"Well ... Minato Namikaze's team."
Chūnin Hideyoshi Hyuga, guarding the gates and responsible for assigning patrol duties, couldn't help but open his blank eyes and look at the child with the bandaged eyes in front of him, hesitating in his mind.
"It is true that this is Orochimaru-sama's seal, yes. But for a few children to patrol the outermost areas, is a bit ..."
"Since there is no problem with the assignment, please let us pass."
Manoshi understood his opponent's hesitation, but he didn't want to tarry at the gates of the city. So he took the task book from the other party's hand and handed it back to Kakashi to signal him to put it away.
"The fact that we were given this mission naturally shows that we have the ability to complete it, and Orochimaru-sama wouldn't mess around! "
Even though it was late, Manoshi took Kakashi and Obito straight to the outskirts of the city.
In patrol tasks, on one hand, a shinobi's movements should be excellent, and at the same time, a shinobi's ability to perceive, observe and find enemies and anomalies was required.
Neither Obito nor Kakashi was shinobi with perception abilities.
In fact, the strongest sensory ninja in Konoha Village was none other than the Hyuga clan that was guarding the entrance.
As soon as the Byakugan was opened, all the grass blown by the wind within a 1-kilometer radius couldn't escape the observation of the Hyuga clan members.
However, it was impossible for only one clan group to be assigned to every corner of the battlefield.
This was where Manoshi's weaker auditory perception could come in handy. At least with the moonlight, Manoshi's perception would have some advantage against Suna.
The area where Manoshi and his team needed to patrol was near the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers.
The Land of rivers, which had no ninja village, had now become Suna's military garrison. Although shinobis wouldn't actively harass civilians, the aftermath of the war had also affected the villagers' livelihood and productivity.
Therefore, many refugees migrated in groups towards the Land of Fire or the Land of Rain.
Most of these refugees would settle in the Land of Fire and become a member of Konoha Village, while a few would become outlaws and eventually be annihilated by shinobis.
However, Manoshi's task wasn't to deal with these refugees but to find wandering shinobis and Suna spies mixed in with the refugees.
The evening wasn't the time for the refugees to travel in haste, either.
"There are vibrations to the west." Manoshi pressed his hands to the ground and once again sensed a distant presence.
"It's not some animal again, is it, Manoshi-senpai!?"
Obito's mouth spat out, but his body was frankly on alert towards the west.
Manoshi's level was limited; he could only vaguely tell that something was moving and couldn't determine exactly who or what it was yet, let alone distinguish a person's physical state based on their breath like the blind monk.
Of course, he was happy to practice his ability in this form.
Obito and Kakashi didn't dare to miss any possible enemies.
The source of the vibrations was tellingly approaching, and a distance of several hundred meters wasn't an obstacle to visibility on the grassy plain.
Two men and one woman. Three shinobis in black robes raced towards them.
"It's a total of three people. They aren't wearing Suna's uniform, and that forehead protector is ..."
"It's the Ame shinobis, idiot."
Kakashi followed Obito's words with a battle stance, holding his chakra sabre in front of him.
"It is said that part of the Land of Rivers has been under the jurisdiction of the Ame village, but with the arrival of Suna, the Ame shinobis should have all withdrawn."
"What the hell? Just knock them all out."
Manoshi also stood up from the ground and patted the dirt stuck on his hands. However, he rarely agreed with Obito's point of view, "Obito is right, no matter what the other party's purpose is, we can't let them pass through the territory of the Land of Fire."
The distance between the two sides was quickly shortened to about 100 meters. The Ame shinobis stopped.
At the head of the group, the orange-haired ninja shouted across the air, "Gentlemen of Konoha, we have no hostility!"
He held his hands on both sides and walked slowly towards Manoshi, proving that he wasn't hostile but also exposing himself to the threat of the enemy.
"We are a peaceful organization from the Land of Rain -- Akatsuki. Hoping to escort the refugees from the Land of Rivers safely into the Land of Fire."
"A peace organization? What the hell is that? " Obito couldn't understand. It's too strange for several people to stand up and claim to be peaceful organizations in a war.
Manoshi had a strange expression on his face, which made Kakashi mistakenly think that the other side was powerful and more alert.
'Akatsuki?'
Manoshi was aware of another Akatsuki organization, which was a super 'terrorist organization' active in the shinobi world in the future, but the leader of that organization wasn't named Yahiko.
'Is it the same name, or is there another change in this organization?'
In fact, if he could see Yahiko's face, he might be able to tie everything together.
But for now, Manoshi could only distinguish the two Akatsuki organizations for the time being.
There were still many differences between peaceful organizations and terrorist organizations.
The most important thing was that if there was really a Rinnegan possessor on the other side, Manoshi thought he was no match, so he let the other side do what they wanted.
"I'm sorry." After thinking a lot about Manoshi stopped Obito, who was eager to fight, "No matter what your purpose is, this is not a place where Ame can pass. Please go back."
"We are an organization that believes in peace and won't be a threat to Konoha. What about refugees who encounter bandits without our escort? I am willing to be held as a hostage under your command. I hope that in return, my companions may pass."
"Yahiko ..."
Konan, standing behind, pulled Yahiko's sleeve.
"We won't agree to any terms, no matter what they are." Manoshi was adamant. "Refugees entering the Land of Fire are naturally arranged by our Konoha shinobis. I can't afford the risk of letting you enter the hinterland of the land of fire. No one can afford it."
Although he didn't know how the other party survived in the shinobi world with such naïve ideas, he still had to refuse.
"Konoha's shinobis don't care about the lives and deaths of civilians at all!" Another ninja standing side by side with Konan said excitedly.
"Hey, Nagato, calm down." Yahiko turned back and gestured with his eyes to his teammate to not say anymore. "If you enrage the other side, we won't be able to pass anyway."
"Ame Village shinobis, achieving peace isn't something that can be achieved with words."
Manoshi saw that the other party didn't respond and then said, "Without the corresponding strength, the so-called ideal is nothing but a joke."
Yahiko retorted, "We became shinobis for strength. Now we have the qualification of equal dialogue."
"As long as we close the distance between heart and mind, as long as we can communicate, we can definitely understand each other, and I believe that the world will achieve peace!"
"Equal dialogue? But many things can't be controlled by one's will. Can your words compromise the interests of a country's people? Even the strong Hanzo, the Salamander, only barely manages to protect his country from becoming a battlefield."
The unreasonable personal strength of an individual was a double-edged sword for spreading ideas in this world.
For a moment, Manoshi thought that this Yahiko was a man of great talent, but unfortunately, they weren't shinobis of the same camp.
Perhaps, after the war was over, they would have the opportunity to work together.