Chapter 23: Frontline Rest, Nara's Curiosity

Kudo Shin knelt on one knee.

He held two scrolls high above his head, then bowed his head in deference.

Miyamoto Yukie frowned slightly but took the scrolls and began to read them.

Moments later.

Only after truly finishing the mission scroll did he angrily slam his hand on the table.

"Hmph, truly damned!"

"What on earth did that Ishikawa Ki learn at the Ninja Academy?"

"Does he not even know the basic ethics of a ninja?"

"Disobeying orders, charging blindly, and lacking strength!"

"Seriously injured?"

"Heh, why doesn't he just die?"

Miyamoto Yukie was furious.

Yes.

Having been a Jonin for so long, he had seen all kinds of ninja, whether arrogant or cowardly.

But as a ninja, obeying orders is the bare minimum.

So.

No matter how arrogant one's personality usually is, everyone still follows orders when actually executing a mission.

With a stance like Ishikawa Ki's, this was truly the first time he had ever seen such a thing in his life.

More importantly.

This was his first time commanding the front lines, and Ishikawa Ki had given him such a "surprise."

One could imagine.

Even if he earned merit in this war, Ishikawa Ki would become a stain on his record.

For someone like that, what good temper could Itachi possibly expect?

If this guy were from a noble clan, perhaps he, a commoner, would have shown the other party a little face.

But, heh.

Ishikawa Ki was just a commoner, so he had nothing to hesitate about.

Taking a deep breath, he immediately spoke.

"Please bring the Anbu lord over."

"Chunin Kudo Shin, in a moment Itachi will hand Ishikawa Ki over to the Anbu personnel."

"As for this mission, there will be no reward and no punishment."

"From now on, atone for your crimes by earning merit."

"After handing Ishikawa Ki over to the Anbu, your squad may rest and simply wait for the next mission."

Thank goodness!

Hearing Miyamoto Yukie's words, Kudo Shin finally breathed a sigh of relief.

No matter what, this time they had managed to bluff their way through.

Thinking of this, Kudo Shin cursed Ishikawa Ki half to death in his heart, yet couldn't help but feel grateful for the reliability of his other two teammates.

Not only had they saved a whole cart of supplies, but they had also found someone to take the blame.

Truly worthy of a noble-born; his mind works so quickly.

About ten minutes later.

An Anbu member wearing a fox mask appeared. Kudo Shin followed behind him all the way to the medical camp and formally handed over the unconscious Ishikawa Ki to the Anbu.

After finishing all this, he returned to his squad's tent, exhausted.

Upon returning, he lay directly on the stacked bed and rubbed his temples with a look of lingering fear.

After glancing at the two people before him, he smiled and began to speak.

"Itachi two, rest assured."

"Ishikawa Ki has been handed over to the Anbu; our mission will count for neither merit nor punishment."

"From now on, rest well."

"Just wait for the next mission!"

Upon hearing this, Nara Kazama wore an expression that said, "As expected."

Uchiha Jin also breathed a sigh of relief.

However, this also made him completely realize that his earlier considerations were correct.

The destruction of the Uchiha clan was indeed related to their ideology.

To put it plainly, it was all about profit!

If the Uchiha cannot change their mindset and blend in with the world, then the Uchiha's future in Konoha will continue to follow the original timeline.

Time slowly passed.

For the past few days, no missions had been assigned.

Every morning after waking up, Uchiha Jin would lie directly on a patch of grass with a remarkably pleasant environment outside the front-line camp.

Sunbathing!

As for cultivation, ever since acquiring the system cheat, he had long since completely given it up.

After all, if one can grow stronger, isn't just lying flat far more appealing?

Evening.

Nara Kazama, returning from cultivation outside, looked at Uchiha Jin lying on the grass, his expression truly indescribable.

He walked over and sat beside Uchiha Jin.

"Jin-kun, Itachi are truly strange."

"We have been at the front for several days now; whenever anyone has no mission, they basically cultivate non-stop."

"Everyone hopes to increase their strength as much as possible before encountering the enemy."

"Why do Itachi look so leisurely every day?"

"One might think Itachi came here for a picnic."

Nara Kazama looked utterly puzzled.

He truly could not figure out Uchiha Jin's thoughts.

The closer he got, the more blurred things became.

Every time he felt he had understood Uchiha Jin, the next second the other would tell him,

"Itachi are overthinking it!"

The only thing he could confirm now was that Uchiha Jin was not at all like a Uchiha.

Whether in conduct or action, he was completely out of place among orthodox Uchiha.

This made Nara Kazama feel a severe headache.

Yes.

He was a traditional Nara.

Although he appeared extremely lazy on the surface, that was merely because he was bored.

Because no matter what the matter, he could basically see through it at a glance.

Over time, everything became boring.

Naturally, he appeared lazy in his daily life.

But ever since encountering Uchiha Jin, no matter how many brain cells he expended, he still could not form an accurate definition of him.

This made Nara Kazama extremely distressed!

He had also been trying to convince himself that there was no need to dwell on such things.

After all, he and Uchiha Jin were merely forced into the same squad; essentially, they were not even friends.

After all, squads like theirs, mere cannon fodder, would never cultivate such a thing as 'bonds.'

However.

As a Nara, deep down he was unwilling to admit defeat.

So, for the past few days,

he had been trying to get close to Uchiha Jin, wanting to truly see through this man before him.

But...

Only after truly getting close did he discover that this guy was even lazier than himself.

He at least cultivated for a while every day, but since leaving Konoha until now, he had truly never seen Uchiha Jin cultivate.

This naturally made him very curious; he knew that during the enemy engagement a few days ago, Uchiha Jin's performance had not been weak.

At the very least,

he had definitely reached the standard of an A-rank squad.

He guessed that Uchiha Jin wanted to hide his strength, and as for the reason, he could guess it fairly well.

The only thing he could not figure out was how such a lazy fellow had cultivated to this level.

Now that things seemed quiet, he naturally began to probe.

Meanwhile, on the other side,

Uchiha Jin, lying on the ground, looked at Nara Kazama before him, his eyes deep with wariness.

Regarding his probe, he did not answer directly, but instead spoke in a low, eerie tone.

"I am also very curious about Itachi."

"Based on the strength Itachi have displayed, entering an A-rank squad would be no problem."

"So why do Itachi choose to act so useless and end up in a B-rank squad, a mere cannon fodder squad?"

"And there's the Ino-Shika-Cho!"

"That's an ironclad rule for your three clans, yet our class isn't without members from those two."

"How did Itachi end up on a team with me, an Uchiha?"

"Well?"

"Nara-kun, Itachi've been curious about me, and I'm equally curious about Itachi."

"Would Itachi mind telling me?"