Unknown Danger

The silent night was filled only with the croaking of frogs mixed with the chirping of unknown insects, making the atmosphere all the more tranquil.

Unable to sleep due to his anxieties regarding the impending unknown danger, Mizuki couldn't help but rise and step out of his tent.

He gazed into the pitch-black, gloomy forest, which resembled a massive, dark beast with its maw agape, waiting for prey to walk right into its trap.

Sigh, I hope I'm just overthinking things, or that the enemy isn't too strong. At least I'm not alone in this. Mizuki couldn't help but wish that all his worries were groundless and that they could pass this period in peace.

Suddenly, Mizuki's eyes narrowed.

"Who's there?"

"It's me, don't be nervous." Aoba Yamashiro emerged from the darkness.

"You can't sleep either?"

"You could say that. I saw you come out, so I followed to take a look."

"Is that so?" Mizuki looked skeptical. In his view, this was likely just another part of the surveillance.

"Ahem," Aoba Yamashiro gave an awkward laugh. "You don't need to overthink it. Actually, I've heard about your situation. How should I put it? Every ninja has their own convictions. After all, no one can guarantee what choices they would make in the same situation."

"Heh, you don't need to explain. I understand," Mizuki replied indifferently. "After all, no one wants to be the one who gets abandoned."

"Sigh, you're a sensible man, but since you chose to be a ninja, you must have been prepared for this." Hearing Mizuki speak so bluntly, Aoba Yamashiro decided to drop the subject.

"Then why can't you sleep? You've been a ninja for so many years; surely it's not just simple insomnia. Getting proper rest to conserve stamina is a fundamental requirement."

"I'm a bit worried." Hearing Aoba Yamashiro change the topic, Mizuki didn't want to talk about his own affairs either. "Kakashi and Ibiki are too optimistic. Honestly, I don't think our frontline combat strength is sufficient."

"I see. Actually, I've noticed it too. Zabuza Momochi is an S-rank missing-nin from the Hidden Mist Village; it's impossible for no one to be watching him. Since he appeared in the Land of Waves so brazenly, yet no assassination squad has come to collect his head, it's truly strange. Although Zabuza is powerful, the Hidden Mist Village isn't some incompetent little village."

"These are all just guesses; no one can say for sure what the actual situation is. But I plan to take some time to set up some alerts and traps. Waiting without any intelligence is just too passive."

"There's no helping it. With the Chunin Exams approaching, most of our manpower has been pulled away. If only we had a ninja from the Hyuga or Aburame clans."

"Then we'll just have to find a way ourselves."

"Hmm, you prepare around here for now. I'll go ahead and take a look. If everything is fine, get some rest early; I suspect this mission won't be over in a day or two."

With that, Aoba Yamashiro walked back into the dark forest.

For several days, the Konoha team found nothing suspicious. Their initial worries gradually eased, and as time passed, Hatake Kakashi slowly recovered, which finally allowed Mizuki to breathe a sigh of relief.

As long as Kakashi's combat strength is restored, things can't get much worse. Even if there's a powerful enemy, we won't be completely defenseless.

In the center of the forest, Mizuki, Hayate Gekko, and Aoba Yamashiro hid in the shadows of the trees, observing Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki practicing in the distance.

"Mizuki, you've had contact with that Nine-Tails kid. What kind of person is he?" Aoba Yamashiro asked in a low voice.

"How should I put it? I suppose he's a very passionate person."

"Passionate? You mean regarding ninjutsu?"

"In all sorts of ways." Mizuki shook his head. "Although he's a troublesome brat, you can't help but like him."

"His strength doesn't seem like much."

"Hmm, he still has decent talent. He's not at the Jonin level yet, but if he gets the jump on you, he can be quite troublesome. However, his strengths and weaknesses are far too obvious. His chakra reserves are frighteningly large, and his stamina is exceptional. Combined with his natural constitution and the super-recovery brought by the leaking Nine-Tails chakra, his potential is truly immense. In the future, he won't be any worse than Sasuke Uchiha." Mizuki couldn't help but play the part of a prophet.

"Oh?" This statement piqued Hayate Gekko's interest. "Is he that strong? Although there's no record of Sasuke Uchiha awakening the Sharingan yet, once a Kekkei Genkai is activated, the gap should be quite obvious, right?"

"You're talking about the general situation. The Sharingan is indeed powerful, but it's not omnipotent. Sasuke's foundation is much stronger than Naruto's, so the gap currently looks huge. But it's undeniable that Naruto is also a very excellent Genin. As long as he finds the opportunity to patch up his shortcomings, his strength will naturally improve rapidly."

"Is that so?" Aoba Yamashiro and Hayate Gekko were noncommittal.

"Sasuke Uchiha is heading back. Should we continue tracking?"

"No need. We'll continue to monitor Naruto Uzumaki here; the captain is in charge of that side."

"Alright."

The three of them monitored until late at night, until Naruto Uzumaki collapsed on the ground, exhausted.

