B-Rank Mission Is Definitely Not Simple (Third Update)

In the dense forest, three figures leaped and sprinted at varying heights.

Gong Yi maintained his Gravity Technique at twelve times the normal state, keeping his speed within a range that allowed the other two to keep up.

Ogawara and Hyuga Senso watched his back, their expressions complex.

This companion, who had only just joined the team and completed a single mission with them, had suddenly become their captain in the blink of an eye.

The ways of the world are truly fickle!

"Stop!"

Gong Yi suddenly steadied his form, his gaze fixed on the four people walking beneath a large tree.

His eyes lingered particularly on the ninja leading the group.

With golden hair and a gentle, sunny smile hanging on his lips as he chatted with his companions.

"It's Minato Namikaze!"

Ogawara's exclamation came from behind.

Just as Ogawara cried out, the four people below looked up.

Gong Yi nodded at Minato Namikaze and his group, waved his hand, and set off again.

There was no conversation between the two sides, only a nod of acknowledgment.

Minato Namikaze watched the departing figures of Gong Yi and his team with curiosity, blinking his eyes.

"When did such a strong ninja appear in the village?"

"Teacher, I know him."

"Oh?"

"His name is Gong Yi. He was in my class before. But logically speaking, shouldn't he still be in the academy?"

A silver-haired boy looked at Gong Yi's retreating back with some confusion.

"Heh," Minato Namikaze smiled slightly. "His strength is quite impressive; perhaps he graduated early just like you!"

The silver-haired boy nodded gently. Gong Yi's strength was not much inferior to his own, so graduating early made sense.

However, the high praise his teacher had for Gong Yi left the silver-haired boy feeling somewhat puzzled.

I graduated at five, became a Chunin at six, and now my strength is nearing that of a Jonin. I wonder how Gong Yi compares to me?

"The person next to Minato Namikaze just now, that was Kakashi, right?"

Ogawara suddenly asked.

Hyuga Senso nodded silently; they could never forget that silver hair.

Gong Yi continued running without saying a word.

He had known about the history between Kakashi and his teammates since the very first day he joined this squad.

But it had little to do with him.

Instead, he was curious about the two teammates beside Minato Namikaze.

Obito Uchiha and Rin Nohara are still in the academy. They will join Minato Namikaze's squad later, which means these two must either die later, or there would be no way for Obito and Rin to be added.

At this thought, Gong Yi's heart tightened.

If even Minato Namikaze couldn't protect his own teammates, could he safely bring Hyuga Senso and Ogawara back to Konoha through all kinds of missions?

Gong Yi looked back at his two teammates, and his heart suddenly felt heavy.

Being a captain is not an easy task!

On a wide road, yellow sand swirled as a caravan traveled from the Land of Fire toward the Land of Wind.

Within this caravan was a Konoha ninja squad led by a Chunin named Miura Mingyuan, along with three Genin.

They were executing a C-rank escort mission: protecting the caravan as it entered the Land of Wind to prevent it from being robbed by bandits.

"Captain Miura, is this the Land of Wind? With such heavy sandstorms, how do the people here live?"

Miura Mingyuan smiled and explained to his team: "The environment in the Land of Wind is harsh, so the standard of living naturally cannot compare to our Land of Fire. Precisely because of this, there are many bandits in the deserts and mountains. The caravan fears danger and requires our protection."

The team member was dismissive. "Do mere bandits really require our squad to be on alert every day? Not to mention that you are a Chunin, Captain, even the three of us Genin are enough to deal with dozens of bandits."

Miura Mingyuan rubbed his round face; he thought the same.

However, such missions were simple and paid well, making them highly sought after by ninja squads from many villages.

It was only because their Konoha was powerful and maintained a high mission success rate that this caravan had entrusted the task to them.

Far behind the caravan, the Gong Squad followed stealthily.

The Gong Squad—a team named after Gong Yi—was the title designated for them by the village's mission center.

Gong Yi stood on a small dirt mound, beside him was Hyuga Senso, who had activated his Byakugan to keep watch ahead.

It was an interesting turn of events; the first mission the Third Hokage had assigned to the Gong Squad was such a peculiar one.

To secretly follow Miura Mingyuan's squad all the way into the Land of Wind.

The rank of this mission is B-level!

Gong Yi kept his hands behind his back, his right hand—hidden from view—flickering with faint traces of chakra.

Even while executing a mission, Gong Yi never neglected his training.

Gong Yi had his own judgment regarding this mission.

It was obvious that this mission was not as simple as it appeared!

The higher-ups in Konoha must have verified the intelligence he brought back: Sunagakure Ninja and Iwagakure Ninja were colluding to target Konoha, ambushing ninja squads and sabotaging their missions!

The Gong Squad's secret tailing was less of a surveillance operation and more of a protection detail.

For a weak team like the Miura Squad, it would be easy for an enemy to dispatch a single Jonin or a squad of Chunin to lie in ambush, catching them off guard and slaughtering them with ease.

If they were to kill the Konoha ninja and then plunder the merchant caravan's goods while letting a few civilians escape, the rumors spread by those survivors would easily deal a massive blow to the reputation of Konoha.

Once or twice might be manageable, but if such incidents occurred on a large scale and with high frequency, the very foundation of Konoha would be in jeopardy!

"Captain, within a one-kilometer radius, aside from the merchant caravan ahead, there are no chakra fluctuations or any other people!"

Hyuga Senso deactivated his Byakugan and reported to Gong Yi, looking slightly fatigued.

Ogawara puffed out his cheeks; how could Senso change his way of addressing him so quickly!

He called him "Captain" directly, even though Gong Yi was younger than them.

Gong Yi nodded; it was for the best if no enemies appeared.

Compared to fighting life-and-death battles, he preferred safely escorting the Miura Squad into the Land of Wind from the shadows.

Ogawara muttered to the side, "This mission is pretty easy, isn't it? I thought a B-level mission would be much harder."

Gong Yi chuckled, "Isn't it better to complete a B-level mission easily, collect the reward, and go back to the village for barbecue?"

Ogawara's eyes lit up, "Gong Yi, are you treating?"

Hyuga Senso tugged at his sleeve, "Call him Captain!"

Ogawara felt a bit awkward. He didn't have the keen judgment of Hyuga Senso, nor had he ever seen Gong Yi display his true strength.

Asking him to call a ninja younger than himself "Captain" was something he really couldn't bring himself to do.

Gong Yi didn't mind; he wasn't the type to care about such details.

Suddenly, Gong Yi frowned.

"A B-level mission, could it really be this simple?"

"Gong Yi, what did you say?" Ogawara hadn't heard Gong Yi clearly.

Gong Yi ignored him and looked out at the desert filled with yellow sand, his expression grave.

Just as he assumed a defensive stance, a violent surge of chakra suddenly erupted from the direction of the merchant caravan.

"Senso, Byakugan!"

Hyuga Senso hurriedly activated his eyes, "Captain, they're underground! Eight people in total: two Jonin and six Genin!"

Gong Yi's face darkened instantly. He stomped his feet and dashed madly toward the merchant caravan.

"Eight Inner Gates, Open!"