Umu stared at Didaze just like that, her gaze seeming to want to devour him.
"Ahem!"
Seeing Umu act so brazenly, Ōnoki frowned and coughed twice.
Hearing Ōnoki's coughs, Umu immediately adopted a serious gaze, seeming like an entirely different person from before.
Didaze said nothing for the moment. He wanted to wait until everyone had finished introducing themselves before introducing himself.
"I'm Kindo, codename Clown."
An utterly ordinary face was revealed. He looked to be in his twenties, not yet thirty.
Didaze nodded to show he understood.
"My name is Satō Kei, codename Pelican. I look forward to working with you."
The face of a young man in his early twenties came into view. He was rather handsome.
Didaze gave him an extra look. After all, this was someone with a surname.
"My name is Atsuchi, codename Red Boar. My lord, feel free to give me any orders from now on."
A somewhat plump-looking Anbu member removed his mask, revealing an endearingly guileless face.
But Didaze would never buy that. There were never any sunny, simple-minded people among those who made it into the Anbu, no matter which village they belonged to.
Didaze continued nodding.
"My name is Watanabe Tora, codename Golden Tiger. I'm this squad's captain."
The last person removed his mask, revealing a middle-aged man whose presence commanded respect without a hint of anger.
He was the oldest of the group. From his appearance alone, he was at least in his thirties.
"My name is Didaze. You should all know me already, so I won't go into too much detail. In short, I'm honored to join you, and I hope you'll all give me your guidance."
Didaze did not introduce his combat abilities or anything of the sort.
His name had long since spread throughout Iwagakure. Basically everyone knew of Didaze, except those who were particularly cut off from the news.
But the Anbu clearly did not fall into that category.
"Now that you've been introduced, set out tomorrow morning. Didaze will serve as captain, with Golden Tiger as vice-captain. Find Ōiwa and try to capture him alive. If that isn't possible, you may execute him on the spot."
"Yes, sir!"
The Anbu members dropped to one knee before Ōnoki and answered in perfect unison.
Didaze also answered in the affirmative, but did not kneel.
He did not like kneeling, and Ōnoki would not force him to, either.
Geniuses had their privileges, after all.
With Golden Tiger leading the way, Didaze followed the group of Anbu as they raced toward the outskirts of Iwagakure.
"Put on a mask."
Golden Tiger handed Didaze a mask.
"Although you're very strong, we Anbu are already used to staying in the shadows."
Golden Tiger offered an explanation after handing Didaze the mask.
Didaze did not make things difficult for Golden Tiger. He nodded and put the mask on.
It was a smiling mask.
"Let's go!"
Seeing that Didaze had put on the mask, Golden Tiger called out, and everyone continued on their way.
Although Didaze was the captain, he could not be bothered to handle everything. He would leave things like this to Golden Tiger. He did not like dealing with trivial matters.
"We need to leave the village. Here's Lord Tsuchikage's authorization. Hurry and let us out."
Golden Tiger handed Ōnoki's authorization letter straight to the gate guard.
The gate guard knew these were the Tsuchikage's Anbu. After a quick look at the letter to confirm its authenticity, he let Didaze and the others out.
He could take his time with the checks afterward, but he could not keep Lord Tsuchikage's Anbu waiting.
"They let us through that quickly?"
Didaze raised his eyebrows.
He knew the gate guards' checks took a long time. The main reason he could come and go freely was that he was so well-known.
It was just like Kitsuchi. Everyone knew he was the Tsuchikage's son. Who wouldn't recognize him?
It was the same for Didaze.
"Anbu business is usually urgent, so the gate guards don't dare stop us."
Golden Tiger chuckled before speaking.
"Mm..."
Didaze murmured in acknowledgment.
"Let's go. We're heading to the Land of Rivers. Ōiwa is most likely hiding there."
Golden Tiger glanced at the mission document and spoke directly.
"The Land of Rivers? Cap... Vice-captain, wouldn't the Land of Rain and the Land of Grass be more likely?"
Pelican voiced his question to Golden Tiger.
After all, Ōiwa had only recently defected. Surely he wouldn't have gone straight to the Land of Rivers?
He would have to find somewhere to rest for a bit, wouldn't he?
"Because the Land of Rivers borders the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind, but not the Land of Earth. If I were Ōiwa, I'd go to the Land of Rivers, because I'd bet that Iwagakure's people wouldn't dare come here."
Golden Tiger slowly laid out his analysis.
Didaze nodded. He thought Golden Tiger had a point.
"Lord Didaze, what do you think?"
Umu's voice rang out.
"I don't see any problems with what Golden Tiger said. Let's go."
Didaze wasted no words. After speaking, he headed straight toward the Land of Rivers.
He did not use a clay Giant Bird, since it would be too conspicuous.
Reaching the Land of Rivers required passing through the Land of Rain. If Hanzo of the Salamander saw a clay Giant Bird in the sky, mistook it for an enemy attack, and released poison straight away, things would become difficult.
Soon, traveling at full speed, the group reached the Land of Rain.
"So this is the Land of Rain?"
Didaze looked in some shock at the sky, which seemed almost divided in two.
On one side was bright sunshine, while on the other, dense clouds filled the sky and rain fell.
"No, we haven't reached the Land of Rain yet. We're only at the border between Iwagakure and the Land of Rain."
Golden Tiger corrected him.
Didaze nodded. He understood now.
If this place were also part of the Land of Rain, it certainly would not be empty.
The wealthy people of the Land of Rain would definitely come here to bask in the sun rather than enjoy being drenched in the Land of Rain every day.
"Let's go."
Golden Tiger glanced at the rain overhead and spoke to the group behind him.
This was not a military deployment, so there was no question of requesting passage. As long as Hanzo of the Salamander was not a fool, he would never come to intercept an Iwagakure squad.
Everyone continued pressing on.
Before long, night arrived.
By then, the group had reached the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Rivers, but it was already completely dark.
They had encountered a few Rain Ninja along the way, but the other party had clearly been more afraid of them.
After all, only the Five Great Nations had Anbu. Small nations had no such thing.
Whichever great nation these Anbu belonged to, they were not people a mere Amegakure could afford to provoke.
Every Rain Ninja who saw them fled without exception, and Didaze could not be bothered to kill them.
"Should I keep commanding from here, or will you take over?"
After reaching the Land of Rivers' border, Golden Tiger turned to Didaze and asked.
"You do it. I'll follow your command."
Didaze waved a hand. He could not be bothered to command.
Doing that sort of thing was meaningless. It was not as though taking command would give him complete control over these people.
If it really were that good, he would take command wherever he went.