First Mission

"Even though you are someone personally invited by Lord Third, once you are here, there is no way we will let you act so arrogant."

"You are just a mere five-year-old child, do you not even know what respect is?"

The leader said as he took a couple of steps toward Ling Feng, attempting to use his height advantage to pose a threat to Ling Feng.

Yet Ling Feng remained unmoved, still looking straight ahead, not even bothering to give the leader a second glance.

"Humph! What an insolent brat who really needs a beating!"

With that, the leader raised his fist, preparing to teach Ling Feng a harsh lesson.

He wanted to make Ling Feng understand that the world of the ANBU had strict hierarchies; no matter what your background was, once you arrived here, you had to obey orders, and resistance was strictly forbidden!

Yet the next second, the leader's fist stopped dead in mid-air, and beads of cold sweat trickled down his cheeks.

Ling Feng looked up, activating his Sharingan. In just a single instant, he plunged the leader into an illusion.

"Hmph, mere cannon fodder, how utterly boring!"

Ling Feng let out a cold snort, then continued walking forward.

As for that leader, with a plop, he collapsed directly to his knees, his eyes empty and lifeless, with no telling what he was experiencing inside the illusion.

"Clap, clap, clap!"

The sound of applause echoed from the darkness.

Ling Feng paused his steps and turned his head. A figure appeared, wearing a fox mask, followed by several ANBU members who were similarly masked.

"I really didn't expect you to still be holding back. Was this a genjutsu? You are truly astonishing. At only five years old, you already know how to use genjutsu-it is truly jaw-dropping!"

"So it's you. I thought you would keep hiding in the shadows to watch a good show."

The corners of Ling Feng's mouth curled upward as he said indifferently.

Upon hearing this, the fox mask shuddered. It was glaringly obvious that Ling Feng had guessed right.

"How is that possible? You discovered me back at the Academy?"

"Naturally. Your disguise is utterly pathetic; anyone whose eyes aren't broken could spot you," Ling Feng said unceremoniously.

Yet the fox mask did not get angry.

Because he knew that in terms of strength, Ling Feng might be far superior to him, and up until now, Ling Feng probably still had tricks he hadn't even shown yet!

"Though I'm not very fond of this way you speak, I have to admit that you are really strong. I need battle prowess like yours-join our Unit Four."

As he spoke, the fox mask extended his hand, which counted as extending an invitation.

Hearing this, Ling Feng gave a faint smile. "Joining you is fine, but what kind of terms can you offer?"

"That should be for you to propose. As long as it's doable, I can agree to it." The fox mask said earnestly.

"Kill him." Ling Feng tilted his head slightly and pointed behind him.

"What?" All the ANBU members were startled.

Seeing this, Ling Feng couldn't help but spread his hands. "Looks like there's no room for negotiation."

The fox mask raised a hand and said, "Hold on. He only showed a little disrespect toward you-why go so far as to wipe him out?"

"Although our ANBU operates independently, we have never engaged in killing our own kind."

Ling Feng still wore a blank expression. "Kill him, or the deal is off."

Never kill their own kind?

Ling Feng felt like laughing just hearing that. When a real conflict broke out, they slaughtered each other even more fiercely than they did enemies!

Looking at Ling Feng's decisive expression, the fox mask couldn't help but clench his fists. Then, a kunai was thrown out, striking the leader straight in the heart.

"Thud!"

The sharp kunai plunged into the body, producing a crisp sound.

The leader collapsed to the ground, dead.

"Can you join us now?"

"I will tell Lord Third that this person attempted to assassinate you, and that I arrived in the nick of time to intervene and stop him."

"If the higher-ups blame us, I'll find a way to take the fall."

The fox mask said through gritted teeth; clearly, in order to recruit Ling Feng, he had made up his mind.

Yet Ling Feng suddenly burst into loud laughter.

This left everyone looking completely bewildered.

What was going on here?

The fox mask was also stunned, then said angrily, "I killed one of my own men for your sake! What is the meaning of this? Are you treating me like a monkey?"

His laughter stopped as Ling Feng pointed at the leader's waist and said, "He is an ANBU mole. There is a Kirigakure ninja forehead protector at his waist. If you don't believe me, go check for yourself."

As soon as these words were uttered, everyone was shocked.

The fox mask found it a bit hard to believe, but he still led his men to search the body.

Sure enough, a Kirigakure forehead protector appeared in their hands.

He never expected what Ling Feng said to actually be true!

"How did you know he was a mole?"

The fox mask found it somewhat hard to believe that this person, who had worked alongside them for as long as two months, was actually a mole from Kirigakure!

"Not long ago, I was ambushed by Kirigakure undercover agents, and three Konoha ANBU members were hunted down alongside them. That was when I noticed something was wrong."

"Being chased all the way from Konoha to the Back Mountain for such a long time, yet the ANBU sent no reinforcements-could there really be no problem with that?"

"If I hadn't happened to run into them, the other two ANBU members at the time would certainly have died."

Ling Feng said indifferently.

In truth, however, Ling Feng was just making things up; being able to spot the ninja forehead protector was purely thanks to his Byakugan.

As for the speech he had just given, it was merely to patch up his story.

Besides, the man was already dead; who else could dig up the truth?

Yet this performance by Ling Feng made everyone look at this new ANBU recruit in a completely new light.

"I see. Then it will be much easier for me to report to my superiors."

"Congratulations, Ling Feng! From today on, you are a member of Unit Four!"

As the fox mask's voice trailed off, the others also chimed in to express their welcome.

Yet Ling Feng merely offered a couple of polite smiles in response.

There was simply no need for Ling Feng to act overly friendly with these people.

Staying in the ANBU was merely because Ling Feng hoped to increase his points as quickly as possible.

Once the war broke out, he would definitely leave the ANBU.

The first day of joining the ANBU came to a smooth close.

Yet the very next day, Ling Feng received a message sent by the ANBU.

His mission had arrived.

Because a Kirigakure mole had died the previous night, the ANBU had initiated a detailed internal investigation.

And from that, they obtained a clue.

Kirigakure was planning to ambush Land of Fire Cabinet dignitaries along a major transport route in the near future. Their goal was to provoke Land of Fire's dissatisfaction with Konoha Ninja Village, attempting to make the Land of Fire Daimyo reduce supplies and funds to Konoha Ninja Village.

The ultimate objective was also very simple: to covertly lower the war preparation budget of Konoha Ninja Village and pave the way for the upcoming war.

When this mission was made public, anyone who wasn't a fool would form their own guesses in their heart.

The war was truly approaching, it seemed!

Faced with his very first mission in the ANBU, Ling Feng felt no sense of tension whatsoever; on the contrary, he was extremely excited.

Because the closer the war drew, the more Ling Feng needed a large accumulation of points to prepare himself.

When the time came, he would have to face top-tier experts from all the major ninja villages, and a single mistake could very well cost him his life.