While his students went to sleep, Renjiro decided to catch up with his old friend. He and Seiichi chatted for a long while recalling their old memories and sharing their new ones.
After chatting, Renjiro made a report and attached it to a messenger Hawk. The Hawk flew towards Konoha.
After a long sleep, the trio woke up. They freshened up and met up with Renjiro who was having breakfast with Seiichi.
Seiichi looked at them and said, "Come join in."
Having learnt a lot about them from Renjiro, Seiichi had a much better impression of them. The trio didn't engage in any formalities and joined them.
However, on seeing the food on the table, all three had the same thought, 'How the heck is this a breakfast!' The entire table was filled with roasted meat.
Fujin grabbed one slice and ate it. His expression immediately changed, 'Fuck! This is so good!'
He ignored everyone and began eating rapidly!
Hoka and Mieko looked at Fujin and grabbed a bite too. They too began eating quickly but paid attention to their manners.
Seiichi laughed lightly on seeing them all eat quickly and said, "No need to hurry. The food isn't going to run away."
All three nodded. Seiichi smiled on seeing them nod obediently. However, soon he was speechless. All three kids ignored his advice and kept eating at the same speed. Renjiro chuckled at Seiichi's reaction.
Fujin meanwhile thought, 'An Akimichi saying the food won't run away… As if anyone would believe that."
After eating, Fujin asked, "What do we do today, Sensei?"
Renjiro replied, "Just rest. Take a tour of the patrol outposts and go on patrols if you get bored. It'll be helpful if in the future you get posted for patrol duties. Don't waste your chakra though. We need to leave tomorrow morning."
Fujin replied, "Oh, alright Sensei."
He thought, 'I never thought about the ninjas who are out for patrol. I wonder how many ninjas are deployed like this.'
After thinking a bit, he concluded, 'Probably not a lot considering the vast number of bandits in this country. The job seems boring, though it could be a good way to explore this country.'
Seiichi called for Hotaka, who arrived soon. He said, "Since you guys fought together yesterday, I'll leave you guys under his care. Hotaka, show them the outpost and how patrol teams work."
Hotaka replied, "Sure Seiichi-sama."
He looked at the trio and said, "Come with me."
Fujin, Mieko, and Hoka followed him.
As Hotaka showed them around, Hiruzen read the report sent by Renjiro. A worry formed on his face as he analyzed, 'The Civil war inside Kiri is spilling into other countries. There might be more such incidents in the future. I should deploy some Anbu squads along the coastline.'
He looked at an Anbu ninja hiding in his office. Realizing that the Hokage needed him, he appeared in front of Hiruzen. Hiruzen commanded, "Call Hound and his Anbu squad."
The Anbu ninja nodded and flickered.
Hotaka led the trio around the patrol outpost. He said, "This is the command outpost for Konoha's eastern borders. This is why it is so big and well-maintained. There are many smaller outposts all over the country. But they only have the basic facilities."
Fujin thought, 'No wonder. This outpost is big. I only expected there to be one house at max.'
Hotaka showed them around the important locations in the outpost and introduced them to some of his friends. In the end, they climbed on a watchtower.
On reaching the top, the trio admired the scenery around them. The houses in the outpost were arranged symmetrically. And it was surrounded by lush green forests. To add to it, the Sun had just begun rising. So rays of sunlight traveled right above the trees.
Fujin, Mieko, and Hoka felt incredible calmness on seeing this sight. Fujin thought, 'What a sight! Perhaps, after the whole Kaguya mess is over, I should tour this world. I wonder what exists in this world apart from the hidden villages.'
Seeing the three kids lost in the scenery, Hotaka smiled and didn't say anything.
After some time, they stopped looking at it. Mieko said, "I didn't think we would get to see such a beautiful sight in a Patrol outpost."
Hoka added, "Yeah, this feels wonderful."
Fujin nodded.
Hotaka laughed and said, "Such sceneries are the main reason why most here have taken patrolling tasks. Beautiful scenery, freedom from daily worries at home and lax responsibilities are the plus points of this job. Situations like yesterday are rare in peacetime. Usually, we just go on routine patrols without finding any disturbances."
Fujin looked at Hotaka and wondered, 'So how did so many ninja cross into the Land of Fire during our last mission? Did the patrol teams just do a terrible job or were some of them bribed? Hmm, there is another possibility. Did Konoha purposefully let them in so that they could be annihilated without any opportunity to run?'
Hoka asked Hotaka, "Can you take us to patrol?"
Hoka wanted to know as many of his seniors and elders from the Hyuga clan often undertook Patrol missions.
Hotaka nodded, "Sure. Let's go."
He jumped off the watchtower. Hoka, Mieko and Fujin followed him. They left the outpost and entered the forests. And ran on tree branches at moderate speeds.
Hotaka said, "I am just taking you on a random patrolling mission. Usually, all Patrol teams have set routes that they have to patrol daily. And there are a few teams that patrol randomly to guard against someone who might know our patrol routes and uses that to avoid us."
Hoka said, "That's smart. That will make hiding very difficult!"
Hotaka nodded and added, "In addition, every Patrol team has one ninja from Inuzuka, Hyuga, or Aburame clans. So our range is much larger and any intruder has to consider all aspects if they want to hide from us."
The trio nodded. They were aware of the specialities of each clan. Hotaka took them on a 2-hour long patrol. Fujin and Hoka used their abilities to help Hotaka on the patrol mission. But they didn't find anything out of the ordinary. They returned back to the outpost.
Not having anything to do, they spent their remaining day meditating. During lunch and breakfast, they interacted with others in the outpost.
In the evening, an Anbu squad entered the outpost! They entered the main building. Renjiro and Seiichi were playing shogi. They both turned to see 4 Anbu ninjas.
The leader of the 4 had silver hair and wore a Kitsune mask. Both realized who the Anbu captain was.
