Late at night, after washing up, Naraku strode into his room. After sparring with Shisui during the day, he had gained a basic understanding of his strength.
By his initial estimate, Shisui was already at the elite jonin level. He excelled at both ninjutsu and taijutsu, especially the Body Flicker Technique. He was so fast that even with the Mind's Eye of the Kagura activated, Naraku had struggled to keep up.
The Mind's Eye of the Kagura could sense Shisui's position, but Naraku's body couldn't match his speed.
"I'm still too young," Naraku murmured.
The next day,
As usual, after waking up, Naraku went to visit Kushina first.
Looking at the red-haired woman lying in the hospital bed, Naraku could clearly sense with his powerful perception that Kushina's condition was improving day by day. Just as Tsunade had said, she might wake up before long.
At the thought, a smile appeared on Naraku's lips. Then he left the hospital.
Just as he was getting ready to head to Anbu headquarters, a handsome figure appeared in front of him.
A cat mask and a familiar spiky hairstyle—the newcomer was Shisui Uchiha.
"Is this about a mission?" Naraku asked tentatively.
Shisui gave a slight nod. "We have an escort mission to carry out together. Take half an hour to prepare. I'll wait for you at the village entrance."
As he spoke, Shisui handed him a scroll, then left.
Naraku took the scroll back to the hospital. After carefully reading its contents, he disposed of it immediately.
This was his first mission, but he knew some of the rules. Whether for his own safety or the village's interests, mission details could never be disclosed.
"Just an escort mission?"
After reading the scroll, Naraku furrowed his brow.
The mission was to escort a merchant named Nakada Shun and his caravan from Stone City in the Land of Fire to a small town in the Land of Wind. Because of the long distance, it would take at least half a month to complete.
There was nothing unusual about the mission itself. It was much like any other escort job. What puzzled Naraku was that this mission had been classified as A-rank.
Most escort missions were C-rank. They were classified as B-rank only if ninja were involved. As for A-rank missions, those were almost guaranteed to involve ninja, and quite possibly jonin.
"It looks like this mission won't be simple," Naraku thought.
After a brief analysis, Naraku wasn't too worried. After all, he wasn't going alone; Shisui was the real star of this mission.
Besides, even if they did run into danger, he had ways to protect himself. As long as they didn't encounter someone at Kage Level, Naraku felt he had little to worry about. Even if they were unlucky enough to run into a difficult opponent, he was confident he could get away unscathed.
Naraku then went to Kushina's room and carefully checked the barriers around it. With Kushina's safety at stake, he didn't dare be careless.
Naraku felt that having the barriers on guard wasn't enough. He pressed one hand to the ground. "Summoning Technique!"
With a bang, a cloud of white smoke appeared. When it cleared, a small, bright red toad was there.
"Ha, it's you, Naraku. What do you need?" Gamayan opened his bleary eyes, looking as if he'd just woken up.
"Yeah, you're still the same as ever," Naraku said with a helpless smile.
As Jiraiya's student, he had naturally signed a Summoning Contract with Mount Myoboku. Gamayan was the first toad he had summoned.
Gamayan might not look very big, but Naraku knew he was no pushover. According to Gamayan, Gamabunta was apparently his cousin or something.
The toad also had one particularly obvious trait: laziness. Gamayan's greatest passion was sleeping.
"Ha, if... there's... nothing..."
Just as Gamayan started to say something, Naraku quickly cut him off.
"I have to leave the village for a few days. Please keep an eye on my sister while I'm gone."
Naraku was afraid Gamayan would leave before he could even get the words out.
Gamayan was reluctant, but in the end, he agreed after Naraku promised to try not to disturb his sleep in the future.
Naraku breathed a sigh of relief. It would have been a bit of a problem if Gamayan had refused. There were other toads on Mount Myoboku, but some, like Gamabunta, were too big to be convenient, while others were too weak.
Gamayan was just right. Naraku then called Shizune over, gave her a few instructions, and left.
After he was gone, Gamayan curled up by Kushina's bed and closed his eyes. Before long, snores filled the room.
At the village entrance, Naraku met up with Shisui, and the two of them left Konoha together.
Stone City was a small town in the Land of Fire, not far from Konoha Village. Since neither of them was slow, they reached their destination before nightfall.
At Shisui's suggestion, the two used a simple Transformation Technique to disguise themselves as middle-aged men, then found an inn in town.
Although other ninja could easily see through the Transformation Technique, it could still help them stay inconspicuous among ordinary townsfolk.
Nothing happened that night.
After waking, the two set out to find Nakada, the person who had commissioned the mission. Following the location listed in the scroll, they soon found him.
Inside a small tavern, a middle-aged man dressed in black and about six feet tall sat drinking alone.
This was Nakada Shun, the person who had commissioned the mission.
He sat there by himself, sipping his drink. After downing a cup of sake, he looked thoroughly relaxed.
Once they had confirmed the target, Naraku stayed where he was while Shisui went over to make contact.
Naraku, meanwhile, hid outside the tavern. They had chosen this arrangement to guard against anything unexpected, though the chances were slim.
Inside the tavern, Shisui, disguised as an ordinary person, was now standing in front of Nakada Shun.
Nakada Shun didn't seem surprised by Shisui's arrival. But when he looked at Shisui's youthful face, a hint of concern flickered in his eyes.
"A ninja from Konoha?"
"That's right. You're Nakada Shun, the client for this mission, aren't you?"
"I am." Nakada Shun nodded, then continued, "As expected of Konoha. You can even send such a young ninja to carry out an A-rank mission."
Shisui showed no reaction to the probing tone. He had already completed many A-rank missions and was used to this sort of thing.