This Squad Was Seriously Weird

Jin Uchiha understood everything at once.

He really had gotten it wrong, and it had been a pretty basic mistake.

Regret wouldn't do a damn thing. He just needed to be more careful from now on. Right now, he had to plug the hole fast and make sure it never happened again.

"How do we bluff our way through this?"

He couldn't be bothered to puzzle it out and simply asked, "Shikaku Nara isn't someone we can brush off with a couple of words."

Kazama Nara frowned and set his mind to work.

He was just like Jin Uchiha: neither of them dwelled on the past.

People had to look ahead. Take a fall, learn a lesson, and be more careful next time.

Before long, he had worked out an approach.

"You're right. Bluffing Shikaku Nara won't work."

"The more we do, the more holes we'll leave. We can only tell him the truth."

"You need a scheme, one sitting right out in the open."

"Put a little scheme up front to keep the real, big one well hidden."

"We can't let any of our plans slip, so we need to come up with a convincing explanation on the spot."

"First, you killed those three Uchiha."

"You killed that Cloud ninja too. You're already strong enough, but you don't want to get too close to the clan. On top of that, they ostracized you as a freak when you were little, so you've always held a grudge against the Uchiha."

"You dumped the Cloud ninja's body partly to clear yourself of suspicion, and partly to land the Uchiha in serious trouble."

"The Hidden Cloud Village is strong enough to make a perfect weapon."

"Basically, you just wanted to get some payback!"

Jin Uchiha was stunned.

That was an option?

He couldn't help asking, "You're going to feed your clan uncle that story? Will it really work?"

"It will." Kazama Nara sounded certain. "As long as he confirms you aren't harboring any malicious plans against the Hidden Leaf, everything else is negotiable."

"He doesn't have time for the Uchiha's internal bullshit."

Jin Uchiha thought it over, but still shook his head.

"Why does the Jin Uchiha in your story sound like he's got a screw loose?"

"Haha, sounds about right." Kazama Nara laughed. "For those Uchiha, even thinking to hide their strength is about as far as their brains can take them."

"You, though, Jin, really don't seem like an Uchiha."

Jin Uchiha laughed too.

He decided to stop worrying about it. As long as it got them through, the rest could go however it pleased.

As long as he had time to grow stronger, he could bulldoze his way through everything with his fists later.

The next day, just as dawn began to break.

Shisui Uchiha led someone straight into their tent.

It was a girl with white hair spilling over her shoulders. She looked limp and rather weak, but her Byakugan made her origins unmistakable.

Peeking past the edge of her forehead protector, they could just make out an intricate curse mark.

The Caged Bird. No doubt about it.

"Listen up, everyone. I'll start."

"I'm Shisui Uchiha. I'm pretty good with the Body Flicker Technique, swordsmanship, and genjutsu. My Fire Release is decent, and I have a three-tomoe Sharingan. Starting today, I'm this squad's captain."

"Everyone else, introduce yourselves."

Shisui Uchiha wore a cheerful smile, and Jin Uchiha was the first to speak up.

"Jin Uchiha. I know the Three Basic Jutsu and Fire Release, and my taijutsu is pretty solid."

"Shikaku Nara. My Wind Release is decent, and I know some family ninjutsu."

"Aya Hyuga. I have the Byakugan, can scout, and know Medical Ninjutsu."

They looked at one another, an indescribable awkwardness filling the air.

This squad was bizarre beyond belief.

It was supposed to be an elite squad, but no matter how they looked at it, something was off about the lineup.

They had crammed in two Uchiha, then thrown in a Hyuga and a Nara.

The Nara clan member stood out especially sharply.

Everyone knew Ino–Shika–Cho came as a package, yet now they had forcibly split one off and stuffed him into this squad.

The Byakugan's scouting clashed with the Shadow Techniques, their roles overlapping. Add two Uchiha on top, and things couldn't get much livelier.

Since the Hidden Leaf's founding, theirs was probably the only squad ever to assemble a mahjong table like this.

"All right."

"Now that we've put names to faces, it's time to get moving on our missions."

"We don't know one another's capabilities yet, so the higher-ups have assigned us a few small C-rank jobs, mainly to help us practice working together."

"They may be low-rank missions, but we're on a battlefield. Things could change at any moment, so stay sharp."

"And because we're on a battlefield, the higher-ups haven't given us much time to get used to one another. Just three days. Let's make them count."

"Today's objective is to eliminate those twelve outposts on the left side of the Land of Whirlpools."

"We're short on time and have plenty to do."

"Move out!"

They had barely finished their introductions before Shisui Uchiha settled their assignment.

None of them dawdled. They left camp straight away and headed for the mission site.

Not one person in this squad was a pushover. Even Jin Uchiha and Kazama Nara, who had kept their abilities hidden before, saw no point in playing dumb now that their strength had been exposed.

Shisui, leading the way, was a bona fide Jonin, and his pace was blistering.

In just half a day, the first outpost came into view.

"Nine Genin, three Chunin, and one Jonin."

One sweep of Aya Hyuga's Byakugan gave them an exact count.

Shisui's expression didn't change as he glanced around with a smile.

"The Jonin is mine. Kazama and Jin, deal with the small fry. Aya, support us from the rear and cover any gaps."

"Understand? Protect Aya, even if it kills you."

Everyone nodded.

Aya Hyuga was both the squad's eyes and its medic, so naturally she was their top priority for protection. No one had any objections.

Once their roles were settled, Shisui drew his tachi and flickered forward, the first to charge in.

Kazama Nara and Jin Uchiha exchanged a glance, then rushed toward the outpost right behind him.

At this point in the fighting, slacking off wasn't an option. Time to cut loose and kill.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"

Before the Hidden Mist ninja could react, Shisui's blade was already at their Jonin's neck.

The Jonin jolted in alarm, but his hands didn't falter. He forced a kunai up to block the blade.

Fire Release burst outward, wrapped in Wind Release. With a thunderous boom, the entire guard post was blown to pieces.

Several Hidden Mist Genin were hurled away by the blast. Only the three Chunin withstood the impact, but before they could regain their footing, Jin Uchiha slipped behind one of them and severed his throat with a light sweep of his kunai.

On the other side, Kazama Nara was just as fast. A pitch-black shadow coiled around a Chunin and twisted his neck until it snapped.

"Shadow Neck Bind Technique!"

In that brief span, Shisui exchanged three or five blows with his opponent. Seizing an opening, he used the Body Flicker Technique to close in on the Hidden Mist Jonin. His tachi fell, and a head left its shoulders.

In less than a minute, one Jonin, two Chunin, and one Genin had been cleanly dispatched.

That Genin had been Aya Hyuga's work.

The rest was much simpler.

Before the remaining Hidden Mist ninja could put up a fight, the squad struck again, wiping out every survivor in the outpost in the blink of an eye.

Once the spoils were gathered and the battlefield cleaned up, Shisui quietly gave the order.

"Next outpost. Move!"