Tracking and Encounter

After flipping through a few pages, a mission caught Hyuga Kagami's attention.

"Eliminate the wandering ninja within the Land of Fire..."

A-rank missions all involved combat between ninja, so Hyuga Kagami had three principles when selecting missions.

First, the location had to be close. If the mission site was too far away, accidents could easily happen along the way. After all, the war had only recently ended, and the world was still in chaos.

Second, the enemy could not be too strong.

Third, the enemy's background had to be simple. He could not end up making a mess of enemies because of a mission.

Thus, this mission to eliminate wandering ninja within the Land of Fire perfectly matched Hyuga Kagami's three principles, making his eyes light up.

He handed the mission sheet to Guy, pointed at the mission to eliminate the wandering ninja, and asked, "What do you think of this one?"

Guy replied, "I have no objections!"

After accepting the mission, the two did not waste any time and immediately set out.

Along the way, Hyuga Kagami and Guy analyzed the detailed intelligence about the mission they had received from the Mission Center.

The client was the daimyo of the Land of Fire. Recently, a group of wandering ninja had attacked several villages in the Land of Fire near the border with the Land of Waves, causing heavy casualties and property losses.

The intelligence indicated that there were five to seven wandering ninja. They were suspected to be Rogue Ninja from Kirigakure, were quite capable, and used cruel methods.

Because of the war, the number of ninja defecting had increased year by year. Every major ninja village had them, and Konoha was no exception. However, most Rogue Ninja fleeing the war entrenched themselves in small countries without ninja villages. Rogue Ninja bold enough to openly attack the Land of Fire were rare.

Hyuga Kagami cautioned, "They dared to plunder within the Land of Fire, so they must be fairly strong. Don't let your guard down!"

Guy hurriedly nodded.

Seeing that Guy seemed somewhat nervous, Hyuga Kagami thought for a moment before adding, "But don't be too nervous either. Rogue Ninja who only dare attack civilians may not be that strong. As long as we perform normally, completing the mission shouldn't be a problem."

Guy clenched his fists. "I'm not afraid of them!"

A few days later.

Following the trail all the way, Hyuga Kagami and Guy arrived at a village that had been attacked not long ago.

The village was a complete mess, with corpses strewn everywhere. The air was thick with the stench of blood, while wails and sobs rang out without end.

Hyuga Kagami approached a survivor and asked, "We are ninja sent by Konoha. Please tell us, who exactly attacked you?"

The survivor looked dazed. He stared blankly at Hyuga Kagami for a long while before answering, "I don't know who they were. They killed everyone they saw, then left after they were done."

Unaffected by the village's tragic state, Hyuga Kagami calmly pressed on. "How many were there? When did they leave? Which direction did they go?"

The survivor pointed in one direction. "They went that way! I... I don't know how many there were, and I don't know when they left."

Hyuga Kagami focused his gaze in the direction the survivor indicated, then said coldly, "Let's go after them!"

Already filled with righteous indignation, Guy nodded hard. "Yeah!"

Within the Hyuga Clan, tracking was a basic course. Every Hyuga clansman who had been to war was an expert tracker, and Hyuga Kagami was naturally no exception. He quickly found traces left behind by the enemy.

A moment later, the two landed before a muddy bog.

After examining the footprints in the mud, Hyuga Kagami said, "There are five to seven of them. Their steps are somewhat disordered. It looks like they were in a hurry."

Guy anxiously said, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's hurry after them!"

Hyuga Kagami shook his head and pointed at a large tree some distance away. "Don't rush. Look at the moss on that tree!"

Guy looked over and saw half of a blurry footprint on the moss. Puzzled, he asked, "Why would there be a footprint there? Could someone else be tracking these wandering ninja too?"

The footprint on the distant tree clearly did not belong to the same group as those in the mud. If the footprints in the mud belonged to the wandering ninja, then the footprint on the tree should have belonged to another group of ninja.

"Since we've already accepted the mission, the village shouldn't have sent anyone else. So I suspect the other group tracking these wandering ninja is from Kirigakure."

Hyuga Kagami's speculation was not baseless. According to the intelligence, these wandering ninja were defectors from Kirigakure, so it was only natural for Kirigakure to send out a pursuit squad.

Since another ninja village was involved, Guy was at a loss for what to do. "Then what should we do?"

Hyuga Kagami considered it for a moment, then firmly said, "Anything that prevents us from completing our mission is an enemy!"

"But..."

"No buts. We keep pursuing them."

After tracking them for a while longer, Hyuga Kagami and Guy had no choice but to stop, because two groups of ninja were confronting each other ahead of them.

One side had four people, all dressed as members of the Kirigakure Assassination Squad. Only their leader wore no mask; instead, the lower half of his face was wrapped in bandages. Judging by his build and features, Hyuga Kagami recognized him as Momochi Zabuza, known as the Demon of the Hidden Mist.

The opposing side had only two people, Konoha Anbu. One was small in stature with a head of white hair. Though he wore a fox mask, Hyuga Kagami still recognized him as Hatake Kakashi, the genius ninja from his generation.

The atmosphere between both sides was explosive, as though they could start fighting at any moment.

When Zabuza saw more Konoha ninja arrive, he drew the long blade from his back, clearly ready to make a move.

Standing on a tree branch with one hand on his hip, Hyuga Kagami looked down at the Kirigakure Assassination Squad ninja. With an arrogant expression and a disdainful tone, he said, "Get lost!"

Zabuza flew into a rage. "Are you looking to die, brat?!"

Hyuga Kagami ignored Zabuza and merely instructed, "Guy, go teach him a lesson."

Guy had long since grown accustomed to following Hyuga Kagami's orders during their journey. Besides, the other side were ninja from Kirigakure. After agreeing, he charged at Zabuza with a shout.

Neither the Kirigakure Assassination Squad nor the Konoha Anbu had expected Hyuga Kagami to be so overbearing, and both sides were taken aback. Yet they each had their concerns and did not immediately intervene. They simply cleared an area, allowing Zabuza and Guy to engage in a one-on-one battle.

As a Taijutsu ninja, Guy immediately closed in and attacked at close range, giving his enemy no chance to use Ninjutsu.

Zabuza seemed extremely confident in his swordsmanship. Unafraid of close combat, he swung his blade and clashed with Guy.

For a time, fist winds roared and blade flashes flickered!

By this point, Zabuza had already gained some renown in Kirigakure. Though he had yet to join the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, he was still one of the most outstanding among his peers in Kirigakure. His moves were fierce, and murderous intent radiated from him!

Guy was also in a period of rapid growth. His speed and strength increased day by day, and he was no longer the dead last student from the academy.

Their battle entered a fever pitch from the start, spreading farther and farther until the watching Kirigakure ninja and Konoha Anbu each retreated another distance.

Before long, Guy kicked Zabuza's blade. Both men leaped backward, breaking contact...