Analyzing the Ninja World Starting from Konoha

Aoba understood after a moment's thought and couldn't help but admire the Second Hokage's skill; even a transmigrator like himself, living in Konoha for a long time, would be slowly influenced by him.

Not to mention others.

Madara Uchiha must have foreseen this long ago, which is why he left Konoha.

Aoba told Qi to register for the mission. As for the other one, Aoba thought he was already dead and there was no need to waste any breath on him.

After leaving the mission registration area, Aoba had two signal flares in his hand.

He unfolded the map and found the marked area D13.

It was a salient located on the edge of the defensive line, with open terrain and an unobstructed view.

Most importantly, this outpost is more than 20 kilometers away from the command post.

At this distance, it's questionable whether headquarters could even see it using a flare; it's more of a warning than a distress signal.

By the time the reinforcements arrived, it was too late.

"Ha, I've become a 'besieged soldier' ​​now."

【Dunjun: A specific term for soldiers stationed at beacon towers in ancient times】

Aoba knew that he had been marginalized. Although he didn't know how he had offended the Commander-in-Chief, he guessed it was related to Danzo.

But it doesn't matter, he doesn't care.

Qingye put away the map, casually stuffed one signal flare into Qi's arms, and hung the other on his waist.

Without any rousing declaration of departure, he simply waved to his two subordinates with different expressions behind him and then set off on his way to the outpost.

Area D13 is located on a prominent rocky outcrop on the flank of the defense line. It is high in elevation and surrounded by exposed weathered rocks with sparse vegetation.

When the three arrived, the sun was high in the sky.

The squad that was originally stationed here seemed to have received the news long ago, as the supplies on the side had already been basically packed up.

The leader of the Chunin was a burly man with a full beard. He looked at Aoba and the other two with a hint of sympathy on his face.

"This is the mission scroll; just sign your name on it."

Aoba unfurled the scroll, glanced at it casually, and then wrote his name on it.

"It's quite spacious here."

The burly Chunin took the scroll, glanced at it, and nodded.

"The view is good in this area, but the wind and sand are quite strong."

"So, how is the situation?"

"Qingye asked."

"This period has been very peaceful, eerily peaceful."

The burly Chunin sighed, "We haven't seen a single gerbil in the last two weeks. We've been stationed here for almost a month and haven't found anything unusual."

He didn't say anything more, but urged his companion on.

"Mission handover complete, we're leaving now. Good luck."

After saying that, the group left in a hurry, seemingly eager to return home.

Uchiha Itachi watched their departing figures, feeling a chill run down his spine.

Aoba acted as if nothing had happened, walking straight to the highest boulder in the area. He looked around and saw that the view was indeed expansive and unobstructed.

Yes, this is definitely a godforsaken place.

He then turned around and began directing his two underlings to do their work.

"Pitch the tent in a sheltered spot."

Aoba pointed to the area below a giant rock.

"Captain, should we set up a tent? Won't it be too conspicuous?"

Uchiha Kei asked.

"Idiot! If we leave a target here, the enemy will immediately target the tent!"

"Yes."

Uchiha Kei suddenly realized, then unloaded the supply pack from his back and began clearing away the rubble with the guy named Yuto.

Yuto remained silent throughout the entire process, his movements mechanical and efficient, clearing away rubble, driving in stakes, and pulling ropes—every step was imbued with a rigorous order.

Yes, it's a sense of order.

Uchiha Itachi was completely dumbfounded.

No, is his teammate really that serious about his work?

It's amazing!

Aoba glanced at the two of them, then squatted down and began piling stones on the boulder to form a simple windbreak.

Then, he picked up some dry shrub branches from the surrounding area and threw them into the stone circle.

He took out the lighter that Asuma had given him.

Click.

Pale blue flames flickered and quickly ignited the firewood.

The dry branches were instantly ignited, and orange flames danced wildly in the wind, while black smoke rose straight into the sky, appearing particularly glaring in the vast Gobi Desert.

Uchiha Itachi, who was setting up the tent, suddenly stopped what he was doing.

He stared wide-eyed at the conspicuous campfire high above, then looked at the unobstructed sky, threw down the rope, and rushed up.

"Captain! What are you doing? That guy just said we can't light a fire!"

"That would give away our position! This is the front line; we can see the smoke from kilometers away!"

Qi's voice was low and filled with obvious anxiety; he even wanted to rush up and stomp out the fire.

Aoba reached out to stop Kei, took out a sealing scroll from his ninja tool bag, unsealed it, and took out an iron pot and several large pieces of beef.

"Don't move it, this firewood is hard to light, don't let it go out."

As Aoba cut the meat, she said casually, "That person is gone. Now I'm in charge here."

"But... this is the border, won't starting a fire attract the enemy from the other side?"

"Wouldn't it be better to lure them over? It would save us the trouble of searching everywhere."

Qi was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, and his mind was momentarily blank.

Aoba put away the extra items and pointed to the open space at her feet.

"Look at this terrain. If Sunagakure wanted to launch a large-scale invasion, they could see whether we lit a fire or not."

"Our mission is to raise the alarm, not to cower here."

"If there weren't so little wood, I think the fire would have burned even brighter, so that the command center could have a clear view. Doesn't that show how steadfast we are in our posts?"

Qi felt a slight itch in his head; he had never heard of such bizarre logic before.

In his upbringing, ninjas were taught to hide in the shadows, not to hold bonfire parties in the wilderness like they do now.

He turned to look at Yuto, who had remained silent, hoping that this seemingly reliable colleague could offer some advice.

Yuto completely ignored him and focused on tidying up the tent.

Uchiha Itachi suddenly felt incredibly tired.

An eccentric captain, an amazing teammate.

He didn't know if the problem was with him, or with the world!

"Serve it yourself."

Aoba ignored him completely, served herself a bowl, took a sip of soup, and even breathed a satisfied sigh.

After Yuto finally finished his work, Kei went over to make a final effort.

"Yuto, you should try to persuade the captain too..."

Just as he turned his head, he saw the captain holding a bowl, drinking soup, and looking at the two of them with a strange expression.

Qi looked down and scanned the two of them, but found nothing wrong.

At this moment, Aoba suddenly spoke up and asked a strange question.

"You're from the Uchiha clan, don't you know about Root?"

Uchiha Kei looked blank at first, then seemed to remember something terrifying, and turned to look at his teammate next to him with a look of shock.

"Roots...roots?"

……