Madara pulled a black sheet of paper from his clothes and handed it over.
A black mission? Shin thought as he took it. Black missions were Jonin-level assignments. No wonder Madara had come to him.
After reading the mission brief, Shin's brow furrowed slightly. "Did the clan head really give you this?"
Madara seemed engrossed in the scenery outside the window and didn't answer.
"This is going to be a bit of a problem," Shin said seriously.
Seeing that Shin had finally started discussing the mission, Madara dropped his playful expression and returned to normal. He nodded. "But it won't be too much for the two of us, will it?"
Shin glanced at him. "I haven't agreed to go with you yet. First, tell me how you got this mission. I don't believe the clan head would give you something like this."
Madara shrugged. "It's simple. The clan is already short on manpower. The war's been going on for a month, and the pressure on both fronts is mounting. The Hyuga are especially troublesome. That old man, Hyuga Tenin, went to the front lines himself and led the Hyuga shinobi in at least fifteen assaults on our main defensive line. We nearly lost it a few times. Things aren't looking good. Father is even considering going to the battlefield himself if things get any worse.
"All the Jonin who stayed behind in the clan have also been sent out on missions. We're short on people, so Father didn't want to give me this one at first. But I asked him several times, and with nobody else available, he finally handed it to me."
Shin nodded, accepting his explanation, and turned his attention back to the mission.
The assignment was written out simply. The Hyuga Clan had been surrounded for a