"Brainless" and "Unhappy"

The next morning, at the Konoha mission assembly point.

The air was thick with an unusual tension.

There was no pre-departure clamor, only hushed whispers and the faint clinking of metal ninja tools.

Yusuke arrived on time, his gaze sweeping quickly across the grounds.

About twenty ninja had already gathered, mostly Chunin and Special Jonin, creating a grim atmosphere.

Several gazes landed on him, filled with scrutiny, and one or two felt like the flicking tongue of a viper.

Yusuke glanced over nonchalantly; they were figures wearing animal masks, lurking in the shadows of the corners.

Root members? It seems this journey won't be peaceful. Yusuke kept his expression calm, suppressing the feeling of being watched.

An Anbu member appeared silently, handed over a scroll, and spoke in a voice muffled by a mask.

"Chunin Yusuke, Squad Seventeen, you are appointed as captain."

"This is your squad's mission scroll. Your team members will arrive momentarily."

"Understood." Yusuke took the scroll; it felt cold to the touch.

After delivering the message, the Anbu vanished using the Body Flicker Technique.

Soon, two people walked toward him.

Leading the way was a youth with spiky hair and distinct red fangs painted on his cheeks, followed closely by a grey-furred ninja dog.

He wore an irrepressible look of excitement and waved carelessly. "Hey, you must be the captain, Yusuke, right?"

"I'm Inuzuka Go, Chunin, and this is my partner, Haimaru. Pleased to meet you!"

His voice was loud and clear as he reached out a hand.

"Yusuke, Chunin. Pleased to meet you too." Yusuke nodded, his reply concise.

His gaze shifted to the girl walking behind him.

She had delicate features and black hair cut in a princess style, her pure white eyes devoid of any warmth.

She gave a faint glance. "Hyuga Aya, Chunin."

Her voice was cold. After speaking, she crossed her arms and stared at the morning mist swirling in the distance, radiating a sense of detachment.

"A genius from the Hyuga Branch Family; a bit of arrogance is to be expected."

Inuzuka Go leaned toward Yusuke, lowered his voice, and draped an arm over Yusuke's shoulder as if they were old friends.

"But Captain, is your strength really just Chunin level?"

"This vanguard reconnaissance mission doesn't sound like a job an ordinary Chunin could take."

The guy had no sense of social boundaries regarding prying into others' business, his tone filled more with curiosity than skepticism.

Yusuke began to get a headache from this chatterbox. "A mission is a mission. Do your part and stay alive."

"Understood, I guarantee I won't hold us back!" Inuzuka Go said cheerfully, and Haimaru let out a "woof" in agreement.

Hyuga Aya remained unresponsive, as if everything around her had nothing to do with her.

Yusuke understood the situation: the straightforward, hot-blooded nature of the Inuzuka Clan, the cold, closed-off nature of the Hyuga Branch Family, and himself, a seemingly ordinary "commoner" Chunin captain.

Danzo didn't expect harmony when he threw this group together; perhaps chaos and friction were exactly what he wanted to see.

"Check your gear. We assemble at the gate in half an hour," Yusuke ordered.

"Oh, the front gate or the back gate?"

"This information is critical. Legend has it that the Uchiha Clan Head left the village alone because he wasn't told which gate to use."

Inuzuka Go waved his arm, asking with genuine confusion.

Yusuke's mouth twitched. This guy seems to be missing a few screws. So, wild rumors aren't necessarily true, but they are certainly wild.

"The front gate." Yusuke turned and headed toward the main entrance.

"Hey, no sense of humor," Inuzuka Go muttered, pouting.

Yusuke felt those pure white eyes behind him lingering on him for a moment, filled with scrutiny.

Interesting. Could one of these two be a mole planted by Danzo? Yusuke pondered.

After three days of rapid marching, they had crossed the border outpost of the Land of Fire.

Inuzuka Go and Haimaru could no longer contain themselves, charging ahead like wild horses, utilizing their keen sense of smell and hearing to scout, appearing very active.

Hyuga Aya consciously stayed at the rear of the team, her Byakugan already activated, scanning the surroundings in a 359-degree field of vision.

Yusuke remained in the center of the formation, his sensory ninjutsu running at full capacity while coordinating the distance between the front and back.

