The Border

"Still busy, Kakashi?"

Kakashi was helping clear the fields when he suddenly heard Akiyama Shun's voice. He turned to look.

"Good morning, Akiyama Shun~"

When Nohara Rin saw Akiyama Shun, she looked up and greeted him. Obito followed right after.

Akiyama Shun returned the greeting.

"What are you doing here?"

Kakashi stared at Akiyama Shun with his dead-fish eyes, not nearly as polite as the other two.

"Nothing. I was just passing by and saw you were busy with a D-rank mission. Thought I'd let you know I'm heading out of the country on another mission."

Seeing Kakashi's expression darken, Akiyama Shun felt much better.

"Bye, Nohara Rin and Obito. See you later, Lord Minato!"

After saying goodbye to the other three, Akiyama Shun headed to the meeting point at the village entrance.

There were still five minutes until the appointed time. Akiyama Shun was the third to arrive.

"You're Akiyama Shun, right? Nice to meet you. I'm Aburame Takuma."

"My name's Sarutobi Jun'suke."

After a brief round of introductions, Akiyama Shun got a basic idea of the other two.

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

Not long after they finished introducing themselves, Jiraiya arrived.

"All right, let me quickly explain the mission. We're going to the Land of Grass to obtain intelligence from an undercover agent. That's all the information we have. We'll adapt to whatever situations come up. If there are no questions, let's get going!"

After speaking, Jiraiya looked around to make sure nobody had any questions, then led the way out of the village.

Akiyama Shun and the other two followed close behind.

While they were still in the Land of Fire, the three of them encountered no trouble at all. They even chatted and laughed along the way.

After a few days, the four-man squad reached the border of the Land of Fire.

"It's already late. Let's pitch our tents and get some rest for the night."

Jiraiya glanced at the sky and immediately gave the order.

Pitching tents was a basic skill for ninjas. It didn't take long for them to get the tents set up.

They also built a campfire and cooked some simple food over it.

It was best to avoid Military Ration Pills when possible. Their taste was hard to describe.

As the food cooked, Sarutobi Jun'suke took a jar from his backpack, poured himself a bowl, and gave it a careful sniff before licking his lips in satisfaction.

"Alcohol? You brought booze? Why didn't you take it out sooner?"

The moment Jiraiya saw the alcohol, he hurriedly grabbed it and poured himself a bowl.

Sarutobi Jun'suke looked a little pained, but didn't say much. "It's from that izakaya where we stopped last time. Everyone said it was good, so I bought a jar."

"You thought of everything."

Aburame Takuma poured himself a bowl too and took a satisfied sip.

In conditions like these, with nowhere to stay and little to eat, alcohol was a welcome treat for their taste buds.

"Too bad. It tastes better straight out of the fridge. At room temperature, it just isn't the same."

Sarutobi Jun'suke sighed up at the sky. The next moment, though, a pair of hands reached out from behind him and took the bowl of alcohol from his hands.

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

Sarutobi Jun'suke turned and saw Akiyama Shun. He gave him a reminder, but Akiyama Shun held the bowl for only about three seconds before handing it back.

When Sarutobi Jun'suke took it, a chill spread through his hand and over his whole body.

"Oh!! What's this? Is this Ice Release? It's so convenient!"

After taking a sip, Sarutobi Jun'suke looked as if he'd ascended to heaven, his face alight with excitement.

He gazed at Akiyama Shun with envy. In his more than twenty years of life, this was the first time he'd envied someone's Kekkei Genkai so much. It was just too useful in everyday life!

After Sarutobi Jun'suke, Akiyama Shun chilled Jiraiya and Aburame Takuma's drinks too.

When Akiyama Shun handed Aburame Takuma his bowl, Takuma didn't take it right away. Instead, he frowned.

"Two groups are moving quickly toward us. They're coming from two directions, east and west."

As soon as he finished speaking, he took the bowl from Akiyama Shun and downed the alcohol in one go. Then he quickly got to his feet and warily scanned their surroundings. Black bugs began crawling over his face, and a dense swarm of dark insects had somehow gathered around him.

"I'll take care of the ones to the east."

Jiraiya had already vanished from their sight by the time he finished speaking.

Sarutobi Jun'suke shivered. He wasn't afraid; he'd just been chilled by a large bowl of icy alcohol.

"Whoosh!"

A kunai suddenly shot out of the darkness. Akiyama Shun spun around and fired a steel needle coated in ice chakra. It knocked the kunai away and shot straight into the darkness.

"Ah!"

"Looks like you hit him. Nice work, Akiyama Shun."

Sarutobi Jun'suke said with a chuckle, then formed hand seals and spat a Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu toward the direction of the scream.

An explosion boomed, and the firelight immediately illuminated the darkness.

In its light, the three of them could clearly make out the four figures opposite them.

The four opponents knew their position had been exposed. No longer bothering to hide, they charged straight at Akiyama Shun and the other two.

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

As Akiyama Shun formed a hand seal with one hand, he swept out with his right. Three massive pillars of ice appeared beneath the enemies' feet, but the three of them seemed to have plenty of combat experience. Sensing danger in advance, they quickly scattered.

"Is that Ice Release? How can a Konoha Ninja use Ice Release?"

One of them cursed under his breath.

"What are you people doing here? You don't even know that much?"

As the man stared in shock, Akiyama Shun emerged from an Ice Mirror and sent dozens of ice needles flying from his hand. They pierced straight through the man's brain.

"Now deploying: [Haku]"

"Now deploying: [Hatake Kakashi (Child)]"

The White Fang Blade appeared in Akiyama Shun's hand. He infused it with chakra and immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to rush toward the enemy fighting Sarutobi Jun'suke.

It was the same unlucky bastard Akiyama Shun had hit with ice needles earlier. When he saw Akiyama Shun charging at him, panic filled his face. He clearly hadn't expected his teammates to be unable to stop even a child.

The next moment, Akiyama Shun cut him in half.

"Such a fast blade. I'd heard about it before, but you really have to see it to know how powerful it is."

Blood splashed across Sarutobi Jun'suke's face, but he didn't seem to care. He wiped it away and praised Akiyama Shun sincerely.

The battle on Aburame Takuma's side was over too.

In just a single exchange, only the enemy squad's leader remained.

As luck would have it, Jiraiya had already dealt with the other group and appeared in front of them.

The moment the leader saw Jiraiya, his scalp prickled. How could he be this unlucky, running into a squad led by Jiraiya?

If he'd known Jiraiya was there, he would've run a kilometer ago!

"Damn it!"

The leader cursed and tried to escape, but Akiyama Shun had already appeared behind him.

A small Ice Pillar Swallow shot out, freezing the man's legs and trapping him.

"Kill him. There's no point keeping him alive. They're just a bunch of expendable bounty hunters hired by Iwagakure."

As soon as Jiraiya finished speaking, the leader's vision blurred. Dozens of ice needles pierced through his brain.

Jiraiya looked around before speaking. "We're at the border now. Attacks like this will be frequent, so stay alert at all times!"