First Mission

Three days later, early morning in Konoha.

Knowing they were heading out on a mission today, Hyuga Kazuya arrived at Konoha's gates early.

He waited for Kakashi and Teacher Minato to arrive.

He thought of his uncle's earnest warnings the night before, especially about the dangers and treachery of the Shinobi World. He had told Kazuya to remain vigilant at all times, and that even fellow village shinobi had to be watched once they left the village.

After listening to his uncle's guidance last night, just as he was about to leave—

"This is only lent to you temporarily. Return it to me immediately once the mission is complete." As he spoke, Uncle tossed several Storage Scrolls to Hyuga Kazuya.

"There are twenty Exploding Tags, several bottles of high-purity Military Rations Pills, Senbon, Shuriken, kunai, antidotes, hemostatic agents, Bandages, food, and fresh water inside."

As Uncle spoke, he introduced the contents of each Storage Scroll. Thinking of the turbulent state of the Shinobi World lately, he finally added with a sigh, "Be careful in everything."

Hearing that, Hyuga Kazuya gripped the Scrolls tightly. His heart felt heavy, but he smiled easily and said, "Don't worry, Uncle. Teacher Minato is with me, and you know my strength. It'll be fine."

Returning to his senses, Hyuga Kazuya touched the Storage Scrolls in the ninja tool pouch at his waist, his mind filled with countless thoughts and emotions.

He thought of how well Uncle treated him, then of the decayed and declining Hyuga Main Family and its absurd system.

For a moment, Hyuga Kazuya found himself at a loss. He had never known exactly how to deal with the Hyuga Main Family. He only knew that as long as he did not die, he would certainly eliminate that cancer.

But how should he eliminate it? Through gentle means, or ruthless ones?

At the very least, though, Hyuga Kazuya understood one thing. As long as Uncle was still alive, he would not ruthlessly slaughter every member of the Hyuga Main Family. He would seek another solution.

He did not want to do something that violated the principles Uncle had upheld all his life in front of the person who treated him best in this world.

Although it was still early at Konoha's gates, there were already many carriages and horses coming and going. After all, Konoha was a large village with more than a hundred thousand people.

Its unique status and purchasing power were among the very best. To ensure Konoha had a fresh supply of ingredients, vehicles transporting daily necessities passed through its gates every morning before dawn.

Watching the bustling traffic, Hyuga Kazuya saw that despite the crowds, nothing seemed noisy. Everything was orderly. He looked at sanitation workers sweeping the streets, and at drivers whose skin had cracked from the cold as they silently led their carts through the village. Everyone was carrying out their own work.

"They are the ordinary people of the Shinobi World. If I had not been fortunate enough, then even if I had come to this Shinobi World, I would probably have lived an ordinary life like them. Nothing major would have changed in my life, and I might even have died in an accident."

"As for becoming a shinobi? Unless your parents were villagers who had lived in a shinobi village for over a decade, you would never pass the background check."

"Needless to say, doing business is no different. In a world of the extraordinary, merchants without strength or backing are simply other people's cash machines."

One should not be fooled by the arrogant mission clients and wealthy merchants in anime who treated shinobi with such disdain. Reality had never been like that.

"Entering politics is even more laughable. Look closely at Konoha's departments and institutions—they are controlled by shinobi clans large and small. Not to mention government offices under this world's feudal system. A Daimyo will always be a Daimyo because his father was a Daimyo. A minister will always be a minister because his father was a minister."

"Even the Land of Cherry Blossoms from my previous life is still like this. The game has merely changed, but the essence remains the same. Let alone the Shinobi World of Naruto, which is practically an extraordinary version of the Land of Cherry Blossoms."

"So I should be grateful. I should thank the Hyuga Clan for giving me the chance to become a shinobi." As Hyuga Kazuya thought this, his gaze gradually became resolute once more.

"I will lead the Hyuga Clan, and lead Konoha, to the peak. The cancers within them must be uprooted, purged, and expelled."

I came, I saw, and I will bring change.

