An Anbu Mission Career!

"Head to Cangshui Town in the Land of Rivers and retrieve secret intelligence!" Jiogan knelt on one knee in the Hokage's Office.

That was right. The second mission had been personally assigned by the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. The intelligence came from a covert agent planted in the Land of Wind, whose identity was highly secret. They only delivered intelligence to designated locations, while the contacts were all directly subordinate Anbu members. Every three months, someone would retrieve the classified intelligence from the designated location and bring it directly back to the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Ame, this mission isn't particularly difficult, but the intelligence is extremely valuable. There can be no mistakes. I want you to travel day and night and bring the intelligence back to the village within four days!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

"Yes, Lord Hokage!" Jiogan vanished in a blur, leaving Konoha through the Anbu Secret Passage and heading for the intelligence pickup point.

In the crack beneath the second brick under the third pillar in the Brewery Room of the Cangshui Town Izakaya in the Land of Rivers!

The Land of Rivers lay between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind, west of the Land of Fire. Team 11's first mission had taken place near the border between the Land of Rivers and the Land of Fire.

Compared to the northern part of the Land of Fire, the west was relatively stable, though only relatively speaking!

Four days was exactly enough time for a round trip from Konoha, leaving virtually no time for rest. Hopefully, nothing unexpected would happen!

By dusk two days later, Jiogan had arrived outside Cangshui Town and was lying low in a concealed location.

Jiogan used the Qi Sensing Technique, enveloping the entire small town of Cangshui within his senses. He investigated every suspicious person and object one by one while also checking whether there was anything unusual at the intelligence cache.

It could be said that no one else could have been as cautious and foolproof as Jiogan!

A full two hours passed. Only after confirming that everything was under control and that no accidents could arise did Jiogan make his way toward the intelligence cache.

Just five minutes later, Jiogan retrieved the intelligence, restored the cache to its original state, and returned to his previous hiding place outside Cangshui Town without alerting anyone.

He continued sensing the intelligence cache for another hour, and no unexpected changes occurred.

Jiogan withdrew the sensing technique, and his figure vanished into the night! He had to travel day and night. The Land of Rivers was not under Konoha's control, so it was wiser to return to the Land of Fire before resting!

On the way back, he avoided several groups of suspicious shinobi—some from Sunagakure, some Ronin and shinobi, and some from Konoha.

Jiogan had only one objective: deliver the intelligence to Konoha as quickly as possible. He avoided every risk that could lead to an accident!

On the third day, Jiogan had reached the heartland of the Land of Fire. After traveling continuously, he was somewhat exhausted. He found a safe hiding place and set up traps to handle any sudden emergencies before taking the time to rest!

Four hours later, night fell again. Jiogan woke up, packed everything away and restored the area to its original state, then rose and hurried toward Konoha!

By noon on the fourth day, Jiogan had appeared in the Hokage's Office and submitted the Intelligence Scroll!

"Jiogan, you were very fast. The sooner the intelligence is brought back, the more advantageous it will be for Konoha. You did very well! Go get some rest!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said as he put away the scroll.

"Yes, Lord Hokage!" Jiogan withdrew in a blur. He returned to the Locker Room, changed back into ordinary clothes, then went home to catch up on sleep.

Three days later, the next mission arrived. This time, Jiogan needed to travel overseas to the Land of Whirlpools, deliver a document to the village chief of Uzushio Village, and bring back Uzushio Village's written reply.

"Uzushio Village... I never expected I'd get the chance to visit the gathering place of the Uzumaki Clan before its destruction. If I remember correctly, Uzushio Village was destroyed only after the Second Shinobi World War. Uzushio Village still existed when Kushina Uzumaki came to Konoha, which means it was destroyed after Konoha's fortieth year," Jiogan thought.

This was Jiogan's first time going out to sea. Though he had previously carried out missions patrolling the Coastline, he had never had the chance to sail.

At the docks, Jiogan transformed into a merchant. His family already ran a Fruit Shop, so he was thoroughly familiar with the ways of merchants. He blended into a Merchant Ship.

Jiogan had already sensed the people aboard the Merchant Ship. None possessed Chakra, so at least the risk on the journey there was low.

After two days at sea, the Merchant Ship finally reached the island where the Land of Whirlpools was located. After disembarking, Jiogan seized an opportunity at the docks and swiftly left for Uzushio Village.

By dusk, Jiogan had reached Uzushio Village. He used a Konoha Token to enter the village and soon met the elderly patriarch of the Uzumaki Clan. After submitting the Third Hokage's document, the old patriarch accepted it and instructed a clansman to take Jiogan away to rest.

The next day, the old patriarch handed the reply document to Jiogan. Jiogan bowed and left, returning to the docks of the Land of Whirlpools.

Following the Merchant Ship, he began the journey back to the Land of Fire.

As for the document's contents, Jiogan neither knew nor wished to know. He was only responsible for bringing it back!

However, there were two shinobi with Chakra aboard the Merchant Ship returning this time. They were dressed in Water Hand uniforms, which was clearly abnormal.

Ordinary shinobi doing missions would not deliberately conceal their shinobi identities. Merchant caravans would not refuse shinobi passage aboard their ships. Only when carrying out secret missions where they could not expose their identities would they disguise themselves and hide who they were!

Just like Jiogan himself!

Having sensed the hidden shinobi, both with Chakra levels equivalent to Chunin, Jiogan kept a constant watch on their movements.

After a day passed and the voyage was halfway over, Jiogan also discovered their identities. They were shinobi from Kirigakure, headed to a secret base Kirigakure had established near a port in the Land of Fire to rendezvous with Kirigakure spies!

"Hmph, an unexpected gain. This could very well hook a whole string of big fish!" Jiogan snorted coldly.

He was in the middle of a mission. If he wanted to make the best use of this important intelligence, he needed to think of a way.

"I've got it. I'll follow the two of them first and locate Kirigakure's secret base! After recording the intelligence in detail, I'll make a slight detour to the Konoha Eastern Front Outpost! I'll hand the intelligence to the outpost commander, Torifu Akimichi, and let him make the next arrangements! Clearing out enemies lurking along the eastern front of the Land of Fire is one of the outpost's duties in the first place!" Jiogan thought.

A day later, following his prior plan, Jiogan trailed far behind the two Kirigakure shinobi and learned the detailed intelligence on Kirigakure's secret base. He then headed toward the Eastern Front Outpost.

After passing Anbu identity verification, Jiogan met the Eastern Front Outpost commander, Torifu Akimichi. After handing Torifu Akimichi the detailed intelligence he had gathered on Kirigakure's secret base, he did not waste a moment before setting off directly for Konoha. The outpost would handle what came next!

A day and a half later, Jiogan returned to the Hokage's Office to report the completion of his mission. He submitted Uzushio Village's document and reported the intelligence on Kirigakure's secret base, as well as how he had handled it.

"Ame, you did very well. Clearing out Hostile Force bases and pulling out their nails is one of the outpost's duties! The outpost will handle this matter properly!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

Jiogan nodded in acknowledgment and withdrew.

Two days later, Jiogan received word that Kirigakure's secret base had been eliminated. One Kirigakure Jonin and five Chunin had been dealt with, and following the trail, they had uncovered two hidden Kirigakure spies as well. Kirigakure had suffered considerable losses!

Jiogan, who had provided the crucial intelligence, was also credited with one A-rank mission!