First Mission

Early in the morning, Yemo and Kakashi had a chilly, awkward conversation. After Yemo finished washing up, Uchiha Mikoto, who had come by yesterday, returned.

Sister Mikoto wore a broad smile, her smile as warm as ever. "You're up so early. Looks like you're really looking forward to today's mission."

Yemo grinned. "Hehe, Sister Mikoto, this is my first mission since I became a ninja. Of course I'm looking forward to it."

Uchiha Mikoto looked astonished when she heard that. This was actually Yemo's first mission? According to Konoha's rules, every Genin started out on D-rank and C-rank missions, while missions of B-rank or above involved enemy ninja.

They were on a battlefield now, where any mission could bring them into conflict with enemy ninja. That meant they were all B-Rank Missions at minimum, and Lord Orochimaru had given Yemo a B-Rank Mission as his first. How could Uchiha Mikoto not be surprised?

Uchiha Mikoto couldn't figure out whether Lord Orochimaru was confident in Yemo's abilities or putting him through a cruel test. If she had known that Yemo had traded blows with the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, she wouldn't have thought so.

When Sister Mikoto remained silent for a while, Yemo called out, "Sister Mikoto, what are you thinking about?"

Yemo's voice startled Uchiha Mikoto out of her thoughts. She blinked and replied instinctively, "Oh... nothing. I was thinking about something else. All right, let's go."

Yemo didn't think much of it. He picked up the small bag by his feet, slung it over his back, and followed Uchiha Mikoto out of the woods.

When Yemo returned to the wooden building from yesterday, crowds filled the place. People stood even in the passageways, and ninja lined up to receive the new day's missions. With Uchiha Mikoto leading the way, Yemo finally managed to squeeze inside.

Meanwhile, inside the wooden building, Orochimaru and the others stood before a huge sand table. Beside it, Shikafumi Nara was adjusting the positions of the blue and red flags. Blue represented Konoha, and red represented Kumogakure. From the number and positions of the flags on either side, it was clear that Konoha currently had the upper hand.

Orochimaru and Jiraiya stood beside the sand table, both looking pensive. Suddenly, Jiraiya spoke. "Orochimaru, won't you reconsider? Are you really going to send Yemo on this mission?"

"There's nothing to reconsider. I've thought it through. After weighing the options, Yemo is the best suited for this mission," Orochimaru replied without hesitation. He knew perfectly well why he was doing it.

Orochimaru hadn't explained his reasons, and Jiraiya evidently still disagreed. He objected, "I still don't think it's a good idea. This mission doesn't require combat, and it's only about gathering intelligence, but it's extremely dangerous and difficult. In my opinion, we should send a Jonin who specializes in this."

"That's right, Orochimaru. I don't think it'll work either. Even an experienced Jonin would have a hard time completing this kind of mission, yet you're sending a Genin—and one who's never been on a mission before. You know how important this mission is to the coming battle," Shikafumi Nara said in agreement with Jiraiya. As the one who had proposed the mission, Shikafumi knew better than anyone how important it was. It would have a major impact on the course of the battle.

As far as both Jiraiya and Shikafumi were concerned, Yemo was too weak. He was only a Genin, and one with no mission experience at that. Neither of them approved of him taking on such an important mission.

They were putting it tactfully out of respect for Orochimaru. Had it been anyone else, they wouldn't have said so much. They would have refused outright.

Seeing how firmly opposed they were, Orochimaru knew he had to produce something to make Jiraiya and Shikafumi change their minds.

After a pause, Orochimaru said seriously, "I didn't want to reveal these things yet, but it seems you won't agree with my decision unless I tell you."

Hearing that, Jiraiya and Shikafumi exchanged a glance, each seeing deep puzzlement in the other's eyes. Could Yemo be hiding some secret he couldn't reveal?

Orochimaru continued, "You both know Yemo belongs to the Uzumaki Clan, but you don't know that he has learned the Uzumaki Clan's secret technique, Mind's Eye of the Kagura, which is said to be one of the strongest sensory techniques. Though he's only a Genin, using this Ninjutsu gives Yemo sensory abilities not much worse than a Jonin's. It also lets him conceal the Chakra in his body. Without a special method, even I would have difficulty detecting him."

