Border Chaos

"Sensei has grown old," Tsunade sighed softly. She found it hard to imagine that, even in peacetime, ten-year-old children would be made to join the ANBU—especially the infamous Root. She had no idea what that old man Sarutobi was thinking, nor could she be bothered to think about it. After all, she did not want to return to that place of sorrow.

Suddenly remembering the kunai, she asked Shizune, "Check whether there's anything unusual about it..."

"There is. There's a letter in the kunai's handle." Shizune opened the letter hidden inside and read in a low voice, "Lady Tsunade, meeting you here was unexpected. I am Chiba Lin Chuan. If you happen to meet my teacher, please tell him that I am in Lord Danzo's ANBU. My teacher is Maruboshi Kosuke..."

"It sounds like a plea for help. That child wants to leave Root." Tsunade sighed quietly, thinking that he had indeed been forced into it.

"Who is Maruboshi Kosuke, Lady Tsunade?" Shizune was somewhat bewildered. Could Maruboshi Kosuke save someone? Why had she never heard of such an important figure capable of opposing Danzo?

"He was from the old man's generation, the same generation as Danzo. He once served under the Second Hokage." Tsunade had met that eternal Genin when she had been Hiruzen Sarutobi's student.

"He actually served under the Second Hokage? That's amazing!" Hearing Maruboshi Kosuke's credentials, Shizune could not help crying out in surprise. She had not expected that even the disciple of someone like that could not escape Danzo's clutches. Worried, she asked, "Lady Tsunade, should we deliver the letter?"

"Let fate decide. We'll talk if we run into him." Tsunade quietly gazed at the lake. She did not want to return to that place of heartbreak just to deliver a letter. Whether they could meet Maruboshi Kosuke would depend on luck alone.

After leaving Tanzaku Town, Lin Chuan and Terai traveled for a day and finally returned to Root beneath Konoha on the morning of the third day.

Lin Chuan and Terai submitted the mission item together—the rogue ninja's head. Unfortunately, they received no mission reward whatsoever. Danzo's private soldiers were nothing but unpaid beasts of burden.

Whether they should report their encounter with Tsunade to Root was something the two discussed along the way. In the end, they decided to include it in the mission report. Even if Lin Chuan said nothing, Terai would report it, so he might as well write it down himself.

Tsunade being in Tanzaku Town was not a secret anyway. Konoha had probably already sent people to ask her to return, but because of her hemophobia and because all her loved ones had died in the war, she did not want to return to Konoha and take part in any affairs.

Returning to his dormitory, Lin Chuan showered, lay on his bed, and opened his personal panel. He found that he still had not gained any Life Points. It seemed the rogue ninja had never appeared in the anime. Getting Life Points in Root really was not easy.

They were the first team to complete their mission and return to Root. After submitting their mission early, they rested for a few hours before heading to the training grounds to grind themselves to exhaustion while waiting for the others to finish their missions. Who knew what torment awaited them next?

He also wondered whether that letter could be delivered. He had already been in Root for half a year. Was Maruboshi Kosuke still out doing missions? He hoped that when Maruboshi Kosuke took a break, he would discover that Lin Chuan was in Root!

A week later, the sixteen people who had gone out on missions returned to Root one after another. Everyone had suffered injuries to varying degrees, but no one had been eliminated. It seemed this mission had not been especially difficult. Next came another six months of special training, though thankfully there would be no death matches this time.

Half a year later, they went out on another mission. This time, there were no random mission scrolls. It was a unified Root mission, and Ryūma Aburame stood at the front explaining it.

"The Jashin Cult is causing trouble in the Land of Hot Water, plunging it into chaos. At the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Water, refugees from the Land of Hot Water frequently cross into the northern border region of the Land of Fire."

"Among the large number of refugees entering the Land of Fire are ninja and samurai from other countries, taking the opportunity to disguise themselves as refugees and infiltrate the Land of Fire. The border ninja of the Land of Fire are short-handed and cannot attend to so many refugees, so they have requested aid from Konoha."

"Your mission this time is to eliminate bandits. Over the course of six months, you will purge ninja, samurai, and even Jashin Cult members from other countries who have infiltrated the Land of Fire, preventing these lawbreakers from undermining the Land of Fire's stability and killing its residents..."

"Once the mission is over and you return here, you will receive one chance to select a ninjutsu. This time, Leopard will serve as the captain of the reinforcing ANBU and lead you to the border to eliminate bandits. You can replenish mission supplies at the border outposts. Go collect your supplies from logistics, then depart..."

"Yes, Chief Instructor!" Everyone answered in unison. They lined up and headed to the logistics department for supplies, then followed Leopard through the underground passage out of Konoha and toward the northern border of the Land of Fire.

"One year already." Lin Chuan looked back at the towering walls of Konoha behind him. He had been in Root for a year now and had turned eight. He did not know whether Tsunade had delivered his letter to Maruboshi Kosuke, nor whether Maruboshi Kosuke had discovered that he had joined Root.

In truth, Maruboshi Kosuke was performing a border defense mission at this time. Each mission lasted half a year, but unfortunately, he was not stationed on the same defensive line as Lin Chuan. For Maruboshi Kosuke to learn that Lin Chuan had joined Root, it would depend on when he returned to the village, when he met Lin Chuan's father, and when he happened to think of Lin Chuan.

Drawing back his gaze, Lin Chuan followed the main force toward the northern border. The closer they came to it, the more abandoned villages and refugees they saw. These were not only refugees from the Land of Hot Water; there were refugees from the Land of Fire as well.

The refugees from the Land of Hot Water and the bandits had devastated the lives of residents in the northern Land of Fire, destroying their villages and burning their rice fields. They had been forced to migrate south or west, or seek refuge with relatives.

When they arrived in the north of the Land of Fire, they finally understood what chaos truly meant. They spotted a blaze in the distance, and upon approaching, discovered that it was a burning village. A group of wandering samurai carrying swords were slaughtering, looting, and setting fires.

Their mission began then and there. The group crouched in the woods, eight teams lined up in formation as Leopard arranged the battle plan.

"A group of wandering samurai has entered the village ahead and is slaughtering and looting its residents. Leave none of the samurai carrying swords alive. Do you understand?"

"Understood, Captain," the sixteen ANBU answered in lowered voices, quietly awaiting their captain's next order.

"Follow the previous mission team assignments. Cover one another as you enter the village, then find your own targets and act." Leopard waved a hand, and the sixteen vanished in Body Flickers. Only then did he leap onto a tree and silently watch the slaughter unfold.

"Leave none carrying swords alive." Terai's eyes gleamed as he looked toward the village engulfed in flames. This time, he could finally have some real fun.

"Ugh, more nameless samurai who are less than background extras." Lin Chuan, on the other hand, could not muster any interest. No matter how many of these samurai he killed, it was meaningless. He would not get any Life Points from them. If they had been samurai from the Land of Iron, he might at least get lucky and cut down someone worth Life Points.

As they approached the village, they gradually became more cautious. The sixteen split into eight teams and quietly infiltrated the village. Some hid in the shadows at the corners of houses, some concealed themselves in thatched roofs, some lurked inside wells, and some waited in trees. There were simply too many places in the village where people could hide...