Naruto: Path towards Godhood

The road inside the fire country was quite stable. There was a lot of forest, and the ground was plain.

Team 25 continued hopping on top of trees as they traveled toward the Land of Wind.

The first day of the journey was simple. They didn't encounter any ninjas or bandits.

They were able to cross hundreds of kilometers in just a few hours. They traveled during the day and took a shift during the night.

Jenzi did the first shift, and Mito did the second.

Because they wanted to move during the early morning, Ken's shift had already come when it was around two in the morning.

Each of them managed to sleep for six hours, and the next day, they continued traveling at their full speed.

During their journey, Mito turned toward Ken and asked.

"Ken, what are you thinking so much about?"

"This mission," Ken replied.

"What's there to think about? Isn't this a normal delivery mission?" Jenxi blinked his eyes and asked in confusion.

"Not exactly, you see. I feel like Hokage and others are using us as bait." Ken replied.

This instantly made Mito and Jenzi panic, especially Jenzi.

"Wh-wh-what do you mean? Why would the Hokage use us as a bait? You must be talking nonsense, Ken. Don't think too much!"

Jenzi immediately shook his head and tried to calm down his heart.

"Jenzi, what are the most important things for a war to continue?" Ken asked.

Jenzi tilted his head and replied.

"Ninjas!"

"Exactly. Are ninjas humans?" Ken asked.

"Obviously." Jenzi rolled his eyes and replied.

"Then, if they are human, they need food to survive, right? So, where does this food come from?" Ken asked.

"From the village." Mito was the one to reply this time.

"So what? We are bringing food to the Sixth Platoon. What does this have anything to do with bait?" Jenzi asked.

"Can those Ninjas continue fighting without food?" Ken asked.

Mito shook her head and said.

"No, but what does this have anything to do with bait?"

Suddenly, her pupil shrunk as she asked.

"Are you saying we are not bringing food to the Sixth Platoon?"

"Mito, are you crazy? If we don't bring food to the Sixth Platoon, what will we bring, people?" Jenzi rolled his eyes and asked.

"Jenzi, you missed one thing. Let me ask you something. If this was a delivery mission, what would be the most important ninja for this kind of mission?" Ken asked.

Mito gulped heavily and said.

"Sensory ninja. Someone from Inuzuka, Aburame, or Hyuga."

"Yes, with their sensory abilities, they will be able to avoid any kind of ninjas coming their way and bring food to the Sixth Platoon."

"But, our team doesn't have that. Is the village lacking ninjas? Yes, that's for sure, but can they not provide us with any sensory ninja? No, they can do that."

"So, why didn't they do it?" Ken asked.

At this moment, the bell in his head rang. Jenzi finally understood the situation and clenched his fist in frustration.

"But why? Why would they let some Genin be bait? We can't even fight Chunin."

Hearing his words, Ken solemnly replied.

"They are ready to sacrifice us. But I don't think the village is that ruthless enough to sacrifice some ninjas for a reason."

"If I am not wrong, there must be a spy in the village. The Hokage and others must have known about the spy and used us to trick that spy."

"If a group of three Genin is transporting some essential items, who would believe it? No one, unless that person is a spy. So, once the spy believes it, that spy can contact his people and tell them the information."

"Spy doesn't know Hokage already knows about his existence. So, the information from the spy will work, and the enemy will send several troops to kill us."

"And while the enemy is busy with us, another team or another ninja will transport the important item to the Sixth Platoon or any other platoon."

"And this person must be Shinku-sensei."

Hearing that, Mito and Jenzi couldn't help but clench their fists. Mito didn't say anything, but Jenzi couldn't control his mouth.

"Do you think Sensei knew about it, so he tried to be a good person and give us those gifts?"

As soon as Ken heard that, he moved closer to Jenzi and slapped him on the cheek.

At this moment, Jenzi was stunned. He raised his head and saw Ken's eyes. They were scarlet. He had even activated his Sharingan.

"Don't blame Sensei."

After saying that, he slowly closed his Sharingan and said.

"A ninja is a soldier of a village. We, genin, chunin, or jonin, are no different. They can't go against the orders of the Hokage."

"Sensei must be feeling conflicted. I just hope he won't make any mistake."

Hearing his words, Jenzi bit his lips and lowered his head. He felt so ashamed that he wanted to cry.

The person who accepted him as a ninja, the person who trained him and put so much effort into him. How could he doubt such a person?

This guilt was heavy for Jenzi. He had just become a ninja and was already shouldering so much guilt.

"Ken, do you think Sensei will come and help us?" Mito's eyes had turned red due to their conversation.

"I don't want him to come here. Mito, you don't understand the life of a ninja yet. Unless you have the strength to rival the entire village, even if you are Kage, you will be condemned forever if you make a big mistake."

Ken at his friends and softly spoke.

"This is something your parents might not have taught you. But you must have heard about White Fang of the Leaf, right?"

Mito and Jenzi nodded.

Of course, they had heard about him. He was the legendary man who was said to be stronger than the legendary Sannin.

"That man made a mistake. He gave up his mission to save his companion. And, the price he paid for failing the mission was his death."

"Do you know why? Because Konoha can't afford to abandon the mission. That will plummet the reputation of the village, but more importantly, some people could take advantage of it."

"Shinku sensei has a good reputation in the village. He will suffer the same consequences as the White Fang if he gives us his mission to save us."

"So, no matter what, he mustn't come here to save us. We need to save ourselves from this predicament."

Hearing his words, Jenzi gritted his teeth and asked.

"Then, why don't we give up this mission? We are not as famous as them."

"That's exactly why we can't do it." Ken's expression turned serious as he spoke.

"First of all, it is easier to punish us with death because we don't hold any significance to the village."

"The reason why information about White Fang failing his mission was spread out was simply because Hokage and others couldn't' punish him."

"Not only did he give up the mission to save the village, but he was also the only person equal to Hokage in terms of strength."

"If they try to punish such a people, they could retaliate and become a rouge ninja, which will bring more trouble to the village."

"It's just that nobody expected him to suddenly give up and take the route of suicide. Otherwise, except for reputation, he had no problem surviving that situation."

"We are different. This is a bait mission, which means the village has already given up on us. If we go back, the village will spare no effort to make us disappear."

Hearing his words, Mito and Jenzi didn't know what to say, and Ken said nothing more.

Everything he said was within the rules of the village. That meant he wasn't painting Hokage as an evil person, so he wasn't worried about himself.

He was just worried that Mito and Jenzi might not be able to take this. They have just become Genin.

They should have been doing small missions in the village, but due to this war, they were dragged out as bait.

Anyone in this situation would be terrified.

Mito clenched her fist. She had thought about it. Even if she was going to be bait, she would do anything to survive.

"Ken, we must make it out alive."

Ken saw a look of determination in her eyes. At this moment, she was willing to do anything to survive, but she had also accepted her death.

"Yes, we must survive. I promised my mom that I would become a Jonin. How can I fall here?"

Jenzi muttered as he clenched his fist. When he heard Mito, the fear and tension in his heart slowly disappeared, replaced by a strong determination.

"Don't worry, we will survive."

Ken smiled at them with determination and said.

'I will make sure of it.'