Back at home, Ren Kurogane packed his backpack, double-checking for any missing gear before rushing toward the main gate.
Assigning us an out-of-village mission at such a dangerous turning point... I have a bad feeling we might not be coming back, he grumbled internally.
When he arrived at the Konoha gates, his team leader, Cheng Aoyama, was standing by a carriage, fully prepared to depart. Two individuals wearing bamboo hats sat atop the carriage, their headgear pulled low over their faces as if they were asleep.
However, judging by their breathing patterns, they were definitely not ordinary civilians.
It seems the cargo we're escorting isn't simple at all.
"Haha! I'll take the lead and scout ahead!" Masakata Yamada marched at the front of the group, walking with an exaggerated, confident stride.
Ren and Aya Okita took positions on either side of the carriage while Cheng Aoyama brought up the rear, forming a basic protective formation.
As they traveled, Aya remained hyper-vigilant, her nerves tightening at the slightest rustle of grass or shift in the wind. Ren, however, maintained a calm expression and walked with a steady pace, appearing almost indifferent to his surroundings.
In reality, he was constantly scanning the area with his Observation Haki. If he sensed even the slightest hint of true danger, he was prepared to grab his teammates and bolt.
The mission reeked of hidden complexities, and Ren had no intention of exposing his true strength here. However, abandoning his teammates wasn't an option either. His plan was simple: if things went south, he'd force them to retreat with him. As basic Genin, they wouldn't have the strength to resist his lead anyway.
Because of the carriage, their pace was slow. It took three full days of travel before they reached the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain, where they finally delivered the supplies to the front lines.
Phew. It looks like nothing dangerous actually happened. As long as we make it back to Konoha smoothly, this mission will be a success, Ren thought, feeling a sense of relief.
His teammate, Masakata, clearly didn't share that sentiment. "Why was the trip so quiet?" the boy grumbled. "I didn't even get a chance to show off my skills..."
Ren raised a hand, tempted to give Masakata a swift knock on the head, but Aya was faster. A sharp thwack echoed, followed immediately by Masakata's yelp of pain.
"Aya! What was that for?!" Masakata clutched his head, tears pricking the corners of his eyes as he glared at his violent teammate.
Aya shook her hand out. "A peaceful journey is a blessing. What are you complaining about?"
Ren chimed in with a grin. "She's right. If we had actually run into trouble, someone with your skill level would have been the first to die. Besides, if you're so eager to achieve glory, why don't you stay here on the front lines? Let's see if you can last even two days."
Faced with the combined mockery of Ren and Aya, Masakata's face flushed bright red. "Hmph! What kind of ninja are you if you don't experience real combat?!" he shouted defiantly before storming off.
Ren and Aya exchanged a look, both sharing a sense of profound helplessness.
"He's too impulsive," Aya Okita sighed, her voice weary. "We're just ordinary people. We don't even know a single C-rank ninjutsu. If we hit real danger, we're finished..."
Aya saw the reality clearly. She understood that for "cannon fodder" like them, survival was the ultimate goal; chasing unrealistic dreams of glory was a fool's errand.
Her perspective aligned perfectly with Ren's. He wasn't even at "Beyond Kage" level yet—participating in a Great Shinobi War now was no different from a suicide mission.
The two ignored the departing Masakata. Within the safety of the Konoha camp, it was unlikely anything would happen to him.
While at the front, Ren halted his development of the Chidori. To ensure his own safety, he spent the next two days staying out of sight in the rear. Unless Cheng Aoyama came looking for him personally, he was nowhere to be found.
Wait a second. Wasn't our mission supposed to be over? Why aren't we heading back yet? Is there some hidden danger? Ren wondered anxiously while hunkered down in his tent.
However, he reminded himself that he was just a Genin. Even if the front lines broke into a decisive battle, they wouldn't send a fresh graduate like him into the fray.
Sure enough, the next day brought news that Jiraiya's group had engaged in a full-scale battle with Hanzo of the Salamander. The shinobi in the camp swarmed out to the battlefield, leaving only the medical ninja behind to prepare for the influx of wounded.
Ren and the other Genin were ordered to stay behind as well. Since their team leader was out in combat, they couldn't return to the village yet.
Today, Ren couldn't stay hidden. He was assigned a task: whenever wounded soldiers were brought in, he had to assist the medical corps. To put it bluntly, he was a stretcher-bearer, hauling broken bodies into tents for treatment.
Technically, this shouldn't have been Team 5's responsibility, but they were the only ones available. Free labor was too good to pass up.
As he carried one wounded shinobi after another, listening to their agonizing screams, Ren felt a strange lack of emotion.
Am I really this cold-blooded? he wondered. He decided that being cold-blooded wasn't necessarily a bad thing. In this chaotic era, a "Saint" complex was a one-way ticket to an early grave. From the thousands of stories he had read in his past life, he knew that backstabbing among ninja—even those from Konoha—wasn't uncommon.
Over the next few days, Ren and his team were buried in work. When they weren't transporting the wounded, they were helping collect the dead. He heard they would even be sent to the actual front lines tomorrow to retrieve the bodies of fallen comrades.
During this time, Masakata's loud-mouthed complaining had significantly quieted. Seeing the reality of the wounded seemed to have finally given the boy a taste of what war truly meant.
After another long day of labor, a piece of heartbreaking news reached the camp that evening.
"Hanzo of the Salamander has dubbed Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade as the 'Sannin.' It's a total humiliation!" a Jonin in the camp spat out in fury.
To be granted a title by an enemy implied that Konoha's three strongest young elites were somehow inferior.
"Let's move. We need to go move out and rendezvous with Jiraiya and the others."
"Right. Bring those Genin along too. It's time they saw the real world."
Listening to the conversation from his tent, Ren grasped the current situation.
It looks like the war between Konoha and the Hidden Rain is coming to an end. Soon, Jiraiya will disappear for three years, and Tsunade and Orochimaru will become commanders on other battlefields, cementing the Sannin name across the shinobi world.
But what did that have to do with him? He was just a Genin fresh out of the Academy.
Ren let his consciousness sink, entering the "Brotherhood Space."
As soon as he entered, a figure in a white lab coat appeared before him. Looking closely, the man bore a striking resemblance to Ren, though he appeared to be in his thirties.
"Who are you?" White Coat Ren asked, eyeing the boy with confusion. The kid looked like a younger version of himself.
"I'm you," Ren said with a smirk. "This is the Brotherhood Space. It's a bit complicated to explain. Just come over and give me a fist-bump; you'll understand everything."
Ren raised his fist toward the man. The latter hesitated for a moment, but considering the situation in his own world, he gritted his teeth and met Ren's fist!