A New Mission

[Prestige Points: 917]

Mo Jingxian withdrew his attention; he was less than a tenth away from being able to make another trade.

He hadn't decided what to exchange for yet, but if there wasn't anything suitable by then, he might as well save the opportunity for later.

It was his day off again.

Thinking as he walked, he arrived at the place where he had practiced last time without even realizing it.

Let's begin; his goals required the backing of strength, and he couldn't afford to waste time.

"Water Release: Water Clothing Binding" and "Water Release: Tidal Vortex" were two ninjutsu he had just exchanged for at the supply depot.

In truth, Mo Jingxian had wanted to exchange for the "Water Release: Water Severing Wave" technique, but he lacked the necessary mission points.

Furthermore, the frontline supply depot didn't stock it; he would have to return to Konoha to exchange for it, and it required a guarantee from the higher-ups.

In short, it was quite troublesome.

The Konoha leadership's monopoly on ninjutsu was evident, especially regarding S-rank secret techniques, which were guarded with extreme vigilance.

Settling for the next best thing, he chose two C-rank water-attribute ninjutsu.

Mo Jingxian's principle for choosing ninjutsu wasn't based on power, but on the logic of the technique's manifestation.

He looked for techniques with prominent nature transformation, ideally covering all properties of a certain aspect.

The two ninjutsu above fit his requirements perfectly.

"Water Release: Water Clothing Binding" manifested as a layer of water created on the ground to obstruct or slow down enemy movement.

"Water Release: Tidal Vortex" created two water vortices spinning in opposite directions to shred the enemy.

This was quite interesting.

Water Clothing Binding demonstrated the mutual attraction of water element structural movement, while Tidal Vortex perfectly demonstrated the property of repulsion.

Mo Jingxian intended to master both ninjutsu first, then slowly integrate them into his "Water Dragon Technique."

Currently, his progress in comprehending the water element was climbing slowly; to speed it up, he had to open a few more windows of insight.

It was like knowing the answer and working backward to find the process, which could save a lot of unnecessary detours.

"I knew you'd be here."

Ayako Hyuuga followed him like a shadow, having become Mo Jingxian's little sidekick.

He had grown accustomed to the girl's company, as long as she didn't cause trouble.

As his mastery of the water element deepened, looking at these two water-style ninjutsu gave him a sense of looking down from a high vantage point.

It was like a high school student picking up an elementary school textbook; he could see through the core concepts at a glance.

Not long after, "Ayako, Jingxian, so this is where you two were hiding. You were hard to find."

Shinju Ishikawa came running over in a hurry.

Reaching them, he pulled a bundle from his chest.

He unwrapped it layer by layer, revealing three pears that emitted a fruity fragrance.

This was rare; fruit that was easily accessible in daily life became a luxury at the frontline base.

Not only did it require mission points to exchange, but it wasn't always in stock, often requiring one to wait in line to purchase.

He had no idea how Shinju Ishikawa had managed to get them.

Shinju Ishikawa picked out the largest, plumpest pear and handed it to Ayako Hyuuga.

"Here, it's very sweet."

After taking it, Ayako Hyuuga turned around and handed it to Mo Jingxian.

"Jingxian, you try it."

Mo Jingxian was stunned, and before he could make a gesture of refusal, Shinju Ishikawa spoke up to decline for him.

"No need, I have more here, you eat that one."

As he spoke, he took one of the two smaller pears from his hand and handed it to Mo Jingxian.

The three youths smiled at each other, and Mo Jingxian wiped the pear on his clothes before taking a bite.

"Mmm, very sweet."

A goshawk flew across the sky; in a secluded corner of the Konoha base below, the three youths silently savored this rare moment of relaxation and warmth.

The pear core traced an arc through the air and landed in the grass.

Mo Jingxian clapped his hands and stood up.

"Alright, we've eaten, now it's time to test you two."

How would he test them? Through combat, of course.

As ninjas who had been slaughtering on the battlefield for over a month, the desire to increase their strength was already written into their genes.

The two rose and took their stances, tacitly agreeing to team up against Mo Jingxian.

