The Land of Grass is a small country located northwest of the Land of Fire.
Unlike the Land of Rice Fields and the Land of Rivers that Mutsuki had visited before, the Land of Grass not only has its own ninja village, the Grass Ninja Village, but it is also considered one of the stronger nations among the smaller countries in the ninja world.
However, the awkward position of the Land of Grass means that its strength cannot be fully utilized.
The Land of Grass shares borders with a total of four countries, consisting of two smaller nations and two larger ones.
The two smaller neighboring countries are the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Rain. The Land of Waterfalls is located northeast of the Land of Grass and due to its unique terrain, the Land of Grass cannot make any advances there. On the other hand, the Land of Rain is more accessible; half of the Land of Grass's territory borders the Land of Rain. However, the Land of Rain is the strongest ninja village outside the Five Great Ninja Villages, making it too formidable to challenge.
The two larger neighboring countries are the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire, needless to say, they are completely untouchable; all that can be done is to humbly play the role of a subordinate.
During the Second Great Ninja War, the Rain Ninja Village had already proven to the ninja world the strength of the Five Great Ninja Villages. Even if small ninja villages had top-level combat power, they would still be crushed by the Five Great Ninja Villages in other aspects, ultimately leading to defeat.
As a small country, the Land of Grass's way of survival is to ally with whoever wins, hence the consistently winning Konoha became its staunch ally.
Of course, the Land of Grass cannot completely lean towards Konoha. While playing the role of Konoha's subordinate, it also shows goodwill towards Hidden Rock, to avoid being swept away during times of war.
Although the Land of Grass has tried its best to maneuver, it cannot avoid becoming a battlefield for conflicts between major nations, due to its advantageous geographical position.
Currently, the best battlefield for conflicts between Hidden Rock and Konoha is unquestionably the Land of Grass.
Actually, the Land of Rain has a better position, but because of its strategic advantage, it's more troublesome. If Hidden Rock were to attack the Land of Fire through the Land of Rain, they would not only face the strong Rain Ninja Village but also provoke the Land of Wind's concerns, as the Land of Rain borders the Land of Wind as well.
Hidden Rock has no interest in the Land of Wind, so although the Land of Rain has a better position, for them, the Land of Grass is the best route to invade Konoha.
Perhaps because the frontline situation is favorable, this escort mission has been exceptionally smooth. They haven't encountered any attacks along the way, not even bandits attempting to rob them.
Mutsuki thought about it. Any ordinary bandits seeing such a large convoy would logically assume it's heavily guarded by ninja.
Of course, it could also be because of the wartime situation; bandits dare not roam freely for fear of encountering ninja battles and getting caught in the crossfire.
"Huh, we haven't seen any enemies for so long. Could it be that Kakashi was right this time?" Obito sat on top of the carriage, looking around but not spotting any signs of enemies, expressing some disappointment.
"I've said it before, it was just bad luck previously. It's impossible to have accidents four times in a row," Kakashi said calmly.
He felt it was normal; that's how C-Rank missions should be. The earlier times were truly unexpected. The first and third times, if they had been S-Rank missions, there wouldn't have been any issues.
Once there were two Jonin, and another time, a Raikage candidate appeared out of the blue. It was so exaggerated that Kakashi even doubted if he was bringing bad luck upon himself.
"How about a race full of youth and passion?" Guy invited enthusiastically.
"I'll pass," Kakashi immediately declined. During the mission, he didn't want to engage in such meaningless physical exertion.
"I'll pass too," Obito also turned down Guy's proposal because he felt he couldn't win anyway.
Obito didn't want to participate in a competition that was both meaningless and certain to lose.
If it were Kakashi challenging him, though, Obito would gladly accept.
"That's a pity," Guy said regretfully, then jumped off the carriage and ran alongside it at a steady pace.
Mutsuki didn't stop Guy; this amount of exercise meant little to Guy and could be considered a warm-up.
Moreover, after leaving Konoha, Mutsuki occasionally used Sensory Ninjutsu to ensure there were no enemies nearby.
It would be less troublesome if he could maintain the Byakugan state for a long time, but it consumes too much chakra with low cost-effectiveness.
With no enemies around, the bored Obito started chatting with the workers of the supply convoy about anything—work, life, family.
"How much do you earn completing one commission?" Obito curiously asked.
"Commission?" The worker was a bit puzzled at first but then realized Obito was asking about wages.
"When it's busy, we might earn around seven thousand ryo a month, but usually it's around five thousand ryo," the worker thought for a moment and replied.
"Is your monthly working hours very few? How come it's only five thousand ryo a month?" Obito scratched his head, puzzled, and asked.
The minimum commission fee for a D-Rank mission is five thousand ryo, and this amount is tax-free for the lowest-tier D-Rank missions. Mutsuki still divided the commission evenly. Obito could earn five thousand ryo by completing four D-Rank missions, which usually only takes an afternoon's work.
