Naruto: Skill Editing System

On the road to the Land of Rain, a supply caravan rumbled through a sparsely wooded area. Every guard escorting the caravan was a shinobi from Konohagakure.

What stood out, however, was the strange sight nestled in the middle of the convoy—a single wagon crowded with six children, none of them even half the height of the adult ninja surrounding them. Their presence created a stark contrast to the grim, battle-hardened atmosphere.

"Our teacher is the Hokage's student!"

Even after three days on the road, the excitement hadn't worn off. The one who said this was a bespectacled boy from Namikaze Minato's team named Egawa Kanao, a name that stuck in Hirakawa Yuuki's mind for obvious reasons. After all... wasn't that the name of that death god grade-schooler?

"So that makes us the Hokage's grand-disciples!" Minato's teammate, Yamamoto Kousuke, chimed in with a grin. "He must've seen my talent, that's why he put us under the Hokage's student!"

The moment Kousuke finished speaking, Uchiha Yuichi seated behind Yuuki, burst out laughing like he'd just heard a joke.

"You? Talent? I'd say you just got lucky."

"You...!"

"You what? You're about to enter a real battlefield. You should start recognizing that you're just average."

"I...!"

"I what? You should just count yourself lucky to have a squad leader who's the Hokage's student and keep that head of yours low."

Kousuke was clearly irritated, but no rebuttal came. Luckily, Minato reached out and stepped in.

"Alright, we're all comrades from the same village. Don't fight."

"Sit down and stay alert. Even if it's rare, supply teams do get ambushed sometimes."

Yuuki turned to look at Yuichi, ready to stop him from saying more.

"Shut up."

Yuichi opened his mouth, then closed it again. After a second of sulking, he turned his face away and did as he was told.

There wasn't much he could say. Whether it was in terms of strength as a shinobi or potential for the future, Yuichi had to admit Yuuki outclassed him.

Yuuki sighed. Uchiha Yuichi was strong, talented, decent at heart, respectful of the strong, and didn't bully the weak. But the guy just couldn't control his mouth. If every Uchiha acted like this, no wonder their clan had such a bad reputation in the village.

"Sorry about that, Yamamoto Kousuke."

It was one thing to tell Yuichi to shut up. But getting him to apologize? That was beyond Yuuki's paygrade. With no better option, Yuuki gave a soft apology on Yuichi's behalf, not wanting to risk any tension that might cause problems down the line.

"It's fine, just…" Kousuke turned to glance at Yuuki, then gave a slight nod. But when his eyes flicked over to Yuichi on the other side of the wagon, he turned away again.

Yuuki gave a helpless smile. So did Minato. Neither of them pushed the issue. Just as Minato had said, it was better to focus on watching the woods around them.

Truthfully, Yuuki wasn't worried about enemy ninja attacking the caravan. Not with members of the Hyuga clan stationed throughout the convoy. With those Byakugan eyes constantly scanning the surroundings, no enemy could sneak close.

Besides, they were still within the Land of Fire. Realistically, the only ones likely to attack were blind, ignorant bandits who didn't know what they were messing with.

"Roughly one kilometer ahead. Thirty-four people are hidden in the woods to the right of the road. No chakra signatures. Suspected to be a bandit group."

One Hyuga ninja near the front reported loudly, veins bulging around his eyes as he activated his Byakugan.

"Another group of bandits?"

The squad leader, an elite jonin who'd brought Yuuki and Minato's teams out three days ago, appeared next to the Hyuga in a flash.

"No chakra at all?"

"I'm certain."

"In that case, let's use this chance to give our fresh genin a little training."

Confirming there was no real threat, the jonin vanished again and reappeared beside Yuuki's wagon in the middle of the convoy.

"There's a group of bandits hiding about a kilometer ahead in the forest to the right. You rookies will handle them."

He glanced down at the children on the wagon, his gaze softening slightly as he looked at these shinobi-in-name-only who were barely older than his own kids.

"Don't worry. It's been confirmed, they don't have chakra. That means no actual ninja among them. As long as you coordinate with your team and avoid getting surrounded, even genin like you should be able to deal with them easily."

"It's good for new shinobi to shed blood early. It'll help you survive once you reach the real battlefield."

With that, the jonin disappeared again.

The kids in the front of the wagon stared blankly at the now-empty space.

"Let's move. They're one kilometer ahead. We need to finish this before the wagon reaches that spot."

Yuuki was the first to snap out of it. After a quick glance around, he used Body Flicker to vanish into the trees, followed closely by Yuichi and Shiina.

Minato watched them go, then turned to his teammates.

"Let's go."

Yuuki's footsteps barely touched the tree branches as he flew through the forest, wind howling past his ears. Behind him, the others kept pace.

Soon, the dense woods ahead opened to reveal the group of bandits the jonin had mentioned.

Yuuki signaled with a hand gesture, and the group came to a silent halt, hiding among the thick canopy. Moments later, Minato and his team arrived and joined them.

"What's the situation?" Minato asked.

"Thirty-four in total. Based on initial observation, none of them are shinobi. We can take them out easily." Yuuki had already studied the group several times before answering confidently.

The moment he heard "take them out easily," Uchiha Yuichi's eyes gleamed red as he stepped forward, pulling out a kunai.

"Do we kill them?"