Heroes

At daybreak the next morning, Mo Jingxian and his companion received a new mission: escort the wounded back to Konoha.

After completing the mission, the two of them were granted fifteen days of leave to recover—a rare stroke of luck.

The mission to infiltrate enemy territory had also been settled. The higher-ups had been generous, recording it as an A-rank mission.

That was rather intriguing.

Strictly speaking, the infiltration and ambush mission could reasonably have been counted as a failure.

Yet they had bumped it up a rank, not only awarding them an A-rank mission but doubling their military merits as well.

However you looked at it, it seemed like compensation.

Mo Jingjing casually stuffed the mission scroll into his neatly packed bundle, then slung it over his shoulder to test the weight.

"You guessed it?" Ayako Hyuuga watched her busy teammate. Somehow, he had been right again.

"Was it that hard?"

"Come on, tell me. How do you manage to guess right every time? Why can't I?"

"Do you think anyone who makes it back alive has no complaints?" Mo Jingxian picked up the last cloth bundle.

The girl shook her head.

"Exactly." He stuffed the bundle into Ayako's arms, then sat down beside her.

"The first thing a battlefield eliminates is instability." He pointed at the two of them. "People like us need to be reindoctrinated with the Will of Fire before they can be trusted again."

"Brainwashing, you mean?" Ayako Hyuuga strapped on the bundle and headed out of the tent.

"You learn fast." Mo Jingxian rose to follow her. "I only just taught you that new word yesterday, and you're already using it."

Most of the people coming and going around the camp were unfamiliar faces.

The old faces were nearly all gone. Apart from the higher-ups and a few members of the ninja clans, half the remaining people had perished in that great battle.

Ninja were like crops: once one harvest was cut down, another sprang up, as if their numbers would never run out.

The two of them went to the side gate, where a group of wounded had already gathered.

Losing an arm or a leg counted as a minor injury here. Those in worse condition had yet to recover and needed to be transported back on ox carts.

Most of them would leave the life of a ninja behind even after they healed.

Looking at it another way, wasn't that a kind of good fortune?

Sometimes, the ties between people really were strange. This time, the escort leader was an old acquaintance, Yamashiro Baiyun.

"Captain Yamashiro." Mo Jingxian greeted him and handed over their mission scroll. "Fancy meeting you again."

Yamashiro Baiyun smiled as he took the scroll. "It's a nice surprise. Seeing you still full of energy brightens my mood."

Yamashiro Baiyun stamped the scroll and handed it back.

"Wait a little longer. We're still missing a few wounded."

"I'm in no hurry." As he spoke, Mo Jingxian went over to the cart carrying Hayama Shirakumo and Tekuno. "Scoot over. Save me some room."

Tekuno was in decent shape. Two kunai had struck his thigh, injuring the tendons, so he needed some time to rest.

Hayama Shirakumo, on the other hand, had it rough. He'd been stabbed five or six times with kunai. It was a wonder he'd survived.

Mo Jingxian couldn't help giving him a thumbs-up. "Impressive."

They'd been through life and death together, so they were close enough not to stand on ceremony.

"You little punk." Hayama Shirakumo rolled his eyes, but obediently scooted over.

"What, it's something to be proud of when a guy who uses blades gets stabbed?"

They traded jabs, and the time passed quickly. As soon as all the wounded had gathered, they set out.

The escort detail consisted of the standard two combat squads, six ninja in total.

But the mood was much lighter on the return journey. Under ordinary circumstances, the Sand Ninja wouldn't attack a convoy transporting the wounded.

It wasn't because the Sand Ninja were merciful. It simply wasn't worth it.

They'd lose out even if they wasted kunai on a bunch of invalids.

Yamashiro was a veteran High Ninja, and he carried out the escort mission meticulously despite how straightforward it was.

Mo Jingxian and Ayako Hyuuga were assigned to guard the left flank as the convoy moved slowly onward.

Thanks to the Byakugan's powerful detection ability, no one had been assigned to patrol the perimeter.

The convoy traveled all day, then camped for the night in a relatively open area.

With the moon at its zenith, Ayako suddenly activated her Byakugan.

"Something's up." Ayako Hyuuga focused her gaze in one direction, instantly doubling her detection range.

"I've spotted three Sand Ninja five kilometers to the southeast: one Chunin and two Genin."

They were clearly too far away to be targeting the convoy, but now that they'd spotted the enemy, they couldn't just leave them alone.

Yamashiro reached for his long blade, but Mo Jingxian stopped him with an outstretched hand.

"I'll go." Mo Jingxian glanced at Ayako. "Have her come with me. Even if there's an ambush, she can detect it in advance."

Yamashiro Baiyun had heard about Mo Jingxian's abilities, and with a Hyuga Clan ninja alongside him, the plan was certainly sound.

The convoy needed to be guarded, so it wouldn't make sense for Yamashiro to leave.

"Be careful. If there's an ambush, withdraw immediately."

"Don't worry." Mo Jingxian stood up, and the two of them vanished into the night without making a sound.

His Body Flicker Technique alone surpassed that of most ninja.

That kid's strength really was growing at a terrifying rate. Yamashiro still remembered how Mo Jingxian had performed a few months ago; he'd been nowhere near this level.

The two moved with practiced ease and soon crept up behind the enemy.

The three Sand Ninja hadn't noticed anyone approaching. Each was concealed in a different hiding place.

