Special Mission and Colored Contacts

Seven days flew by in the blink of an eye, and it was time for another miserable round of missions.

Hyuga Satoru got out of bed early and arrived at the agreed-upon training ground. Aburame Shibi had accepted the team's mission, and until he saw him, Satoru had no idea what it was.

As soon as he arrived, he saw Uchiha Rin standing in the middle of the training ground, her arms crossed as she watched him coolly.

"You're late."

Hyuga Satoru shrugged helplessly. "We agreed on seven. It's only a little past six."

"As a ninja, arriving two hours early is the best way to temper your will. Satoru, you have no ambition at all. Do you know—"

Hyuga Satoru immediately covered his ears, unwilling to listen to this overachiever's nagging any longer.

With only two minutes left until seven, Anko came running over, panting heavily as she wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"Everyone... sorry, I almost overslept."

"It's fine. I got here late too," Hyuga Satoru comforted her.

"Anko, you have no ambition at all. Arriving early is—"

Uchiha Rin frowned in displeasure. The moment she opened her mouth, Hyuga Satoru swiftly covered it...

Aburame Shibi was unusually several minutes late. He swept his gaze over the three before him, then spoke after a moment of thought.

"This mission is rather special. Only Hyuga Satoru and I will participate. The rest of you will train on your own for now. Once this mission is complete, we'll resume team missions."

"What? Only Satoru and Sensei are going? Didn't I get up this early for nothing?" Anko rolled her eyes, already missing her warm bed.

Uchiha Rin frowned. "Why was only Satoru chosen? How long will the mission take?"

"This was the Hokage's decision. As for the duration, that depends on the situation."

The Hokage? A sharp glint flashed through Uchiha Rin's eyes. If it was a direct appointment from the Hokage, could it be related to an ANBU mission?

Aburame Shibi took a breath and said gravely, "Satoru, you have one hour to prepare. Everyone else is dismissed."

In the forests of the Land of Fire, two figures wrapped in black robes leaped continuously among the treetops. Like phantoms, they left the surrounding forest far behind them.

Aburame Shibi stepped on a thick branch and shot upward.

"Satoru, this mission is extremely important. We'll adapt to the situation as it develops. Its provisional rank is A, but if anything unexpected happens, it could become S-rank at any time!"

"S-rank?"

Hyuga Satoru drew a sharp breath and looked at him in surprise.

"Yes." Aburame Shibi nodded solemnly. "You know about the Underground Black Market, right?"

"The Black Market?" Hyuga Satoru frowned. "I've heard some things. It's a place that specializes in posting bounty missions, where ninja heads are exchanged for rewards."

Of course, he was familiar with the Black Market. In the future, his fellow classmate Sarutobi Asuma's head would be worth thirty-five million ryo there!

"Yes." Aburame Shibi pondered for a moment. "The Black Market is the dark side of the Shinobi World. The five great nations, and even many smaller countries, have Black Markets. It's an underground world separate from the surface, used to handle transactions that cannot be conducted openly."

"Because of the Black Market's importance, Leaf Village has planted ANBU scouts in the Underground Black Markets of the Land of Fire and several nearby nations. About a week ago, an ANBU agent stationed in the Black Market of the Land of Iron suddenly sent intelligence. An enormous and unusual transaction was taking place in the largest Black Market in the Land of Iron."

"The amount involved exceeded one hundred million ryo. Not only that, the ANBU agent also found traces of Stone ninja near the Black Market."

"Stone ninja?" Hyuga Satoru's eyes flickered.

"So the Hokage means... for us to investigate this matter?"

"Yes. Hidden Stone Village has been unusually active lately, and the Land of Iron happens to border both the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth. A rare, high-value abnormal transaction has appeared in the Black Market. The Hokage suspects it may be connected to war."

Hyuga Satoru's expression turned grave. This was not good news for him. Once war came, the time he had to grow stronger would be severely compressed.

With his current strength, he was probably still not enough to face the threats of war.

But as he remembered it, hadn't the Third Shinobi World War been started by Sand Village? Why was Hidden Stone Village being so active?

Suddenly, he seemed to realize something and smiled helplessly.

No wonder the clan head gave me the training method for Heaven Rotation a few days ago. The Hokage must have asked him for someone. For the Hokage to request a branch-family Genin like me was itself a form of implication.

But on second thought, this mission really did suit him.

First of all, the importance of the Byakugan in reconnaissance missions went without saying. There were no Hyuga members in the ANBU, and compared to other Hyuga, he also possessed the Magnet Release Bloodline and long-range sniping ninjutsu. He was more versatile!

As for Aburame Shibi, he was known as an all-purpose ninja, with almost no weaknesses in his abilities. The two of them were the optimal combination.

Having figured that out, Hyuga Satoru let out a long breath. Sarutobi Hiruzen clearly valued him greatly. Because of the thing on his forehead, he had no choice but to endure the pressure from the main house. Using the Hokage's power to balance the main house was not a bad choice...

After several days of travel, the two finally arrived in the Land of Iron.

Before entering the densely populated city, Aburame Shibi handed Hyuga Satoru a pair of round, thin lenses.

"Satoru, your Byakugan is too conspicuous. It's bad for the mission's secrecy. Put these on."

Hyuga Satoru took them and examined them curiously, then his mouth fell open.

"These are... colored contacts???"

No way, the Shinobi World even has colored contacts?

Aburame Shibi scratched his head awkwardly. "They're tools used by the ANBU to conceal eye color. Don't worry. They may be ugly, but they're quite comfortable to wear."

After Hyuga Satoru put them on, he blinked. Nothing in his vision changed, and once he adjusted to them, his eyes barely felt any foreign-body sensation.

He picked up a mirror and looked at himself. His pupils had turned the most common brown in the Shinobi World, making him look no different from anyone else.

Just how crooked had the Shinobi World's tech tree become? Hyuga Satoru could not help but sigh.

Once they were ready, the two entered the capital of the Land of Iron.

The Land of Iron was a typical samurai nation. Its architecture retained a strong Warring States-era style, and many armored samurai could be seen on the streets, long swords hanging at their waists.

"Samurai may not know ninjutsu, but their Biological Magnetic Fields are far stronger than those of ordinary ninja."

Watching the samurai on the streets, Hyuga Satoru could not help clicking his tongue.

The strength of a Biological Magnetic Field was closely related to physical ability, yet not one samurai on the streets had a weaker Biological Magnetic Field than a Chunin. Some powerful ones even rivaled Jonin or Chunin who specialized in taijutsu.

No wonder samurai had been able to establish a nation despite being surrounded by ninja. That physical strength alone surpassed that of many ninja.

Taijutsu ninja who specialize in swordsmanship?

But they seemed to be perfectly countered by him. Hyuga Satoru shrugged.

Their armor was covered in metal, and their weapons were metal ninja blades too. No matter how many samurai like that came, they would be nothing to him!