Less than five miles in, Yusuke suddenly raised his right fist, and the team stopped instantly.

"What's wrong?" Inuzuka Go started to ask, but was silenced by a look from Yusuke.

Yusuke crouched down, his fingertips lightly brushing over a few fallen leaves on the ground that appeared perfectly natural.

The tracks had been scrubbed, but Yusuke still detected something unnatural. He looked up toward Hyuga Aya behind him.

Hyuga Aya's Byakugan shifted toward the direction Yusuke indicated, the veins around her pupils bulging slightly.

"Two o'clock, three hundred meters out, behind the bushes."

"Two chakra signatures, high-level concealment techniques," she reported coldly, sounding like a machine.

"Enemy scouts? Should we grab them and interrogate them?" Inuzuka Go asked in a low voice, his face eager for a fight.

"Our mission is to scout the enemy's main force; avoid unnecessary complications."

Yusuke issued the order: "Change course, bypass them."

A look of clear disappointment flashed across Inuzuka Go's face. He clicked his tongue but didn't argue, signaling Haimaru to follow.

Hyuga Aya silently adjusted her direction to keep up with the team, though as she passed Yusuke, those pure white eyes lingered on his profile for a fleeting moment.

By dusk, the setting sun stained the forest in the color of blood. The squad found a suitable campsite in a sheltered mountain hollow.

Inuzuka Go skillfully cleared a patch of ground, while Hyuga Aya leaped onto a tall tree to stand guard from a high vantage point.

Yusuke, meanwhile, set up several explosive tag traps in the surrounding area.

Once finished, he leaned back against the gnarled roots of an ancient tree and closed his eyes to rest, though in reality, his perception spread outward like a spiderweb.

Ever since he had left the Land of Fire, he had sensed three chakra signatures trailing them from a distance.

Are they from "Root"?

His fingers brushed over the Flying Thunder God kunai in his ninja pouch as he pondered his next move.

"Captain, here, have some food to regain your strength." Inuzuka Go handed over a piece of dried meat, taking one for himself and chewing on it heartily.

"Thanks, I'll pass." Yusuke pulled out his own military ration pill and gave it a shake.

In a situation where friend and foe were unclear, he would never feel safe eating something provided by someone else.

"Captain, what do you think the Land of Whirlpools is like right now?"

Inuzuka Go didn't seem to mind, asking vaguely while chewing his meat. Haimaru lay at his feet, ears pricked up.

"A battlefield." Yusuke spat out the two words.

"I know it's a battlefield."

Inuzuka Go scooted forward, looking exceptionally energetic.

"I mean, I heard the sealing jutsu of the Uzumaki Clan is super powerful."

"Also, do those great nations really dare to just move in and wipe out the Land of Whirlpools?"

Yusuke felt a headache coming on; he completely understood how Sun Wukong felt in A Chinese Odyssey.

This chatterbox made it feel as if a swarm of flies were buzzing around him—buzz, buzz, buzz—and then flying right into his ears.

At this moment, the silent Hyuga Aya came to his rescue. Her cold, clear voice drifted down from the tree: "Ignorant excitement will only lead to a faster death."

Inuzuka Go was choked by the comment and looked up to glare at her: "Hey, you Hyuga, what's that supposed to mean!"

"Aya is right; you're getting a bit too heated."

Yusuke's voice wasn't loud, but it made Inuzuka Go quiet down.

The campfire crackled, illuminating Yusuke's stern face.

"Remember, we are here to scout, not to play the hero."

"Report enemy sightings immediately and follow my commands."

"You have to be alive to collect the credit."

Inuzuka Go gave a sullen "Oh," sat back down, and vigorously rubbed Haimaru's head.

Haimaru: It's really hard to earn kibble these days, and the poop is... well, the poop is fine.

The three stopped talking, and the forest fell completely silent, save for the chirping of insects and the occasional crackle of the campfire.

Inuzuka Go and Haimaru leaned against each other, their rhythmic breathing signaling they had fallen asleep.

Hyuga Aya stood at her high post, keeping watch over the surroundings.

Yusuke, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly sensed something. He opened his eyes: "It seems tonight will not be peaceful."