Mission Underway

Hokage Tower

"Shuomo, are you here to take on a mission this time?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen puffed on his pipe as he spoke with Shuomo as though chatting with a friend.

"Yes, Hokage."

"Yesterday, I had some personal matters to deal with. I can't delay any longer today."

"What kind of mission do you want to take on?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen merely smiled and said nothing more.

Shuomo was a steadfast inheritor of the Will of Fire, and also Konoha's current trump card.

Shuomo had long since earned a hero's honor. He had even been granted a short-sleeved Hokage robe. Sarutobi Hiruzen was very reassured by the way he handled matters, so naturally, he would not worry needlessly.

"A-rank."

"Oh, an A-rank Mission? So you're quite confident in these little ones' strength."

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the three behind Shuomo.

"Hokage."

Yayoi smiled, his eyes filled with admiration for the Hokage.

"Mm, it seems your strength has exceeded my expectations. What Konoha lacks now are fresh sprouts like you."

Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled.

"I look forward to your future."

Yan wore her usual gentle smile, while Rin still had her expressionless, indifferent face.

Only Yayoi chuckled along with Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Recent A-rank Missions... Hmm, take this one. It suits your abilities as well, Shuomo."

Sarutobi Hiruzen took two puffs from his pipe and flipped through the recent mission scrolls.

In the end, he handed one of the mission scrolls to Shuomo.

"What do you think?"

"This one will do. I think they can handle it."

"Teacher Shuomo, what exactly is the mission we took this time?"

After leaving the Hokage Tower, Yayoi asked.

Although Teacher Shuomo had not said so outright, Yayoi could roughly guess from his words that this was no simple mission.

"It's a mission to eliminate Iwagakure Ninja who have infiltrated the Land of Fire."

"Konoha and Sunagakure have been at war for two years. Iwagakure had always been eyeing Konoha covetously, and now they can no longer sit still."

"This time, ANBU discovered Ninja suspected to have infiltrated the border of the Land of Fire. They are suspected to be Iwagakure Ninja. There aren't many of them, so they must be an advance team sent to gather intelligence.

"What we need to do is find these people and ensure they remain in the Land of Fire forever."

The moment Yayoi heard Shuomo's explanation, he understood.

Originally, the three great Ninja villages had been locked in a chaotic battle in the Land of Rain.

But Iwagakure had misjudged Kumogakure, which led to their home being attacked and forced them to withdraw from the battlefield, allowing Konoha to reap the benefits for nothing.

This time, they had taken everything into consideration. Kumogakure had problems of its own and would not launch another sneak attack on Iwagakure.

Iwagakure's move was undoubtedly meant to probe Konoha's true strength, while also giving Sunagakure a message.

Iwagakure was about to join the war against Konoha. Hold on and victory would come; do not retreat.

Of course, if Konoha's strength remained formidable, it would not be a loss to let Sunagakure further wear down Konoha's living forces.

That way, they could attack if they advanced and defend if they retreated.

The Tsuchikage truly was calculating. After patiently waiting for two years, he had chosen this very year, when the two armies were eager to decide the victor.

He was keeping Sunagakure dangling, intending to squeeze what use he could from them.

"Go home and prepare. Gather at the village entrance at five this afternoon."

"Yes."

Since it was his first time going to war, Yayoi dug out a small storage room to keep all of his equipment.

War was no child's play. It would be bad if those things were damaged because of it.

Of course, Yayoi carried the Uzumaki and Uchiha Gene Fluids with him.

He could use both of those on him at any time. He only needed to inject the Dragon Blood once it fully activated and went out of control, and that had to be done somewhere safe.

Otherwise, after injecting the gene fluid, Yayoi would be almost completely incapable of fighting while the two bloodlines clashed violently.

If an enemy found him then, he could only be slaughtered at their mercy.

"I should bring a few Explosive Tags, as well as Antidote, Senbon, and Kunai."

Uchiha Enichi had prepared almost everything Yan would need on the battlefield.

Though he knew this was the fate of Ninja, and had lived through the even crueler Warring States era.

His feelings were still complicated. Watching his granddaughter head to the battlefield, he truly could not bear it.

"We're leaving, Second Grandfather."

"Little Yayoi, when danger comes, make sure you protect Yan."

Uchiha Enichi instructed him.

"Second Grandfather, I'm stronger than Miyoshi-kun. I'll be the one protecting him."

Yan was displeased by Enichi's words.

Yayoi merely smiled.

Sunset

Dusk arrived, and the evening glow veiled the fiery-red clouds.

The two arrived at the Hyuga Clan Territory and picked up Rin. After eating their fill, they prepared to gather at the village entrance.

"Ready?"

Shuomo strolled over from the dango shop at an unhurried pace, three skewers of dango in hand.

There was exactly one skewer for each of them.

"Of course."

"Then let's go!"

Border Forest

Branches trembled lightly under the pressure of their weight as four Black Shadows traveled through the darkness beneath the cover of night.

In the dim surroundings, Rin activated her Byakugan and remained on alert at all times.

"No signs of enemies lying in ambush."

After confirming that no one was there, she deactivated her Byakugan and continued onward with Shuomo.

"There's no trace of them in this area. Let's move to the next location."

Shuomo nodded.

That was normal. Iwagakure Ninja were best at Earth Release, so it was only natural that they were quick to flee.

What worried him, however, was that the Border Forest might contain not only hidden Iwagakure Ninja, but possibly Sunagakure Ninja as well.

An A-rank Mission could turn into an S-rank Mission at any time. If not for Shuomo's formidable strength, Sarutobi Hiruzen would never have been at ease letting him take this mission.

Furthermore, the team's composition had also been taken into account for this mission.

With Rin's Byakugan, their mission would be much more convenient. That was also why Shuomo felt the mission suited them.

Having found no trace of the hidden enemies, the team continued forward under cover of night.

They had already searched all the locations submitted by ANBU. Next, they would have to rely on the leading Jonin's own experience and judgment.

The team continued deeper into the forest, while Rin kept her Byakugan activated.

Nothing within two kilometers could hide from sight, its true form laid bare beneath the Byakugan's perception.

Suddenly, Rin, who had been leaping through the trees, stopped. The rest of the team immediately halted as well.

"Rin, what did you find?"

Shuomo looked at Rin, who was staring intently ahead, and asked.

"One kilometer ahead, I found traces of five Chakra signatures."

Rin expressionlessly described what her Byakugan had seen.

"I estimate one Jonin, two Chunin, and two Genin among them."

"Is that so?"

After a brief moment of thought, Shuomo laid out the plan.

"Rin and Yan will be responsible for killing the two Chunin. Yayoi will handle the Genin. As for the Jonin, leave him to me."

This kind of mission was far too easy.

With the warning provided by the Byakugan, Shuomo, knowing their location in advance, could easily kill the enemy Jonin in a single strike.

Even if he could not kill him, he would certainly be able to severely wound him. And once the Jonin was seriously injured, everyone else would be nothing more than lambs awaiting slaughter in Shuomo's eyes.

Thanks to Son for the votes.

Thanks to Mengmeng Zhang for the votes.