Mission Outside the Village

Early in the morning, in the lobby of the Konoha mission center, Kushina stood before the mission board with her hands on her hips.

She scanned the rows of D-rank missions with a frown:

"Clear the downstream riverbed of the Naka River... absolutely not!"

"Help an old lady find her lost cat... too boring!"

"Look after the children at the orphanage for a day... what kind of ninja mission is that!"

She skipped the entire D-rank section and moved straight to the C-rank mission board.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up:

"Eliminate a bandit group near a border village... this is the one!"

Just as she reached out to take the mission scroll, an aged hand pressed down upon it.

"Kushina, this mission is not suitable for your team."

Kushina looked up to see the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, standing before her, a pipe dangling from his mouth and a smile on his face.

"Why not?"

Kushina pouted in dissatisfaction, "We just completed that C-rank wild boar mission perfectly!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a ring of smoke:

"That was near the village. The location for this mission is too far from Konoha, and besides..."

He lowered his voice, "Your status is special; you cannot leave the village for such a distance."

Kushina's expression darkened instantly.

She understood what the Third meant—as the Nine-Tails jinchuriki, she could not stray far from Konoha.

"But..." she clenched her fists, "My students need real experience! Do you expect them to just catch cats and pull weeds forever?"

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

He sighed:

"Very well, but there is one condition: I must send Anbu to follow you in secret."

"Anbu?" Kushina's eyes widened, "Isn't that a bit excessive!"

"That is the bottom line." Hiruzen Sarutobi's tone was beyond question, "Otherwise, you will continue doing D-rank missions."

Kushina bit her lip and thought for a moment, eventually nodding with reluctance:

"Fine... but the Anbu must keep their distance and not interfere with our mission!"

"Agreed." Hiruzen Sarutobi offered a kindly smile, "Remember, safety first."

Watching Kushina leave excitedly with the mission scroll, Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped his pipe gently.

From the shadows, two Anbu ninjas wearing animal masks appeared silently.

"Follow them, but do not be discovered. If you encounter danger... prioritize protecting Kushina."

"Yes!"

The Anbu ninjas vanished in response.

Meanwhile, Kushina had already gathered her team members.

She waved the mission scroll and said excitedly:

"Brats, we have a real mission!"

In front of the Konoha gate, the morning mist had not yet fully dispersed.

Asuma paced back and forth in excitement, glancing toward the road in the distance from time to time:

"Finally, we get to leave the village! I hear the scenery outside is completely different from inside!"

Amada leaned against the gatepost, his eyes still carrying a hint of fatigue.

He had spent all last night studying his newly awakened Sharingan, discovering that his eyes seemed to possess several unique ocular techniques.

The specific effects remained to be tested.

"Amada, are you alright?" Kurenai asked with concern, "You look a bit tired."

"I'm fine," Amada rubbed his temples, "I just didn't sleep well last night."

He noticed Kurenai's fingers gripping her ninja tool pouch were turning white, so he comforted her in a low voice:

"No need to be so nervous, Kushina-sensei is with us."

Kurenai forced a smile:

"It's just... I've never been that far away before."

At this moment, Kushina strode over, her long red hair fluttering in the morning breeze:

"Is everyone here? Let's move out!"

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

Crisp birdsong drifted from the distance, and the air was filled with the fragrance of grass and soil.

"Alright, while we're on the road, I'll brief you on the specifics of this mission."

Kushina said as she walked, "The target is a bandit group entrenched near a border village, numbering about 20 people. According to intelligence, they mainly raid passing merchant caravans and occasionally harass the village."

Asuma interrupted excitedly:

"Does that mean we can just charge straight in?"

"Idiot!" Kushina rapped him on the head, "Ninjas aren't brutes! First, we must infiltrate the village to gather intelligence and confirm the bandits' exact location and activity patterns. Remember, our primary mission is to protect the safety of the villagers."

Amada nodded thoughtfully:

"In other words, we should try to avoid fighting near the village?"

"Exactly." Kushina gave him an approving look, "And according to the intel, there might be one or two rogue ninjas among the bandits, so we cannot be careless."

Kurenai asked in a low voice:

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

"About three days or so." Kushina said, "Remember, during the mission, you must disguise yourselves as ordinary travelers and not reveal your identities as ninjas."

Amada noticed that when Kushina said this, her gaze swept over the woods by the roadside, intentionally or otherwise.

He secretly activated his Sharingan and faintly caught a glimpse of a dark shadow flashing between the trees.

Anbu, huh... Amada realized.

It seemed the Third Hokage was still uneasy about letting Kushina-sensei travel too far from the village.

Just then, Kushina suddenly stopped in her tracks:

"Oh, right, one more thing..."

She turned around, "During this mission, I will be putting you through special training."

"Special training?"

Asuma's eyes lit up instantly, "Is it a new ninjutsu? Or taijutsu training?"

Kushina smiled mysteriously:

"You'll find out when the time comes. However..." She glanced at the eager Asuma, "Don't think it's going to be easy."

Amada rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

"Are you ready?" Kushina clapped her hands, "From here on, we'll be traveling at full ninja speed. Remember to maintain formation; Kurenai in the middle, Amada and Asuma on the left and right."

"Understood!" the three replied in unison.

Following Kushina's command, four figures darted out like arrows released from a bow.

Amada could feel that Kushina was clearly slowing down; otherwise, with her strength as a jonin, she would have left them far behind long ago.

Even so, this kind of long-distance sprint was quite a test for genin.

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

Amada secretly activated his Sharingan to observe Kushina's movement style, learning how to distribute his chakra more efficiently.

"Pay attention to your breathing rhythm," Kushina's voice came from ahead, "Don't use up all your chakra at once; learn to cycle it."

As the sun set, they finally arrived at the mission location.

This was a small village built against the mountains, consisting of only a few dozen households.

However, the scene before them caused everyone to furrow their brows.

The fence at the village entrance was crooked and dilapidated, and the walls of several houses bore clear marks from blades and swords.

A few villagers were repairing a damaged roof, but upon seeing the strangers arrive, they immediately wore expressions of wariness.

What was even more concerning was that many of the villagers were carrying injuries.

An old woman sat by the roadside with a blood-stained bandage wrapped around her arm;

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

"It seems the situation is even more severe than the intelligence report suggested."

Kushina said in a low voice.

Amada carefully observed the traces in the surroundings.

Suddenly, his pupils constricted—on a section of the damaged wall, he saw familiar charred marks, clearly caused by Fire Release ninjutsu.

"Teacher," he lowered his voice, "there might truly be ninja among the bandits."

Kushina nodded, a hint of gravity flashing in her eyes:

"Let's go find the village chief to understand the situation first. Remember, we are just travelers passing through."