An Unexpected Mission!

Whoosh, whoosh!

Four figures swiftly leaped through the forest.

It was Team 3, heading toward a destination more than a thousand kilometers from Konoha.

At their pace, they would need no more than around two days to reach the target area.

Yes, they could cover a distance of over a thousand kilometers in just two days.

That was what ninjas were!

For a merchant caravan, taking a month to get there would not have been unusual.

With ninjas' terrifying mobility, only ninjas could intercept them. That was why the ordinary forces of the Five Great Nations were not even qualified to participate in the Ninja World War.

Since they had to accommodate Tang Ping and the others, their speed was only around seventy kilometers per hour.

They traveled for only about ten hours each day.

Using Chakra solely for travel did not consume much, so they could barely sustain it.

But they would still be exhausted beyond measure.

If it had been Minato Namikaze alone, he might have reached the destination in less than a day.

Ninjas!

They truly could not be judged by ordinary standards.

Crossing mountains and ridges was basic stuff to them.

Two days later.

"We're finally here!"

Looking at the town ahead, Tang Ping sighed softly. These past two days had been more exhausting than hauling bricks at a construction site.

Compared to Konoha, this town was pitifully shabby.

Its population was only a few thousand. It was tiny beyond belief.

Still, that was a normal population size.

A place like Konoha, which was clearly called a "village" yet had hundreds of thousands of people, was outright fraud.

"We'll enter separately and gather information. Regroup here in two hours!"

Tang Ping began assigning tasks.

Minato Namikaze had remained silent the entire time.

Because this B-rank mission belonged to Team 3, not him.

If an Elite Jonin like him were taking on a mission, it would at least be A-rank or S-rank. How could it possibly be B-rank?

So, once they left Konoha, he handed all matters over to Tang Ping and the others. This Jonin would merely observe.

Tang Ping was giving orders only because he had been appointed temporary captain.

There was no other choice.

They could not exactly make Kakashi, that emotionless robot, do it, could they?

Yamaa Koji was even more quiet and reserved.

If Tang Ping was not the captain, who would be?

Before his transmigration, he had been a programmer and a hardcore gamer, so he truly felt no pressure when it came to command.

Isn't it just three people? I've even commanded legions and fleets. What's this?

Ninjas naturally had to understand the intelligence before acting, which was why Tang Ping had come here first to gather information about the bandits.

"Transformation Technique!"

Tang Ping formed hand seals and used the ninjutsu, transforming into a sallow-skinned Farmer dressed in ragged clothes.

The three D-rank techniques taught at the Ninja Academy were the Transformation Technique, Clone Technique, and Substitution Technique. All of them had plenty of practical uses.

When gathering intelligence, a Transformation Technique ensured that no one would spot any flaws.

Of course, the academy also taught disguise classes.

Thus, whether in appearance, speech, or mannerisms, he was indistinguishable from the town's residents.

The group split up and entered the town.

As Tang Ping made his way through it, his expression remained calm.

Yet his mood was extremely grim.

Even though he knew the ninja world was cruel, what he saw still shocked him.

After all, hearing about something and witnessing it with his own eyes were completely different.

The town's residents were all yellow-faced and emaciated, as though a gust of wind could blow them over. Their clothes were even more tattered and worn.

From the details everywhere, he could imagine how miserable things must have been elsewhere.

The Land of Fire was prosperous, yet even the people living here were in such a state. The conditions in other places were easy to imagine.

At that moment, Tang Ping felt somewhat fortunate.

After transmigrating, he had not immediately grabbed a bucket and run away from Konoha.

Leaving aside whether he could have succeeded, even if he had, he would only have lived even more miserably in a place like this. It would have been worse than death.

With the Transformation Technique, it was not difficult to gather intelligence from the residents.

Before long, he learned some useful information.

From time to time, some "fierce-looking" people came to the town to purchase supplies.

Most importantly, these people had begun appearing several years ago.

Two hours later!

The three regrouped outside the town and began comparing intelligence.

Kakashi truly deserved his reputation as a mission machine. He had uncovered quite a lot.

From the information they gathered, they learned that the target group numbered only around a hundred people, and their base was located in a valley southeast of the town.

"Move out!"

Tang Ping gave the order.

By then, Minato Namikaze had already concealed himself in the shadows, so they could only make their own decisions regarding the mission.

It took them only an hour to find the target's location.

Had they been ordinary people—

Forget one hour. They might not have found the target even after ten days or more.

Crossing more than ten kilometers of mountains and ridges was no easy task, let alone finding a target hidden within the forest.

The gap between ordinary people and ninjas was simply too absurd.

The three of them were currently perched amid the dense canopy outside a valley, watching the entrance in the distance.

A crude Wooden Wall several meters high blocked the entrance, with two bandits patrolling atop it.

They're this disciplined?

Tang Ping frowned in thought.

According to the intelligence, this was the bandits' gathering place and also the target of their mission.

Yet for some reason, he felt that something was off.

"Should we go in?"

Yamaa Koji looked eager to try.

Rather than feeling uneasy about the coming slaughter, he was actually looking forward to it.

To ninjas, killing was as ordinary as eating and drinking.

Even Little Sun Minato Namikaze had an astonishing number of lives on his hands, and that was counting only missions, regardless of who the targets were.

That was why Tang Ping felt that the values of this world were twisted.

"No. We'll investigate again at midnight. For now, take turns resting!"

Tang Ping dared to charge ahead in research because he was confident.

But he did not dare play around like that in battle. He only had one life.

Of course, this was not cowardice. It was simply following his heart.

Late at night.

Once moonlight descended, the three began infiltrating the place.

Their powerful mobility allowed them to ignore the Wooden Wall and easily leap into the valley.

After entering, they saw a large number of extremely crude wooden buildings, along with tents.

"Over there!"

Tang Ping soon noticed a huge cave faintly guarded at the center and realized it was likely a warehouse.

Whoosh, whoosh!

The three quickly arrived at the cave and saw large quantities of supplies piled within.

Soon, they discovered a suspicious target.

A pile of crates set apart in the corner of the cave and covered with oilcloth.

Crack!

Yamaa Koji carefully pried open a crate with a Kunai.

"How is this possible?!"

His pupils suddenly contracted as he cried out in a low voice.

Because the crate contained Kunai.

Kunai themselves were not unusual, since they were not difficult to forge.

But only ninjas used them, and their quality requirements were far higher than those of ordinary weapons.

In the entire Land of Fire, only a few places could produce them in bulk.

These bandits were definitely not among them.

That was why seeing a crate of Kunai here had shocked even the expressionless Yamaa Koji.

Tang Ping might not have possessed much ninja talent, but there was nothing wrong with his brain. He immediately connected it to something more.

Smuggling arms!

Kunai were controlled goods, equivalent to military arms. Even if they were to be sold, it could only be under the direction of a village or the Land of Fire.

Yet the bandits' weapons clearly had nothing to do with Konoha or the Land of Fire.

They then opened several more crates in succession and found either Kunai, Senbon, Shuriken, or other ninja tools.

Seeing this, Tang Ping asked the other two in a low voice.

"Should we withdraw?"

He did not want to get caught up in this vortex. His small shoulders could not bear such a burden.

Kakashi and Yamaa Koji naturally understood what it meant to find such a large quantity of ninja tools here, so they nodded in agreement.

Unfortunately, it was already too late to withdraw.