Special Mission and Contact Lenses

Seven days flew by in a flash, and it was time to return to the miserable life 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 before seeing him, Satoru had no idea what it was.

The moment he arrived, he saw Uchiha Rin standing in the middle of the training ground, arms folded as she watched him coolly.

"You're late."

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

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

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

With only two minutes left before 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 unhappily. The instant she opened her mouth, Hyuga Satoru swiftly covered it...

Aburame Shibi was unusually a few minutes late. He swept his gaze over the three of them, pondered for a moment, and said,

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

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

Uchiha Rin frowned. "Why was Wu chosen alone? How long will the mission take?"

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

The Hokage? A sharp glint flashed in Uchiha Rin's eyes. If the Hokage had appointed them personally, could it be related to an Anbu mission?

Aburame Shibi drew a breath and said gravely, "Wu, you have one hour to prepare. Everyone else, dismissed."

In a forest within the Land of Fire, two figures wrapped in Black Robes leaped continuously across the treetops. Like ghosts, they rapidly left the surrounding woods behind them.

Aburame Shibi stepped onto a thick branch and shot upward.

"Wu, this mission is of great importance. Its specifics will depend on the situation. It is provisionally rated A-rank, but if anything unexpected happens, it could become S-rank at any time!"

"S-rank?"

Hyuga Satoru sucked in a breath and stared at him in surprise.

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

"The Black Market?" Hyuga Satoru frowned. "I've heard a little about it. It's supposedly a place that posts bounty missions, where ninja heads can be exchanged for rewards."

Of course he was familiar with the Black Market. In the future, the head of his classmate Asuma Sarutobi would be worth 35 million Ryo there!

"Yes." Aburame Shibi paused thoughtfully. "The Black Market is the dark side of the Ninja World. The five great nations, and even many smaller nations, have Black Markets. It is an underground world separate from the surface, used to handle transactions that cannot be conducted openly."

"Because of the Black Market's importance, Konoha has planted Anbu scouts in the underground Black Markets of the Land of Fire and several nearby nations. About a week ago, an Anbu operative stationed in the Black Market of the Land of Iron suddenly sent back intelligence. In the largest Black Market there, an abnormal transaction involving an enormous sum had taken place."

"The amount involved exceeded 100 million Ryo. Not only that, the Anbu operative discovered traces of Iwa Ninja near the Black Market."

"Iwa Ninja?" Hyuga Satoru's eyes flickered.

"So the Hokage wants us to investigate this?"

"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 large-scale abnormal transaction has appeared in the Black Market. The Hokage suspects it may be related to war."

Hyuga Satoru's expression turned grave. This was no good news for him. Once war came, the time he had to grow stronger would be drastically shortened.

With his current strength, he was probably still not capable of facing the threats of war.

But according to his memories, wasn't Sand Village the first to start the Third Shinobi World War? 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 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, in itself, a kind of hint.

But thinking about it carefully, this mission really did suit him.

First, the importance of the Byakugan in reconnaissance missions went without saying, and there were no Hyuga members in the Anbu. Compared with other Hyuga, he also possessed the Magnetic Release Kekkei Genkai and long-range sniping ninjutsu, making him more versatile!

As for Aburame Shibi, he was known as the All-Round Ninja, with virtually no weaknesses in his abilities. The two of them were the optimal pairing.

Having figured that out, Hyuga Satoru let out a long breath. It seemed Hiruzen Sarutobi thought highly of him. Because of the thing on his forehead, he had no choice but to endure the pressure from the Main Family. Using the Hokage's power to keep the Main Family in check was not a bad option...

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 thin, round lenses.

"Wu, your Byakugan is too conspicuous and would compromise the mission's secrecy. Put these on."

Hyuga Satoru took them and examined them curiously, his mouth immediately falling open.

"These are... contact lenses???"

No way, the Ninja World even had contact lenses?

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

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

He picked up a mirror and looked at himself. His pupils had become the most common brown color in the Ninja World, making him indistinguishable from anyone else.

The Ninja World's technology tree had gone completely off the rails. 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 the strong style of the Warring States period, and many armored samurai could be seen on the streets with long katanas at their waists.

"Although samurai cannot use ninjutsu, their Biological Magnetic Fields are actually far stronger than those of ordinary ninja."

Watching the samurai on the road, Hyuga Satoru clicked his tongue in amazement.

The strength of a Biological Magnetic Field was closely related to one's physical ability, yet not a single samurai on the street had a weaker Biological Magnetic Field than a Chunin. Some of the stronger ones were even comparable to Jonin or Chunin who specialized in Taijutsu.

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

Taijutsu ninja who specialized in swordsmanship?

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

Their armor was entirely metal, and their weapons were metal Ninja Swords. No matter how many samurai like these came, they would be no match for him.