Chapter 31: Ambush

"Seimei, have you really mastered it?" Furukawa didn't show any reaction to Seimei's answer, but Ryosuke, standing beside them, couldn't stay calm. Although he had long known that there was a gap between him and Seimei in learning ability, his youthful competitive spirit still made him unwilling to fall behind. Previously, when Furukawa taught Seimei the Body Flicker Technique, he didn't avoid Ryosuke. Therefore, Ryosuke also learned it along the way. Over the past few days, he had practiced diligently and finally grasped some of the technique's key points. He might not be able to use it in intense combat, but he could perform it completely during normal times. Although this couldn't be considered as having mastered the technique, it was enough for Ryosuke to be proud of himself. He originally thought that Seimei's progress would be similar to his, maybe slightly ahead at most. But the reality was far from it. Having been teammates for several months, Ryosuke had a certain understanding of Seimei's way of speaking and acting. Seimei might deliberately downplay his strength, but he would never exaggerate. In other words, when Seimei said he had "learned it," his actual skill level was definitely far beyond that. Therefore, Ryosuke's feelings were complicated. He had once again failed to catch up. For a moment, he was filled with negative energy. Seimei keenly sensed the change in his emotions and roughly guessed the reason with a little thought. However, he didn't offer any comfort because it was the truth. Not wanting to dwell on this issue, Seimei then asked, "Where's Shizuko? Hasn't she arrived yet?" In the past, Mizutani Shizuko was always the first to arrive at gatherings. But now... Seimei glanced at the time. It was almost the final deadline for assembly, and she still hadn't arrived. This made Seimei a bit surprised. "Could something have happened?" Seimei thought to himself. "I don't know..." Ryosuke replied listlessly. As he spoke, he looked towards the village entrance and happened to see Mizutani Shizuko rushing over. So, he waved and shouted, "Shizuko, over here!" Hearing his call, Mizutani Shizuko quickly turned her head. After recognizing them, she forced a smile and hurried over. "Shizuko, why are you so late today? Did something happen?" Ryosuke asked before Mizutani Shizuko even got close. Mizutani Shizuko shook her head and squeezed out another forced smile, saying, "Nothing, I just woke up late." "Is that so?" Ryosuke touched his chin and said seriously, "Then you should set an alarm clock so you won't oversleep, just like me..." Looking at the rambling Ryosuke, Seimei wondered if he was genuinely oblivious or intentionally trying to ease Mizutani Shizuko's pressure. Anyone with eyes could see that Mizutani Shizuko's arrival at this time wasn't simply due to oversleeping. Her red and swollen eyes indicated that she had been crying not long ago. Connecting this to the fact that they were about to head to the battlefield, it wasn't hard to guess that these were tears shed during farewells with her family. This also made Seimei deeply realize that this was a real world. Here, war was war. It wouldn't become justifiable just because of a few slogans. Ninja were also human. They had their own emotions, families, friends, and lives. Once they died, it would affect a large number of people. Therefore, there were many people who feared war, but they were bound by a series of rules and concepts and could only be forced to accept it. 'Sigh! This is indeed a twisted world!' Sighing inwardly, Seimei stopped thinking further and began to patiently wait for the team's departure. Time passed by minute by minute. When the team was fully assembled, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, appeared before everyone. What followed was a passionate and inspiring speech. It had to be said that his words were very motivating. After the speech, the young Chunin and Genin were filled with enthusiasm, eager to go to the battlefield and fight the enemy immediately. Even Mizutani Shizuko, who was in a bad mood, showed a hint of a smile after hearing his words. Only the Jonin maintained serious expressions throughout, seemingly unaffected by his words. But thinking about it, it made sense. Those who could become Jonin had all fought their way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Their will was not something that could be easily swayed by a few words. To motivate them, either tangible benefits or a sense of righteousness was needed. Otherwise, why would they listen to you with just empty words? Just because you're the Hokage? The Hokage was elected by everyone! Well... Maybe, probably. Seimei shook his head, stopping his thoughts. These matters were still far from him, and he didn't want to get involved in them. In the end, the ninja world was a world where strength reigned supreme. As long as you had enough strength, even if you didn't understand anything, you could still speak with your fists. If you didn't like someone, you could just knock them down with a punch. Why bother thinking so much? Therefore, increasing strength was the most important thing. A few minutes later. The speech ended, and the team set off. Seimei roughly counted. There were about thirty Jonin and sixty or seventy Tokubetsu Jonin accompanying them. As for Chunin and Genin, there were over three hundred, close to four hundred in total. Such a large team naturally couldn't move too fast. Not to mention there were also dozens of supply carts. Therefore, it took them a full two weeks to leave the Land of Fire and enter the battlefield in the Land of Rain. As soon as they entered the Land of Rain, they were greeted by continuous drizzle. Often, they wouldn't see the sun for two or three days. So, the team's progress slowed down even further. Almost another week later. They arrived at a canyon. Passing through this canyon and walking a few dozen miles further would lead them to Konoha's main camp in the Land of Rain. That was their destination for this trip, and these dozens of carts of supplies were also headed there. Seimei looked at the deep canyon ahead, his brows twitching. Even he, a battlefield novice, knew that such terrain was perfect for ambushes. Seimei didn't believe that those Jonin wouldn't notice this. 'Then why take this route?' Seimei couldn't think of any other reason except being forced to. In other words, the situation on Konoha's side in the Land of Rain battlefield was far less optimistic than he had imagined. Otherwise, they wouldn't have kept such a supply route. Fortunately, the Konoha Jonin weren't incompetent either. Before entering the canyon, they slowed down the team's pace. At the same time, they sent out several squads to search the front and the cliffs on both sides for any enemy ambushes. Time passed by second by second as the team slowly advanced. Suddenly, a loud explosion came from the distant cliff, and a faint crimson flame could be seen rising. "It's an explosive tag, there's an ambush!" Someone in the team shouted, and the crowd suddenly became panicked. Fortunately, the Jonin spoke up in time to stop the chaos.