A Very Straightforward Scheme

"They aren't suspicious, are they?"

"No, they're just a few freshly graduated kids."

"That's good then."

"Perhaps some among them will become pillars of the village in the future, or at the very least, good commodities. If we can bring them under our wing early, I believe the Master will be very pleased."

That night, at Teacher Masada's home.

The room was lit by dim candlelight as he knelt on the floor, conversing with a dark silhouette projected onto the doors and windows.

"The only one who's a bit troublesome is Yue... If we don't consider his bloodline limit, his fundamental skills are the best in the class, and his mindset too. He has the highest potential for cultivation. However, his father and mother are both ninjas, and Fuma Ryoma has been in the village for many years, so he should have some understanding of the situation. I'm afraid that Yue... might have heard some rumors," Masada hesitated.

"Hmph! You can't even handle a brat, what use are you?" the silhouette snapped.

Masada's voice immediately became fearful, "Please rest assured, I will definitely complete the mission."

"A genius? That's just a title to fool those kids. The overall strength of the village's newcomers has seriously declined in recent years. A kid like him would have been completely ordinary in the past, even with a ninja family background."

"You speak the truth."

"However, don't focus all your attention on Yue alone. Although he has good potential and carries the Fuma Clan name, he is ultimately an 'outsider.' People like him, even if they grow, won't have a high ceiling... They won't be truly trusted by the village. Perhaps he'll be a bit stronger than his father, becoming a Jonin would be good. The truly crucial one is Ryuga... His clan's bloodline limit is one of the village's few precious assets. This lineage has always been loyal to the Flower faction; from now on, we need to change this situation."

"Then..."

Masada seemed to have thought of something, speaking somewhat cautiously.

"Don't worry, your identity won't be exposed. By the time the Flower faction realizes, it will be too late. They won't find any clues either. As long as you do a good job, nothing will happen."

"I went to a lot of trouble to help you bypass some rules. Moreover, placing you in the Ninja Academy is a long-term plan... As new generations of the village 'land,' those who pass through your hands will, in the future... all be our people."

"If you do this well, that Master will be very pleased."

"Yes."

With that, the candlelight in the room extinguished.

A moment later, Masada, covered in sweat, pushed open the door, glanced outside, and then closed it again.

The next morning, Yue's mother specially came back to see him off.

After all, it was his first mission.

It needed a bit of ceremony.

As a Medical Ninja, Tianxiang didn't have many suggestions, but they were useful.

She kept following Yue, nagging him to be careful. Even if it was just a group of bandits, it could still be dangerous if they were careless.

It wasn't about strength, but about experience.

Yue didn't reveal the truth to his mother. He had already sensed that something was amiss with this mission, so he had spent a long time in the storeroom in the courtyard, packing his backpack to the brim. Not only did he bring essential items like ninja tools, scrolls, and military rations, but also some Explosive Tags. Explosive Tags were very expensive, and Yue wouldn't normally use them. Speaking of which, it was necessary to mention his father... Both parents being ninjas at least gave him a significant advantage in terms of usable resources over his classmates.

After packing, Yue slung his backpack on and waved goodbye to his mother at the front door before leaving.

Soon, he reached the village entrance and met up with his team.

Interestingly, out of the three, Ryuga and Yue had clearly brought their own supplies, while Yoshitaka, who came from a commoner background, traveled light, only holding a Kunai in his hand.

This difference clearly showed the gap.

Ryuga and Yue both had the advantage of a good upbringing environment for ninjas.

"Let's go."

Then, the three followed the route on a map prepared by Teacher Masada to their destination.

Normally, this mission information would be provided by the village upon acceptance... But now, Yue harbored doubts about some of the intelligence and information Masada had provided and didn't dare to fully trust it. Fortunately, nothing happened on the way, but Yue remained very nervous. After all, the entire ninja world was not yet peaceful, with constant conflicts of varying scales. Moreover, the Land of Grass's borders were practically non-existent, and its defensive outposts were weak.

Any powerful village ninja could "recklessly" pass through... so they might encounter enemies.

Even though the mission destination was far from the border.

To complete the mission and return to the village on the same day, the three of them, led by Teacher Masada, ran at full speed, passing through mountains and old forests... attempting to take the fastest route.

Along the way, when they felt tired, Teacher Masada would stop to let the three resupply and rest briefly.

He would also take out maps and intelligence to analyze with his students.

The bandits they were to eliminate were holed up in a strategically advantageous location. The village took on this mission because the bandits had already destroyed several villages. These bandits had migrated from elsewhere, causing trouble along the way.

Because it was a temporary stronghold and the incident happened rather suddenly, the information they had on the enemy was not comprehensive.

