After a moment of thought, Minato looked at the group and nodded.
"Since this is your squad's first mission, you'll start with a patrol mission. Here is the basic information for the mission."
As Minato spoke, he took a document from the table and handed it to Ren.
Ren took it, glanced at it twice, and then put it away. He then nodded to Minato and replied, "Understood. We will definitely complete the mission."
"Mm."
"Then we will go prepare for the mission, Lord Minato. See you later."
Ren smiled and greeted him, then turned and led the three out, leaving Minato alone to continue writing, reviewing documents. The tent became quiet again, with only the rustling sound of writing.
Meanwhile, Ren led the three back to their resting tent and began to explain the mission intelligence to them.
"This patrol mission is different from a typical sentry duty. We need to patrol back and forth near the border. We'll switch shifts in half an hour, so you have five minutes to prepare."
"Then, excuse me, Captain!"
Yao took advantage of Ren's pause, raised her hand, and asked cautiously, "Will we encounter enemies?"
"That's a very good question."
Ren glanced at her, and as he put the wiped-clean Kunai into his Ninja tool pouch, he explained, "Because the area we are patrolling is in a relatively remote location, there's a high probability of encountering enemies."
At this point, Ren's gaze sharpened, and he said in a deep voice, "So, be prepared for combat."
"Yes! X3"
The three dared not slacken, quickly responded, and at the same time, their movements instinctively sped up a little.
Five minutes later, looking at the three fully equipped individuals in front of him, Ren nodded, then stood up and walked outside.
"Begin operation!"
"Yes!"
After Ren led them out of the tent, he went straight to the entrance. After a simple record was made by the Ninja responsible for registration, the four of them exited.
"Let me see, the mission location is this way."
Ren glanced at the map, then put it away. After discerning the direction, he led the three into the jungle and hastened towards the target location.
Along the way, many alert squads appeared within Ren's perception range. Although they all noticed each other, they tacitly avoided one another. After all, everyone had a mission and didn't want to waste time.
A quarter of an hour later, the group had exited the jungle and arrived at a hilly area. Because there were many small hills, their vision was obstructed. Ren led the three to the highest peak in the vicinity with an open view before stopping.
"Captain, what should we do next?"
Suzuki tightly gripped his Kunai, vigilantly watching the surroundings while asking Ren.
"I say, Suzuki, while maintaining constant vigilance during a mission is a good thing, you also need to use your stamina reasonably. Along the way, you've been much more tired than the other two."
Ren looked at him and said softly.
After all, if a nerve is stretched too taut, it can break. Ren had noticed on the way that Suzuki seemed particularly nervous, constantly paying attention to every rustle. This couldn't continue.
"I'm sorry, Captain, I'll change that."
Hearing Ren's guidance, Suzuki instinctively relaxed his mind, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and replied to Ren.
"Mm, as for what you said about what to do next."
Ren pondered for a moment, then crouched down. Under the puzzled gazes of the others, he touched the ground with two fingers and closed his eyes.
"Shio, what do you think the Captain is doing?"
Yao leaned next to Shio and asked in a low voice.
"It should be some kind of perception Jutsu."
Shio hesitated for a moment, then said softly, "I heard my father say that the Captain isn't just good at combat; he also understands Medical Ninjutsu and some auxiliary Ninjutsu. This kind of thing now should be a perception Ninjutsu."
"That amazing?!"
Suzuki, who was beside them, exclaimed, then realized his mistake after making a sound. He glanced at Ren, who hadn't been disturbed, and then lowered his voice and continued, "I heard the Captain also has the rumored Bloodline Limit. I really want to see it!"
"Indeed, it must be very cool."
Yao and Shio nodded in agreement. Just then, Ren also opened his eyes and stood up.
"Stop chatting, I've found the patrol team."
"Yes!"
The three answered and were about to act when they realized their Captain was standing still. They couldn't help but be puzzled. Yao took a step forward and asked, "Captain, didn't you find the patrol team? Aren't we going to relieve them?"
"We are, but we don't need to go over there."
Ren glanced at Yao, then raised his hand and pointed North, explaining, "They are heading towards us and should arrive in about three minutes. Besides, this is our designated shift change location. We can just wait here. Rushing over and causing any misunderstanding would be counterproductive."
"So that's how it is."
Yao's face showed understanding. She stood on her tiptoes and looked in the direction Ren was pointing. Soon, four figures appeared on a nearby hill. Noticing Ren and the others, they headed straight towards them.
When the other party approached, Ren was the first to step forward and smiled at them, "Senior Gaku, I'm here to take over the shift."
"Ren? Is it your shift today?"
Inuzuka Gaku looked at Ren and the three behind him with some surprise, asking.
In his impression, Ren was still a Special Jonin, right? How was he leading a team on a mission? Was Minato trying to give Ren some experience?
"Yes, I've been promoted to Jonin. This is my first time leading a team on a mission today, and I didn't expect to run into Senior Gaku."
"Oh? You've been promoted to Jonin?!"
Gaku's eyes widened instantly, and he said with some disbelief. However, he quickly recovered and exclaimed, "But then again, your strength should have earned you a promotion long ago. Are you leading a squad now too?"
"Yes, the old man arranged it. It feels pretty good."
"Is that so."
Gaku didn't dwell on it. He glanced at the group and nodded, "This is your first time leading a team, so be careful. Just switch shifts here when it's time. We'll head back now."
"Okay, see you next time, Senior Gaku."
Ren nodded, watching Gaku's squad disappear into the jungle. Then he turned to his three teammates and chuckled, "Alright, it's time for us to move. Let's go."
"Yes!"
The four began their patrol. The area they were responsible for was only this surrounding region, which they could cover back and forth in about a quarter of an hour. After two rounds, Ren had them spread out and act individually.
The furthest distance between any of them was only about fifty meters. With Ren's perception range, any Chakra reactions appearing within a kilometer could not escape detection. So, there was basically no need to worry too much about safety.