Blood Gold

The morning sun had just begun to illuminate the rocky peaks of Iwagakure.

Jingxin stepped out of his stone house to begin his routine morning training.

He had just finished a set of basic taijutsu when a familiar voice drifted from behind him.

"Yo, you're up early, little genius."

Kurotsuchi leaned against the rock wall by the door of the stone house, her short black hair shimmering in the morning light, a bright smile on her face.

"Kurotsuchi." Jingxin nodded in greeting. "What brings you here?"

"I heard you're going on an Anbu mission today?" Kurotsuchi stepped forward and pulled a small pouch from her pocket. "Here, take these. Specially made military rations."

"I added honey and herbs, so they should taste better than the standard ones."

"Don't forget to replenish your energy while you're on the mission."

Jingxin took the pouch and smiled. "Thank you."

"How long has it been? Why are you still being so polite?" Kurotsuchi tilted her head and leaned in closer. "You're easy enough to get along with, but why does it always feel like your 'affection progress' is growing so slowly?"

The corner of Jingxin's eye twitched. "You should read fewer bizarre books."

Kurotsuchi waved her hand. "Fine, fine~ let's not talk about that. You have to promise me you'll be careful."

"I know you're strong, but Anbu missions are different from training."

Her scent was light and refreshing, and she was close enough that Jingxin could see the flutter of her eyelashes.

"I know." Jingxin took a half-step back.

"Good." Kurotsuchi patted his shoulder. "Good luck with the mission. I'll be waiting for your return."

She waved her hand and turned to leave, her stride light and full of vitality.

Jingxin watched her walk away, carefully tucked the pouch of rations into his gear, and headed toward the Tsuchikage building.

The Anbu base of Iwagakure was hidden in the deepest part of the village, connected to the Tsuchikage building by only a single secret door.

Jingxin changed into the standard Iwagakure Anbu uniform.

He wore a light gray tactical vest over a black bodysuit, and a fox mask covered his face, with only two narrow slits for limited vision, completely concealing his identity.

Ōnoki floated before him, arms crossed, his expression stern. "Blood Gold, your teammates have been selected."

Two figures emerged from the shadows.

On the left was a tall male ninja, appearing to be in his thirties.

He wore a wolf mask, his shoulders broad, his stance as steady as a mountain, his breathing so calm it was almost inaudible.

On the right was a female ninja, her figure lithe and slender, wearing an owl mask, her presence almost imperceptible.

"Shifeng, elite jonin, skilled in Earth Release and tactical command," Ōnoki introduced. "Yeying, elite jonin, expert in reconnaissance and assassination."

Both of them nodded slightly toward Jingxin, their movements crisp and efficient, without a single wasted motion.

Clearly, they had already received detailed instructions from Ōnoki and were well aware of the nature of this mission.

"Your first mission has been issued." Ōnoki took a scroll from his robe and handed it to Shifeng. "C-rank suppression mission. The target is a group of bandits entrenched in the Land of Earth, numbering about twenty, with suspected rogue ninjas mixed in."

"Total annihilation required. No survivors."

Shifeng took the scroll, scanned it quickly, and looked up. "Understood."

Ōnoki nodded, then looked at Jingxin. "Blood Gold, this is your first Anbu mission. Your two seniors will not intervene; this is a trial for you alone."

"Understood." Jingxin's voice came through the mask, sounding somewhat muffled.

The three of them bowed to Ōnoki simultaneously, then turned and left the training ground.

The trio moved at the standard Anbu forced-march speed, leaving the rocky peaks and canyons surrounding Iwagakure behind them in short order.

Eight hours of continuous travel.

The scenery along the way shifted from the relative prosperity around Iwagakure to barren wastelands and steep, rugged mountains.

In this border region of the Land of Earth, far from the reach of Iwagakure's influence, lawlessness reigned—a paradise for bandits and rogue ninjas.

Following the scroll, the three located the mission site.

It was a hidden valley.

The entrance to the valley was narrow, flanked by steep rock walls dozens of meters high, while the interior was filled with crude wooden huts and tents.

Wisps of cooking smoke rose into the air as about twenty bandits prepared their evening meal.

The three lurked on the cliff above the valley entrance, looking down at the camp below.

In the center were several larger wooden huts, with tents scattered around them, all enclosed by a makeshift wooden fence.

Two sentries leaned lazily against the entrance, clearly not expecting anyone to attack.

Most noticeably, inside one of the sheds, several men and women with dull, despairing expressions were tied up with hemp rope—clearly the bandits' "hostages."

"Targets confirmed," Yeying whispered. "Twenty-three people, three of whom have chakra signatures; suspected rogue ninjas."

"Their strength ranges from genin to chunin level. The camp layout is loose, and their defenses are weak."

Shifeng stood up and stretched his shoulders.

Yeying shouted sharply, "Captain?!"

"What?" A lazy, muffled voice came from beneath Shifeng's mask. "Our mission is to familiarize Blood Gold with the process, so I only need to tell him what to do."

"Blood Gold, in this situation, make sure you don't do anything that would expose yourself like I just did."

"Hmm... that's all. Go ahead."

"Rest assured, with us here, you won't die."

These were two elite jonin, after all.

Looking twenty years into the past or twenty years into the future of this entire planet.

The total number of elite jonin, if you were to list all their names, wouldn't even fill a few sheets of A4 paper.

If it weren't for Jingxin, it would be impossible for elite jonin to take on such a "newbie village" mission.

It is no exaggeration to say that even if Danzo himself came here, wanting to kill Jingxin...

He would have to warm up first.

Jingxin nodded, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and adjusted his breathing.

The chakra within his body began to flow, and his Sharingan quietly activated beneath his mask, his scarlet pupils observing the camp below through the small eye slits.

This was his habit; he never underestimated any enemy.

Jingxin leaped down from the rock wall.

The two sentries on the perimeter of the bandit camp spotted him and simultaneously drew the blades at their waists. "Who goes there!"

Jingxin formed hand seals with both hands.

Shadow Clone Technique!

Poof, poof, poof...

A series of white smoke bursts erupted, and ten shadow clones appeared around Jingxin.

"Nin... ninja!" The other sentry retreated in terror, turning to run.

Two shadow clones instantly rushed forward, their kunai tracing cold arcs through the air.

The sentry only had time to let out a short, sharp scream before collapsing to the ground, blood gushing from his throat.

The ten shadow clones charged into the camp, throwing the bandits into a panic.

"Enemy attack!"

"It's a ninja!"

Amidst the chaos, three rogue ninjas with chakra signatures rushed out from the largest wooden hut.

Their reactions were much faster than the ordinary bandits; one bald man immediately formed hand seals: "Earth Style: Earth Wall!"

The ground rumbled, and a thick earthen wall rose from the earth, blocking a volley of ninja tools from the shadow clones.

However, three shadow clones bypassed the wall, flanking from both sides to engage in close-quarters combat.

A shadow clone leaped high into the air and brought a leg crashing down.

The bald man raised his kunai to block.

Clang~

The heavy weighted leg guard slammed into the kunai.

The other two shadow clones seized the opportunity and drove their ninja blades into his chest.