Setting Out

After a week of taking it easy, Naruto knew it was time to get back to work. There was still plenty he needed to do, and he couldn't let himself get lost in this peaceful routine.

As soon as school let out that day, Naruto invited Hinata. "Lovely Hinata, are you free tonight? Come watch a movie with me."

"Eh? Naruto-kun, of course!" Hinata replied happily.

Naruto took Hinata by the hand and headed for the Hyuga Clan Compound. Ever since he'd started walking her home every night, Hyuga Hiashi had stopped sending someone to pick her up after school. So if the two of them wanted to go on a date, they had to let Hiashi know first.

At the gate, Naruto didn't go inside. He sat down on the stone steps to wait. As soon as he sat, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw a little girl in a black training outfit, standing not far behind him with her hands on her hips.

The girl looked about three or four years old and had the same Byakugan as Hinata. When she saw Naruto turn around, she put on a fierce expression and said, "Hey, are you that Uzumaki Naruto? You're going to steal my big sister away again, aren't you?"

Naruto realized then that this was Hinata's younger sister, Hanabi Hyuga, whom Hinata often talked about.

"Hey, little Hanabi, I'm not stealing your sister away. We're just going out together for a bit," Naruto said gently, now that he knew she was Hinata's sister.

Hanabi pouted and muttered, "Hmph, who cares about you? My sister spends less and less time with me because of you!"

Naruto chuckled and was just about to say something when Hinata came out.

"Huh? Hanabi, what are you doing here? Father is looking for you. Hurry back inside," Hinata said, patting Hanabi on the head.

At her sister's words, Hanabi lowered her hands, which had been on her hips, stuck her tongue out at Naruto, then ran back inside.

"Sorry, Naruto-kun. Hanabi can be so mischievous," Hinata said, looking at Naruto apologetically.

Naruto just grinned. "Hehe, it's fine. I think she's fun."

"She usually likes to cling to me, so..." Hinata began, but Naruto took her hand and started running. "Aw, it's okay! Come on, let's go watch the movie first."

Hinata bought the tickets at the cinema. She said she didn't want Naruto using Transformation Technique to turn into someone else and accompany her to the movie. Naruto didn't insist. He picked a popular new movie, bought two tickets and a bucket of popcorn, then grabbed a few other snacks. The two of them went into the theater. It was dark inside, so no one would recognize Naruto.

Hinata had bought seats near the back, where there were fewer people and they'd have less trouble. They were still young, so they just held hands and watched the movie attentively.

As the movie was ending, the two of them slipped out of the theater. Since it was still early, Naruto took Hinata to the night market. This time, they just ate some snacks and didn't buy anything else, since both of them were already wearing friendship bracelets.

At the gate of the Hyuga residence, Hinata noticed Naruto's lingering gaze and asked, "Naruto, is something wrong?"

"No, it's just that you're getting cuter and cuter, Hinata." He gave her a tight hug.

"I thought you seemed a little down all evening," Hinata said softly.

Naruto gently shook his head. "Really, I'm fine. It's getting late, so hurry inside and get some rest, Hinata. See you tomorrow."

"Mm. You should go home and get some rest too, Naruto-kun. See you tomorrow."

After saying goodbye, Naruto went home, quickly formed Hand Seals, and vanished with a poof. He appeared in the Hokage's office, sensed the location of the mission desk, and hurried over.

There were many missions posted on the board, though they were all D- and C-rank. Naruto hadn't come to take a mission. He might be away for a long time this time, and the places he was going were all far away. As the saying went, you couldn't get far without money. Naruto didn't have any good, quick way to earn money at the moment.

The mission board had several assignments to eliminate bandits and highwaymen. Each one listed their numbers, strength, and location.

That was why Naruto had come here. Right now, there was no faster way to make money than robbing bandits and highwaymen. He had Kurama create a map in the Sealing Space and mark the locations of these bandits. Then he could have Minato guide him and wipe out any groups along the way.

Minato was an outstanding ninja. Since becoming one, he had completed more than eight hundred missions, including thirty-nine S-rank and 323 A-rank missions. He was familiar with every part of the Shinobi World.

Jiraiya, his teacher, held the record for completing the most missions in the Shinobi World. He'd completed 1,839 missions in his lifetime, including 138 S-rank missions. He'd also completed 614 A-rank and 684 B-rank missions. By contrast, he'd only completed 345 C-rank and 58 D-rank missions, which were mostly about maintaining order in the village or working as an auxiliary officer. That was why Naruto's first stop after leaving the village was the Land of Hot Water, where he planned to look for Jiraiya.

After recording the information, Naruto returned home, left behind a Shadow Clone, and vanished. When he appeared again, he was in the valley. He didn't remove the barrier, simply walked inside, lay down on the stone bed, and began training.

As for why he didn't give Hinata a cultivation technique, Naruto had only made that decision after giving it a lot of thought. It wasn't because he didn't trust her. Hinata was staying in Konoha, and practicing the technique could easily expose her. So he'd have to wait for the right time to give it to her.

He left a Shadow Clone in the cave and gave it the Crystal Ball to use, telling it to keep an eye on the Uchiha Clan and Danzo. The Uchiha Clan's massacre was about a year away, but it wouldn't be long before Danzo gouged out the eye of Shisui Uchiha, one of the only two members of the clan who currently possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, and drove him to his death.

