"Hah!"
"Splat!"
"Clang, clang, clang, clang—"
"Aaaah—"
Screams, the sounds of blades slicing, shuriken and kunai colliding...
Inside Ito Mine, Mikoto and Samurai Sanada had already fought their way in, while Orochimaru protected Mr. Ito and the old butler from behind.
The guards in the mine included not only ordinary people, but also Sunagakure ninja.
However, during such a tense border standoff, Sunagakure could not possibly send its precious chunin and jonin forces to guard a mine. The ones stationed here were only genin.
But as one of the Five Great Nations, Sunagakure's genin were not so easy to deal with. What was more, there was a squad here—three Sunagakure genin!
"The enemy actually has a jonin, and that girl is also a genin? She's incredibly strong! And that is... a samurai? A samurai from the Land of Iron?"
The three Sunagakure genin watched Orochimaru calmly spectate from the rear while Mikoto and a samurai slaughtered their way through the place.
Nominally, the three of them had been stationed here to guard the Land of Wind's valuable mine and prevent an attack by Amegakure...
In reality, they were here to guard against precisely this situation—the legitimate mine owner returning.
But the mine owner had shown up with a Konoha jonin... weren't three genin like them just walking into their deaths?
"Quick, report to the chunin captain!"
When they noticed the three Sunagakure genin appear and swiftly vanish again, Samurai Sanada and Mikoto paused their attack.
"Sunagakure ninja? Does that mean the Land of Wind has officially stationed troops here?"
Mikoto turned and glanced at the grim-faced Mr. Ito.
"Mr. Ito, you will decide whether this mine is worth continuing to seize."
Samurai Sanada sheathed his sword and retreated to Mr. Ito's side. The guards had been slaughtered until they no longer dared step forward. If Mikoto and Sanada had not held back, this place would already have been piled with corpses.
After all, these people were neither ninja nor samurai. They were merely ordinary guards.
"Continue!"
Mr. Ito clenched his teeth tightly. His gaze drifted for a moment before his expression turned resolute.
"Take it back! We absolutely cannot lose this mine! Otherwise, I'll be finished... I can pay more! As for the Land of Wind, I will naturally gather the merchant association and demand an explanation. My former subordinates may still be inside. We must confirm their whereabouts!"
"...If that is your decision, then as you wish."
Mikoto sighed softly, quickly burying the faint reluctance she felt toward the fallen guards.
As a ninja, once a task had been assigned, it had to be completed.
"Samurai, I'll leave these ordinary guards to you."
Mikoto took a deep breath and addressed Samurai Sanada. He readily agreed—
His original task had only been to serve as the personal guard of Mr. Ito and the old butler.
At a time like this, what he should be doing most was staying by his employer's side.
But...
Sanada secretly glanced at Orochimaru, who stood by the employer's side with an inscrutable half-smile, and still chose to follow Mikoto's arrangement.
Although that terrifying youngest genin was not here, their teacher was...
He had witnessed Orochimaru's methods on the road.
"Orochimaru-sensei, please escort the employer to where the documents are stored. I will clear out the ninja inside and search for any hostages who may be there."
Mikoto tightened her Konoha Headband and drew two kunai.
"Time is urgent. We don't know how Satoru-kun, Nawaki-senpai, and the others are doing... We must bring the situation under control as quickly as possible!"
"...All right."
Orochimaru smiled and nodded, drawing a kunai as well.
"Then I will look forward to your performance, Mikoto."
"You needn't worry about Satoru and the others. As long as no jonin makes a move, they'll be fine."
"Yes. Thank you, Sensei."
Mikoto vanished in an instant and charged into the mine!
"Let's go, Mr. Ito. To where the documents are," Orochimaru said, glancing at the tense Mr. Ito and the old butler whose expression had changed somewhat. He shook his head.
"According to the mission requirements, once we escort you there and successfully retrieve the documents, our mission will be complete."
"However, given the current situation, leaving you here may prove dangerous. Therefore, for the sake of our village's reputation, I can promise to rescue the hostages free of charge—but only if they are still alive."
"Yes... Thank you, Jonin-sama!"
Mr. Ito shuddered in alarm. Only then did he realize that, because he had underestimated the Land of Wind's determination to claim the mine, Sunagakure had effectively already taken control of it.
In other words, retaking the mine and rescuing the hostages went far beyond the mission's objective.
Orochimaru simply did not mind using this opportunity to continue training his disciple, which was why he had been so generous and had not reminded Mikoto.
The question that child had asked him earlier was meant to make him, as the employer, support her in rescuing the hostages. Otherwise, if Orochimaru had insisted on merely retrieving the documents and completing the mission, Mikoto would have had no way to object.
Beyond the mine's main gate lay a small settlement, the living and office area.
Farther away was the production area where the workers labored.
No matter how fiercely the fighting raged outside, it did not affect the workers' jobs—regardless of who was in charge, production could not be delayed.
Thus, everything was handled in the office area.
"There is some kind of special ninjutsu barrier here... Do mines all have things like this?"
Mikoto noticed that the noise outside had not affected the workers, and no sounds came from the production area either. There should have been something like a soundproof barrier between the living and office area and the production area.
"I hope those three Sunagakure genin won't overestimate themselves and go looking for Orochimaru-sensei."
Mikoto darted between the buildings, searching for possible hostages—Mr. Ito's former subordinates.
"Clang!"
Mikoto, who had been running across the rooftops, abruptly stopped. With a swing of the kunai in her right hand, she knocked away a shuriken flying toward her!
"That direction!"
As an expert in throwing ninja tools, Mikoto immediately determined where the shuriken had come from—a tree beside one of the houses.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!"
"Aah!!"
Three shuriken and two kunai embedded themselves solidly in the Sunagakure genin who had just leaped out.
"...Was that a little too heavy-handed?"
Mikoto covered her mouth. To be honest, it seemed to be the first time her shuriken had actually struck a target...
Whether in sparring or during this mission, she had mostly used thrown ninja tools as a means of restraint.
"Too often, they missed, hit substitution logs, or were simply blocked..."
Mikoto stuck out her tongue. It was only when facing an enemy genin alone for the first time that she suddenly realized...
"He's so weak!"
After silently grumbling to herself, Mikoto was about to continue forward when she leaped directly backward.
"Thunk, thunk, thunk!"
Three shuriken struck the spot where she had just stood. While she was still in midair, a fierce wind blade swept toward her!
"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"
Choosing a faster ninjutsu, Mikoto's flames scattered the incoming wind blade. Then she swiftly formed hand seals and looked toward another Sunagakure genin, who was stunned by the dispersal of his wind blade.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive fireball, already comparable to Satoru's Flame Burst, flew toward the Sunagakure ninja who had only just reacted...
Mikoto calmly accepted that her most treasured ninjutsu had struck a substitution log.
"This really is the technique that couldn't hit anyone..."
Before you continue