First Experience

Sakura felt very uncomfortable during her first mission with the Anbu.

When Team 7 is on a mission, there's never a shortage of Naruto. Non-combat missions are always completed with laughter, and even combat missions aren't this stressful.

Throughout the journey, Yugao and Shino remained silent, focusing solely on their path. Around noon, Shino found a secluded grove of trees, waved to signal a rest, and everyone hid in the shade. They drank some water, ate some dry rations, and sat for a few minutes, still remaining silent and vigilant.

Sakura felt more tired than ever before, not physically, but mentally. She hadn't uttered a single word all morning and just felt suffocated.

As expected of the Anbu.

However, she endured it and gradually adapted to the rhythm.

I kept my lips pursed, and they started to feel numb.

After a short rest, Shino signaled everyone to continue their journey. This time, they quickly emerged from the forest and arrived at a town whose name they did not know. Shino skillfully led the two to an inconspicuous house in the town, which was Konoha's intelligence point.

After exchanging the coded message, the Fourteenth Squad obtained the latest intelligence: the three Sound Ninja they had discovered had already left the area and headed north.

The Sound Ninja did indeed look like they were just passing by, but the Fourteenth Squad still carefully patrolled the area as ordered.

Sakura created two hundred combat clones in one go and conducted a thorough search of the suspicious areas where Sound Ninja might be present. This greatly accelerated the investigation, and one-third of the suspicious areas were searched in just one afternoon.

Just as Shino predicted, nothing was found.

As darkness fell and visibility became too poor, the patrol mission could not continue, so the Fourteenth Squad suspended its mission and rested at a base in the suburbs.

"Yuan, you must be bored today?" As soon as he entered the base, Shino took off his mask and asked Sakura with a smile.

Sakura Haruno didn't answer him immediately. Instead, she followed his example and took off her mask as soon as she entered the room, letting out a big sigh of relief.

"Phew!" She tossed her hair, rubbed her slightly swollen eyes, and said, "Yeah, I haven't said a single word the whole time! It feels so strange, like I've become mute."

She muttered a helpless complaint.

This basically broke her record for the longest period of silence. In any case, she couldn't recall ever having a whole night without saying a word.

The missions of the Anbu were not only dangerous and tedious, but also very dull. She didn't understand what dull meant before, but now she finally understood.

Shino explained, "When carrying out a mission, talking can easily lead to distraction and lower vigilance. Many Anbu have made this mistake, being ambushed and killed while talking. These are lessons learned in blood! So, we generally avoid talking during missions and remain vigilant at all times!"

Sakura pouted, making a helpless expression. "I guess I'll just have to get used to it slowly."

"Keep it up!" A hand reached out and patted the girl's shoulder. Sakura turned around and saw that Yugao had also taken off her mask, smiled gently at her, and said, "It's like this at first, you'll get used to it!"

Sakura was immediately touched by her gentle, healing smile. Her new teammate was quite considerate. It was clear that they had been drinking too much and were just being drunk when they ganged up on the newbie last night!

However, she was just moved for a second.

"Smack~" Yugao mimicked her pose from last night, blowing Sakura a kiss. "Do your best, kitty!"

Then, seeing Sakura Haruno turn red with anger, he burst into laughter.

"What the heck is 'cat'?!" the pink-haired girl retorted, waving her hands vigorously. "I've never had that nickname!"

She emphasized each word forcefully. "I have never been so pretentious with that nickname!"

"That's right, you're a kite, a bird, how could you be a cat?" Shino chuckled.

"Oh, it's a bird!"

"Aaaaah, a kite is a fierce bird, not some kind of bird at all! Sister Yugao, I'm going to kill you!"

"Hehe~ Okay, okay, I won't give you any more random nicknames!"

"Ahem, alright, alright," Shino chuckled, interrupting their playful banter. "Anyway, we still owe a debt to Sakura's Clone Technique today!"

"Yes, it's a really useful technique! It completed a third of the work in one go. At this rate, I can go back and report tomorrow." Yugao also put away her teasing expression and said with admiration, "Sakura, this technique isn't too much of a burden for you, is it? Don't push yourself just because it's your first mission. The Anbu's missions don't necessarily have to be completed tomorrow!"

"That's right... If this technique, like Shadow Clone, causes a burden, then Ming shouldn't use it. We can just use the normal methods for patrolling."

Sakura felt a warmth in her heart; her new teammate seemed pretty reliable.

She then briefly explained the characteristics of the battle clone technique. This technique does not return experience points, so it doesn't put much of a burden on her; it only consumes some Chakra when creating the clones.

