Since the recent battle didn't take much effort, the exchange of offense and defense between the two sides lasted only about seven or eight rounds.
After tidying up the battlefield slightly and recovering my Flying Thunder God kunai, I continued with my sweeping operation as planned, staying true to my initial resolve.
By evening, I returned to the main camp, feeling refreshed.
A ninja from the Uchiha clan saw me return safely and immediately went to report to Fugaku.
I hadn't been idle during this half-day. Throughout the operation, I cleared a large area along the coastline of the Land of Fire. I eliminated no fewer than ten Kiri ninja squads and managed to rescue several Konoha reconnaissance teams in the process.
Unfortunately, I still hadn't obtained any information about the whereabouts of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
However, I did come across a few interesting pieces of news.
It seemed that in the current Kiri battlefield, two Konoha ninjas had made a name for themselves due to their exceptional strength.
One was "Shisui the Teleporter," which didn't surprise me. The other was someone I was quite familiar with someone nicknamed "Shiori of Thousand Birds."
I had not expected that in just a few months, her abilities had grown to such a degree. Back in the battlefields of the Land of Rivers, she was only at the level of contending with mid-tier ninjas. Could the Chidori really suit the Uchiha clan so well?
As I pondered this idly, I stopped by the mission hall before heading to my assigned quarters.
When morning came, I got up early, ready to continue clearing the coastline of the Land of Fire. I had already made up my mind.
After thoroughly cleaning up the Land of Fire, if I still couldn't find the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, I planned to head straight into Kiri. There was no way they could remain hidden forever. I had vowed to eliminate the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, and would honor this promise.
After another day of sweeping, I still failed to gather any of the information I sought. Instead, more Kiri ninja squads fell at my hands.
News of "The Leaf's Gale wreaking havoc on the battlefield" had spread widely through the underground black market. If I hadn't suspected that some of these black market informants were actually Konoha spies, I might have dealt with them myself.
Returning to the main camp, I headed straight for a ramen shop. Although the camp had grown to the size of a small village, the variety of food was still limited.
Lifting the curtain, I called out to the back kitchen.
"Kenta, two bowls of pork bone ramen and one seafood ramen. What about you, Shukaku?"
"I'll have grilled codfish!"
From the back kitchen, Kenta looked up and replied enthusiastically, "Oh, back already? Have a seat; your ramen will be ready soon!"
I picked a seat toward the back. It was still early, so the shop wasn't crowded. I had arranged to meet someone here today, and by my calculations, it should be about time.
"Long time no see, Ryouma," Heiji greeted as soon as he entered.
"Oh, Heiji, you're finally here. I already ordered seafood ramen for you. Come, have a seat," I called out, having noticed Heiji lingering at the entrance earlier. I had no idea what he was dawdling for. If he had taken any longer, I would've gone out to drag him in myself.
"Shukaku, this is my friend, Heiji," I introduced, gesturing toward my former teammate.
Shukaku leapt off my shoulder onto the table, gave Heiji a haughty glance, and declared, "Since you're a friend of Ryouma, I will allow you to address me as Desert King."
I immediately flicked two fingers against Shukaku's head, chastising, "Speak properly."
Shukaku rubbed his head with his paws and quickly corrected himself. "Alright... My name is Shukaku."
"I'm Heiji. Nice to meet you," Heiji replied politely.
After completing the introductions, I, seizing the chance before Shiori arrived, leaned toward Heiji to vent.
"So, I heard from Shiori that you were transferred to the Kiri battlefield. You have no idea. When Shiori and I—"
A cold voice cut in from the doorway. Shiori entered the shop, walked over, and sat down next to me.
I cursed inwardly, Crap.
I had been so caught up in complaining to Heiji that I hadn't even noticed her approaching. Just as I was racking my brain for a way to defuse the situation, Kenta arrived with our ramen and grilled codfish.
"Here you go, your ramen."
Since the food had arrived, Shiori didn't press the matter. She clasped her hands together and said, "Itadakimasu."
I breathed a sigh of relief. Picking up my chopsticks, I lowered my head and muttered my own "Itadakimasu" before starting to eat.
"Oh, by the way," Heiji began, looking apologetic, "I heard you both were recently promoted to jonin. I haven't prepared any gifts for you yet. Sorry about that."
I, however, waved it off. "Nah, don't worry about it. Just treat us to something nice when we get back to the village after dealing with Kiri."
Shiori glanced at the scabbard at my waist before withdrawing her gaze, seemingly satisfied.
"Like he said," she added, "don't bother with such trivial things."
