A Mission Outside the Village

Early in the morning, in the hall of Konoha's mission office, Kushina stood before the mission board with her hands on her hips.

Frowning, she scanned the rows of D-rank missions:

"Clearing the lower reaches of the Naka River... No!"

"Helping an old lady find her missing cat... Too boring!"

"Looking after the orphanage children for a day... What kind of ninja mission is that?"

She skipped the entire D-rank section and went over to the C-rank board.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up:

"Eliminate a band of thieves near a border village... This is the one!"

Just as she reached for the mission scroll, an aged hand pressed down on it.

"Kushina, this mission isn't suitable for your team."

Kushina looked up and saw the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi standing before her,

a pipe clenched in his mouth and a smile on his face.

"Why not?"

Kushina pouted in displeasure.

"We just completed a C-rank mission perfectly—the wild boar mission!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi blew out a ring of smoke.

"That was near the village. This mission is much farther from Konoha, and besides..."

He lowered his voice.

"Your circumstances are special. You can't go too far from the village."

Kushina's expression darkened at once.

Of course she understood what the Third Hokage meant—as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, she couldn't stray far from Konoha.

"But..." She clenched her fists.

"My students need real experience! Are they supposed to keep catching cats and pulling weeds forever?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the stubborn red-haired woman before him, as if he were seeing that young Uzumaki girl who had first arrived in Konoha all those years ago.

He sighed.

"All right, but there's one condition: I have to send Anbu to follow you in secret."

"Anbu?" Kushina's eyes widened. "Isn't that a little over the top?"

"This is my bottom line." Hiruzen Sarutobi's tone left no room for argument.

"Otherwise, you can keep doing D-rank missions."

Kushina bit her lip and thought it over for a moment before finally nodding reluctantly.

"Fine... But the Anbu have to keep their distance. They can't interfere with our mission!"

"Deal." Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled kindly.

"Remember, safety comes first."

Watching Kushina leave with the mission scroll in high spirits, Hiruzen Sarutobi gently tapped his pipe.

Two Anbu Ninja wearing animal masks quietly emerged from the shadows.

"Follow them, but don't let yourselves be seen. If they encounter danger... prioritize protecting Kushina."

"Yes, sir!"

The Anbu Ninja vanished at once.

Meanwhile, Kushina had already gathered her team.

Waving the mission scroll excitedly, she said:

"Kids, we've got a real mission!"

The morning mist had yet to clear completely in front of Konoha Gate.

Asuma paced back and forth excitedly, glancing down the road every now and then.

"We're finally leaving the village! I hear the scenery outside is completely different!"

Amada leaned against the gatepost, still looking a little tired.

He had spent the whole previous night studying his newly awakened Sharingan and discovered that his eyes seemed to come with several special Dojutsu.

Their exact effects still needed to be tested.

"Amada, are you all right?" Kurenai asked with concern.

"You look a little tired."

"I'm fine." Amada rubbed his temples.

"I just didn't sleep well last night."

He noticed that Kurenai's fingers were gripping her ninja tool pouch so tightly that they had gone pale. He reassured her softly:

"Don't be too nervous. Teacher Kushina's with us."

Kurenai managed a faint smile.

"I just... I've never been somewhere so far away before."

Just then, Kushina strode over, her red hair billowing in the morning breeze.

"Is everyone here? Let's go!"

The moment they passed through Konoha Gate, Amada felt as if the air itself had changed.

Birdsong rang out in the distance, and the air was filled with the scent of grass and earth.

"All right, while we're on the road, I'll explain the details of this mission."

Kushina spoke as they walked.

"Our target is a band of thieves based near a border village, about twenty people. According to the reports, they mainly attack passing merchant caravans and occasionally harass the village."

Asuma eagerly cut in:

"Then can we just charge in and take them out?"

"Idiot!" Kushina knocked him on the head.

"Ninjas aren't brutes! First, we'll sneak into the village and gather information, confirming the thieves' exact location and patterns of activity. Remember, our top priority is protecting the villagers."

Amada nodded thoughtfully.

"So we should try to avoid fighting near the village?"

"Exactly." Kushina gave him an approving look.

"And according to the reports, one or two of the thieves may be rogue ninjas, so we can't let our guard down."

Kurenai asked softly:

"Then... how long will we be staying in the village?"

"About three days." Kushina replied.

"Remember, while carrying out the mission, we'll disguise ourselves as ordinary travelers. Don't reveal that we're ninjas."

Amada noticed Kushina's gaze flick briefly toward the woods by the road as she spoke.

He secretly activated his Sharingan and caught a glimpse of a shadow darting between the trees.

"Anbu..." Amada realized.

It seemed the Third Hokage still wasn't comfortable letting Teacher Kushina travel too far from the village.

Just then, Kushina suddenly stopped.

"Oh, there's one more thing..."

She turned around.

"While we're on this mission, I'll be giving you special training."

"Special training?"

Asuma's eyes lit up.

"Is it a new jutsu? Or Taijutsu training?"

Kushina smiled mysteriously.

"You'll find out when the time comes. But..." She glanced at the eager Asuma.

"Don't expect it to be easy."

Amada rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

"Are you ready?" Kushina clapped her hands.

"Next, we're going to travel at full speed like ninjas. Remember to hold formation. Kurenai in the middle, Amada and Asuma on either side."

"Understood!" the three answered in unison.

At Kushina's command, four figures shot forward like arrows loosed from a bow.

Amada could tell that Kushina had slowed down considerably. Otherwise, with her Jonin strength, she would have left them far behind.

Even so, this long-distance sprint was a considerable challenge for Genin.

Kurenai was soon panting, but she gritted her teeth and kept going.

Amada secretly activated his Sharingan, observing how Kushina moved and learning how to distribute his chakra more efficiently.

"Pay attention to your breathing," Kushina's voice came from up ahead.

"Don't use up all your chakra at once. Learn to circulate it."

By sunset, they finally reached their destination.

It was a small village built against a mountain, with only a few dozen households.

But the scene before them made everyone frown.

The fence at the village entrance was crooked and broken, and several houses bore clear marks from swords.

Some villagers were repairing damaged roofs. When they saw the strangers approaching, their expressions immediately turned wary.

More troubling still, quite a few villagers were injured.

An old woman sat by the roadside, her arm wrapped in a bloodstained bandage;

several children hid behind a doorway, peeking at them timidly.

"Things seem even worse than the reports said."

Kushina spoke in a low voice.

Amada carefully examined the traces around them.

Suddenly, his pupils contracted—in a damaged section of wall,

he spotted familiar scorch marks. They were unmistakably caused by Fire Release Ninjutsu.

"Teacher," he said in a hushed voice.

"There may really be a ninja among the thieves."

Kushina nodded, a grave look flashing in her eyes.

"Let's find the village head and ask what happened. Remember, we're just travelers passing through."