"You were right, Mizuki. This guy will become strong." Aoba Yamashiro and Hayate Gekko sighed. "A ninja who works this hard, as long as he is taught carefully, his future will certainly not be bad."

"Hmm, let's take turns resting. I'll go first?"

"Fine, you rest first. We'll call you when it's time."

It wasn't until dawn that Aoba Yamashiro, on his second shift, woke Mizuki up so he could take over the surveillance.

Perfect timing. Let's see if Haku comes to gather herbs on time just like in my memories. I hope the butterfly effect isn't too significant.

Suddenly, Mizuki saw a beautiful, long-haired youth appear in the distance.

"He really came."

Mizuki quickly woke the other two, signaled for silence, and pointed toward the figure.

The two were dazed for a moment, but then realized someone had intruded and immediately went on guard.

Just as in his memories, Haku discovered Naruto and prepared to kill him, but eventually gave up. When Haku's hand was about to grab Naruto's throat, Hayate Gekko almost couldn't help but rush out, but Mizuki quickly pulled him back and shook his head to signal him not to act rashly.

Sure enough, the two kind-hearted youths talked about life and ideals, and eventually, both left satisfied.

In Haku's life, there was no record of exactly how many people he had killed, and it was likely very few. As for Naruto Uzumaki, excluding anime-original plots, the only one he truly killed in the original work seemed to be a White Zetsu. Being the reincarnation of Asura wasn't just talk; love and justice were deep in his soul. He had barely even killed any villains.

"Mizuki, how did you know that youth wouldn't make a move?" Hayate Gekko asked, puzzled.

"No killing intent." Mizuki didn't elaborate.

"I see," Hayate Gekko didn't press the matter, "Do you know who that person was?"

"How could I?" Mizuki quickly denied, "Should we investigate? It's very likely an unexpected enemy."

"Don't act rashly for now," Aoba Yamashiro decided, "I'll go notify Ibiki and Kakashi."

With that, he turned back to share the intelligence.

Before long, Sasuke and Naruto were also heading back. The two who had been left to monitor them simply followed along.

Upon arriving at the rendezvous point, both Kakashi and Ibiki's squads were already there.

"Since everyone is here, let's brief the situation," Ibiki said, "Regarding the boy with the malicious intent we just spotted, we tried to track him, but we lost his trail. In other words, we lost him."

After a pause, Ibiki added with a grave expression, "According to our investigation of the vicinity, while we didn't find traces of other ninjas, some intelligence suggests that a squad or even more hidden ninjas may be lurking nearby. Their numbers and objectives are unknown."

"That is truly bad news," Kakashi said helplessly.

"Under the current circumstances, we cannot request reinforcements; everything rests on us. Given our current combat strength, as long as we don't run into an overwhelming force of ninjas, we are more than capable of putting up a fight."

Seeing that no one had any objections, Ibiki continued, "Then Kakashi, Zabuza and his servant, who are out in the open, will be left to you and your students. We will do our best to block other interference, and if we have the capacity, we will come to support you."

"No problem," Kakashi nodded in agreement, "After all, this is our mission, and my students are qualified ninjas now. They won't be so easily defeated, and they will be a decent help."

"That's good," Ibiki turned to Aoba Yamashiro, Hayate Gekko, and Mizuki, "The three of you will act as overt support. Patrol a five-kilometer radius around the bridge and drive away any suspicious individuals. Izumo, Kotetsu, and I will serve as the hidden mobile reserve."

"Understood." Mizuki had no choice but to agree. Bait, huh. I just hope nothing too strong shows up.

For the next few days, Mizuki remained on edge. Fortunately, he had brought along some experimental finished and semi-finished aquatic creatures. Although they lacked combat power, they were barely sufficient for setting up a temporary perimeter in this environment.

"Honestly, I never thought we'd be doing a mission under such unfavorable conditions. None of us are proficient in Water Release." Mizuki couldn't help but complain.

"It can't be helped. Aside from the Second Hokage, only the Third is proficient in all types of ninjutsu. But to be fair, Water Release really isn't our specialty," Aoba Yamashiro chimed in, "We have decent advantages in Fire Release, genjutsu, swordsmanship, and even sealing jutsu, Lightning Release, and Wind Release."

"If only someone from the Hyuga clan were here. It's a pity so few of their ninjas participate in Konoha missions."

Hayate Gekko sighed as well, "I hope we return safely this time so I can marry Yugao."

Hearing this, Mizuki couldn't help but silently scoff. Can you really just go around planting death flags like that? People who say things like that usually don't end up well.

"The Chunin Exams are still waiting for you, don't think about slacking off," Mizuki said.

As he spoke, Mizuki suddenly startled, "Someone's coming. Watch out."

One of his patrolling jellyfish had died. Mizuki had specifically attached sealing jutsu and explosive tags to the jellyfish and scattered them in a wide circle; any chakra disturbance nearby would trigger the jellyfish to burn up.

As he spoke, a thick fog rolled in. "Damn it, they're switching to a direct assault after being discovered. Here they come."