The days, uneventful for Ling and utterly chaotic for the rest of Team 7, were interrupted by an unexpected C-Rank Mission.
Their client, Tazuna, was a sharp-tongued old man who reeked of alcohol. He wanted them to escort him back to the Land of Waves, where he would build a bridge connecting it to the outside world.
"A C-Rank Mission? That means we won't run into any ninja, right?" Naruto shouted excitedly. At last, he could escape the endless D-Rank Missions.
Kakashi reminded him lazily, his eyes drooping in their usual dead-fish stare, "In theory, yes, but we can't rule out surprises..."
"Great! I finally get to show what I can do!" Naruto hadn't listened at all. He was already imagining himself cutting a heroic figure as he fought bandits.
When Tazuna, the bridge builder who reeked of alcohol and gave evasive answers, walked into the Hokage's Office and proposed that supposed C-Rank Escort Mission, Ling had already begun to understand. The man's anxiety was practically written across his face, far beyond anything an ordinary craftsman should have shown.
And when Tazuna solemnly guaranteed that they "absolutely wouldn't encounter any ninja," Tobirama immediately issued a warning from within Ling's mental world.
"A C-Rank Mission? Escorting a visibly terrified man to build a crucial bridge in an island nation held by the throat by that criminal businessman, Gato?" Tobirama's cold laugh echoed through Ling's mind. "Has Hiruzen Sarutobi's judgment deteriorated with age, or does he have another agenda? A mission like this carries B-rank risks at the very least!"
"You mean..." Ling answered cautiously in his mind.
"The meaning couldn't be clearer!" Tobirama's tone carried his characteristic political acuity and ruthlessness. "Either the Third deliberately underestimated the mission's rank and, using a low price and 'protecting rookies' as excuses, forced a high-risk mission onto Kakashi's Team 7, which includes the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and the surviving Uchiha orphan. He calls it training, but in truth, he's disregarding the risks."
"Or," his voice grew colder, "he recognized that this Tazuna could never afford the B-Rank Mission Fee and deliberately used a C-Rank Mission to lure him into spending all his commission money in Konoha, cutting off his chance to seek help from another country. Once the mission begins and ninja attack, Kakashi will have to continue to protect the jinchūriki and the Uchiha, giving Konoha a natural excuse to intervene in the Land of Waves. After Gato is defeated, the Land of Waves' economic lifeline and that bridge... hmph, will naturally fall under Konoha's control. This is nothing less than military and economic plunder disguised as an escort mission!"
Ling felt a slight jolt. Like an icy scalpel, Tobirama's analysis sliced through the mission's comforting surface to expose the naked political calculations and pursuit of profit that might lie beneath. It made Ling regard both Tazuna and the Third Hokage with a deeper, more searching scrutiny.
Sure enough, trouble found them shortly after they crossed the Land of Fire's border.
Two Kirigakure Missing-nin, the Demon Brothers, launched a sudden attack using a strange ninjutsu that disguised them as a puddle. Their chain, attached to razor-sharp bladed gauntlets, shot straight toward Naruto, who looked like the weakest target!
"You're first!" A vicious roar accompanied the chain as it tore through the air.
"Naruto, look out!" Sakura screamed.
Sasuke reacted instantly, throwing a shuriken to intercept it, but he was a fraction too slow!
In that split second, Ling, who had remained alert the entire time, moved. He didn't even form hand seals. He simply slammed both hands down toward the ground on either side of him!
"Water Release: Water Wave Hand!"
It wasn't an advanced ninjutsu. He merely channeled chakra into the water pooled on the ground, instantly raising two powerful waves that struck precisely along the Demon Brothers' attack path. The waves lacked the strength to injure them, but successfully knocked their chain off course. It skimmed past Naruto's clothes and buried itself deep in a nearby tree trunk!
"What?!" The Demon Brothers looked stunned as their attack missed.
"I... I'm saved?" Naruto dropped onto his backside in fright, cold sweat pouring off him.
Kakashi appeared like a ghost. With two sharp cracks, he neatly knocked the Demon Brothers unconscious with the butt of his kunai, then trussed them up tightly. He made it look effortless, but the glance he cast toward Ling held a new significance.
The timing, angle, and chakra control of Ling's move had all been exquisite. He hadn't wasted a trace of chakra, achieving the best possible defensive result with the smallest possible intervention. Once again, that composure and precision in battle exceeded Kakashi's expectations.
"Ling, nicely done." It was rare for Kakashi to offer such direct praise.
"I just happened to see through their disguise," Ling answered calmly, as though he had done something utterly trivial. Through Pure Water, he had detected the ambush long before by sensing abnormal fluctuations in the moisture around them.
Seeing this, Tazuna knew he could no longer conceal the truth. He had no choice but to confess, tearfully describing the Land of Waves' misery, Gato's brutality, and the desperate lives of its people. Yet after winning their sympathy, he abruptly changed tack and began a blatant attempt at emotional blackmail:
"If... if you abandon the mission and go home now, I'll definitely be killed! That's nothing... but after I die, my young grandson will probably cry every day... and my daughter will hate Konoha Ninja for the rest of her life and live out her days alone... of course! None of that would be your fault!"
Those words struck Naruto's softest spot at once. His blood surged, and he immediately shouted that they absolutely couldn't give up. Sakura, too, looked deeply distressed. Even the usually aloof Sasuke knitted his brows tightly, seemingly moved by the weight of those consequences.
"Hmph! Emotional blackmail of the lowest order!" Tobirama's voice brimmed with undisguised disgust. "He's forcing the deadly consequences of his own decision to conceal the truth and lie onto the ninja carrying out his mission! When he withheld information and put you in danger, did he spare even the slightest thought for whether you lived or died? Exploiting other people's kindness and sense of responsibility like this is more shameful than anything an enemy could do! He deserves no sympathy!"
Ling silently watched Tazuna, whose face streamed with tears and snot even as he planted traps of guilt in his words, and fully agreed with Tobirama's judgment. Sympathy for the weak was human nature, but being deliberately exploited and manipulated was another matter entirely.
Kakashi sighed. He might have looked lazy, but he had already seen through everything. He pointed out Tazuna's despicable behavior, yet ultimately decided to continue the mission.
The reason was simple: the risk was now clear, and their enemies were ninja. To protect Team 7, especially Naruto and Sasuke, they couldn't let Tazuna be killed, causing the mission to fail and potentially triggering more complicated international disputes, particularly with Kirigakure Missing-nin involved. Continuing the mission and eliminating the threat was their only choice now.
The group resumed their journey, but the atmosphere had grown heavier and more complicated.
At last, they reached the coast and boarded the battered little boat bound for the Land of Waves. Thick fog draped the deathly still sea like a gray curtain, and the air carried the scent of salt and dampness, mingled with unease. The boatman rowed in silence, as though he were heading not toward his homeland, but toward a cursed place.
Ling stood at the bow, the icy fog dampening his hair and the front of his clothes. He gazed into the distance, trying to see through the mist, but could make out nothing except a murky blur.
"Stay alert, boy." Tobirama's voice sounded again, breaking the silence. "This thick fog is the perfect setting for an assassination. If I were a Kirigakure Missing-nin, I would never pass up this opportunity. The real test is about to begin."
Ling gave a slight nod, drew a deep breath of the icy mist, and sharpened all his senses to their limit. He knew that the shackles of morality had already been fastened and the political pieces had already been played. And now, they were sailing toward unknown dangers and a killing trap that had long since been laid.
Before you continue