The morning sunlight had just begun illuminating the rocky peaks of the Hidden Stone Village.
Kyoshin stepped out of the stone house and began his usual morning training.
He had just finished a set of basic taijutsu when a familiar voice ca from behind him.
"Yo, up this early again, little genius?"
Kurotsuchi leaned against the rock wall beside the stone house entrance. Her short black hair glimred faintly in the morning light, and a bright smile rested on her face.
"Kurotsuchi." Kyoshin nodded in greeting. "What brings you here?"
"I heard you're heading out on an Anbu mission today?" Kurotsuchi walked over and pulled out a small pouch from her clothes. "Here, specially made soldier pills."
"I added honey and herbs, so they should taste better than the regular ones."
"Don't forget to keep your stamina up while you're on the mission."
Kyoshin accepted the pouch and smiled, "Thanks."
"It's been this long already, and you're still being so polite?" Kurotsuchi tilted her head and moved a little closer.
"You're pretty easy to get along with, but why does it always feel like the 'strategy progress' is increasing so slowly?"
The corner of Kyoshin's eye twitched. "You should really stop reading weird books."
Kurotsuchi waved her hand dismissively. "Fine, fine~ forget that. Just promise you'll be careful."
"I know you're strong, but Anbu missions aren't the sa as training."
A faint fragrance lingered around her, and she was close enough that Kyoshin could clearly see the slight flutter of her eyelashes.
"I know." Kyoshin took half a step back.
"Good." Kurotsuchi patted his shoulder. "Good luck on the mission. I'll wait for you to co back."
She waved and turned to leave, her steps light and energetic.
Kyoshin watched her walk away, carefully stored the pouch of soldier pills, then headed toward the Tsuchikage Building.
The Hidden Stone Village's Anbu base was concealed in the deepest part of the village, connected to the Tsuchikage Building by a hidden door.
Kyoshin changed into the standard Hidden Stone Anbu uniform.
Over the black bodysuit was a light gray flak jacket with the Hidden Stone diamond emblem printed on the back.
A fox mask covered his face completely, with only two narrow slits around the eyes providing limited vision.
Onoki floated in front of him with his arms crossed, a serious expression on his face. "Kintsuchi, your teammates have been selected."
Two figures stepped out from the shadows.
On the left was a tall male ninja who looked around thirty years old.
He wore a wolf mask. His shoulders were broad, his stance steady as a mountain, and his breathing was so calm it was almost inaudible.
On the right was a female ninja with a slender, agile figure. She wore an owl mask, and her presence was so faint it was almost impossible to detect.
"Nobutoshi, elite jonin, specializes in Earth Release and tactical command," Onoki introduced.
"Kumiko, elite jonin, reconnaissance and assassination specialist."
The two of them gave Kyoshin slight nods at the sa ti. Their movents were crisp and efficient, without a single unnecessary motion.
Clearly, they had already received detailed instructions from Onoki and fully understood the nature of this mission.
"Your first mission has already been assigned." Onoki took out a scroll and handed it to Nobutoshi.
"C-rank bandit suppression mission. The target is a group of bandits entrenched within the Land of Earth. Approximately twenty people, with suspected rogue ninja mixed in."
"Eliminate them all. Leave no survivors."
Nobutoshi accepted the scroll, skimd through it quickly, then raised his head. "Understood."
Onoki nodded, then looked toward Kyoshin. "Kintsuchi, this is your first Anbu mission. Your two seniors will not interfere. This will be your personal trial."
"Understood." Kyoshin's voice ca through the mask, slightly muffled.
The three of them saluted Onoki at the sa ti before turning and leaving the training ground.
———
They traveled at the standard Anbu rapid-march pace, quickly leaving the rocky peaks and canyons surrounding the Hidden Stone Village behind.
Eight hours of nonstop travel.
The scenery along the way gradually shifted from the relatively prosperous areas surrounding the Hidden Stone Village into barren wastelands and steep mountainous terrain.
This was near the border region of the Land of Earth, far from the Hidden Stone's sphere of influence. Lawlessness ran rampant here, making it a paradise for bandits and rogue ninja.
Following the information in the scroll, the three of them found the mission location.
A concealed valley.
The entrance was narrow, flanked on both sides by steep rock walls dozens of ters high. Inside the valley stood crude wooden huts and tents.
Smoke curled upward from cooking fires as roughly twenty bandits prepared dinner.
The three concealed themselves atop the rock wall above the valley entrance, overlooking the camp below.
Several larger wooden houses stood in the center, with tents scattered around them and crude wooden fences along the periter.
Two sentries leaned lazily near the entrance, clearly not believing anyone would dare attack them.
Most eye-catching of all was one of the sheds, where several n and won with hopeless, vacant expressions had been tied up with hemp ropes. Clearly, they were the bandits' "hostages."
"Targets confird," Kumiko whispered. "Twenty-three people total. Three have chakra signatures, suspected rogue ninja."
"Strength ranges from genin to chunin level. Camp layout is loose. Defenses are weak."
Nobutoshi stood up and rolled his shoulders.
Kumiko imdiately snapped, "Captain?!"
"So what?" A lazy, heavy voice ca from beneath Nobutoshi's mask. "Our mission is to familiarize Kintsuchi with the process. So all I need to do is tell him what to do."
"Kintsuchi, in situations like this, absolutely don't expose yourself like I just did."
"Mm... that's about it. Go ahead."
"Relax. With us here, you won't die."
These were two elite jonin.
Looking twenty years backward or twenty years forward across the entire planet, the total number of elite jonin combined probably wouldn't even fill a few sheets of A4 paper with their nas.
If it weren't for Kyoshin, elite jonin would never have accepted this kind of "starter village" mission.
Without exaggeration, even if Danzo himself ca personally and wanted to kill Kyoshin... He'd still need to warm up first.
Kyoshin nodded, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes to steady his breathing.
Chakra began flowing through his body. Beneath the mask, the Sharingan silently activated, crimson pupils observing the camp below through the eye slits.
This was his habit. He never underestimated any enemy.
Kyoshin leapt down from the rock wall.
The two sentries on the outer periter of the bandit camp spotted him and imdiately drew the blades at their waists. "Who goes there?!"
Kyoshin ford hand seals with both hands.
'Shadow Clone Technique!'
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A chain of white smoke bursts exploded outward as ten shadow clones appeared around Kyoshin.
"A... a ninja!" The other sentry staggered backward in terror and turned to flee.
Two shadow clones instantly rushed forward, the kunai in their hands tracing cold arcs.
The sentries only managed to let out short screams before collapsing to the ground, blood pouring from their throats.
The ten shadow clones charged into the camp, throwing the bandits into panic.
"Enemy attack!"
"It's ninja!"
Amid the chaos, the three rogue ninja with chakra signatures rushed out from the largest wooden house.
Their reactions were far faster than those of the ordinary bandits. One bald man imdiately ford hand seals. "Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
The ground rose as a thick earthen wall surged upward, blocking a volley of ninja tools from the shadow clones.
But three shadow clones circled around the wall and flanked him from both sides, engaging in close combat.
One shadow clone leapt high into the air and brought down a heavy kick.
The bald man raised a kunai to block it.
Clang~
The heavy weighted leg guard smashed against the kunai.
The other two shadow clones seized the opening and drove their ninja blades into his chest.
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