For a moment, Hyuga Kazuya's blood surged with emotion, but his rationality still suppressed the turmoil in his heart.

He still needed to lie low. Strength was the root; money and power were merely leaves drifting among the branches.

Time passed quickly. Before long, Teacher Minato and Kakashi arrived one after the other.

Seeing that everyone was present, Minato Namikaze greeted Hyuga Kazuya and Kakashi.

Without further conversation, he told the two to follow closely behind him.

After Minato Namikaze led them through the identity verification at the gates, they immediately departed at high speed.

The three then assumed ninja running postures, leaping back and forth between the trees as they sped onward. Since even the weakest among them was at Chunin level, their pace was extremely fast.

Hyuga Kazuya saw Minato Namikaze head east after leaving Konoha, then turn southeast after traveling for half an hour.

Although he knew that, when carrying out missions, the captain would usually only reveal the mission once they were near the target, Hyuga Kazuya still hurried forward to catch up with Minato Namikaze and asked curiously, "Teacher Minato, where are we going? To the southeast lie the Land of Artisans, the Land of Bears, the Land of Whirlpools, and Kirigakure."

After thinking for a moment, Minato Namikaze decided to reveal the purpose of their journey, along with the mission targets and ranks. He knew this was against convention, but Hyuga Kazuya and Kakashi would quickly identify the target country based on the direction they were traveling.

Once they knew the target country, it would not be difficult to guess the mission.

So it was better to tell them now.

"There are two missions. One target is the Land of Artisans, an S-rank mission. According to secret intelligence from the Land of Artisans, their weapons production has surged recently. Our mission is to investigate which shinobi village placed the order and act according to the situation."

Upon hearing it was an S-rank mission, Hyuga Kazuya and Kakashi's expressions changed slightly.

But Minato Namikaze smiled at them before revealing the other mission. "Eliminate a group of bandits in the Land of Fire. It is a B-rank mission. I will not intervene in this one. The two of you will complete it yourselves."

After speaking, Minato Namikaze deliberately glanced at Hyuga Kazuya.

Hyuga Kazuya looked up and met Minato Namikaze's eyes, immediately understanding the meaning behind them.

Was he telling me to get blood on my hands?

After traveling continuously for two days, running by day and resting at night, they finally reached a forest in the southeastern region of the Land of Fire.

The night was dark and the stars were dim. It was the perfect time for murder and arson.

Looking at the stronghold in the distant mountains, where lights flickered in the darkness, the three members of Minato's Squad sat on a thick branch of a massive tree and gazed toward it from afar.

Though several days of nonstop daytime travel had left all three of them somewhat weary, they forced themselves to stay alert upon realizing it was time for the mission.

Pointing at the stronghold in the distance, where lights flickered and shadows moved, Minato Namikaze said expressionlessly, "That is the stronghold. It is the bandits' camp, and your target for this mission."

"Kazuya, you should have seen them already. According to the intelligence, there are several rogue shinobi in the camp." Looking at Hyuga Kazuya, whose Byakugan was activated and whose facial veins had bulged, Minato Namikaze asked this question.

In Hyuga Kazuya's eyes, the distant stronghold had turned black and white. Human-shaped shadows formed by flowing chakra moved in the distance. Judging by the amount of chakra, there should be three Chunin and seven Genin within the camp.

"Seven Genin, three Chunin."

Minato Namikaze nodded at Hyuga Kazuya's answer.

He recalled the terrifying power of Hyuga Kazuya's bow and arrows from several days ago.

Then he said to Hyuga Kazuya, "Unless absolutely necessary, you are not permitted to use your bow and arrows during this mission."

Hyuga Kazuya nodded without refusing. He knew the purpose of this mission was primarily for his sake—to make him kill someone and steel his nerves.

In his previous life's anime, Minato Namikaze had been a sunny, handsome, and gentle man. But one must not forget his profession: he was a shinobi.

A shinobi would experience everything a shinobi was supposed to experience.

Likewise, he would teach those things to his students. Hyuga Kazuya had already made ample mental preparations for adapting to killing tonight.