"Mu Feng Uchiha!"
When Mu Feng opened the door, an unfamiliar ninja stood before him.
The ninja wore a mask, and his attire made him easily recognizable as a member of Konoha's Anbu.
Mu Feng nodded, and the ninja tossed him a fox mask.
"Put it on and follow me!"
Mu Feng said nothing more. He caught the fox mask and put it on.
The Anbu ninja left the Uchiha Clan Compound with Mu Feng. Neither of them said a word along the way.
They walked all the way to the outskirts of Konoha before the Anbu ninja finally spoke.
"Wait here for a while!"
Mu Feng nodded. This was how the Anbu operated: few words, with the mission taking priority over everything.
A short while later, two figures flashed into view and landed beside Mu Feng.
"Is everyone here?"
A ninja wearing a rabbit mask asked the question.
"Everyone's here!" replied the ninja who had brought Mu Feng.
"An extra member?" The rabbit-masked ninja looked at Mu Feng.
"Lord Hokage's orders. He's an Uchiha and has already awakened his Sharingan!"
"Good. From now on, your name is Red Fox. Have you been briefed on the mission?"
The rabbit-masked ninja asked no further questions and went straight to the most important point.
Mu Feng nodded.
"Good. Our target this time is a secret Kirigakure outpost outside Konoha. It was only recently established. There are five main targets, including one Jonin. I'll handle the Jonin. The rest of you will quickly eliminate the remaining Chunin. Move fast, and leave no survivors if possible!"
"Also, there may be a sensory ninja among them. If they notice anything, launch a direct assault!"
The rabbit-masked ninja laid out the tactics, then looked at Mu Feng.
"This is your first mission. Observe from the sidelines for now, and step in if anything goes wrong!"
"Understood!"
Mu Feng nodded.
Konoha's Anbu were the village's elite force and fought in squads. New recruits underwent a period of training after joining, so Anbu members generally worked together with considerable precision and were quite strong.
Mu Feng suspected that Hiruzen Sarutobi had asked him to take part in this operation because he wanted to groom him into an Anbu member.
That immediately brought Uchiha Itachi from the original story to mind.
Honestly, his current situation bore some resemblance to Uchiha Itachi's. The difference was that Itachi had joined the Anbu after the Third Shinobi World War, when tensions between Konoha's leadership and the Uchiha had become extremely intense.
Now, with a major war looming, even Hiruzen Sarutobi would not dare scheme against the Uchiha Clan. At most, he wanted to win Mu Feng over and make him Konoha's Mu Feng Uchiha rather than the Uchiha Clan's Mu Feng.
Mu Feng understood the maneuvering involved, but he did not need to dwell on it yet.
He had a system, so growing stronger was only a matter of time. For now, Konoha could offer him a safe place to develop, and he was content to stay.
As for what would happen afterward, even Mu Feng could not say.
For now, he needed to strengthen himself. Any obstacle standing in the way of that goal would have to be swept aside.
"Good, as long as you understand! Let's move out!" With that, the rabbit-masked ninja led the squad away.
Mu Feng was placed in the center of the formation. After a swift dash, they left Konoha's security perimeter and reached a dense forest on a hillside.
The forest was exceptionally well concealed. Viewed from above, the area looked like an ordinary hillside, but there was quite a bit of open space along its slope. The dense trees happened to conceal that clearing from view, and the cover was entirely natural.
Unless someone deliberately approached, it would be difficult to discover the secret hidden on this hillside.
As they drew closer, even Mu Feng was surprised. He could not help wondering how Kirigakure and Konoha had managed to find such a secluded place.
"Hold!"
Once they neared the hillside, the rabbit-masked ninja in the lead signaled for everyone to stop and looked at another member.
That ninja grew still and formed a hand seal. After a moment, he turned toward the others.
"They're still inside. There's no sign of unusual activity yet. We can move in!"
"Good. Toad and I will go first. You and Red Fox stay here. If anyone escapes, intercept them immediately!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the Anbu ninja drew the ninja blade from his back and crept forward. Another member beside him followed.
The ninja beside Mu Feng was the one who had come to fetch him. After watching what he had just done, Mu Feng was certain he was a sensory ninja.
Konoha had quite a few sensory ninja. The most prominent examples were the Hyuga Clan, along with the Yamanaka Clan to which Ino belonged.
But the Anbu member beside Mu Feng belonged to neither of those groups. Mu Feng could not work out what kind of ninjutsu he was using. All he could say was that Konoha was not merely what the original story had shown; plenty of hidden talent lay beneath the surface.
The Anbu ninja signaled for Mu Feng to stay put while he continued sensing.
Under cover of night, the two Konoha Anbu members crept toward the Kirigakure outpost.
Inside the outpost, five Kirigakure ninja wore deep frowns.
"It's been two days, and there's still no word from Lord Mangetsu! Most likely, Konoha discovered him!"
"I found traces of a battle outside Konoha. Lord Mangetsu must have left them!"
"Suifu has already sent the report. Damn it, Konoha's security is unusually tight right now, and the Cloud Ninja seem to have changed their stance too! What do we do? Do we keep staying here?"
"What else would we do if we left? If the mission fails and Lord Mizukage flies into a rage, none of us can bear the consequences!"
At the words "Lord Mizukage flies into a rage," everyone in the outpost fell silent. In an instant, the entire place became utterly quiet.
Just then, one Kirigakure ninja's pupils abruptly contracted.
"Something's wrong! It's too quiet outside!"
The moment he finished speaking, someone beside him cast a detection jutsu. An instant later, that ninja's expression changed sharply.
"Someone's coming toward us! Konoha ninja!"
"Prepare to retreat!"
"It's too late! They're already here!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh-
Several sharp whistles cut through the air as kunai flew toward them during their exchange.
All five Kirigakure ninja turned toward the kunai at once. Then their hearts lurched.
"Watch out! Explosive tags!"
The next instant, a deafening boom erupted.
A burst of flame exploded through the quiet forest, and two Konoha Anbu ninja immediately charged in to kill the five Kirigakure ninja.
"Konoha Anbu! Two of them, and another one hiding!"
"Careful! Prepare to fight!"
The Kirigakure ninja used the Body Flicker Technique to evade the explosive tags. At the same time, their Jonin leader charged straight at the rabbit-masked Anbu member.
Two others surrounded the second attacker, while the remaining two ninja fled without looking back.
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