24 Anbu Mission

Seven days passed in the blink of an eye, and the tough life of missions resumed.

Satoru got up early from his bed and arrived at the prearranged training ground. The mission was taken by Shibi, and before meeting him, he had no idea what the mission was about.

As he approached, he saw Rin standing in the middle of the training ground, arms folded, looking at him lightly.

"You're late," she said.

Satoru shrugged with helplessness and replied, "We agreed to meet at 7, it's just a little after 6 now."

"As a shinobi, arriving two hours early is the best way to train and strengthen your willpower. Satoru, you lack ambition, do you know that..."

Satoru immediately covered his ears, not wanting to listen to her nagging anymore.

When there were only two minutes left until 7 o'clock, Anko arrived breathlessly, wiping the sweat from her forehead while catching her breath.

"Everyone... sorry, I almost arrived late."

"It's okay, I also came late," Satoru comforted her.

"Anko, you lack ambition. Arriving early is..." Rin was about to continue, but Satoru quickly covered her mouth...

Shibi, who rarely arrived late, scanned the three in front of him and pondered before saying, "This mission is quite special; only Satoru and I will be participating. The rest of you can continue training on your own until this mission is completed."

"What? Only Satoru and the teacher are participating. Did I get up so early for nothing?" Anko rolled her eyes, starting to miss the warmth of her bed.

Rin frowned, "Why did you choose only Satoru, and how long will the mission last?"

"This was the Hokage's decision, and the duration of the mission will depend on the situation."

The Hokage? Rin's eyes flashed with keenness. If it was a direct appointment by the Hokage, could it be related to an Anbu mission?

Shibi took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Satoru, you have one hour to prepare. The rest of you can disperse for now."

...

In the Land of Fire's forest, two figures cloaked in black robes continuously leaped through the treetops, like two ghosts swiftly passing through the surrounding woods.

Shibi stepped on a thick tree branch and leaped upward.

"Satoru, this mission is of great importance, and the level will be temporarily set at A. If there is an unexpected situation, it may change to S!"

"S?" Satoru gasped, looking surprised.

"Yes," Shibi nodded solemnly. "Do you know about the underground black market?"

"The black market?" Satoru frowned. "I've heard of it. It's a place where bounties are issued, and shinobis exchange their heads for rewards."

He was familiar with the black market. The head of his former classmate, Sarutobi Asma, was worth 30 million ryo on the black market!

"Yes," Shibi pondered for a moment. "The black market is the dark side of the shinobi world. Each of the five great nations, and many smaller countries, has its own black market. They are hidden from the surface world and are used for dealing with transactions that cannot be done openly."

"Due to the black market's importance, Konoha has embedded Anbu spies in the underground black markets of Iron, Fire, and nearby countries. About a week ago, one of the Anbu operatives in the black market of Iron Country received intel about a highly unusual transaction."

"The transaction involved an amount exceeding 100 million ryo. Furthermore, the Anbu operative also found traces of Iwa-nin near the black market."

"Iwa-nin?" Satoru's eyes flickered.

"So, the Hokage's intention is... for us to investigate this matter?"

"That's right. Iwagakure has been very active recently, and Iron Country happens to be the neighboring country between Fire and Earth. The appearance of such a large and unusual transaction in the black market has raised suspicions of a potential war."

Satoru's expression became solemn. This wasn't good news for him. Once the war started, his development time would be greatly compressed.

His memories told him that the Third War was initially launched by Sunagakure, so why was Iwagakure being so active now?

Suddenly, he seemed to have figured something out and smiled wryly.

No wonder the clan leader gave me the training method of Revolving Heaven a few days ago. It must be because the Hokage wanted someone from the branch family. It was, in essence, a hint.

But on second thought, this mission was suitable for him.

Firstly, his Byakugan was crucial for reconnaissance missions. Furthermore, Anbu did not have any Hyuga members, and with his added "Magnetic Release" bloodline, he had a long-range sniping ninjutsu that was more versatile.

As for Shibi, known as an all-rounder, his abilities were not rigid. The two of them complemented each other perfectly.

Having figured this out, Satoru sighed and realized that Hiruzen was placing great importance on him. The thing on his forehead compelled him to bear the pressure from the main family, and using the Hokage's influence to balance the main family was indeed a good choice...

After several days of rushing, the two finally arrived in Iron Country.

Before entering the densely populated city, Shibi handed Satoru a pair of circular lenses.

"Satoru, your Byakugan is too conspicuous and not conducive to mission concealment. Wear this."

Satoru took it in curiously and took a closer look. He was stunned.

"This... are they contact lenses?"

"No way, even the shinobi world has contact lenses now?"

Shibi scratched his head a little embarrassedly. "These are props used by Anbu to conceal their pupil colors. Don't worry, although they look ugly, they're quite comfortable to wear."

After putting them on, Satoru blinked his eyes, and there were no changes in his vision, and he didn't feel any discomfort.

Looking at himself in the mirror, his pupils' color had turned into the most common brown color in the shinobi world, making him indistinguishable from others.

The technological advancements in the shinobi world have gone quite far astray, Satoru couldn't help but exclaim.

With everything ready, the two entered the capital city of Iron Country.

Iron Country was a typical samurai nation, and its architectural style retained a strong flavor of the Warring States period. On the streets, many samurai in armor could be seen, with long samurai swords hanging from their waists.

"Although samurais don't have ninjutsu, their biological magnetic fields are much stronger than conventional shinobis."

Seeing the samurais on the road, Satoru couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.

The strength of the biological magnetic field was closely related to physical ability, and the biological magnetic fields of the samurais on the road were not weaker than those of middle-tier shinobis. Some powerful ones were even comparable to chunin or middle-tier shinobis specializing in Taijutsu.

No wonder samurais could establish their own countries amidst the encirclement of shinobis. With just their physical strength, they had already surpassed many shinobi.

Specializing in both swordsmanship and taijutsu?

Unfortunately, it seemed that he could defeat those samurais quite easily. Satoru shrugged.

With all their bodies covered in metal armor and armed with metal swords, these samurais weren't much to worry about for him.