Chapter 45

— Ryo-san? What are you doing here? — White Fang raised an eyebrow in surprise after a brief pause.

Given who his student is, it would be strange for us not to know each other at least on a surface level.

— Escort from the clan and your medic for the duration of the exam, — I replied, shaking hands with the men. — I was swamped with work and decided to take the chance to see Sunagakure without fearing a kunai in my back. And how did you end up here, Sakumo-san, Taicho?

— I'm in charge of reconnaissance, and Hatake-san is with us just in case of any potential trouble on the way to and from the village, — Hyuga explained quietly, clearly aware of the curious ears of the nearby Genin.

After the others introduced themselves, Sakumo counted the people present, checking against his scroll, and then gave the order to move out, signing the papers with the gatekeepers. The future Chunin and others moved in the center of the group, with seven Jonin on the sides and ahead in case of a sudden attack, with me bringing up the rear.

Although White Fang knew I shouldn't be compared to the other holders of this title, the protocol for medical shinobi and support units was written for a reason and confirmed by a sea of blood, regardless of the latter's strength.

Despite our pace being like that of pregnant snails, or rather, regular Genin, we made it to the edge of the desert by late evening, making only short stops to catch our breath and eat rations on the move.

Even though they were almost completely exhausted when we stopped for the night (except for the well-preserved Senju), we had time to prepare before entering the desert—moving through sand is not the same as jumping through monumental trees; you'll quickly wear yourself out without proper preparation.

Finding a suitable patch of land, Hyuga first checked the surroundings with Byakugan and only then did we start setting up camp. Initially, Hatake wanted to use only futons, but after I suggested setting up a protective kekkai for the night, he allowed the use of tents. Considering the war had ended and it was unlikely that any nukenin would approach such a large group, we didn't need to worry about a random attack, and a deliberate one would be delayed enough for us to wake up and prepare properly.

Besides, why did I even bring the tent if we were going to sleep on the bare ground?! Although it wasn't winter, sleeping like that is uncomfortable even in the summer. After setting up the tent in just a few seconds (isn't sealing the tent in its assembled state supposed to be easy, not even affecting the amount of chakra used?), I enjoyed watching the half-dead-from-fatigue Genin suffer, who were being kept awake by their senseis while I sipped a hot herbal tea and literally basked in the envious gazes of the youth—at least they still had to start a fire to warm up their food! Not everyone has the luxury of buying magical scrolls or even making them.

— Hey, Ryo, are you going to check now? — Kei interrupted my brief control training, dragging a sleeping small kunoichi behind him.

I had only recently experienced the bliss of falling asleep with a not completely depleted source, so even though I kept up my training, I wasn't fanatical about it, primarily aiming to rest well and make up for the lost sleep over the past months.

— Bring her here, — I said, seating the child in front of me, and activated Shosen no Jutsu, running my hand along her spine while carefully monitoring any suspicious areas where there was previously an ugly wound.

Though it took no more than a couple of minutes, Naoki had fallen asleep, and the sensei held her by the shoulders to prevent her from toppling over and interfering with my work.

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