The Group Mission Begins

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Kakashi opened the mission scroll, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

Seeing this, everyone grew even more curious. Kakashi was a Jonin—what kind of mission could surprise even him?

"Come on, Kakashi-sensei, just read it out! Why make it so mysterious?"

Naruto strode up in annoyance, took the mission scroll from Kakashi's hand, and began reading the words on it.

"Three days ago, a fierce battle occurred on the coast at the border between the Land of Rivers and the Land of Fire! Shortly afterward, all villagers in a nearby village disappeared, and the village was destroyed, reduced to ruins!"

"No bodies were found in the destroyed village, nor were there many traces left behind. It is suspected that the invaders came directly from the sea! There is a high probability that ninjas were responsible."

"The enemy's information is unknown. Therefore, an investigation team is being dispatched to investigate."

Everyone sucked in a breath upon hearing this.

An entire village had been wiped out!!

Such things might have been common during wartime, but they had never happened in the past few years!

Moreover, such an act could very well signify that a war was about to begin!

No wonder the Third Hokage had called this a special mission!

If this mission were not merely an investigation, and if there had not yet been any clear traces of ninjas, it might have been classified directly as an A-rank mission!

However, it was currently classified as a C+ special mission. With teams like theirs working together, there would be at least two Jonin... it seemed manageable enough.

"Now that everyone knows the mission details, go back and prepare. We leave for the Land of Rivers early tomorrow morning!"

At the Third Hokage's call, Yamei and the others bid farewell to the Hokage Building, leaving only Kakashi and Yūhi Kurenai behind to await Hiruzen Sarutobi's further arrangements.

"Tomorrow's when we all carry out the mission together! This is a group mission! Aren't you excited?" Naruto looked at everyone eagerly.

"Idiot." Sasuke rolled his eyes at the thickheaded fellow.

"Damn it, Sasuke! You called me an idiot!!"

"That's enough, Naruto!" Yamei stopped Naruto, then turned his gaze to Shikamaru. "Shikamaru, what do you think?"

Shikamaru stroked his chin and pondered. "To wipe out an entire village without leaving behind a single body... if ninjas did it, there had to be at least five or six Chunin. Or one Jonin."

"If neither is the case, then it would have to be a Genin squad of more than ten people, or even a small force numbering dozens."

As Shikamaru laid it out, everyone's expressions grew increasingly grave. They realized that no matter which possibility it was, they would likely have a hard time dealing with it if Kakashi and Yūhi Kurenai did not step in.

"Good thing Yamei was cautious. If only our team and Naruto's team had taken on this mission... it could have been very dangerous." Hinata could not help looking at Yamei.

"So you brought us along to carry out such a dangerous mission..." Shikamaru shot Hinata a helpless look.

"Hey, it's fine. As long as Yamei is here, nothing will happen to us." Ino rushed over with a worshipful expression and wrapped her arms around Yamei's arm.

Yamei ruffled Ino's hair, sweeping his gaze over everyone as he said solemnly, "Go back and prepare, everyone!"

"This time, only Kakashi and Kurenai-sensei will be accompanying us as supervising Jonin, so there's a good chance help might not arrive in time if danger strikes!"

"So I want all of you to be fully prepared, and to follow orders! No one is allowed to have an accident! Let's do our best!"

"Let's do our best!!"

Everyone shouted in unison, then returned home to prepare their Ninja Tools and other supplies.

After Yamei returned home, Yūhi Kurenai personally came over to help him organize his various Ninja Tools.

Early the next morning, when Yamei and Yūhi Kurenai arrived at the village entrance, all nine of Konoha's rookies had already gathered.

After waiting for a while, everyone set off toward the Land of Rivers once Kakashi, the last to arrive, showed up.

Even as Genin, they traveled quickly. In less than two days, the group reached the border between the Land of Rivers and the Land of Fire.

Mountains and forests surrounded them, with bottomless cliffs appearing from time to time. Rivers flowed through valleys and over cliffs before winding into the sea.

At a temporary campsite, Shikamaru took out a map and pointed to a location. "This is a map of the surrounding area. We are here."

Shikamaru then pointed at another circle. "This is the location I marked—the village that was wiped out. It's fifteen kilometers from us."

Everyone nodded at his words and waited for further instructions.

"Kakashi-sensei and Kurenai-sensei are only supervising Jonin. Under normal circumstances... such as when enemies exceed the mission rank or extreme danger arises, they will not act."

"So for this mission, the only people we can rely on are the ten of us!"

Everyone nodded to show that they understood Shikamaru's words.

"Then we'll split into two teams to investigate!"

As he spoke, Shikamaru looked at Yamei. "Yamei, what do you think?"

"Eh, leave the brain-racking stuff to you. I'll just carry out the mission." Yamei waved a hand. With a talent from the Nara Clan available, why would he possibly come out to give directions himself?

The corner of Shikamaru's mouth twitched slightly. He gave Yamei an annoyed look before continuing.

"Team One will be led by Yamei, and will include me, Choji, Ino, and Hinata!"

"Team Two will consist of Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Kiba, and Shino!"

"This way, each team will have two reconnaissance-type ninjas, while their combat strength will also be guaranteed. Does anyone have any objections?"

Everyone shook their heads. They had no objections; this was the most reasonable arrangement.

Of course, Shikamaru had his own considerations as well. He did not dare separate Ino and Hinata from Yamei, or Ino would definitely come after him for an explanation!

And since Ino was part of Ino-Shika-Cho with them, this was the only way to arrange it.

"Next, I'll assign the tasks. Sasuke, Naruto, your team will head to the destroyed village and investigate the situation."

"Yamei and I will head to the coastline to search for clues. If no one objects, we can begin moving."

Naruto stepped forward, clapped his hands together, and said excitedly, "All right! Let's work together and complete this thrilling first mission!"

Sasuke and Sakura covered their foreheads with their hands. "Idiot..."

"Ino." Yamei looked at Ino.

"I'm here!" Ino immediately stepped forward with an eager expression.

"Leave Empathy Marks on everyone."

"Okay!" Ino nodded.

After Yamei taught her Empathy, she had already mastered it to perfection.

It was just that he had not yet learned the Mind Body Switch with Transfer, so she had no way to connect multiple people together.

After leaving marks on everyone, they headed toward their respective mission locations according to their assigned teams.

Kakashi and Yūhi Kurenai appeared at that moment.

"The division is fairly reasonable. And with two teams... they've counted the two of us in as well." Kakashi said approvingly.

"Mm-hm. You take responsibility for Naruto and Sasuke's group. I'll take responsibility for Yamei's group." After saying that, Yūhi Kurenai hurried after Yamei and the others.