"Tsk, is it a bit too early?"
Ren murmured, looking at the still dim sky and the few people at the entrance.
According to the time, it should be around four or five in the morning. Although there were quite a few Ninja who got up early to perform missions, most Ninja were still resting.
Therefore, apart from a few teams entering and exiting, Ren was the only one standing there, looking quite strange.
"Seriously, I should have slept in a bit longer."
Ren sat down by a nearby tent, looking at the empty entrance, feeling a bit depressed.
Ren was already impatient to meet his team members, which was why he got up so early. As soon as the curfew ended, he rushed over, but he ended up empty-handed.
Coupled with the morning wind, it instantly brought out Ren's sleepiness again.
"Ren? Why are you here?"
Just as Ren was feeling a bit groggy, a questioning voice came from beside him. The former subconsciously turned his head to look, and after noticing the other party, he quickly stood up and nodded in greeting.
"Good morning, Brother Ken."
The person who arrived was Uchiha Ken. At this moment, he was wearing the same Jonin uniform as Ren, and behind him stood his three members. The group was fully dressed, seemingly ready to go on a mission.
"Good morning, but you…"
Ken looked at the somewhat listless Ren in front of him and couldn't help but ask.
This early in the morning, only those performing missions needed to get up early. Why was Ren not resting in his tent at this hour, but running here?
"Me? The Village's reinforcement troops are arriving today, and I came to pick up a few people."
Ren yawned, took out a common Soldier Ration Pill from his Ninja tool pouch, and threw it into his mouth. The bitter taste immediately sobered him up.
Although the taste wasn't great, it was a good choice for refreshing oneself at critical moments.
"Oh, I remember they're supposed to arrive around eight o'clock, right? Why don't you find a place to rest for a while? You don't look very good."
"Thanks, Brother Ken. I'll go find a place to rest now."
Ren didn't refuse. There were at least three hours until the reinforcement troops arrived. He might as well find a place to sleep for two hours and then come back. Otherwise, how could he leave a good impression on his members with such a listless appearance?
"You're welcome. I'm leaving now."
Ken waved to Ren, then turned and led his team out of the Konoha Camp, disappearing into the forest in the blink of an eye.
Ren, on the other hand, went straight to the nearby Medical Camp, used his identification to find an empty tent, and, leaning against folded quilts and wrapped in his clothes, fell asleep.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people from another unit, each carrying a large amount of supplies, were moving swiftly through the forest towards the border.
"I say, Suzuki, what kind of person do you think Hokage-sama will assign us as our Jonin leader?"
A young woman in a black combat suit, with her long black hair tied back and a forehead protector, looked excitedly at her companion beside her and asked with some excitement.
"I don't know, but he must be a very powerful person. Don't you think so, Shio?"
Mutsuki Rin scratched her head, turned to look at her quiet companion beside her, and asked softly.
"…Mm."
Tsukiakari replied with a single word and then remained silent. Although the two were a bit helpless, they didn't say anything more, clearly having gotten used to it.
"Ah, I hope we arrive soon. I really want to meet that leader quickly."
Yao looked at the gradually brightening sky and couldn't help but sigh.
The other two had the same thought, after all, their team was relatively special.
All their other classmates from the same period were taken away by the Jonin assigned by the Village, but the three of them were summoned by HokageHiruzen Sarutobi, who told them that their team leader was on the front lines here and asked them to come and meet him.
Although it was strange, since Hokage-sama said so, the three followed the reinforcement troops to the front lines.
Two hours later, seeing the Konoha Camp gate, everyone's spirits lifted immediately, and they quickened their pace. After a day and a night of roughing it, they were already exhausted and just wanted to quickly unload their supplies and rest well.
"Finally here!"
Mutsuki Rin said, putting down the supplies on her back and looking around.
"Where is he? Didn't they say our leader would be at the entrance to meet us?"
"What's the rush? Let's hand over these supplies first. The leader isn't going anywhere anyway."
Yao picked up a box of supplies and handed it to a Konoha Ninja responsible for the handover nearby. Although they had arrived at the Konoha Camp, they still needed to hand over the goods before they could rest. The three of them, however, were to wait directly at the entrance for their leader, who would then take them to rest and perform missions.
Not long after, all the supplies were handed over, and everyone was arranged by their respective leaders to rest. Only Yao and the other two remained standing on one side of the entrance, scanning the surroundings, waiting for their leader.
"Seriously, why isn't the leader here yet? I'm almost falling asleep."
Suzuki paced back and forth boredly, while Yao squatted on the ground, playing with the Kunai in her hand, as Suzuki said helplessly.
"Suzuki, can you stop walking back and forth? You're making me dizzy."
"I'm just anxious."
Suzuki stopped walking, feeling a bit depressed, and complained to her companions.
"This leader isn't still asleep, is he? Seriously, I suddenly feel very uneasy about this leader I've never met."
"Tsk, I'm truly sorry to make you feel that way."
Just as Suzuki was complaining, a light voice suddenly came from behind her, startling the somewhat relaxed trio. They all turned around, looking at the newcomer with some vigilance.
"You are?"
Noticing the other party's Jonin uniform, Suzuki's voice became much softer, and she asked with some confusion.
"Natsume Yao, Mutsuki Rin, Tsukiakari, that's you, right?"
Ren yawned, rubbing his eyes, and said somewhat lazily.
The trio didn't react for a moment, then heard the other party continue.
"I am your team leader Jonin. If there are no issues, let's go."
"Eh?"
The trio was instantly a bit bewildered, standing there looking at each other.
The other party looked only a few years older than them yet was already a Jonin, and now he was saying he was their team leader Jonin. All of this was truly a bit beyond their expectations.
"I say, ladies and gentlemen, aren't you tired? Can you ask any questions when we get to a place to rest? I've had enough of this cold morning wind."
After Ren finished speaking, he turned and walked into the Konoha Camp. The trio hesitated for a moment but still chose to follow, after all, what the other party said was indeed true; the morning wind was quite chilling.