The newly established Cloud Ninja frontline was located between two cliffs.
"Sakumo-sama." A group of ninjas were kneeling before Sakumo.
It seemed that whenever someone like Sakumo arrived at the frontlines, they would always receive such a reception.
It was also necessary for the ninjas here to understand who was in charge.
However—
Compared to Jiraiya's thunderous welcome and the crowd of people—
Gin fell silent as he observed the sparse number of ninjas.
There were about 48 of them, roughly sixteen squads.
Isn't that too few?
With this number, fighting the Cloud Ninjas was just asking for death, wasn't it?
Seeing Sakumo dismiss the group to continue their work, Gin hesitated for a moment before asking.
"There must be others on different missions, right?"
He chuckled to himself as he spoke.
It had to be that. How could only sixteen squads handle the Cloud Ninjas? It wasn't even enough to make a dent.
"No, that's everyone." Sakumo also looked confused. "They're all here."
He had remembered every person assigned to him by the Hokage.
"Oh." Gin nodded knowingly. "Then you must have reached the third level of inner power. No wonder."
After all, that kind of strength was enough to sweep across the entire ninja world.
Currently, whichever side had a third-level inner power practitioner held an enormous advantage.
However, when Gin pulled up Sakumo's information, he didn't see any indication of him advancing to the third level.
Could Gin's cheat ability be malfunctioning?
No way.
"No, I'm still far from it."
Sakumo shook his head. He was currently the closest to reaching the third level of Basic Inner Technique.
He was relying on sheer willpower to break through, but he still lacked some chakra.
Although his requirements were much lower than normal, it wasn't something he could accumulate quickly.
There was no hope for this to happen during the current war.
Gin fell silent.
Gin's face turned dark.
He leapt up and grabbed Sakumo by the collar.
He pulled Sakumo down so they were eye level.
"Are you trying to get us both killed!?"
"How are you supposed to stop the Cloud Ninjas!? With your head?!"
"Do you believe I'll twist your head off right now!?"
Sakumo, holding his ear, seemed completely unfazed and patted Gin on the shoulder.
"Relax, I have a secret weapon to deal with the Cloud Ninjas."
He said this while patting his chest.
"Besides, the Cloud Ninjas won't deploy too much force."
Sakumo could guarantee that much; the Cloud Ninjas hadn't yet recovered from the First Ninja War.
Konoha, because of the presence of Tobirama, had suffered fewer losses—losing mainly just a Hokage—compared to the Cloud Ninjas.
This was also the key reason why Konoha could still withstand the pressure from other ninja villages.
"Let's hope so."
Gin's face looked so dark it seemed ready to drip water.
If worse came to worst, he would just defect.
He wasn't afraid of Konoha; the Cloud Ninjas wouldn't be able to kill him either.
It just felt like leaving now wouldn't be worth it.
After releasing Sakumo, Gin left immediately.
Just seeing this fool gave him a headache. If he'd known, he would have taken the Jonin exam first.
As a Chunin, he couldn't refuse the orders of a Jonin, especially an elite one.
Sakumo watched as Gin left.
A smile appeared on his face.
He really did have a secret weapon.
Gin cursed under his breath as he entered the camp, receiving the location of his tent.
He still couldn't understand—
Why did Sakumo keep holding onto him?
As a Chunin, he couldn't disobey his superior's orders.
Defying authority was an unspoken prohibition in the world of the Hokage.
"I'll tear all these rules to shreds someday."
Gin gritted his teeth.
If only he were stronger now...
"Gin, long time no see."
A voice suddenly came from beside him.
"Who?!"
Gin turned to see an old classmate.
"Aburame Shige?"
A boy whose face was wrapped tightly, wearing sunglasses, stood not far away, hands in his pockets. The noticeable thing was the jar strapped to his back.
"It really has been a long time; I didn't even notice you."
Gin scratched his head awkwardly.
The boy before him was truly his peer.
The heir of the Aburame clan, Aburame Shige.
Originally destined to become the head of the Aburame clan, Shige had little connection with someone like Gin, a member of Class B.
But the Aburame family had a powerful passive stealth ability.
When he joined the ninja academy, although he excelled in tests, the teachers ignored him.
On top of that, Shige was very quiet.
He almost didn't make it into the academy.
In the end, it took a Jonin from the Aburame clan to communicate with the school before they realized their mistake.
By then, Class A was already full, so Shige was placed in Class B.
Because he was often overlooked.
He and Gin, who was often mocked, formed a good friendship.
"By the way, on the frontlines, I haven't seen any other classmates."
Gin had always been puzzled; his Class B had a lot of students, and their graduation rate was impressively high. Only two or three had been sent back.
He was one of them.
Shige was silent for a moment.
"They... all died."
Gin pursed his lips.
He hadn't expected that answer.
The war had been going on for more than a year, and many people had died.
"Why did you come here?" Gin could only change the topic.
"My family thought following Sakumo-sama would better train me, so they sent me here."
The Aburame clan didn't have as many issues as the Uchiha or Hyuga clans.
But Shige had a strict father.
Naturally, he was also strict with him.
Gin knew this well.
"You have it rough too."
"Surviving is enough."
Shige said quietly; his face, wrapped tightly, showed no expression.
"Also, I'm happy to see you."
Shige's words left Gin puzzled.
Only Shige himself understood that, as a normally graduated ninja, seeing and hearing about the deaths of his classmates one by one was a heavy blow.
If he were in the Uchiha clan, he would have awakened his Sharingan long ago.
Seeing his only friend alive made him really happy, though he wasn't good at expressing it.
"Seeing you makes me happy too."
After all, they had been friends for several years.
However—
"War, huh."
Most members of Class B were civilian ninjas; they were not as gifted, so sacrifices were inevitable.
Still, Gin couldn't help but feel a bit sentimental.
As Gin was preparing to sleep that night—
He watched as the tent door was suddenly lifted, and Sakumo walked in without any shame.
"I don't want to see your face right now. Can you stop wandering around in front of me?"
Gin glared at Sakumo in disgust.
Sakumo raised his finger. "No, no, no."
"I'm here as a big customer."
"A big customer?" Gin squinted at Sakumo, then suddenly smiled.
"Come on, Sakumo-sama, tell me more."
Sakumo knew this reaction from Gin, but he still looked at him helplessly.
"You really are materialistic."
(End of Chapter)