"Let's start with proper introductions. My name is Mamoru Uehara, and I specialize in taijutsu and Earth Release ninjutsu," Mamoru Uehara said, introducing himself to Kōki.
"My name is Yui Fujiwara. I specialize in Medical Ninjutsu and Water Release Ninjutsu. My dream is to become an outstanding medical-nin at Konoha Hospital," Yui said gently.
"Then it's my turn. My name is Masato Yoshino. I specialize in Fire Release Ninjutsu, and my dream is to become a great hero like Lord Jiraiya," Katsuto said in an admiring tone.
The corner of Kōki's mouth twitched when he heard Katsuto's dream. If Katsuto found out Jiraiya was actually an old pervert, would that shatter his dream? Just thinking about it made him a little excited.
"Last is me. My name is Kōki Itō. I specialize in taijutsu and both Water and Earth Release Techniques, and I know a little Medical Ninjutsu too. My dream is to become a ninja who surpasses the First Hokage." Kōki's expression was resolute as he spoke of his dream.
"Good. Then Team Uehara is officially formed."
Mamoru Uehara was happy, but there was also a hint of helplessness in his voice. "I'd originally planned for us to have a meal together after the test. But now it looks like war is about to break out, and the number of missions in the village has surged. Lord Hokage has ordered all genin teams to complete their commissions as quickly as possible, then return to the village and stand by, ready to support the battlefield at any time."
"Just yesterday, I received a commission. The mission is to eliminate bandits within the Land of Fire. It's a C-rank mission. It's noon now, so get yourselves ready after lunch. We'll meet at the village gate in an hour."
After hearing Mamoru Uehara's words, Kōki and the other two all nodded.
All of them could feel the urgency of the war in Mamoru Uehara's words.
Kōki did not think that much about it. All he wanted now was to experience the atmosphere of a real life-and-death battle on his first mission. After parting with Katsuto and Yui, Kōki returned home and took out the equipment he had treasured for so long: five explosive tags, ten kunai, and fifteen shuriken. He had bought all of it with money saved by scrimping on food and other expenses. Although Hiruzen Sarutobi had given him a fair amount of money for living expenses, most of it had gone toward his daily training. Having anything left over to buy equipment was already no easy feat.
Besides, although Kōki had strength approaching that of a jonin, he was not at all sure how much of it he could actually bring out in battle. There was certainly no harm in preparing thoroughly.
An hour later, Kōki and the other two arrived at the village gate. Looking at the Konoha Gate, Kōki noticed that it was not yet guarded by Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane, but by two unfamiliar ninja. He guessed that Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane had not graduated and become ninja yet.
Before long, Mamoru Uehara appeared before the three of them. Seeing that they were well prepared, he said, "Move out," and ran out of the village. Kōki and the other two immediately hurried after him.
Mamoru Uehara led them as they leaped between the trees, speaking as he went. "The location of this elimination mission is in the southeast of the Land of Fire. Normally, bandits rarely appear within our borders, but the situation between us and Sunagakure is bad right now. The chaos has emboldened the bandits, and they've entered the Land of Fire to cause trouble. So our mission is to kill every last one of them. Leave no survivors." Hearing Mamoru Uehara's orders, Kōki and the others nodded in acknowledgment.
In less than half a day, Kōki and the others reached the bandits' gathering place. Kōki looked at the wooden stronghold. Bandits stood atop it, constantly patrolling, and several others guarded the entrance.
He looked at Mamoru Uehara and asked, "Uehara-sensei, how are we going to attack?"
"You'll complete this mission yourselves. Unless some unexpected crisis arises, I won't intervene." With that, he walked straight into the woods and hid, making it clear that the three of them were to handle this mission themselves.
After hearing Mamoru Uehara's words, the three immediately began discussing their plan. This was Kōki's first mission, so he did not feel comfortable offering his own opinion outright and simply watched his two teammates discuss it.
Yui thought they should take a safer approach: poison the water source beside the stronghold, then act once the bandits had been poisoned. Her teammate Katsuto also agreed with her method.
They did not consider it shameful to poison ordinary people just because they were ninja. Both believed that ninja were people who used every means available to complete their missions at the lowest possible cost. Once they had settled on a plan, Kōki would infiltrate the stronghold to gather intelligence, Yui would find the water source and poison it, and Katsuto would stand guard nearby to keep her from being discovered.
The three split up and went into action. After infiltrating the stronghold, Kōki moved cautiously, not daring to relax for even a moment. He roamed around, trying to ascertain the situation of everyone inside. Suddenly, he heard crying coming from a dark corner. He slowly crept over and saw a dilapidated wooden house tucked away in the corner. He looked inside.
It was full of women and children. Their torn clothes could not cover their bruised skin. They had clearly suffered inhuman abuse. Several of the more seriously injured lay motionless on piles of straw, looking as though they were about to die.
Although he knew that villagers captured by bandits would not meet a good end, actually witnessing such a cruel scene still made his anger blaze. But he forced it down. He understood that if he acted now and alerted the bandits, the surrounding villagers would be the ones to suffer if any of them escaped. He had to wait until Yui and Katsuto successfully poisoned them, leaving the bandits with little ability to flee, before taking action. Understanding this, Kōki returned outside the stronghold and regrouped with Katsuto and Yui.
"How did it go? Did you succeed?" Kōki asked, sounding a little impatient.
Hearing the urgency in Kōki's voice, Yui asked in puzzlement, "We succeeded, but it'll take a while for the poison to take effect. What's wrong, Kōki? Did something happen?"
At Yui's question, Kōki told the two of them about the scene he had witnessed inside the stronghold. Yui and Katsuto were furious after hearing it too. They wished they could charge into the stronghold immediately, kill those wicked bandits, and rescue the innocent villagers.
But they also understood that now was not a good time to charge in, so they could only suppress their anger and wait patiently.
Thus, the sun slowly sank behind the mountains. The setting sun stained the clouds on the horizon blood-red, as though foreshadowing something.
As Kōki and the other two waited patiently in the woods for their chance, they heard the noise inside the stronghold fade into silence and realized the time had come. They immediately rushed out of the woods to kill the bandit underlings guarding the entrance.
Kōki easily cut down the guards at the entrance before they could react, while Yui and Masato Takuma ran straight toward the place where the women and children were imprisoned. They had already agreed while waiting for their chance that Kōki would confront the bandits, while Yui and Masato Takuma would prioritize rescuing the villagers.
Kōki charged straight toward the place with the largest number of bandits, killing as he went. Because they were poisoned, he encountered little resistance. Only a scattered few who happened not to have been poisoned drew their weapons and tried to fight back, but Kōki dealt with them easily.
Just as Kōki thought the mission would be completed without trouble, several violent explosions suddenly rang out from Yui and Katsuto's direction. Boom! Boom! The intense firelight from the explosions lit up the entire stronghold as brightly as day.
Realizing that something unexpected had happened, Kōki immediately raced toward Katsuto and Yui. When he reached the courtyard where the villagers were being held, he saw Katsuto and Yui facing off against a stranger. Behind Katsuto stood a crowd of innocent villagers in ragged clothes, their bodies covered in wounds.