They clearly weren't novices. Their hiding spots were well chosen, and they'd set several warning traps nearby.

Mo Jingxian signaled, and Ayako Hyuuga nodded.

The two split up.

One Sand Ninja was hiding at the very top of a large tree, covered in leaves and blending into his surroundings.

He'd chosen his spot carefully. The branch was just thick enough to bear his weight.

Anyone who tried to sneak up on him would be noticed immediately.

He'd also set two traps around the branch, with the wires hidden so well they were extremely difficult to spot.

Unfortunately for him, he'd run into Mo Jingxian.

A Water Flood Dragon wound its way up the trunk, slipping past the traps as it gradually crept toward the Sand Ninja from behind.

Such deft control of a ninjutsu was thanks to Mo Jingxian's elemental affinity and control.

His ninjutsu had never been about straightforward contests of power.

By the time the Water Flood Dragon reached the enemy, the man still hadn't detected it.

The next moment—

The Water Flood Dragon suddenly coiled around him, and the temperature plunged.

The instant the Sand Ninja realized he was under attack, he started to fight back. A sealing rune shot into his body, forcefully suppressing his Chakra.

An unbearable cold seized him, as if even his soul were freezing.

Then his heart seized in agony, and the world lost its color.

He never saw the one who killed him.

Mo Jingxian shook the blood from his kunai, wiped it clean, and put it back in his tool pouch.

This was what a normal fight between ninja looked like. What kind of monsters had he run into before?

They'd nearly made him doubt his own abilities.

Soon, he reached the only Sand Ninja left.

From his vantage point above, Mo Jingxian's elemental perception covered a hundred meters around him.

As long as he stayed still, he received information about every living thing within that range that interacted with the elements.

The readings were much less precise, but they still gave him a rough idea of each target's location and condition.

In the middle of a fierce battle, however, the range would shrink to around ten meters, though the information he received would be far more detailed.

He didn't rush to attack, because his perception told him Ayako Hyuuga was creeping up on the Sand Ninja from behind.

Ayako Hyuuga landed without a sound. Once she was twenty meters from the enemy, she suddenly flung three kunai.

The kunai formed a triangle, cutting off the enemy's escape routes.

Meanwhile, she moved like a leopard stalking through the forest, using the Body Flicker Technique to dart in behind them and strike.

Twenty meters was the perfect distance. Any farther, and the enemy would have time to react.

Any closer, and she might be spotted. At this range, she could strike in the brief gap between the enemy's reactions.

The Sand Ninja heard the kunai whistle through the air and broke out in a cold sweat.

Drawing on years of combat experience, he charged forward, then spun around and knocked the kunai aside.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The three metallic strikes rang far through the silent forest.

But no reinforcements came. The reason was obvious.

A white figure darted forward right behind the kunai, chakra surging at her fingertips as she thrust them fiercely toward his chest.

The timing between the two attacks was precise. She struck the instant the enemy knocked away the kunai, before he could recover his balance.

He had no chance to use a ninjutsu, and blocking wasn't an option. The Sand Ninja stamped hard on the ground, his body shooting backward.

Suddenly—

His vision blurred. In an instant, that phantom-like figure vanished from sight.

Where was she?

Almost as soon as the thought surfaced, his body signaled that he'd been struck.

A series of thumping sounds rang through the forest.

"Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms!"

Mo Jingxian wasn't the only one who had improved. Ayako Hyuuga had advanced just as quickly.

Over the past four months, relying on her own talent and with no one to guide her, she'd taken the Hyuga Clan's secret technique, Eight Trigrams Palms, all the way to one hundred and twenty-eight strikes.

Unfortunately, the enemy wasn't lucky enough to appreciate it. He lasted only a dozen or so strikes before collapsing.

His Chakra had been cut off throughout his body, and his muscles had gone limp, leaving him unable to move.

He was barely better off than someone paralyzed from the neck down.

"Clap, clap, clap!"

A string of applause rang out in the forest.

"Impressive!" Mo Jingxian emerged from behind a tree, giving the girl his full praise.

"Give me a break." Ayako Hyuuga rolled her eyes, copying his usual mannerism. "Anyone can beat up a weakling."

Mo Jingxian's mouth twitched. He regretted running his mouth carelessly; she'd already stolen those words to show off.

Besides, why was she rolling her white eyes? The Byakugan was already mocking enough without the gesture.

Of course, he could only think those things to himself.

Mo Jingxian added another layer of security to the captive.

"Let's go. The captain will start worrying if we're late."

He carried their spoils, and the two soon disappeared into the pitch-black forest.

After that, the journey went remarkably smoothly. They made it all the way back to Konoha without incident.

Three days later, ten miles outside Konoha Village.

A team of Anbu Ninja had been waiting there for quite some time.

The moment the convoy appeared, the Anbu leader stepped forward.

He whispered a few words to Yamashiro Baiyun, then hurried away.

Mo Jingxian was too far away to hear what they were saying.

His attention was fixed on a white-haired kid among the Anbu.

The boy was about the same height as him, and with that unmistakable hair color, he had to be the Kakashi who would one day be called the Copy Ninja.

It was a minor diversion, and Mo Jingxian didn't dwell on it. He followed the convoy until they finally reached their destination.

As they passed through the gate, a wave of cheers suddenly rose from both sides of the road.

Countless villagers stood along the roadside, holding flowers and welcoming the heroes home.