They only knew that the bandits were hiding in a certain area, but they had no information about their specific deployment or numbers.

They would have to figure it out themselves.

"Don't worry about it, the three of you. If there's any real danger, I'll step in," Teacher Masada said with a smile after discussing for a while. "This mission isn't difficult, just a bit troublesome. So, my main task is to record the entire process and submit the record scrolls to the village for verification upon our return."

"Hehe... Don't worry, Teacher Masada. The three of us didn't waste our time at the Ninja Academy. They're just a bunch of bandits; you don't need to intervene," Yoshitaka said confidently, rubbing his nose.

Yue secretly observed the subtle expressions on Masada's face and remained silent.

Then, the four set off again.

By noon, they finally arrived at their destination.

The group arrived at a village at the foot of a mountain, with about twenty to thirty households. However, some houses were clearly damaged, showing signs of bandit raids, and scattered residents still lived in the village. Despite his doubts, Yue, adhering to the mission's objective, quickly began questioning the villagers to gather information and determine that the enemy was hidden in the nearby deep mountains.

Then, as the squad entered the forest to investigate, Teacher Masada vanished first.

He hadn't truly disappeared; he was merely observing their mission process from the shadows, intending to provide a summary afterward.

He would point out their mistakes so they could correct them and improve in a timely manner.

It truly reflected his 'original intention' as a teacher.

Since the bandits were from elsewhere and had only temporarily settled, the path up the mountain wasn't obvious. However, for ninjas, finding ordinary footprints wasn't difficult. Soon, they found a 'mountain climbing' route. Judging by the ground conditions, it was likely the path leading to the bandits' stronghold.

With the attack direction identified, Yoshitaka and Ryuga immediately became excited.

The three leaped and jumped between the trees, their movements silent, appearing like three flickering, elusive specters.

But Yue was the slowest.

He followed at the very end.

A moment later, a sound reached his ears.

As the three landed on tree trunks mid-air, they used the strength in their ankles to instantly disperse, vanishing into the sky like three streaks of shadow.

Soon, two "fierce-looking" figures approached from a distance on the ground, holding blades and seemingly patrolling.

The three immediately identified them as bandits.

Ryuga signaled Yoshitaka. As the two bandits passed unsuspecting below, they descended from above. One knocked the targets unconscious with a hand chop, while the other pinned a bandit down and placed a kunai at his neck.

"Ninjas?"

The conscious bandit called out in panic.

"Shut up."

Ryuga snapped, "Where is your stronghold, how many people are there? Who is the leader?"

The bandits were initially defiant, but after the kunai grazed their skin, they finally confessed.

However, Yue, standing in the trees with his hands in his pockets, observing the scene, felt a twitch in his eyelids.

He was almost certain these bandits were disguised.

Although they acted well, they couldn't escape his perception.

Because when truly facing death, people's fear wasn't like this... the men's panic was too superficial.

When he had gone on a killing spree in the lawless areas of the Soul Society Outskirts, the people who died by his blade weren't this "calm."

Furthermore, it was normal for forces like bandits to clash with ninjas. No matter which country or village they appeared in, when they caused trouble, they would have anticipated ninja attacks sooner or later. Some formidable bandits had been dealing with ninjas for a long time.

Given the mission briefing that these bandits had migrated, acting violently... it was impossible for them to be so inexperienced.

They were so surprised to see ninjas.

As if they had no psychological preparation at all.

"His aura is still nearby... he hasn't shown himself, meaning he anticipated this situation. As expected, it's a setup, but this setup is too crude... because we are all children," Yue mused.

The investigation in the village earlier was just to deceive them into believing the mission was real.

"What is the objective?"

Yue's gaze fell on Ryuga.

Was it because of him?

Ryuga possessed a Kekkei Genkai, and Yue had previously considered him one of the few "valuable assets" of the Grass Village.

The typical characteristic of their clan was white hair.

It was important to note that in the ninja world, any Kekkei Genkai was a rare treasure.

Their clan's Kekkei Genkai was a technique that could share and transfer one's own life force or vitality with others, Dragon Life Reincarnation.

It could bring people back from the dead.

It wasn't combat-oriented.

"Yue, you're too slow... if this continues, the main credit for completing the mission will go to Ryuga and me, with nothing for you," Yoshitaka said sarcastically, looking at Yue. "According to the mission records later, be careful not to get a low evaluation, which could affect your future promotions... you're a genius, don't get surpassed by us after graduating from the Ninja Academy."

Yue shot him a cold glance and flickered away.

"Tch, still so annoying."

Yoshitaka spat lightly.