The First Mission

"It's only a matter of bringing those people back to the village. We just need to save enough chakra for the journey."

"Things are nowhere near as simple as you think. What you two need to do now is follow my lead. Have you forgotten what you promised me when we left the village?"

Shen Ye's expression was stern. At that moment, he was like an imposing king, leaving Minato and Shikaku no room to argue.

They both knew he was only looking out for them, so they readily agreed.

The three of them gradually slowed down. At the same time, Shen Ye entered Sage Mode and drew upon the natural energy in the surrounding air. It flowed not only into his own body but into Shikaku and Minato as well.

After several hours of travel, the three of them finally reached their destination.

With Shen Ye's help, Shikaku and Minato had also recovered most of their chakra. They would be able to handle things even if trouble suddenly broke out.

In the middle of a vast forest, a lone wooden cabin stood surrounded by tree trunks.

Shen Ye hid among the trees and watched for a while. He didn't detect any chakra around the cabin.

"Move out!"

At his command, Shikaku and Minato leaped down from the tree trunks and landed beside the cabin, while Shen Ye dropped straight onto its roof.

The three exchanged quick glances and moved almost simultaneously.

Minato pushed open a window and jumped into the room. Shikaku entered through the door, while Shen Ye used Strength of a Hundred to smash through the roof and drop inside.

The small cabin was empty. Shen Ye and the others scanned the room, searching for any sign of life.

"There's no one here. Judging by the dust on the table, no one's been inside for years."

"Could the report from the village's ninja have been false? Surely the Third wouldn't lie to us."

"No. We've all been fooled by the people here."

Shen Ye slowly crouched down. In the very center of the floor, he spotted a pebble that looked out of place. Stones like it couldn't be found anywhere in the forest.

Shikaku and Minato exchanged glances and shook their heads. Neither understood why Shen Ye was so certain.

At last, Shen Ye understood why he couldn't sense even the slightest flow of chakra, and why the dust lay so thickly, as if no one had been there for years.

The key was that little pebble. Shen Ye was certain it contained the power of a seal.

"Take this pebble back to the village and give it to the Third. That might solve the whole mystery."

"If there's no one here, does that mean we've failed our mission? This is our first mission, after all."

Shen Ye shook his head. In truth, the mission had only just begun.

After leaving the cabin, Shen Ye headed toward one part of the forest. Though Shikaku and Minato had no idea what was going on, they followed close behind.

Just as Shen Ye had expected, there were other buildings nearby. From a distance, they could see people coming and going.

"This is the place we're looking for. That other cabin was just a decoy."

"Looks like they won't be easy to deal with."

The men entering and leaving the building were hulking brutes; not one of them looked weak.

Even without the ability to train in ninjutsu or use chakra, they still seemed incredibly strong. Shen Ye and the others wouldn't be able to take them on.

"Shikaku, I'll leave the next part to you."

Shikaku nodded. They'd already developed a degree of rapport in the short time they'd been working together.

"Shadow Possession Technique!"

Shikaku leaped across several tree trunks and stopped nearby. He stretched his shadow out from beneath his feet and seized the two men on the outskirts.

Minato and Shen Ye exchanged a glance, then landed beside the building. They lightly touched down and rushed inside.

The burly men in the room hadn't even had time to react before Shen Ye unleashed his immense strength and subdued several of them.

Minato took a rope from his pocket and tied them all together.

The three of them surrounded the men.

"How many of you are there?"

"You've got everyone here. Who are you? What do you want?"

"We should be asking you that. You showed up in Konoha's territory out of nowhere. What are you after?"

At the mention of Konoha, the leader's eyes visibly shifted, but a moment later, they returned to normal.

"We don't know what this place is. We were being hunted, so we hid here."

"You can tell that to the people back in the village. We're just a few kids."

Shen Ye's lips curled slightly. By emphasizing that they were children, he hoped to lower the men's guard.

Besides, the men would surely look for a chance to escape. Shen Ye could see the ambition in their eyes, however well they tried to hide it.

But another problem soon arose. The five men didn't seem inclined to cooperate, so there was no way to get them back to the village.

"Minato, leave Flying Thunder God marks on them. We'll take turns teleporting, while Shikaku keeps watch."

Minato nodded, took a shuriken from his pocket, and attached it to the rope. Then he hurled another shuriken toward Konoha.

"Flying Thunder God Technique!"

The group vanished from the building. When they reappeared, they were several miles away in the woods, with the shuriken Minato had thrown embedded in a tree trunk.

Without stopping, Shen Ye and Minato used Flying Thunder God in turn, bringing them closer and closer to the village.

Suddenly, the leader let out a roar. A burst of enormous strength surged through his body, and he snapped the ropes. The five men scattered in different directions.

Minato and Shikaku tried to chase them, but Shen Ye stopped them.

"Let's go back to the village. There are five of them, and only three of us. We can't catch them all."

"But..."

"The village's ninja will deal with them. We're just students who haven't graduated yet. We're not even Genin, so no one will blame us."

Minato hesitated for a moment, then followed Shen Ye's lead. He knew Shen Ye wouldn't lie to him, let alone hurt him.

"By the way, did you bring the pebble back?"

"It's been in my pocket the whole time."

"Let's take it to the Third now. We'll have an answer before dawn. We can wait in his office."

Without the five hulking men, Shen Ye and the others made good time. They were back in the village in just a few minutes.

The village was pitch-black now, and not a soul could be seen on the streets.