After bidding farewell to Aunt Natsuki, who was worried about him, Yue Yan gathered with everyone in Hizashi Hyuga's team at the village entrance early the next morning. Besides them, there were also dozens of ninjas.
The border between the Land of Water and the Land of Fire was set in the Land of Rivers. The environment there was full of rivers and streams, and the climate was very humid, which was the most suitable battlefield environment for the Mist Ninjas.
Even though the environment was a bit disadvantageous for the Konoha ninjas, taking one more step back would mean entering the territory of the Land of Fire. Under no circumstances could they let the enemy ninjas cross the border. This was not only a matter of dignity but also an issue that affected the morale of the soldiers.
And this was the battlefield where Yue Yan and the others were headed.
Hizashi Hyuga had separated from his original team. He not only served as the instructor for Yue Yan and his two companions but also took on the role of the overall commander of this entire team.
In the war, the Byakugan bloodline limit had significant strategic value. Its extremely large sensory range, combined with the ability to see through objects, made it incredibly difficult for the enemy to hide and launch surprise attacks.
Even if the Mist Ninjas could use the Mist Concealment Technique to create a thick fog infused with chakra that couldn't be seen through by activating the Byakugan to watch, it wouldn't work.
After all, any fog that the Byakugan couldn't penetrate basically meant that there were enemies nearby, and there was no need to activate the Byakugan to watch in the first place.
During the march, Hizashi's Byakugan had also made several great contributions. He had discovered the ambushing Mist Ninjas and then led the way to eliminate them.
It was unclear whether the Mist Ninjas' commander had lost his mind or just liked this kind of interference method.
Even though they knew that the other side had the Byakugan, they still sent out more than ten small - scale raids. This dumb move only wasted their own troops, and no sane person would decide to do so. However, the Mist Ninjas did just that.
So, were the Mist Ninjas fools? Obviously not. Therefore, throughout the journey, Hizashi had been speculating about the enemy's thoughts.
Although they had dealt with all the attacking teams, as the team leader, Hizashi had to keep his Byakugan activated all the time, which took a heavy toll on him.
Seeing Hizashi's current state, Yue Yan could probably guess what the enemy was thinking.
They wanted to use cannon fodder to harass the support troops in small - scale but frequent attacks, forcing Hizashi to keep his Byakugan activated for a long time. Once he was exhausted and unable to activate the Byakugan anymore, they would send in their elites to find an opportunity to launch a surprise attack.
"It's hard to counter this blatant scheme," Yue Yan sighed.
Hearing Yue Yan's sigh, Hizashi knew that his disciple was on the same page as him.
"Yue Yan, do you have any ideas?"
Hearing this, Yue Yan curled the corner of his mouth.
"Teacher Hizashi should remember that I developed a sensory ninjutsu, right?"
Just as Hizashi nodded to indicate that he remembered, Yue Yan showed a confident smile.
"In the past six months or so since the Chunin Exams, I've improved this sensory ninjutsu a lot. Although the maximum range is still not as large as that of the Byakugan for now, it's no problem constantly scouting an area within a radius of 1,500 meters."
Hearing this, Hizashi Hyuga twitched the corner of his mouth. What does "only a radius of one thousand five hundred meters" mean? As an elite Jonin of the Hyuga clan, Hizashi Hyuga's maximum detection range with his Byakugan was only two thousand meters. In large - scale reconnaissance, a five - hundred - meter difference really didn't count for much.
Although Hizashi Hyuga was speechless about Yue Yan's Versailles act of deliberately showing off, he still got to the point with a question.
"What about the consumption? How long can you maintain this sensory ninjutsu at most?"
"Teacher Hizashi Hyuga doesn't have to worry about my chakra running out. This sensory ninjutsu doesn't require much chakra."
As if to give Hizashi Hyuga an accurate answer, Yue Yan stroked his chin and calculated for a moment.
