Side Mission

At night, Chiyu sat beside the campfire, his fingers flying as Chakra flowed through his body along a fixed path.

This was a little trick for practicing Hand Seals. Every seal had its own unique Chakra pathway, and combined with different sequences and Chakra fluctuations, they could form thousands of Ninjutsu.

If you performed Hand Seals without circulating Chakra, then in a real battle, the difference between the speed of your Chakra flow and the rhythm of your fingers would cause you to fail. In severe cases, the Chakra could even backfire and harm you.

But if you released a Ninjutsu every time you practiced, you'd better be a Ninja like Kisame Hoshigaki. Otherwise, you'd soon find out what it felt like to be completely drained.

This technique was fairly widespread in Konoha, though Chiyu's method was a little more complicated. The commonly used Hand Seal techniques had originated with the Senju clan, after all.

They were still within the Land of Fire, so Chiyu didn't need to be too tense while keeping watch. As he practiced his Hand Seals, he pondered the information Tsuki and Iruka had brought back that afternoon.

Miss Mei had long reddish-brown hair that covered her right eye, and an exceptionally beautiful face that occasionally came into view.

Putting that together with the merchant caravan that had passed through the Land of Grass, Chiyu had guessed the gist of what was going on.

The Senju's movements in Kusagakure must have alarmed Kirigakure. Even with Obito controlling the Fourth Mizukage, everyone would want to see how Kirigakure reacted.

Unless Obito and Black Zetsu wanted Kirigakure to become easy prey for others, they had to send someone to investigate and give everyone an explanation.

As a result, Mei Terumi's fate had taken a different path, which had changed Haku's life as well.

That was a good thing. Compared with the one-dimensional characters from the later storyline, Chiyu felt especially sorry for Haku, one of the tragic figures from the earlier part. Someone like him shouldn't have had to wander from place to place with Zabuza.

Thinking of Kusagakure, Chiyu couldn't help but remember that mother and daughter. He had changed their fates, too. He really did hate tragedies.

A faint smile crossed Chiyu's lips as he prepared to take a break. But the next second, he stood up and fixed his gaze on the other side of the campfire.

A Konoha Anbu stood there in a black combat suit, wearing a crow mask and carrying a Ninja Blade on his back. He was silently watching Chiyu and Genma Shiranui, who had just appeared.

How could Chiyu tell he was a Konoha Anbu? The red glint that had flashed behind the crow mask was proof enough.

Judging by the man's slightly taller stature, Chiyu guessed there was probably a dumpling nose behind the mask. But why had he shown up here?

He should have been accompanying the Third Generation to meet with the daimyo of the Land of Fire. Chiyu couldn't make sense of it, so he looked to Teacher Genma.

Bright moonlight filtered through gaps in the trees and fell upon the three of them. For a moment, no one spoke.

"Kana, why are you still awake so late?"

Kana Uzumaki sat beneath the eaves with her arms wrapped around her knees, admiring the beautiful moon. She had been imprisoned for so long that she had barely seen the light of day.

She didn't snap out of it until Grandpa Yunhua came over and gently reminded her. She quickly stood up.

Senju Yunhua saw that the sudden movement had exposed her right arm, covered in scars. The crisscrossing bite marks stood out starkly against her pale skin.

Feeling he had let Mito Uzumaki down, Senju Yunhua's eyes flashed with guilt. If it weren't for little Chiyu, he couldn't bear to imagine what would have happened to this girl.

"Kana, we're heading back to Konoha tomorrow. We'll run into some people on the way, so you and Karin must keep your Sealing Jutsu in place. Your hair has already turned black, so there shouldn't be a problem."

Senju Yunhua thought of the shrewd look in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes and still felt a little worried. But there was no avoiding it now. If it came to it, he would give up his old life.

At Grandpa Yunhua's words, Kana Uzumaki thought of her daughter and nodded firmly, for Karin's sake and for this freedom they had fought so hard to obtain.

Senju Yunhua had just finished gently reassuring Kana and was about to leave when she called out to him again.

"Grandpa Yunhua, is my benefactor in Konoha too? What kind of person is he?"

At Kana Uzumaki's question, Senju Yunhua thought of how he'd only realized what a clever mind the boy concealed beneath his well-behaved appearance after his sister pointed it out. He replied meaningfully,

"Of course. He's a quick-witted little rascal, so you'd better watch out, Kana."

Then, as Kana Uzumaki looked on in confusion, he shook his head and left.

Though she didn't understand the deeper meaning behind Grandpa Yunhua's words, she couldn't express in words how grateful she was to her little benefactor for rescuing her from that hellhole.

Kana opened the partition door and gently pulled the blanket back over her daughter, who had kicked it off. Looking at Karin's little face, no longer clouded by fear, she couldn't stop her tears from falling.

"Karin, we really escaped that hellhole."

Her muffled sobs came in fits and starts beneath the bright moonlight, while Karin slept soundly in bed, completely undisturbed.

Meanwhile, Chiyu, the quick-witted boy they'd been talking about, watched Shisui silently vanish after handing Teacher Genma the Hokage's orders. He felt uneasy.

Still, the man's Body Flicker Technique was impressive. No wonder he'd become known as Body Flicker Shisui in the future. He was the real deal.

"Chiyu, wake Tsuki and Iruka. We have an attached mission."

Genma Shiranui frowned as he read the orders in his hand. Dealing with the Anbu was never a good thing. Their very nature meant living in danger.

A moment later, Genma Shiranui explained the attached mission to the three little ones in front of him.

"In Konoha, the people who wear masks are the Anbu. We're two separate groups, and we rarely cross paths."

"But the Hokage's order he's carrying is one way to get the two groups to work together. I can't tell you the details, but we have to meet him in the Land of Rivers within a month. If more than a month passes, the mission is automatically canceled."

"Our main mission normally won't take more than half a month. After that, we'll have to stay in the Land of Rivers and wait for him to return. The mission's rank will depend on the situation when we meet up with him."

"That's one kind of attached mission. When a Hokage's order appears, the Konoha Ninja nearby have to cooperate unconditionally."

"So you'll need to train harder, in case we end up in a fierce battle."

Seeing the serious look on Teacher Genma's face, Chiyu grew wary as well. Shisui was a genius who'd died young, yet he'd made a name for himself in just a few short years.

That could only mean his mission performance was far above everyone else's. High risk, high reward, huh? It looked like Lady Slug would come in handy this time.

He was grateful to Grandma Momoka and Teacher Tsunade for giving him so many ways to protect himself. That would make things much safer not only for him, but for Tsuki and Iruka, too.

With that thought, Chiyu's hands began forming seals again. A little practice before the battle couldn't hurt.