ayane had already activated her Byakugan; as soon as anyone approached, she would detect them.
From there, they only needed to patrol the surroundings periodically to complete their first-half patrol duty.
Hakushi took a piece of paper out of his Ninja Tool Bag and handed it to Ayane.
Ayane tilted her head slightly, puzzled but took the paper, looked around carefully, found nothing unusual, and opened it.
On it was written—Is there a presence of toads around?
"..."
Toads?
Ayane didn't quite understand why Hakushi was asking such a question, but she gently shook her head.