Anbu Mission

"Your mission is to head to the border of the Land of Lightning, secretly rendezvous with a ninja embedded in Kumogakure, and retrieve the routine intelligence."

The squad leader offered no further explanation.

Uchiha Amada nodded, though he felt somewhat surprised.

This was his first mission since joining the Anbu, and he had not expected to execute it alone, without any teammates for support.

However, he did not ask any questions.

Such were the rules of the Anbu—mission details required no explanation; the operative simply needed to complete the task.

After receiving the mission, Uchiha Amada departed immediately.

He traveled at high speed, crossing forests and hills, and finally arrived at the border of the Land of Lightning two days later.

However, he did not rashly head to the rendezvous point.

Secret missions of this nature required extreme caution.

Should any accident occur, Konoha would never acknowledge his identity and might even treat him as a discarded pawn.

Deep within the secret base of the Root.

A Root ninja knelt on one knee and reported respectfully:

"Lord Danzo, that mission has been assigned to Uchiha Amada."

Danzo nodded, his tone indifferent:

"Understood. You may withdraw."

"Yes."

The Root ninja acknowledged the order, then flickered and vanished.

Danzo sat in his chair and sneered:

"Hiruzen, I have given you face. But if that brat dies during the mission, it will have nothing to do with me. However, if he truly manages to survive, then his status in the Root shall remain."

Meanwhile, after arriving at the border of the Land of Lightning, Uchiha Amada chose to rest briefly in a small village near the frontier.

He needed time to observe and think, ensuring the mission would be foolproof.

The rendezvous point was located in a secluded valley.

Uchiha Amada hid on a high ridge in the distance, using a telescope to carefully observe the activity in the valley.

After a period of observation, he found no abnormalities for the time being; the surroundings appeared completely peaceful.

However, Uchiha Amada did not lower his guard.

The calmer the surface, the more likely it was to hide lethal danger:

This kind of mission must never be taken lightly.

With some time remaining before the rendezvous, Uchiha Amada decided not to act in haste.

He needed more information to confirm the safety of the meeting spot.

After a moment of contemplation, Uchiha Amada decided to return to the border village for the time being.

He removed his Anbu uniform, changed into the attire of an ordinary traveler, and donned a bamboo hat to conceal his face.

Subsequently, he entered a restaurant in the village, ordered a simple meal, and sat in a corner, quietly observing the crowd.

The restaurant was bustling with people, and Uchiha Amada's gaze swept over everyone.

He eventually locked onto a target—a middle-aged man who looked somewhat exhausted.

After finishing his meal, the man hurried out of the restaurant.

Seeing this, Uchiha Amada stood up and followed him.

He trailed the man until he turned into a secluded alleyway.

Uchiha Amada closed the distance rapidly and, taking advantage of the lack of witnesses, appeared directly in front of the man.

His Sharingan activated instantly:

"Dojutsu: Nightmare!"

Soon, the rendezvous time arrived, and a Kumogakure ninja appeared in the valley.

He stood at the agreed-upon location, looking around vigilantly as if waiting for something.

A moment later, a masked ninja in black appeared from the opposite side.

The ninja walked up to the Kumogakure operative and performed the secret signal for the rendezvous.

After confirming the signal was correct, the Kumogakure ninja nodded, pulled an intelligence scroll from his robes, and tossed it to the other party.

"Tell me, can't you say a word? I'm risking my life here, you know."

The Kumogakure ninja said with a laugh.

However, the masked ninja did not respond; he simply took the scroll, turned around, and left.

The moment he turned around, the expression on the Kumogakure ninja's face shifted instantly.

The Kumogakure ninja quickly formed a seal with one hand, and the scroll in the masked ninja's hand detonated instantly with a deafening roar.

The force of the explosion flipped the masked ninja onto the ground, where he lay motionless.

Immediately after, several more Kumogakure ninjas appeared from the surroundings, quickly surrounding the fallen masked ninja.

The leader of the Kumogakure ninjas stepped forward, looked down at the unconscious masked ninja, and sneered:

"Has the quality of Konoha's Anbu fallen this low? It was so easy to take care of him."

His tone was filled with mockery and disdain. He then waved his hand and ordered the surrounding Kumogakure ninjas:

"Take him back and interrogate him strictly. Today's harvest is not bad; perhaps we can dig some useful intelligence out of his mouth."

One of the Kumogakure ninjas stepped forward, crouched down, and lifted the masked ninja's mask.

Beneath the mask was the face of an ordinary middle-aged man, currently unconscious with a trace of blood hanging from the corner of his mouth.

The Kumogakure ninja frowned, but he quickly hoisted the man up, preparing to take him back to Kumogakure.

Amada, watching from a distance, felt his heart pounding wildly.

He had not expected that there would actually be a problem with this mission.

Fortunately, he had acted with caution and did not go to the rendezvous himself.

Instead, he had used the ocular jutsu of his Sharingan to control an ordinary person, making him go in his place while in a sleepwalking state.

What exactly went wrong?

Amada pondered to himself.

The mission had been issued directly by Anbu; logically, there should not have been any issues.

Therefore, the root of the problem likely lay with the Konoha sleeper agent at the rendezvous—either he had been turned by Kumogakure, or his identity had already been exposed, or perhaps he was already dead.

Thinking of this, a chill ran down Amada's spine.

He knew he had to leave this place as soon as possible.

That body double was just an ordinary person; the Kumogakure ninjas would soon discover the issue.

Once they realized the double was controlled by ninjutsu, they would inevitably realize that the real Konoha Anbu was still nearby.

By then, he would be facing an all-out manhunt by Kumogakure.

While fleeing, Amada couldn't help but lament:

My first Anbu mission and it already has problems. Does this count as a failure? But the problem isn't with me; the mission itself was flawed.

However, before he could think any further, a hawk suddenly appeared in the sky.

The hawk circled above Amada for a moment before quickly flying off in the direction of the Land of Lightning.

Amada's expression changed drastically, and he thought to himself:

Not good! That's a Ninja Hawk; my position has been exposed!

He immediately realized that his movements had been locked onto by the Kumogakure ninjas.

Without hesitation, he increased his speed and fled with all his might toward the Land of Fire.

At this moment, the pursuing Kumogakure ninjas, already aware of Amada's escape route, immediately gave chase in his direction.

After fleeing for a while, Amada realized this wouldn't work.

No, if this continues, I will definitely be caught.

While running, Amada quickly thought of a countermeasure.

He looked around, and suddenly, an idea struck him; he decided to change his escape route.

He immediately turned and sprinted toward the Land of Iron.

The Land of Iron was located between the Land of Lightning and the Land of Fire, a permanently neutral country primarily inhabited by samurai.

Amada actually held the concept of "permanent neutrality" in great disdain.

In his view, so-called "permanent neutrality" was nothing more than self-consolation for the weak.

If the benefits of picking a side far outweighed neutrality, they would choose a side without hesitation.

By the same token, if the benefits of attacking you far outweighed the drawbacks, who would care if you were neutral? They would attack you regardless.

However, at this very moment, the Land of Iron was Amada's best destination.

Amada only hoped that there were no Kumogakure blockades on this road leading to the Land of Iron.