Escort Mission

Aozora,

I was happy to receive your letter. I never expected you to have such talent in ninjutsu.

There is so much I want to say, yet I do not know what to write. All I can say is that I am doing well.

Recently, Cloud and us have been engaging in small-scale battles along the border. We Uchiha took the lead, achieved many victories, earned great Prestige, and upheld the Uchiha's honor.

Unfortunately, quite a few Clan Members perished in the war. Team 4, led by Captain Aoki, was ambushed. Two died, and Captain Aoki was seriously injured as well. They will soon return to the rear.

Regarding the Clan Relocation, I hope you can understand the village. The Black Hand behind the Nine-Tails' Rampage possessed the Sharingan, so the village has become suspicious of us Uchiha.

But I believe our performance at the border will change their minds.

The village is in peril now. Everyone who inherits the Will of Fire should brave fire and water for Konoha. We are members of the Uchiha, but we are also members of Konoha.

Lastly, I captured quite a few Cloud ninjutsu on the battlefield. I hope they will be useful to you. Also, be careful when carrying out missions. Do not force yourself when facing powerful enemies...

Aozora held the letter delivered by the Ninja Crow, feeling somewhat helpless.

"How did the Uchiha produce such an awful goody-two-shoes? And he just had to be my brother!"

After folding the letter away, Aozora flipped through several Ninjutsu Scrolls sent by Shisui.

"Lightning Release—Ground Walk, Lightning Release—Thunderball, Lightning Release—Lightning Clone... They're all Lightning Release? As expected of Cloud."

"Huh? There's actually a ninjutsu like this! If I master it, I will not even need to covet Guy's family Body Tempering method."

Aozora stared at the final scroll in surprise. Written on it was Cloud's Lightning Attribute Body Stimulation Nintaijutsu.

He gripped the scroll tightly for a long while. With tremendous willpower, Aozora suppressed the urge to learn it, slowly closed the scroll, and placed it into the wooden box where he stored his scrolls.

Yesterday, after learning the Summoning Jutsu, he had bought Chakra Test Paper. The test showed that his primary attribute was fire, while he also possessed talent in lightning and earth.

Therefore, Aozora had the talent to learn Lightning Attribute ninjutsu. However, tomorrow was the day Team 3 would accept a new mission, so he had to rest in advance and maintain good condition.

Besides, he had just used the Blood Refining Method to deepen his connection with the "Zhanxian" Flying Dagger. His body was currently weak, making him unable to train in high-intensity Nintaijutsu.

He slept dreamlessly through the night. After getting up, washing up, taking care of business, and admiring his handsome face, Aozora put on his cloth armor and headed out.

When he arrived at the mission hall, Aozora found that Sai had already arrived. She was bickering with Team 1's companions.

"Good morning!" Aozora stepped forward and greeted them.

Seeing Aozora's pale face, Sai asked, "Good morning. Why has your face gone pale again?"

Aozora lightly shook his head without explaining.

Nearby, Hyūga Yō gave a reserved nod. Kurama Saki turned his head away and pretended not to see him, while Yagyū Ichirō merely grunted.

Outsiders did not understand Team 3's actual circumstances. In Team 1's eyes, Aozora was still that dead-last loser who only knew how to show off. Team 3's outstanding performance was nothing more than luck, with Sai and Hayate contributing at most a little.

Aozora raised an eyebrow and decided not to press his warm face against their cold asses. He casually stood to one side and silently circulated his Chakra to nurture the Zhanxian Flying Dagger.

Since the damage caused by splitting his soul was unpredictable, Aozora planned to refine both qi and blood first, using both methods in tandem. He would first use blood refining to strengthen their affinity, then slowly nurture it with qi refining.

Not long afterward, Hayate arrived as well.

Team 1 clearly took him much more seriously. Yagyū Ichirō took the initiative to greet him, while Hyūga Yō and Kurama Saki exchanged a few words with him.

Aozora calmly watched their interaction.

Close to eight o'clock, Team 1's instructor, Aizawa Konan, arrived first. Aburame Shibi arrived belatedly after her.

After lining up for a while, both teams reached the front.

Aizawa Konan looked at the eager expressions of Team 1's three members and said to the receptionist, "Let me see the C-Rank Missions."

Upon hearing that, Team 1's three members beamed with joy. Kurama Saki even deliberately glanced at Team 3's three members.

Neither Aozora nor Hayate reacted, while Sai muttered, "What are they so proud of? We already carried out a C-Rank Mission."

Aizawa Konan flipped through the mission list several times, took a number plate, and left with Team 1.

Aburame Shibi stepped forward and browsed through the mission list. As he did, he frowned. "Why are the first several pages all bandit-suppression missions?"

Team 3 had only just accepted a bandit-suppression mission, and Aburame Shibi wanted to switch to something a little easier.

They were all only twelve or thirteen-year-old children. He did not want to raise the three of them into killing tools.

Fortunately, banditry was rampant, and there were consequently more caravan Escort Missions. After flipping through several pages, Aburame Shibi finally found a suitable mission.

Sai took the number plate and ran excitedly to the archives. Yet when she returned, she looked somewhat dejected.

"Teacher, why did we take an Escort Mission? By the time we get back, Team 1 will have completed several missions already. We do not want them to surpass us."

Aburame Shibi said, "Sai, ninjas are not only about killing. There is also protection and guarding."

"Moreover, we are not mission tools. We cannot focus solely on carrying out missions; we also need a balance between work and rest. Only then will we avoid becoming cold-blooded weapons."

Upon hearing this, all three members of Team 3 nodded.

Holding the scroll, Aburame Shibi led Team 3 to the nearby lounge to speak with the mission client.

"President Fujiwara, we are the ninjas assigned to the Escort Mission. Do you have any questions?"

President Fujiwara was as fat as two people put together, his face covered in a smile of amiable prosperity. He glanced at Aozora and the others, whose youthful down had not yet faded, and hesitated. "I have complete faith in Konoha's reputation and strength, but the goods our convoy is transporting this time are rather valuable. Could you replace them with a few more experienced ninjas?"

Sai could not help jumping up to punch his round belly, but Aburame Shibi promptly grabbed her by the back of the neck.

As Sai helplessly flailed her arms and kicked her legs in midair, Aburame Shibi said indifferently, "Since we dared to accept this mission, we have the strength to complete it. We will not joke with the village's reputation."

Fujiwara Takumi hurriedly nodded and gave an awkward laugh. "I was being presumptuous. Konoha's reputation is indeed trustworthy."

This ninja, whose face was concealed behind a trench coat and sunglasses, gave him an overwhelming sense of pressure. That was something only powerful ninjas possessed.

Aburame Shibi said, "I am the captain in charge of this mission. Let us verify the mission details."

"The destination of this mission is Lianyun City?"

"That is correct."

"This mission will not involve conflict between ninjas?"

"That is correct. We are merely engaging in ordinary commercial activity. It is only because banditry has recently become rampant that we wished to hire ninja-sama."

"This mission..."

"..."

Sai had already been released by then. She glared indignantly at President Fujiwara as he spoke with Aburame Shibi, baring her teeth. "Damn it, he actually looked down on me."

Aozora said, "The third rule of the ninja code: do not easily offend mission clients. Have you forgotten?"

Sai was still somewhat unconvinced. "Hmph. Sooner or later, I will let him know how capable I am."