Borderline

"Still busy, Kakashi?"

Kakashi was helping clear the farmland when he suddenly heard the voice of Akiyama Shun and turned his head to look over.

"Morning, Akiyama Shun~"

Upon seeing Akiyama Shun, Nohara Rin looked up and greeted him, with Obito following closely behind.

Akiyama Shun returned the greeting.

"You guy, what are you doing here?"

Kakashi looked at Akiyama Shun with dead fish eyes, showing none of the politeness the other two had displayed.

"Nothing, just passing by and saw you were busy with a D-rank mission, so I thought I'd let you know I'm heading out of the country for a mission again."

Watching Kakashi's expression turn gloomy, Akiyama Shun felt much better.

"Bye-bye, Nohara Rin and Obito, see you later, Lord Minato!"

After bidding farewell to the trio, Akiyama Shun arrived at the meeting point at the village gate.

There were five minutes left until the meeting time, and Akiyama Shun was the third to arrive.

"You must be Akiyama Shun? Hello, my name is Aburame Takuma."

"My name is Sarutobi Jun'suke."

The three exchanged brief greetings, and Akiyama Shun gained a basic understanding of the other two.

Aburame Takuma was a Special Jonin specializing in reconnaissance, while Sarutobi Jun'suke was a Chunin.

Not long after they finished introducing themselves, Jiraiya arrived.

"Alright, I'll briefly explain our mission now. We are heading to the Land of Grass to retrieve intelligence from an undercover agent. That is all the information we have, so we will adapt to whatever situation arises. If there are no questions, let's move out!"

After Jiraiya finished speaking, he scanned the surroundings, and once he confirmed no one had any questions, he was the first to walk out of the village.

Akiyama Shun and the other two followed closely behind.

While within the borders of the Land of Fire, the three encountered no accidents, and they even chatted and laughed along the way.

Just like that, a few days later, the four-man squad reached the border of the Land of Fire.

"It's getting late, let's set up camp and rest for the night."

Jiraiya glanced at the sky and immediately gave the order.

Setting up tents was a mandatory skill for ninjas, and it didn't take long for them to successfully pitch their tents.

They even built a campfire and cooked some simple food.

As for Military Ration Pills, it was better to avoid them if possible; the taste was truly indescribable.

While the food was cooking, Sarutobi Jun'suke took a jar out of his pack, poured himself a bowl, sniffed it carefully, and licked his lips in satisfaction.

"Alcohol? You brought alcohol? Why are you only bringing it out now?"

As soon as Jiraiya saw the alcohol, he quickly grabbed it and poured himself a bowl.

Sarutobi Jun'suke felt a pang of heartache, but he didn't say much: "It's from that izakaya we stopped at last time. Everyone said it was delicious, so I specifically bought a jar."

"You're quite thoughtful."

Aburame Takuma also poured himself a bowl and took a blissful sip.

In an environment where they had to sleep in the open, alcohol could certainly satisfy their cravings.

"It's just a pity; their alcohol tastes best when it's just taken out of the fridge. It loses something at room temperature."

Sarutobi Jun'suke sighed at the sky, but the next second, a pair of hands reached out from behind him and took the bowl of alcohol from his grasp.

"You're not old enough to drink yet."

Sarutobi Jun'suke turned around and saw it was Akiyama Shun, who had offered a reminder, but Akiyama Shun only held the bowl for about three seconds before handing it back to him.

When Sarutobi Jun'suke took the bowl, a chill instantly surged through his hand and filled his entire body.

"Whoa!! What is this! Is this Ice Release? This is too convenient!"

After taking a sip, Sarutobi Jun'suke felt as if he had ascended, his face full of excitement.

When he looked at Akiyama Shun, his eyes were filled with envy. In his twenty-plus years of life, this was the first time he had envied a Kekkei Genkai so much; it was just too convenient for daily life!

After Sarutobi Jun'suke, Akiyama Shun also chilled the alcohol for Jiraiya and Aburame Takuma.

When Akiyama Shun handed the bowl to Aburame Takuma, Aburame Takuma did not take it immediately, but instead frowned.

"Two groups of people are moving toward us rapidly, attacking from two directions—the east and the west."

As soon as he finished speaking, he took the bowl from Akiyama Shun's hand and downed the alcohol in one gulp, then immediately stood up to guard the surroundings. Black insects began to crawl onto his face, and dense swarms of black flying insects had already surrounded him before anyone noticed.

"I'll go handle the east side."

After Jiraiya spoke, he vanished from the sight of the three.

Sarutobi Jun'suke shivered—not from fear, but from being frozen by the large bowl of ice-cold alcohol.

"Whoosh!"

A kunai suddenly shot out from the darkness. Akiyama Shun turned and fired a steel needle coated in Ice Chakra, which not only deflected the kunai but also flew straight into the shadows.

"Ah!"

"Looks like you hit him. Well done, Akiyama Shun."

Sarutobi Jun'suke chuckled, immediately formed hand seals, and unleashed a Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu toward the direction of the scream.

With a "bang," an explosion erupted, and the flames instantly illuminated the darkness.

Through the firelight, the three of them clearly saw the positions of the four enemies opposite them.

Realizing their positions were exposed, the four enemies stopped trying to hide and charged straight at Akiyama Shun and his companions.

"Secret Technique: Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death!"

As Akiyama Shun formed hand seals with one hand, he waved his right hand, causing three massive ice pillars to erupt beneath the enemies' feet. However, the three of them appeared to be experienced in combat; sensing the danger in advance, they scattered to avoid the attack.

"This is Ice Release? How could a Konoha ninja possess Ice Release?"

One of them cursed under his breath.

"What exactly are you guys here for? You don't even know that much intelligence?"

Under the man's astonished gaze, Akiyama Shun emerged from an Ice Mirror, flicked dozens of ice needles from his hand, and instantly pierced the man's brain.

Active Slot [Haku]

Active Slot [Hatake Kakashi (Youth)]

The White Fang Blade appeared in Akiyama Shun's hand. Infusing it with chakra, Akiyama Shun immediately used Body Flicker to rush toward the person grappling with Sarutobi Jun'suke.

The opponent was the unlucky fellow who had been struck by Akiyama Shun's ice needle earlier. Seeing Akiyama Shun charging at him, his expression was filled with panic; clearly, he hadn't expected his teammates to be unable to stop even a child.

The next moment, he was sliced in two by Akiyama Shun's blade.

"What a fast blade. I'd only heard of it before, but you really have to see it to know how formidable it is."

Blood splattered onto Sarutobi Jun'suke's face, but he didn't mind at all. After wiping away the blood, he sighed in genuine admiration.

Over at Aburame Takuma's side, the battle had also concluded.

In almost the blink of an eye, only the leader remained of the enemy's four-man squad.

As luck would have it, Jiraiya had also finished off the squad on his side and appeared within everyone's line of sight.

The moment the leader saw Jiraiya, his scalp went numb. How could someone be so unlucky as to run into a team led by Jiraiya?

If he had known Jiraiya was here, he would have run away from a kilometer out!

"Damn it!"

The leader cursed and prepared to flee, but Akiyama Shun had already appeared behind him.

A small Ice Pillar Swallow was flung out, freezing the man's legs and preventing his escape.

"Kill him. There's no use keeping him alive. These are just cannon-fodder bounty hunters hired by Iwagakure."

The moment Jiraiya finished speaking, the leader felt a blur before his eyes, and dozens of ice needles pierced through his brain.

Jiraiya looked around at the surroundings and said, "We've reached the border now. Attacks like this will happen frequently, so stay vigilant at all times!"