Obito's remark left the worker speechless, unsure how to respond for a moment.
"Do we work very few hours?" Of course not. Basically, I work every day, but sometimes I get paid more and I'm busy day and night.
"We ordinary people are of course incomparable to you Ninja sama," the worker finally said.
This is the disparity of the world. The cost of purchasing ninja tools every month may be beyond the reach of an ordinary family in a year.
Obito was somewhat puzzled by the difference and couldn't understand it.
When the convoy arrived at the border of the Land of Fire and was about to enter the Land of Grass, Mutsuki ordered his disciples to return to the carriage for alertness.
"Next, we're entering the Land of Grass. The current situation in the Land of Grass is very dangerous. You need to remain vigilant at all times," Mutsuki reminded seriously.
"There are thousands of ninjas currently engaged in combat in this country. Anything could happen."
Mutsuki then spent half an hour lecturing and explaining the brutality of war to his disciples.
Mutsuki had the ability to protect himself and his three disciples in war, but he didn't want Obito and the others to underestimate its seriousness.
All wars are cruel and result in many sacrifices, destroying many beautiful things.
Even Obito, usually carefree, showed a cautious expression at this moment and did not question Mutsuki's words.
After entering the Land of Grass, the atmosphere seemed tense, and the environment along the road began to change.
Mutsuki and his group gradually encountered ninjas, either from Konoha or from the Land of Grass, considered allies.
Based on the atmosphere observed with the appearance of ninjas, Mutsuki speculated that the situation was not bad; otherwise, the ninjas' expressions would have been more serious.
"Finally, we're going to welcome our first normal C-Rank mission?" Mutsuki thought to himself.
Despite having participated in three C-Rank missions, there wasn't a single completed C-Rank mission recorded in their history. Their team was really lacking.
As they approached the destination of the mission, Mutsuki sensed more ninjas through Sensory Ninjutsu. Consequently, Mutsuki switched to using the Byakugan because Sensory Ninjutsu could only sense chakra, while the Byakugan could directly see who they were dealing with.
Every hour, Mutsuki would activate the Byakugan to see all the ninjas within a radius of 1.5 kilometers, leaving no one hidden from Mutsuki's sight.
Finally, the supply convoy led by Mutsuki arrived at Konoha's camp on the battlefield in the Land of Grass without encountering a single attack.
"Mutsuki, why are you here on the battlefield?" Minato asked in surprise upon seeing a familiar figure.
In Minato's understanding, Mutsuki shouldn't be here. Mutsuki is a sensei and currently in the period of teaching at the Academy. Unless Konoha is facing a life-or-death situation, they wouldn't send such an outstanding Ninja Academy sensei to the battlefield.
"I'm an intern sensei, similar to a lead Jonin instructor. This time, I'm leading the students on a C-rank wartime mission," Mutsuki explained with a smile.
"I see, handling logistics missions," Minato looked at the supply convoy over there and roughly guessed the type of mission Mutsuki was assigned.
"Mutsuki, try to keep your students at the camp and not wandering around. Hidden Rock has been quiet for two weeks, possibly planning a major attack," Minato reminded. The camp was considered safe as it was the rear area of the front line.
He knew there were two Academy students in Mutsuki's team, so he was a bit concerned.
"We won't wander off," Obito felt a bit underestimated.
"This is for the best. Only by following your sensei's orders can one become an outstanding ninja," Minato responded with a friendly smile, ignoring Obito's remarks.
"He really looks like Yumi-sensei when he smiles," Obito couldn't help but comment, his mind unable to shake off the idea that Mutsuki and Minato might be long-lost brothers.
"It looks like there won't be any mishaps this time," Kakashi sighed with relief.
Arriving here meant the mission was nearly complete. All that remained was to unload the supplies and then rest briefly before returning to Konoha.
Crack!
Suddenly, a burst of explosive sound rang out, followed by fireworks rising and blooming in the distance.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Immediately after, a series of intense explosions erupted, the flames so fierce that they were clearly visible despite the distance.
"Uh-oh, Hidden Rock has launched a large-scale assault!" Minato's expression turned serious.
The signal just now was Konoha's highest-level alert signal on the battlefield. All Konoha ninjas who saw it had to prepare to join the fight.
Kakashi looked up at the signal in astonishment. Even Academy students would understand its meaning.
"Could I really bring bad luck?" Kakashi doubted himself, throwing the highest-level alert signal as soon as he arrived on the battlefield.
Mutsuki was also surprised; he knew the significance of this signal.
"Who could the enemy be? The Third Tsuchikage? Unlikely. Then who..." Mutsuki's eyes flickered as he speculated on the main forces of Hidden Rock's attack.
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