Red Yuhi and Shino Aburame Get Scared

Several minutes later, Red Yuhi finally emerged from the inn.

"The client still needs to make purchases in the Hidden Leaf Village. Be at the village gate by eight tomorrow morning," Red Yuhi instructed. "After we dismiss, go back and prepare a change of clothes, as well as camping tents and blankets. It would be best to bring some Soldier Pills too. If you can't fit everything, buy a Storage Scroll. Your pay from this period is more than enough to cover it."

"Yes."

The Eighth Squad nodded in acknowledgement.

"Meet at eight tomorrow morning. Don't be late," Red Yuhi reminded them again before vanishing in a Body Flicker.

Izayoi-kun and Hinata parted ways with Shino Aburame as well.

"Izayoi-kun, you don't need to buy a Storage Scroll. I'll bring one tomorrow," Hinata said softly.

Izayoi-kun pinched Hinata's little cheek and teased, "As expected of a Young Lady from a wealthy family. Are you going to start keeping me already?"

"K-Keeping..."

Hinata's little face instantly turned scarlet, and her voice began to tremble.

"I'm just teasing you."

Izayoi-kun patted Hinata's head, then took her small hand and smiled. "You don't need to bring a Storage Scroll. I'll just bring a backpack. If we need to camp outdoors, I'll keep watch and protect you."

At those words, Hinata's face grew even redder. She subconsciously lowered her head, looking at their interlocked fingers, and a blissful smile immediately appeared on her lips.

Her heart was as sweet as honey.

Although their relationship had not completely crossed that line yet, Izayoi-kun and Hinata already got along no differently than a couple.

If not for the concern that making their relationship public might reach the clan and draw opposition from some Clan Elders, Hinata would have taken the initiative and confessed to Izayoi-kun long ago.

Once she and Izayoi-kun became Jonin, or even Elite Jonin capable of becoming clan heads and ace combatants, they would be able to truly be together.

Not even Father or the Clan Elders would be able to stop them.

That day won't be far off.

Hinata suddenly tightened her grip on Izayoi-kun's hand, thinking to herself.

Izayoi-kun had no idea what Hinata was thinking. Otherwise, he would surely have smiled in gratification once again.

Hinata, whose personality had changed, was already outstanding enough.

Hinata, with a goal in mind, would become even more exceptional.

With further guidance, the Princess of the Byakugan would bloom with dazzling brilliance.

The next day, at seven fifty in the morning.

Izayoi-kun and Hinata, each carrying a backpack, arrived at the village gate.

Shino Aburame, who was likewise carrying only a backpack, had already been waiting there for quite some time.

"Morning."

"Morning."

"Shino, aren't you bringing a tent?"

"I brought one. It's in my Storage Scroll. Come to me if you need Soldier Pills."

"Thanks, but Hinata already prepared them for me."

"..."

After exchanging their usual greetings, Izayoi-kun started making awkward small talk with Shino Aburame.

This time, however, it was not the "aloof" Shino Aburame who killed the conversation, but Izayoi-kun himself.

Shino Aburame had inexplicably been fed a mouthful of coupley sweetness. Nothing showed on his face, but his mood was terrible.

Still, given his character, he could not bring himself to make sarcastic remarks and could only choose silence.

Seeing Shino Aburame fall silent again, Izayoi-kun could only pull Hinata aside to whisper with her.

To avoid being overheard, Izayoi-kun chose ordinary topics and did not tease Hinata.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Not long after, Red Yuhi's voice drew the attention of the three.

A convoy of more than ten people came into view.

At the front were Red Yuhi and an ordinarily dressed middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man was currently examining Izayoi-kun's group, a warm smile on his face. Through the windows to his soul, his delight was plain to see.

Moreover, all three noticed that his gaze lingered longest on Hinata.

It was not because of Hinata's figure, which surpassed that of her peers, but because of her eyes.

Izayoi-kun extended his senses and detected no hostility from the man.

It seemed he had not set his sights on Hinata's Byakugan, but was simply reassured by the presence of a Byakugan user in the escort team.

The Hyuga Clan's Byakugan was the most famous sensory eye in the Ninja World.

Her 360-degree long-distance vision and X-ray vision could see through any low-level Invisibility Technique.

Even Earth Style techniques that let someone merge their body into the ground could not escape the eyes of the Hyuga Clan.

With the Byakugan on the team, they could spot danger in advance and flee in time.

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The payment for a C-Rank Mission was enough to hire a member of the Hyuga Clan. This was practically a steal.

No wonder the middle-aged man was so delighted.

Having figured this out, Izayoi no longer paid it any mind.

"Let me introduce you. This is our client. You may address him as Mr. Nishimura." Red Yuhi introduced the middle-aged man to Izayoi and the other two.

"Mr. Nishimura."

Eighth Squad politely greeted him.

"Hello. I'll be relying on you from here on out."

Mr. Nishimura had no airs about him. If anything, he kept his posture remarkably humble.

Seeing that their client was so easy to get along with, Eighth Squad breathed a sigh of relief. They had encountered some bizarre clients during D-Rank Missions before and had only received a favorable review after putting in considerable effort.

"Let's go. We can set off now."

After Red Yuhi and Mr. Nishimura handed the gatekeeping Chunin the travel permits they had arranged in advance, Izayoi and the other two left the village they had lived in for twelve years for the first time.

At first, Hinata and Shino Aburame had been very eager to see what lay outside.

However, after passing through their first small town, they were greatly disappointed.

Although the Land of Fire had quite a few prosperous commercial towns like Tanzaku Street, there were even more ordinary towns and villages. Naturally, their construction could not compare to Hidden Leaf Village, which served as a military base.

Moreover, when nobles traveled nowadays, they were usually carried in sedan chairs by men or rode in horse-drawn carriages.

High-tech transportation like trains would not appear for many more years.

In less than a day, Hinata and Shino Aburame had lost their anticipation and focused on the mission instead.

Ninja moved quickly. If they traveled at full speed, they could reach the Sand Village in the Land of Wind from Hidden Leaf Village in the Land of Fire in around three days.

In a little over a week, they could reach the most remote places in the Ninja World.

But that was only for ninja.

If ordinary people were in the group, then it depended on their traveling speed.

The Mining Convoy consisted of more than a dozen people and two horse-drawn carriages. With no cargo on the return journey, they were much faster than traveling on foot.

Even so, the group stopped and started along the way, taking eight days before they finally left the Land of Fire.

"Hinata, how are things around us?"

Just after leaving the territory of the Land of Fire, as the forest path turned into a mountain road, Red Yuhi asked Hinata, whose Byakugan was activated and whose temples had veins bulging on both sides.

"There's no danger within a twenty-kilometer radius."

"Nani?!"

Hinata had clearly given a reassuring answer, yet Red Yuhi and Shino Aburame were so shocked that their jaws nearly dropped.

They could not help it. Hinata's numbers had utterly stunned them.