"If we don't talk about recovery, I can keep this sensory ninjutsu activated non - stop for three days."
"Three days?" Hizashi Hyuga nodded. "That's enough."
Three days was enough time for the team to reach the front line.
However, just as Hizashi Hyuga was about to tell Yue Yan that he didn't need to keep the sensory ninjutsu activated all the time and that they could take turns, he saw Yue Yan shrug his shoulders with an annoying and helpless expression.
"If we consider chakra recovery, then I can keep it on all the time."
Hizashi Hyuga clenched his fist and then loosened it. After repeating this several times, he finally couldn't hold back and punched Yue Yan on the head.
"We're not far from the battlefield. You stupid guy, you need to know when to stop."
Yue Yan rubbed his head, rolled his eyes speechlessly at these words, and muttered something under his breath.
"I just saw that Teacher Hizashi Hyuga was too nervous, so I wanted to liven up the atmosphere. And I'm telling the truth."
Hizashi Hyuga rubbed his temples with a headache. The war had already put a lot of pressure on him. He was afraid that a single oversight on his part would put the team in danger.
However, seeing that Yue Yan could still stay calm, he felt relieved.
"This is a time of war. You should call me Captain Hizashi Hyuga."
"Sure, Teacher Hizashi Hyuga. No problem, Teacher Hizashi Hyuga."
"You... Forget it." Hizashi Hyuga sighed. "Now you take over from me to sense the surrounding environment. I'll take a break to recover my chakra. We'll switch every five hours."
Hearing this, Yue Yan stopped joking around, nodded, and then activated the sensory ninjutsu.
Just like this, Yue Yan and Hizashi Hyuga took turns to sense the surroundings as they moved forward.
When they were about ten kilometers away from the front - line camp, a group of Mist Ninjas set an ambush on the only way the team had to pass.
In their calculation, as the team leader, Hizashi Hyuga's chakra should have been halved by this time, and his Byakugan should have reached its limit. Moreover, with the front - line camp in sight, this was when the whole team would be most relaxed.
However, after the team had traveled a certain distance, Yue Yan raised his eyebrows, apparently having discovered them.
"Teacher Hizashi Hyuga, about one thousand three hundred meters ahead, I've found a group of ninjas, twenty in total."
Yue Yan's sensory ninjutsu could only detect the location and quantity, but not the specific situation. Therefore, after hearing Yue Yan's warning, Hizashi Hyuga activated his Byakugan to confirm.
"Based on the amount of chakra, there should be a Jonin leading the team, and the rest are Chunin or Genin."
Hizashi could more or less guess that the target of this team was himself.
"Teacher Hizashi."
Yue Yan suddenly called out to Hizashi and then flashed a scheming smile.
Seeing this smile, Hizashi knew what he was thinking. Obviously, he wanted to go along with the ruse and give the opponents a big surprise.
Anyway, a fight was inevitable, so Hizashi didn't refuse. He informed everyone in the team to get ready and at the same time formulated a plan.
On the side of the Mist Ninja team, each of them curled their lips into a Cruelty arc, waiting for Yue Yan and the others to arrive.
As Yue Yan and the others had guessed, the main target of this Mist Ninja team was Hizashi. Because they absolutely couldn't allow the strategically - valuable Byakugan to reach the front line, they were lying in ambush here, and those cannon - fodder before were also sent by them.
One of the Chunin couldn't help but lick his lips.
"I heard that there are some newly - graduated Genin in this support team. They were temporarily promoted to Chunin and then sent to the battlefield. I bet their screams will be quite satisfying when we kill them."
Hearing this, the Mist Ninjas captain gave the speaker a cold look.
"Remember the goal of our mission this time. If you let that Hyuga get away, don't blame me for killing you. After all, the Mist Ninja Village doesn't need useless people."
Hearing this, the Chunin who had just spoken trembled and didn't dare to say anything more.
"Attention! They're coming!"