Ninjas Should Launch Sneak Attacks, Assassinate, and Plot

I made Chunin?

Tamaki stared blankly at the green vest in front of him.

Half a month had passed since the Chunin Ninja Exams, and he had been told to pick up his Chunin vest.

He had deliberately given an average performance in the exams. Could they have given him special treatment because he was a genius?

Then Konoha must have had an awful lot of geniuses, because Asuma, standing beside him, had also been promoted to Chunin.

Kurenai would have been understandable: she specialized in Genjutsu, so it would have made sense for her promotion to come slowly, or not at all. But she had been promoted too.

It felt like something big was brewing.

Especially since, these past two years, the tail end of the Second Shinobi World War had yet to pass, and some fierce clashes still hadn't completely ceased.

The Shinobi World had never known peace.

The Third Shinobi World War was generally considered to have taken place from Konoha Year 48 to Year 50 in the original story.

But before those three years, the Shinobi World had been in constant turmoil, and clashes and conflicts of every size had never disappeared.

That was also why their generation had graduated in just three years.

He had even gathered from Sakumo's words that some ninjas on missions outside the village had recently been recalled.

As he was thinking, Sakumo arrived.

"Sensei Sakumo, we're all Chunin now."

Hearing Asuma's words, Sakumo didn't make a comment or two as he usually did. Instead, he frowned.

"New mission. I'll be taking you to the front lines next."

"Sensei, what's the mission exactly?"

"We're going to the Land of Earth's border to retrieve intelligence."

"You're taking us with you?"

"Yes."

At Sakumo's answer, everyone fell silent, even the lively Asuma.

Tamaki, meanwhile, caught a strong whiff of conspiracy.

Leaving himself aside, Kurenai was the daughter of the Yuhi clan, and Asuma was none other than the Hokage's son.

And those two were going to the very forefront of the front lines?

Thinking of Sakumo's death in the original story, alarm bells instantly rang in Tamaki's head.

If three Chunin with connections and backgrounds ran into trouble on the front lines, or even faced a life-or-death crisis...

Although a Jonin teacher wasn't responsible for the lives of the students he taught, if something like that happened, Sakumo would have a hard time escaping blame.

If anything went wrong with either the mission or the students' safety, Sakumo would be held responsible.

Even if everything went smoothly, that was fine too. Tamaki and the others would still be around, so whoever it was could simply try again next time.

Was someone trying to use these things to force Sakumo to pick a side, or did they want him dead?

And why had Hiruzen Sarutobi agreed to this arrangement? What role was he playing in it?

Had he sent Asuma over there of his own accord, or had he been forced into it? If he had been forced, who was putting pressure on a Hokage?

It was all like a cockroach in a room: once you realized it was there, you couldn't ignore it, but you couldn't find where it was hiding.

There had never been any shortage of darkness in the village.

With countless tangled thoughts he could hardly sort out, that was all Tamaki could say.

"Get ready. We leave tomorrow."

"Yes." ×3

That night, dinner at the Sanshou Medicinal Herb Shop was especially lavish, but everyone was somewhat quiet.

Hikari was still young and didn't truly understand the cruelty of the battlefield.

But she was at Konoha Hospital every day, and she knew how many wounded and death notices war brought.

His eldest uncle, his uncle's wife, and his mother, Futate Shizuka,

knew full well what the front lines meant, but they couldn't say much more. They could only watch in silence.

Early the next morning, the four met up.

"Let's go. I'll explain this mission to you in detail on the way."

"We won't be heading straight to the front-line encampment on this mission. We'll travel through the Land of Grass to a town on the Land of Earth's border."

"In ten days, someone assigned to the job will come to hand over the intelligence. I'll handle the exchange myself. Your main task is to provide cover and make sure I receive it without trouble."

"After that, barring any problems, we'll return through the Land of Grass to the Land of Fire's border. If something goes wrong, we'll go through the Land of Rain and return straight to the village."

"Understood?"

"Understood." ×3

After that, Sakumo had the three youngsters disguise themselves.

Asuma posed as the son of a wealthy merchant, Tamaki as his little attendant, Kurenai as his personal maid, and Sakumo as the steward.

That arrangement made more sense than Sakumo leading three children.

Besides, Asuma's air of acting as if heaven came first, the earth second, and he came next really suited the role.

Afterward, Sakumo bought a carriage in the nearest town.

Sakumo and Tamaki took turns driving as they headed for the border town in the Land of Earth.

Eight days later, they arrived without trouble.

Nothing unexpected had happened on the way. Though turmoil continued, the movement of people and goods had never stopped.

Thanks to Asuma essentially playing himself, their party hadn't attracted much suspicion.

Even so, to be cautious, Tamaki and Sakumo had decided to take it slow.

A journey ninjas could have made in five days had taken them eight.

From a steward's perspective, having reached a peaceful border town in a major country, it was reasonable to let the young master rest there for two days.

So far, everything had gone smoothly.

After arriving at their destination, the four found an inn suited to their identities and took two adjoining rooms, with no one staying in the rooms on either side.

Tamaki and Sakumo shared one room, while Asuma and Kurenai shared the other.

"I'm exhausted."

As soon as he entered the room, Asuma collapsed onto the bed.

"Young master, I heard the owner say there's a hot spring in the inn's back courtyard. A soak might ease your fatigue."

"Great. Come with me later, and scrub my back while you're at it."

"Certainly, young master."

Kurenai said nothing. She was sensing her surroundings, checking for ninja Chakra.

Sakumo, meanwhile, was assessing whether anyone was eavesdropping.

Tamaki played the little attendant, talking with Asuma to cover the other two's actions.

"All clear. There are no ninjas or eavesdroppers here."

"Whew, this kind of operation is hard work."

"Don't let your guard down too much. The mission isn't over yet."

"Yes, I know, Sensei Sakumo."

"Come here, all of you. I'll explain the next stage of the operation."

Sakumo drew the three youngsters over to the tea table on the tatami.

"Tomorrow, Tamaki and I will go out to buy supplies and observe the terrain and the people."

"Asuma and Kurenai will stay at the inn, posing as the young master resting and the maid attending him."

"The day after tomorrow, I'll go to receive the intelligence. The three of you will be out enjoying yourselves."

"Tamaki and I will decide on the exact route and meeting point tomorrow."

"Once we meet up, we'll return immediately. When we leave the day after tomorrow, abandon everything except the essentials."

"Understood?"

"Understood." ×3

The next day, Tamaki followed Sakumo and carried out the plan.

The two settled on the meeting point and route to take after the handover.

On the morning of the tenth day,

Sakumo went out alone.

Only Sakumo knew who would hand over the intelligence and what the code was.

The three youngsters stayed at the inn, waiting until the agreed time to set out.

But Tamaki felt vaguely uneasy.

Everything had gone smoothly, yet it was as though some indescribable terror was about to descend.

Near noon, as departure time approached, they carried out their routine pre-departure check.

"Kurenai, sense the area."

Kurenai did as he asked.

Then she discovered to her horror that there were ninjas nearby—and more than one!

Seeing Kurenai's reaction, he knew his guess had been right.

The plan for this operation had been exposed!

Whether it was the intelligence agent sent by the village who had been exposed, or the mission itself, no longer mattered.

The problem now was getting out.

But Tamaki didn't immediately lead the other two charging out.

He needed to determine how many there were, and see whether they had a chance to shake them off.

After all, these people should already have known about the three of them, yet they hadn't immediately moved to capture them. That meant they still had time.