The Fourteenth Squad chatted for a while, ate dinner, and then went to rest.

Nothing more was said that night.

The mission the following day went smoothly again, thanks to Sakura's clone; the morning's search yielded no clues.

Just when Sakura Haruno thought the information was just a false alarm...

The search in the afternoon encountered problems.

"So, it was you who destroyed my Ice Clone?" Sakura stood on the rock, looking down at the two Sound Ninja below, and asked coldly.

After she used her Ice Clone to search, she soon sensed a battle taking place near one of the clones. However, by the time the Team Fourteen arrived at the battlefield, the battle was already over, and the Ice Clone had been destroyed.

Fortunately, the enemy hasn't left yet—no, they haven't all left.

The Team Fourteen, consisting of three Anbu, each guarded a different direction, surrounding the Sound Ninja.

"The intelligence indicated we encountered three Sound Ninja, so it seems to be you. I can't believe you dare linger here. However, one of you has already escaped..." Shino recalled the mission briefing, confirming they were indeed the Team Fourteen's target. "If you're willing to hand over where the escaped one is, I might spare your lives!"

The two Sound Ninja exchanged a glance, then turned around and stood back to back, warily watching the group.

"Are you Konoha's Anbu? You're quite skilled, even a girl's clone is this powerful! We're definitely no match for you..."

One of the ninjas said with a wry smile.

"However, even if we die... we will never betray Lord Orochimaru!"

After that, the two of them simultaneously pulled out a scroll from their pockets and unleashed Ninjutsu to destroy it on the spot!

"They're trying to destroy the intelligence!" Shino's pupils constricted sharply. "Stop them!"

"... Wait, leave one alive!"

--However, Shino's reminder came too late; both things were...

As a white line of water and a crescent of silver light suddenly appeared on the battlefield, the heads of two Sound Ninja flew into the air at the same time.

Shino didn't even finish his sentence.

"Damn it... None of us are sensory ninjas. If we kill them all, we'll never know where that last Sound Ninja will run off to!" Shino said, sounding a little frustrated.

He jumped down and rubbed the ashes of the burned scrolls on the ground with his foot. "And the scrolls they had were completely destroyed too."

"There's no other way, this is the only way to complete the mission. It's a mission accomplished, at least we gained something. Mission over, let's go back and report!" Shino sighed.

This situation can only be carried out if there is a sensory-type ninja in the team. However, sensory-type ninjas are rare, and the village treasures them. Even if they are on a mission, they will not participate in such boring tasks.

There was no point in dragging it out any longer, so Shino simply announced the mission was over.

Yugao walked over, a hint of apology in her voice, "Sorry, I made a mistake in our coordination."

"No, no, I acted too hastily." The girl wearing the cat-face mask jumped down from the rock and apologized as well.

The main problem is actually with Sakura. Her Ninjutsu is released too quickly. The normal battle rhythm should be for Yugao, who is Taijutsu, to rush in and attack first, while Sakura provides support from behind with Ninjutsu, or for Yugao is unable to break through.

In fact, Sakura had one mistake: when she dealt with the first Sound Ninja, she almost turned around and took out the second Sound Ninja as well, which might have accidentally injured Yugao.

However, the Team Fourteen had only just been formed, and they had only had a brief verbal discussion about how to cooperate. They hadn't really practiced teamwork yet, so it was normal for some things to go wrong.

"It's nothing," Shino waved his hand dismissively, bending down to seal the Sound Ninja's head into the scroll. "Just take the head back to the Interrogation Department. Even if someone dies, the Secret Technique of the Yamanaka can still provide information as long as their head remains."

A single Fire Style destroyed the remains of the Sound Ninja.

"Regarding the coordination issue, let's practice our teamwork when we get back! After all, we've only just started forming a team!"

"Why are those two Sound Ninja here? I'm a little curious..."

Sakura shrugged. "Is Orochimaru up to something again? It's unlikely to be another Konoha Crush."

The three of them then headed straight back to Konoha.

The task, which was originally expected to take a week, was completed by the Fourteenth Squad in just two days. The superiors promptly gave them a few days off to make up for the time saved.

Sakura used this time to complete the Yin Seal runes. Through this mission, she also realized that the Anbu often had a lot of Chakra left over.

A few days later, in a secluded room in Konoha.

A girl with shoulder-length pink hair, wearing only her underwear, lay motionless on the floor, allowing a dozen figures to grope her body.

(This is a 3000-word long chapter. The third update will be tonight. Please recommend, comment, and add more chapters!)

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