Yemo's appearance that night had genuinely startled Orochimaru. Despite being one of the renowned Sannin, he hadn't noticed a kid hiding nearby.

Jiraiya and Shikafumi were astonished. If even Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, couldn't detect him, then the technique's concealment ability was truly frightening. At first, neither of them believed it, but Orochimaru couldn't possibly lie about something like this.

"Not only that," Orochimaru said, a trace of pride flashing across his face. "Yemo has already mastered changes in the nature of two Chakra types. He can use Lightning Release and Fire Style. I don't know just how strong he is, but in any case, he's at least as strong as a Chunin."

Jiraiya said in disbelief, "Even you aren't sure how strong he is? Orochimaru, aren't you exaggerating?"

"Not at all!" Orochimaru shook his head slightly. His expression was grave, and he didn't look as though he was joking.

Orochimaru was telling the truth. His disciple was hiding quite a few secrets, such as that strange secret technique that could control tree roots and the earth, as well as the secret techniques passed down in the Uzumaki Clan. He really couldn't say how strong Yemo was.

At that thought, Orochimaru couldn't help smiling wryly. As a teacher who didn't even know his own student's strength, he was probably the only one of his kind in the entire Shinobi World. But didn't that prove even more how outstanding his disciple was? Why did he need to know his student so thoroughly? For a teacher, nothing was more gratifying than having an outstanding student.

Jiraiya and Shikafumi had been through many trials. After their brief shock, they gradually calmed down. They finally understood why Orochimaru, who had never taken a disciple, had accepted Yemo. Even they would have been tempted by such an outstanding disciple.

Resting a hand under his chin, Shikafumi said thoughtfully, "Orochimaru, if what you say is true, then Yemo really is our best choice."

Konoha naturally had ninja with better intelligence-gathering abilities and greater strength than Yemo, but they weren't here. The war here was a small, localized conflict to begin with, and Konoha hadn't sent many forces.

But Shikafumi was still somewhat worried. Even if Orochimaru was right, Yemo was still only a child who had just become a Genin, with no experience carrying out missions whatsoever.

Seeing Shikafumi's concern, Orochimaru said, "How about this? I'll vouch for Yemo and take responsibility for all the consequences."

Now that Orochimaru had said that, Jiraiya and Shikafumi had no reason left to refuse. They exchanged a brief look, then nodded in agreement.

"Teacher Orochimaru."

At that moment, Yemo arrived under Uchiha Mikoto's guidance. Before he had even settled into place, he called out respectfully, unaware that a discussion about him had just ended.

Jiraiya waved Uchiha Mikoto away. The details of this mission were top secret; even a Jonin wasn't qualified to know them, much less a Chunin.

Orochimaru cleared his throat and said, "Yemo, I originally intended to show you what a real battle between ninja looks like today, but things have changed. Recently, traces of Iwa Ninja suddenly appeared on the battlefield, but we can't determine whether they're really Iwa Ninja or missing-nin. We sent a ninja to investigate yesterday, but unfortunately, we've lost contact with that ninja."

Orochimaru stopped there, and Jiraiya turned and pointed to the area marked with red flags on the sand table. "So today, we need you to infiltrate the area behind the Iwa Ninja, find out whether they really are Iwa Ninja sent by Iwagakure, and bring the intelligence back safely. If possible, also find out whether the ninja we sent yesterday is alive or dead."

"Although this mission is only to gather intelligence, it's extremely dangerous and demanding. You'll have to venture deep behind Kumogakure's lines. Make no mistake, this is no ordinary A-Rank Mission. If you expose yourself through a moment's carelessness, you'll be met by attacks from countless Kumo Ninja. You can choose to accept or refuse," Shikafumi Nara told Yemo, explaining the dangers of the mission. Because Yemo was young and had no mission experience, they weren't assigning it to him by force. Whether to accept was up to him.