What Lies Beyond the Sea

In the forest.

Several figures moved like phantoms, racing across branches and leaving the surrounding trees behind them.

Aburame Shibi's deep voice reached the ears of the three behind him.

"Recently, quite a few merchant caravans have been robbed in the southern part of the Land of Fire. Our mission is to eliminate those bandits. Don't underestimate them. According to the intelligence, there are quite a few Chunin among them."

"That is secondary. The important thing is that those bandits are extremely cunning. The intelligence has marked four locations, all of which could be their bases. We may have to split up when the time comes."

"Understood."

Hyuga Satoru spoke somewhat helplessly.

Judging by the nature of the mission, this was probably another ANBU-style assignment. Was the Hokage treating them as ANBU reserves?

Still, the mission really did suit them. Bandits were skilled at hiding, while both he and Aburame Shibi possessed excellent scouting abilities. The reward was also far more enticing than that of ordinary missions.

As long as they cleared out the bandits in that region, they would complete an A-rank mission, and the pay was extremely generous.

Now that was tempting.

Hyuga Satoru could not help smacking his lips.

After two days of travel, they arrived at the location mentioned in the intelligence.

Hyuga Satoru could clearly feel that the air had become much more humid. His gaze swept over the forest, and beyond that gray boundary, he could see a vast blue sea.

Though it was still far away, Hyuga Satoru felt as though he could faintly hear the sound of waves.

He had spent his entire previous life inland. This was the closest he had ever come to the sea, and it left him feeling faintly wistful.

Noticing Hyuga Satoru staring at the sea, Aburame Shibi looked out at it as well and said with feeling,

"Every year, countries beyond the sea send huge amounts of goods to the Land of Fire—ninja tools from the Land of Crafts, specialties from the Land of Sea. That is why merchant caravans are so frequent along this route."

"Once we eliminate those bandits, they will be able to transport their goods here with greater peace of mind. That is what you want too, isn't it?"

Aburame Shibi looked at Hyuga Satoru with a sly smile.

"The number one genius of the new generation, inheritor of the Will of Fire, Satoru, whose dream is world peace."

Hyuga Satoru smiled helplessly.

"Teacher Shibi, please stop teasing me."

Sure enough, Aburame Shibi had heard those rumors circulating in the village. He even remembered the dream Hyuga Satoru had casually mentioned when they first met.

"Satoru, don't be so modest. At the very least, you can't shake off the title of number one genius of the new generation." Uchiha Rin showed a trace of envy.

When she saw Hyuga Satoru defeat Kakashi so decisively, she had been utterly shocked. After all, she had fought Kakashi herself before and knew how troublesome he was.

"Rin, even you..."

For once, Anko did not join the conversation. She simply lowered her head in silence, seemingly lost in thought.

"Then let's begin the mission." Aburame Shibi took a breath. "There are four locations marked in the intelligence. Since the enemy's overall strength is not high, splitting up will be more efficient."

Aburame Shibi looked at Hyuga Satoru.

"Then Uchiha Rin and I will form one team. Satoru, you and Anko will form another. Any objections?"

"No problem."

Hyuga Satoru nodded. Based on the intelligence regarding those bandits' strength, he alone would have been more than enough.

Once the teams were assigned, the two groups split up and began moving separately.

Hyuga Satoru headed toward the location from the intelligence. Before long, he found the target cave. It was extremely well hidden beneath dense shrubbery, with only the entrance barely visible.

"Byakugan, activate!"

Through the Byakugan's vision, the situation inside the cave was laid bare before him.

The space inside was far larger than it appeared from outside. Quite a few ninjas could be seen moving about in an orderly fashion, each with clearly assigned duties.

"Anko, there are nine bandits in total. Three are Chunin, two are Genin, and the remaining four have chakra levels below Genin rank."

"I'll take the three Chunin and the Genin. You handle the rest. Is that okay?"

"Anko?"

When he received no reply, Hyuga Satoru turned back in confusion.

Anko had her head lowered, looking listless as though she were preoccupied with something.

"Anko?"

Hyuga Satoru nudged her shoulder.

"Oh!"

Anko immediately raised her head.

"Did you hear what I just said?"

"Oh, I understand." Her voice was still weak and lifeless, and she looked utterly drained.

"Forget it." Hyuga Satoru shook his head helplessly. "Rest here for now. I'll deal with all these bandits myself."

As he spoke, he took a scroll from his robes. White smoke dispersed, and a slender ninja blade appeared in his hand.

Ninja Blade: Fang!

Against clustered enemies like these, a long-bladed ninja sword was exceptionally effective.

"Wait here for me. I'll be back soon."

After giving her that instruction, Hyuga Satoru gripped the ninja blade and charged into the cave.

"Enemy attack!"

"What the hell? It's just a brat?"

"Are you tired of living? Let this old man teach you a proper—"

His words cut off abruptly. His pupils trembled in terror as a line of blood spread from his forehead to his chest, and his body collapsed backward weakly.

Nearby, Hyuga Satoru clicked his tongue impatiently.

"You sure talk a lot."

"Bastard! Get him together! He's just a brat! I refuse to believe so many of us can't take him down!"

"Kill him!"

In an instant, a barrage of shuriken and kunai swept toward Hyuga Satoru.

Then an unbelievable sight appeared. The shuriken curved around his body the instant they approached, as though gently brushed aside by an invisible giant hand.

"What's going on? Does this brat know some kind of sorcery?"

Hyuga Satoru suddenly rushed toward the nearest bandit. Fang carved through a tricky angle and slashed fiercely across the man's throat.

"Brat! Die!"

One of the bandits suddenly tore open a scroll. As the white smoke dispersed, a mass of metal ninja tools shot toward Hyuga Satoru, with explosive tags trailing behind them and hissing with smoke.

A fierce glint flashed through Hyuga Satoru's eyes. He assumed a strange stance, planted one foot as the center, and spun at high speed.

Heaven Rotation—Yin!

A rapidly spinning blue hemisphere enveloped his body. The incoming ninja tools froze briefly in midair the instant they touched it, then blasted outward at tremendous speed.

In the blink of an eye, violently flying metal ninja tools engulfed the entire cave.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The flashes of explosive tags detonating lit up one after another in the chaotic cave.

The bandit who had torn open the scroll never imagined that his furious attack would bury his entire group.

When the explosions finally subsided, devastation filled his field of vision. Not a single bandit remained alive.

Hyuga Satoru shrugged helplessly. "I was planning to leave you with intact corpses."

Heaven Rotation—Yin was a secret technique he had developed based on Heaven Rotation. While performing Heaven Rotation, he used Electromagnetic Force to create a repulsive magnetic field that instantly blasted away approaching objects.

The Heaven Rotation—Yang he developed alongside it drew in nearby objects, similar to Universal Pull.

After struggling through the Shinobi World for so long, he was no longer as fragile as he had been after killing someone for the first time, when the torment had kept him awake at night.

A ninja had always been a profession that walked alongside death.

After storing the items needed as proof of completing the mission in a scroll, Hyuga Satoru left the cave and returned to Anko's position. She was still as listless as before.

"What exactly is wrong with you, Anko?" he could not help asking.