This was the rapport formed from long periods of squad coordination; how could they grow without pressure?

"Water Release: Water Clothing Binding!"

In a short amount of time, Mo Jingxian had already mastered his first ninjutsu.

Unlike traditional water releases that required spitting water from the mouth, his casting wind-up was shorter, and the activation of the technique was far more devious.

The ground had been coated with a layer of water clothing at some unknown moment, covering an area that perfectly included both of them.

The moment Mo Jingxian activated the technique, the two joined forces to attack him.

The three sparred often, so they were already very familiar with his combat habits.

Although Mo Jingxian rarely used the "Water Dragon Technique" against them, his other ninjutsu had caused them no shortage of suffering.

They had intended to interrupt his spellcasting, but the water clothing beneath their feet suddenly turned viscous.

They watched helplessly as Mo Jingxian calmly formed hand seals, a hint of a wicked smile seemingly playing on his lips.

"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique."

"Rotation!"

Ayako Hyuuga kept Shinju Ishikawa protected behind her, utilizing the absolute defense of the Hyuuga clan.

Mo Jingxian didn't count how many rotations she performed.

At this moment, he was standing with his arms crossed, watching Ayako Hyuuga's performance in the center of the field with a cheerful expression.

The young girl stopped, panting heavily, her eyes wide as if she had seen a ghost.

Mo Jingxian shrugged his shoulders: "Don't blame me, I haven't even learned that technique yet."

So infuriating; beat this shameless brat to death.

The two teammates thought of this sentence simultaneously with perfect synchronization, raising their kunai as they charged at him.

Mo Jingxian's fingers danced and interlaced, forming five seals per second.

"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"

Again?

Now the two teammates were even angrier.

What did this mean?

It meant that Mo Jingxian not only looked down on their strength, but he also looked down on their intelligence.

Shinju Ishikawa decided to seize this opportunity to teach his opponent a real lesson.

Underestimating an opponent comes with a price.

The moment Mo Jingxian's final seal fell, the water clothing on the ground surged upward violently.

Caught completely off guard!

The two were wrapped up layer by layer.

It was fine; Mo Jingxian had intentionally left their nostrils exposed, as he still had to provide them with some air.

"Clap, clap, clap!"

A series of applause rang out from the perimeter.

"Big Brother Minato!"

Mo Jingxian dispelled his ninjutsu and hurried over, pleasantly surprised.

"When did you arrive?"

"Just got here, so I came straight over to see you."

Minato patted his shoulder with satisfaction and winked at him.

"Hydra Mo Jingxian, I didn't expect that you would have already made a name for yourself after only a month on the front lines; I am truly impressed."

Mo Jingxian's face fell.

"Those Sand Ninja are just a bunch of blockheads who only know how to swing blades; not a single one of them is cultured. Hydra, for crying out loud—I suspect they're giving me a malicious nickname."

The two walked and chatted, leaving his squadmates ruthlessly abandoned behind them.

Minato looked at Mo Jingxian with suspicion.

"I don't know about that; I think the title Hydra is quite good. It even has one more head than the legendary Yamata no Orochi."

If Mo Jingxian didn't know about Minato's talent for naming things, he would have thought he was doing it on purpose.

"Big Brother Minato, if you keep chatting like this, you won't have any friends."

Minato paused, suddenly realizing the situation when he saw his little brother's depressed expression.

He then burst into hearty laughter.

Once Minato had finished laughing, Mo Jingxian took the opportunity to ask about serious matters.

"Right, Big Brother Minato, is there something you needed to find me for this time?"

"Mm, there is, but let's not rush into it just yet."

Minato pointed toward the command post not far from where they stood.

"Follow me to pay your respects to Commander Orochimaru first, and we can talk about it then."

It turned out that while the two had been chatting along the way, they had already arrived near the command post.

Mo Jingxian decided not to press the issue and followed Minato into the command tent for the second time.

There were quite a few people inside the tent, most of them high-ranking, influential figures of note.

The most eye-catching among them was a man with a wild mane of white hair and a forehead protector inscribed with the character for "Oil," looking much like a lion.