I looked at Heiji in front of me and felt that he seemed very tired. Thinking back to his actions at the entrance of the ramen shop earlier, I spoke up. "By the way, have you been having some trouble lately? You don't look so good."
I had been working hard to gain military merit in the Land of the Rivers to strengthen my influence in the village, all so I could better protect my companions.
If he wasn't doing well on the Kiri front lines, I could go and talk to Hizashi and pull some strings to get him a short leave, letting him return to the village for a proper rest.
Seeing that Heiji looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated, I continued to gently persuade him. "If something's going on, just tell us. The three of us figuring things out together is definitely better than you dealing with it alone, right, Shiori? By the way, how many bowls have you had now?"
While I was chatting with Heiji, several empty bowls had already piled up beside Shiori.
She was busy devouring her ramen when suddenly being called out. She looked up at us with an annoyed expression.
"Such shallow men. Don't you know it's rude to disturb a lady while she's eating? Go on, talk."
Heiji pursed his lips and then seemed to make a decision.
"Sorry, but I can't tell you guys about this..."
"If you won't say, then I'll go ask Hizashi myself. Oh, by the way, did I mention? I'm now the highest-ranking advisor on the Kiri front line."
The moment I saw Heiji's bitter expression, I knew this quiet guy wasn't going to spill easily. If it were someone less familiar, I wouldn't have asked a second time, but he was different.
Because he was a genuinely good guy.
Despite being a branch house member of the Hyūga clan marked with the cursed seal, he had never held any resentment toward anyone, and he always wished happiness for others. His positive and optimistic attitude had even once changed my view of the Hyūga branch house members.
Only after seeing more of them on the Kiri battlefield did I realize that most of the branch house members, including Hizashi, often had a hint of resentment in their eyes.
It might be resentment toward the main house or toward fate itself.
Of course, none of that had much to do with me. To put it simply, I just couldn't stand to see a good guy being pushed around, especially since this guy was also my friend.
Faced with my firm stance, he couldn't get the words of refusal out of his mouth. After a few seconds of silence, he finally spoke.
"Actually, I volunteered to come to the Kiri front line." His eyes looked distant, as if he had fallen into a memory.
Shiori and I exchanged a glance but didn't interrupt.
"You've probably heard… A while ago, Kiri got a Byakugan. That Byakugan belonged to my older brother, Yuji."
So, it was to take back his brother's Byakugan?
But unfortunately, Heiji's next words denied that guess.
"My brother was three years older than me. As the eldest son of our branch, he was raised as a member of the main house from a young age, so we barely had any interaction."
"After he died, there was a vacancy in our branch's family line. According to the rules, my younger sister, Yui, should be able to replace Yuji and become part of the main house."
"Yui was born later, so she hasn't been branded with the Caged Bird yet. But this reasonable request was rejected by some of the elders from the main house. They believed that because our branch failed to protect the Byakugan, we should be disqualified from becoming part of the main house."
"That's why I asked to come here. I want to take back the stolen Byakugan, so that Yui can become a member of the main house and gain her freedom. But I'm so useless. I've been here for so long, and I still… still haven't even seen a sliver of hope for retrieving that Byakugan."
At this point, pain and anger appeared on his face. He slowly lowered his head, clenching his fists so tightly that his nails dug deep into his flesh.
"I thought it was something serious," my clear voice rang out.
Heiji looked up abruptly, only to see me smile.
"Leave it to me. I've got a score to settle with Kiri anyway. Anything that makes them suffer, I'm happy to do."
His eyes grew moist. I could tell he was thinking about his little sister. That was the kind of guy he was, always putting others before himself. But I knew the harsh reality had made him painfully aware of his own limitations.
He was just a low-ranking Hyūga, bearing a pair of "damaged" Byakugan. Trying to retrieve a Byakugan from one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, something even the Hokage wouldn't guarantee success in?
It sounded ridiculous to most, but not to me. I wasn't about to laugh at him for being naive or foolish, instead, I was determined to help. Willing to help someone who deserved better than what fate had dealt him.
"I remember the Kiri ninja who took the Byakugan was named Ao, right?" I asked, turning to Shiori after thinking for a moment.
She clearly had done her homework better than me. She only paused for a few seconds before recalling the information about Ao from memory.
"Ao, a jonin of Kiri. During the last large-scale incursion by Kiri, he ambushed our sensory unit on the front lines. When Yuji committed suicide to destroy his eyes, Ao successfully stole a Byakugan and has since been known as the 'Byakugan Killer.'"