A-Rank Mission

Even a powerhouse of Orochimaru's caliber was interested in this Forbidden Technique. If Hyuga Kagami claimed he was not interested, he would only be deceiving himself. So he said directly, "What do you need me to do?"

Orochimaru answered somewhat irrelevantly, "What do you think of Uchiha Itachi?"

Hyuga Kagami replied without hesitation, "Unlike many so-called geniuses, he is a true genius. In perhaps three to five years, he may grow into someone others can only look up to."

Orochimaru took a Scroll from his robes and tossed it to Hyuga Kagami. "Keep a closer eye on him for me. I am very interested in that Uchiha."

With that, Orochimaru vanished into the shadows as though he had never been there.

Holding the Forbidden Technique Scroll Orochimaru had thrown him, Hyuga Kagami mused, What exactly does Orochimaru covet—Itachi's Sharingan, or Itachi's body?

Itachi's excellence was beyond doubt. Even the Third Hokage had praised him publicly. Hyuga Kagami simply could not quite figure out what Orochimaru meant by "keep a closer eye on him."

When he returned to camp, Hyuga Kagami found Itachi scribbling in the small notebook he carried with him. He casually asked, "What are you writing?"

Itachi answered seriously, "I'm recording the Mission Log."

According to village regulations, ninjas carrying out missions were required to keep Mission Logs. When they returned to hand over their missions, the logs would be retained as records and sealed away in the Archive of the Mission Center.

But rules were rules. In reality, very few ninjas were willing to record every last detail in their Mission Logs.

Most ninjas, like Hyuga Kagami, simply gave a brief verbal account of the mission when turning it in. The Mission Center staff would record it on the spot before filing it in the Archive.

Hyuga Kagami sighed. "Itachi, you are the most meticulous and conscientious ninja I have ever seen. You may be young, but you are thorough in everything you do."

Closing his notebook, Itachi replied, "I only want to learn more from my senior."

Hyuga Kagami shook his head with a smile and said nothing more.

The journey back went smoothly. Unlike their sluggish trip out, Hyuga Kagami and Itachi traveled at full speed like proper ninjas and returned to the village in just a week.

After they submitted their Mission Logs at the Mission Center, the difficulty rating for their mission was immediately raised from B-rank to A-rank!

The reason was that the mission had involved Kumogakure, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages alongside Konoha, and the enemy had even deployed Yugito Nii, the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, along with her escort squad.

A Jinchuriki could often be regarded as the strongest force in a shinobi village beneath the Kage, one of the village's pillars. Thus, if a mission encountered such a troublesome figure and was still successfully completed, the Mission Center would customarily raise its rating by one rank as appropriate.

Of course, the reward paid to Hyuga Kagami and Itachi still followed the B-rank mission standard. Their records merely gained one completed A-Rank Mission.

Completing an A-Rank Mission was a rare achievement even for Chunin, much less Itachi, who had not yet graduated. As a result, Itachi was extremely happy when he left the Mission Center.

Looking at Itachi's smiling face, Hyuga Kagami sighed. "Only now does he truly look like a child."

At that moment, Itachi bowed deeply to Hyuga Kagami and said sincerely, "Senior, thank you for your guidance. I learned many things during this mission. You are a true Konoha ninja!"

Hyuga Kagami smiled. "I don't recall teaching you anything."

Itachi replied, "You are indeed not a talkative person, but your actions taught me many things. Especially when we encountered the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, you made me understand the convictions a Konoha ninja should possess!"

Hyuga Kagami was taken aback and then asked, "Didn't you think I was rather humiliated back then?"

Itachi shook his head.

Hyuga Kagami curled his lips. "Then do you know why I was able to remain calm in the face of Kumogakure's humiliation?"

Itachi thought seriously for a while before tentatively answering, "Because anger interferes with judgment, so ninjas should not get angry?"

"No..." Hyuga Kagami waved a hand and smiled mysteriously. "It was because the thought of Uchiha Itachi suffering alongside me suddenly made me feel much better!"

Itachi merely assumed Hyuga Kagami was joking with him. After chatting for a few more moments, he bid him farewell and left.

Watching Itachi's departing figure, Hyuga Kagami sighed softly.

It had to be said that the Uchiha Clan truly was an aberration. They were far too prone to extremes. Someone as narrow-minded as Obito had wanted to destroy the world for the sake of a girl he loved in secret. Someone as compassionate as Itachi could slaughter his own parents and relatives to prevent widespread suffering.

If their thoughts alone were extreme, that would be one thing. There were plenty of people like that in the world.

But the Uchiha were different. The more extreme they became, the stronger their ocular power grew. Once they evolved the Mangekyō Sharingan, they would possess both the drive to put their extreme beliefs into action and the strength to make them reality.

The thought alone sent a chill down his spine.

Inside the Hokage's Office.

The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, sat with a pipe in his mouth, reading the document in his hand.

Suddenly, the Third Hokage asked the Hokage's Assistant beside him, "That Uchiha boy just completed an A-Rank Mission?"

Since the village was currently conducting comprehensive surveillance of the Uchiha Clan, the document had reached the Hokage's Office the moment Itachi completed his mission.

The assistant answered, "Yes. It was originally a B-rank commission, but Kumogakure became involved during the mission, and the enemy even deployed Yugito Nii, the Two-Tails Jinchuriki. Therefore, the Mission Center raised the mission evaluation from B-rank to A-rank."

As the Third Hokage flipped through the mission records, he said, "This Hyuga Kagami is connected to Orochimaru?"

The assistant replied, "Yes. During the war, Orochimaru used his connections to transfer him from the front lines to the Field Hospital, where he served as a hospital guard for some time. He cannot use medical ninjutsu, but he is skilled at treating external wounds and has a fairly good reputation in the Medical Corps. Other than his overly close association with Orochimaru, he has no other blemishes."

The Third Hokage took out Hyuga Kagami's personal file as well and gave it a glance. Then his brows furrowed. "He has already undergone a Purge?"

The assistant answered, "Yes. Root conducted a Purge on him, but it failed after they encountered an unidentified wandering ninja. Mitsui Chuichi, the Root ninja assigned to monitor him, was killed."

The Third Hokage's furrowed brow tightened further. "An unidentified wandering ninja? Can that be confirmed?"

The assistant replied, "Sunagakure has also sent word. Their Assassination Squad assigned to that Purge was wiped out as well. However, the information they sent was rather vague. It seems they know who the culprit is but do not wish to tell us. Thus, the Intelligence Division believes this so-called wandering ninja is most likely a Rogue Ninja from Sunagakure."

Only then did the Third Hokage's brows relax. "Since we can confirm it was not Hyuga Kagami, observe him for a while longer. If nothing unusual happens, remove him from the Purge list."

Following Orochimaru's defection and the Nine-Tails Incident that came soon afterward, the village had successively lost three Kage-Level Combat Powers—Orochimaru, the Fourth Hokage, and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki—as well as a large number of ninjas. Its strength had been severely depleted.

Furthermore, according to reports sent back by Spies embedded in the other major shinobi villages, after learning that Konoha had suffered repeated heavy blows, those villages seemed to be plotting something together. All of them were beginning to stir.

Combined with the Uchiha Clan issue within the village, the Third Hokage was already exhausted from dealing with troubles both inside and out. Therefore, the Purge operation proposed by Danzo had been suspended indefinitely.