The Land of Rain bordered the Land of Birds and the Land of Rivers.
In reality, though, both the Land of Birds and the Land of Rivers were small countries, surrounded by the Land of Fire, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Wind.
If war broke out, all three small countries would be caught up in the fighting.
The Land of Rain, in particular, lay right in the middle and was often at the heart of the battlefield.
As a result, its people had suffered greatly from war, and the country was weak.
Amegakure, which depended on the Land of Rain, was even more disadvantaged. Even when taking on missions, it could only accept the most dangerous, highest-difficulty assassination missions.
As Iga Kawaji hurried along, he briefed his three teammates on their mission.
"The signs of war have already appeared. Though no one wants to see it happen, we have to make the necessary preparations."
"The Land of Rain lies at the crossroads of the three great nations of Wind, Earth, and Fire. If the Shinobi World goes to war, it will inevitably become a major battlefield. Better to prepare now than to stumble blindly into the enemy later."
"Our mission is to enter the Land of Rain, gather intelligence, and find out roughly where the shinobi from each country are stationed."
Intelligence-gathering missions were common in the Shinobi World.
But common didn't mean easy.
Especially when it came to intelligence between countries—almost every such mission was classified as Rank A or higher!
And the danger of a Rank A mission was self-evident!
Gong Yi furrowed his brow. He'd only just graduated, and he was already taking part in a Rank A mission. Was the situation really so tense now?
As Iga Kawaji spoke, he glanced back at the others, lingering especially on Gong Yi.
"Don't be afraid. Though intelligence missions are mostly Rank A, this one covers too wide an area for our team to handle alone. The village has sent out several teams. There are similar missions in the Land of Rivers and the Land of Birds. We even have comrades in the Land of Rain."
Gong Yi noticed Iga Kawaji's gaze and curled his lips.
He wasn't afraid. He simply had a habit of thinking through the deeper meaning behind everything.
Perhaps to reassure Gong Yi, Iga Kawaji added a few more words.
"Though this is a Rank A mission, there are so many teams involved that the risk will be spread out. In other words, the mission's difficulty should be around Rank C. Of course, if we run into a battle between shinobi, or even some important figures, the difficulty will rise accordingly."
"Heh, we probably won't be that unlucky."
Iga didn't seem too concerned as he said this.
He had great confidence in his own abilities. There weren't many weak Jonin who'd come from Anbu.
As long as they didn't have the terrible luck to run into a team led by two or three Jonin, he was confident he could get these three boys out safely.
After finishing the briefing, Iga didn't go into further detail. He'd deal with the specifics when they arrived, depending on the situation.
He waved a hand, Chakra flowing beneath his feet, and shot forward!
"Keep up! Don't fall behind!"
Gong Yi, Ogawara, and Hyuga Senso hurried after him.
The sun blazed overhead, while dappled shadows lay across the forest floor. Several figures raced forward, leaping from one tree trunk to the next.
They kept this up for more than three hours.
Iga Kawaji moved quickly but steadily, making sure to stay within his teammates' sight while forcing them to give everything they had to keep up.
Gong Yi maintained the Gravity Technique at eleven times normal gravity. It was a little difficult, after all, he still wasn't used to it.
When he noticed Iga Kawaji glancing back at him from time to time, a thought occurred to him.
This is the captain's test for the three of us, isn't it?
With that in mind, Gong Yi gave the Scholar System an order.
"Cancel the eleven-times Gravity Technique. Make it ten times!"
Dropping from eleven times to ten meant more than just one less degree of gravity. It also eased Gong Yi's discomfort.
In almost an instant, he returned to the familiar state of ten-times gravity he'd grown used to before his graduation exam.
With his explosive physical abilities, he followed easily behind Iga Kawaji.
Behind him came Hyuga Senso, then Ogawara.
"Huh? He still has energy to spare!"
Catching Gong Yi's movements from the corner of his eye, along with his steady, even breathing, Iga Kawaji was somewhat surprised.
Just as Gong Yi had guessed, Iga Kawaji had indeed meant for this forced march to be a test.
After all, he'd only just taken charge of the team, and he didn't know his teammates very well. The information in their files was only words on a page.
They were still in the Land of Fire, where it was relatively safe. Even if they used up some energy, they could rest for a while under his watch without any trouble.
Besides, a forced march could reveal a teammate's abilities.
Things like stamina, Chakra control, and speed.
He'd expected Gong Yi, as a freshly graduated Genin, to lack experience traveling at speed and fall behind.
But Gong Yi had stayed right on his heels, leaving the other two far behind.
When he'd first noticed this, Iga Kawaji had been puzzled. Then he remembered that Gong Yi had defeated a veteran Chunin in his graduation exam, and it made sense.
But as Gong Yi continued following him effortlessly, even after Iga sped up, Iga Kawaji was stunned.
"Lord Hokage told me to keep an eye on this boy. His talent really is extraordinary!"
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