—Jiraiya!

Seeing the two enter the tent, Jiraiya raised his right arm and waved quickly, greeting them cheerfully.

"Minato, Hydra, over here."

Three black lines seemed to appear on Mo Jingxian's forehead, and in a daze, he felt as if a crow had just flown over his head.

How embarrassing!

Jiraiya, completely oblivious to Mo Jingxian's awkwardness, threw an arm around his shoulder with practiced familiarity.

"You must be Minato's little brother, right? I'm Minato's teacher; you can just call me Toad Sage."

"Senior Jiraiya."

Mo Jingxian bowed respectfully, greeted the others present, and then stood silently by Minato's side.

[Reputation from Jiraiya +5]

Jiraiya seemed quite interested in him, looking him up and down from head to toe.

"Alright, Jiraiya! Let's get to the point."

Orochimaru's raspy voice put a stop to Jiraiya's eccentric behavior, steering the situation back on track.

"Minato, you explain it."

Perhaps feeling bored, Jiraiya let out a yawn before they even began discussing business.

"Commander Orochimaru, I came here this time to borrow someone from you to complete a mission."

Minato pointed to Mo Jingxian beside him.

"It's this little brother of mine, Mo Jingxian."

The matter was somewhat unexpected; Orochimaru hadn't anticipated that Minato would make a special trip just to borrow a person.

Perhaps sensing Orochimaru's confusion, Minato followed up with an explanation.

"This mission requires a young, unfamiliar face, but it also has requirements for strength and experience, so I thought of my little brother here."

Orochimaru nodded, showing no intention of prying further.

He had an impression of Mo Jingxian—an outlier from the Uchiha clan. At the time, he had merely considered him an interesting child and hadn't paid much more attention.

"Very well."

[Reputation from Orochimaru +1]

Mo Jingxian had been acting as if he were invisible, but when the notification for Orochimaru's reputation popped up, he felt a small surge of excitement inside.

The first step had finally been taken; he was one step closer to his goal.

"Sorry for the trouble, Commander. We shall take our leave now; apologies for the intrusion."

Orochimaru gave a nod of approval.

Minato placed a hand on Mo Jingxian's shoulder, and with a "whoosh," the two vanished from the spot.

Watching the two disappear, a flash of envy crossed Orochimaru's eyes, though he quickly composed himself.

"Jiraiya, even you have been summoned back. It seems the pressure on the village is quite significant."

With a playful smile on his face, Orochimaru looked toward Jiraiya.

"Speak up, what did the old man want you to come here for? But let's get this straight... if you're here to give me orders, don't even bother opening your mouth."

Orochimaru showed no hesitation, his words revealing his resistance to commands coming from the Hokage's office.

Before Jiraiya could speak, the other people in the tent began to excuse themselves.

"Commander, I just remembered an urgent matter I need to attend to. I'll take my leave."

"Mm, I remembered one too, very urgent!"

Orochimaru waved his hand, and after everyone had filed out, he did not rush his guest.

Instead, he rummaged through the files until he found Mo Jingxian's mission records and began to flip through them.

Jiraiya set aside his cynical attitude and said solemnly:

"The teacher told me to inform you: find a way to sign a ceasefire agreement with Sunagakure, and if necessary..."

He looked up to gauge Orochimaru's expression, but the man was staring at the records in his hands, showing no reaction at all.

Jiraiya sighed helplessly.

"If necessary, you may sacrifice a portion of our interests; the teacher wants you to facilitate these negotiations."

Orochimaru acted as if he hadn't heard, finishing the mission records of Mo Jingxian page by page.

He closed the file and set it gently upon the desk.

He looked up, meeting Jiraiya's slightly guilty gaze.

"Crash!"

Orochimaru suddenly swung his right arm, sweeping all the documents off the desk.

"Trash!"

Jiraiya avoided Orochimaru's piercing gaze.

Strangely enough, despite being clearly furious, Orochimaru acted with chilling composure.

"Heh—"

He let out a soft chuckle: "So this is Konoha... it has already rotted to such a degree..."