A Terrible Era

Uchiha Yi saw nothing wrong with Kushina Uzumaki acting this way. After all, she was only seven years old.

Did anyone expect Kushina Uzumaki to be as stiff as Hyuga Rinka? How boring would that be?

Children ought to act like children. Kushina Uzumaki wasn't a spoiled brat, either. On the contrary, she was remarkably considerate. She was simply more candid with family and the people who mattered to her, saying whatever was on her mind.

In truth, Uchiha Yi was unhappy with their surroundings too. When he'd first arrived, he'd even been unhappy with life in the village.

This world had no convenient online shopping or food delivery, no phones or computers, no mobile or computer games, no parade of beauties dancing for him on video apps, and no lovely ladies posting freebies online. It was an incomplete world.

If he hadn't been transported into the world of Naruto, where strength was essential, Uchiha Yi would definitely have found a way to build internet companies.

He had to make sure apps for watching beautiful women came into existence.

Even Uchiha Yi, a transmigrator with an adult's mind, couldn't get used to such bare-bones conditions, let alone Kushina Uzumaki.

Kushina Uzumaki pursed her lips but stopped complaining to Uchiha Yi. She knew that if she kept it up, Tsunade might send her back to the Ninja Academy, and she'd never get to leave Konoha on a mission again.

Hyuga Rinka watched in silence. Then she took out two ration pills, popped them into her mouth, and looked up at the nearby trees. She picked a sturdy one and scrambled up it in no time.

"Speaking of which, what's our mission this time?" Uchiha Yi asked, turning to Tsunade.

"Mainly to give you three your first taste of bloodshed." Only then did Tsunade take out the mission scroll and toss it to Uchiha Yi.

Uchiha Yi opened the scroll, and his mouth twitched. "A spy base has been discovered in the Land of Fire, and you're sending our squad after it? Isn't that Anbu's job?

"This is our first mission outside Konoha. We haven't even seen blood yet.

"Even if it's meant to give us combat experience, shouldn't we be fighting rogue ninja or dealing with bandits?"

Uchiha Yi's words immediately caught Kushina Uzumaki's and Hyuga Rinka's attention. Rinka hadn't expected Tsunade to give them a mission like this either.

But the harder the mission, the greater the challenge, and the more Rinka looked forward to it.

Her strength had grown quickly lately, but still not quickly enough to meet her expectations. She needed a powerful opponent to push her further.

As for fighting Uchiha Yi, Rinka wasn't that foolish.

She had a feeling he was hiding a great deal. When they sparred, he never used his full strength.

"What kind of first-combat mission is this?" Despite his complaint, Uchiha Yi handed the scroll back to Tsunade, eager to get started.

He looked forward to facing strong opponents too. In the Battle Space, he could fight without restraint, but real combat was different. He had to treat every opponent with caution.

Otherwise, he might meet the same fate as Nawaki and be brought down by something he'd overlooked.

"Hmph, you should be thrilled!" Seeing his reaction, Tsunade could tell Uchiha Yi was quite pleased with the mission.

No matter how agreeable an Uchiha's personality was, he was still an Uchiha.

He wanted to fight.

"Rest once you've finished eating. We'll take turns on watch tonight. I'll take the first half, and you three will take the second," Tsunade continued.

If they had been outside the Land of Fire, or if Hatake Sakumo and the others hadn't been following them, Tsunade wouldn't have trusted three children to keep watch.

Even if their abilities seemed perfect for the job.

Unfortunately, Kushina Uzumaki hadn't awakened the Mind's Eye of the Kagura like her grandmother. If she had, her sensory abilities would have improved considerably.

"Sure." Uchiha Yi didn't object.

"Yi, I think someone's following us," Kushina Uzumaki whispered into Uchiha Yi's ear when their turn to keep watch came in the second half of the night.

"Oh?" Uchiha Yi looked at her curiously. He remembered that she hadn't awakened the Mind's Eye of the Kagura.

Since when had she become so good at sensing people?

"Hehe. Before we left Konoha, Grandma Mito gave me a few things to protect myself. I found out I can sense whether people around me mean well or ill!" Kushina Uzumaki boasted proudly.

Kushina Uzumaki was very happy today. She'd discovered that Uchiha Yi liked her quite a bit, even more than Tsunade did.

And it wasn't just Uchiha Yi. Even Hyuga Rinka bore her goodwill, which meant Rinka already considered her a friend.

That made Kushina Uzumaki delighted. Not long after they'd left Konoha, a group of people had started following them. Some harbored ill intent, while others meant them no harm.

Kushina Uzumaki was puzzled. What was going on?

Uchiha Yi's eyelid twitched. Had Mito Uzumaki given Kushina Uzumaki some Nine-Tails Chakra?

From the look of it, Mito Uzumaki had probably purified it first. Otherwise, Kushina Uzumaki's body would have struggled to withstand that Chakra at her age.

And even if she could withstand it, she wouldn't have been able to use it properly.

Hyuga Rinka went on alert. She activated her Byakugan, scanned their surroundings, and gave Uchiha Yi a barely perceptible nod.

"It's probably the village's Anbu. We came out here on a mission, but the spy base may not be the real objective. We might be bait to draw the spies out," Uchiha Yi guessed after a moment's thought.

Hyuga Rinka frowned slightly. She clearly agreed with his guess, but it left her deeply uncomfortable.

No one liked being used as bait.

"It's not that surprising. If our squad stays together, enemy forces are bound to take notice. The bounties on our heads won't be any lower than the ones on Tsunade and her teammates." Uchiha Yi waved a hand. "We just need to do our part.

"Trust our teammates, trust Tsunade, and trust the village."

At that, Hyuga Rinka and Kushina Uzumaki both fell silent.

What else could they say? Any further objection would imply they didn't trust the village or Tsunade.

Not far away, the corners of the sleeping Tsunade's mouth lifted into a smile. These kids weren't fools.