Naruto wasn't sure when it would happen, so this was all he could do. He had to save Shisui Uchiha. The power of his Mangekyō Sharingan, Kotoamatsukami, could be extremely useful if wielded well.

After leaving behind the clone, Naruto left the valley. With Minato guiding him, he headed for the nearest bandit hideout. Although he was on the road, he wasn't idle. He practiced breaking down spiritual energy, a method of cultivation he'd seen in a martial arts manual. He guided a wisp of spiritual energy from the vortex into his palm, then broke it down to improve his control over it.

This practice would let him use less spiritual energy when performing martial arts techniques while making them more powerful. It also added a little fun to the otherwise tedious journey.

The valley was about thirty li from the bandit hideout. Naruto was traveling at a normal pace, so it took him nearly two hours to get there.

At the foot of the nameless mountain, Naruto activated his sensory ability. "There are 138 people in all. Seventeen are tied up together; they must be captives. That means the other 121 are bandits, just like the mission board said. Huh, what's this? Now that's interesting."

The bandits were drinking and celebrating in the main hall, their shouts and curses blending into a din. The bandit chief sat in the seat of honor, looking down at his noisy men with disdain.

What Naruto found interesting was the chakra he sensed from the bandit chief. He clearly remembered the mission board saying there were no ninja at this hideout, only ordinary people.

"There are some traps along the path up the mountain, and two people are keeping watch near the summit. Everyone else is inside the stronghold." Naruto kept his sensory ability active, avoided all the traps, and soon reached a spot not far from the two guards.

They were supposed to be keeping watch, but both were sitting on the ground, each with a jug of wine in hand as they drank and bragged.

"Hey, tell me, why are we always the ones stuck on guard duty?" one of the bandits asked.

The other took a swig of wine and replied blearily, "Why do you care so much? The chief gave the orders, so just do what he says. As long as we have wine, it doesn't matter where we are."

"That's true, but they captured several women today!" The bandit thought for a moment, then continued.

"Heh, you really are something. You'll get your turn eventually. Say, am I drunk? I think I see a kid walking this way." The bandit rubbed his eyes.

Before the two bandits could even get to their feet, Naruto was already standing in front of them. He gathered spiritual energy in both hands and used them like blades, striking the two men in the throat. They collapsed limply onto the ground, their throats reduced to a mass of mangled flesh.

Aside from his hands trembling slightly, Naruto didn't feel any other discomfort after killing for the first time. After all, when he'd devoured that remnant soul, he'd seen memories far more bloody and cruel than this. Those images had been etched into his mind.

After taking care of the two bandits, Naruto reached the stronghold's main gate. Almost all the others were drinking in the main hall. Naruto created several Shadow Clones and had them surround the hall to keep anyone from escaping.

Naruto pushed open the hall's door and walked inside. The bandits, who'd been drinking, stopped and turned toward the sound. When they saw a child at the door, the bandit closest to Naruto stood up.

"Those two useless idiots on guard duty didn't even notice someone coming up the mountain?" He grinned viciously and walked toward Naruto.

"Kid, how did you get up here? Do you even know what kind of place this is?"

Naruto didn't bother answering. Spiritual energy burst from his foot as he used the first form of Mad Demon Leg, Mountain Breaker. He leaped up and kicked the bandit in the chest. With a bang, the man burst apart like a watermelon dropped from a great height. Red, white, and yellow matter flew everywhere.

The other bandits snapped out of their stupor and rushed at Naruto with their weapons.

Naruto didn't retreat. He formed a Rasengan the size of a human head in his hand and charged at them. He pressed it into the chest of the first bandit to reach him, then quickly backed away.

The Rasengan pushed the bandits backward as it began to swell. When it reached a meter across, it exploded. Most of the charging bandits died in the blast. Those at the front were reduced to bloody pulp, with not even chunks left behind. The ones farther back were at least left in pieces. A crater about three meters across had been gouged into the ground.

The bandits who hadn't rushed forward in time were terrified into sobriety. They knew they weren't a match for him, so they scattered and fled—some jumped out the windows, while others ran through the back door. Naruto didn't stop them, because his Shadow Clones were waiting outside. A series of screams rang out, and every bandit who tried to escape was dealt with by a clone.

Only then did the bandit chief rise from his seat.

"Kid, who sent you?" Seeing how easily Naruto had dealt with his underlings, he knew Naruto was a ninja too.

"I was about to ask you the same thing. Where did you come from? The mission didn't say there were any ninja at this stronghold," Naruto replied.

At the mention of the mission, a cold glint flashed in the bandit chief's eyes. He said nothing more and charged at Naruto with his blade in hand.

Naruto made no effort to dodge. He couldn't sense any chakra in the blade, which meant it wasn't made of Chakra Conductive Metal. It was just an ordinary ninja blade.

Seeing Naruto standing still, the chief swung his blade down hard at Naruto's head.

Naruto reached out with his right hand and caught the blade. Under the bandit chief's disbelieving gaze, he squeezed hard. Metal cracked, and the ninja blade snapped in two where Naruto had grabbed it. The section in his hand crumbled into shards of iron.

"Mm. An ordinary ninja blade without chakra infused in it can't get through my defense. The Supreme Demon Sutra's body-tempering effect really is impressive."