Chp-24: Special Mission to the Land of Iron

Seven days passed quickly, and it was back to the grind of mission life.

Hyuga Satoru got up early and headed to the designated training ground. Shibi Aburame had assigned their team a mission, but Satoru had no idea what it entailed until he saw him.

As he arrived, he saw Uchiha Rin standing in the middle of the training ground with her arms crossed, looking at him indifferently.

"You're late."

Satoru shrugged helplessly, "We agreed on 7 o'clock, and it's only a bit past 6."

"As a ninja, arriving two hours early is the best way to train your willpower. Satoru, you have no ambition, do you know..."

Satoru immediately covered his ears, not wanting to hear any more of Rin's intense training philosophy.

At two minutes to 7, Anko Mitarashi came running, panting and wiping sweat from her forehead.

"Sorry, everyone... I almost got late."

"No worries, I was also almost late," Satoru comforted her.

"Anko, you have no ambition. Arriving early is..."

Before Rin could finish, Satoru quickly covered her mouth.

Shibi Aburame arrived a few minutes late, which was unusual. He scanned the three of them and then said, "Today's mission is special. Only Satoru and I will be participating. The rest of you will train on your own until we return to team missions."

"What? Only Satoru and you? Then, did I get up early for nothing?" Anko rolled her eyes, longing for her warm bed.

Rin frowned, "Why only Satoru? How long will this mission take?"

"This is the Hokage's decision. As for the duration, it depends on the situation."

The Hokage? Rin's eyes flashed with curiosity. If it was directly assigned by the Hokage, could it be related to an ANBU mission?

Shibi took a deep breath, "Satoru, you have an hour to prepare. The rest are dismissed."

---

In the forests of the Land of Fire, two figures cloaked in black moved swiftly from tree to tree, like phantoms, quickly leaving the surrounding forest behind.

Shibi Aburame landed on a thick branch and quickly leapt up again.

"Satoru, this mission is of great importance, and its nature will be determined as we proceed. The mission is initially classified as A-rank, but it could escalate to S-rank if unforeseen circumstances arise."

"S-rank?"

Satoru took a deep breath, looking at Shibi in surprise.

"Yes," Shibi nodded thoughtfully, "Have you heard of the underground black market?"

"Black market?" Satoru frowned, "I've heard a bit about it. It's a place where bounty missions are posted, exchanging ninja heads for rewards."

He was undoubtedly familiar with the black market. In the future, his classmate Asuma Sarutobi's head would be worth 35 million Ryo there.

"Yes," Shibi continued, "The black market is the underworld of the ninja world. The five great nations and many smaller ones have black markets. They operate independently from the surface world, handling transactions that can't be done openly."

"Due to its importance, the black markets in the Land of Fire and surrounding nations have ANBU operatives embedded within them. About a week ago, our ANBU operative in the Land of Iron's black market sent a report. There was an unusually large transaction there."

"The amount involved exceeds 100 million ryo. Moreover, the operative also found evidence of Iwa-nin activity near the black market."

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

"So, the Hokage wants us to investigate this?"

"Yes, Iwagakure has been very active lately, and the Land of Iron is a neighbour to both the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth. The black market's unusual transaction might be related to the impending war."

Satoru's expression grew serious. This was terrible news for him. If war broke out, his time to grow stronger would be significantly reduced.

With his current strength, he might not be ready to face the threats of war.

In his memory, wasn't the Third Shinobi War initially started by Sunagakure? Why was Iwagakure so active?

Suddenly, he seemed to understand and smiled wryly.

No wonder the clan leader had given him the Rotation training method a few days ago. The Hokage must have asked for him. For the Hokage to specifically request a branch family Genin, it was essentially a strong hint.

On second thought, this mission suited him well.

First, the importance of the Byakugan for reconnaissance missions couldn't be overstated. Since ANBU didn't have any Hyuga members, he had an advantage with his Magnetic Release, which made him more versatile and capable of long-range sniping jutsu.

As for Shibi Aburame, known as an all-rounder ninja, his abilities had no significant weaknesses. Their partnership was optimal.

Understanding this, Satoru exhaled deeply. It seemed the Hokage valued him highly. Given the pressure from the main family due to the Caged Bird Seal, using the Hokage's influence to balance the main family was a good choice.

After several days of travel, they finally arrived in the Land of Iron.

Before entering the populous city, Shibi handed Satoru a pair of circular thin lenses.

"Satoru, your Byakugan is too conspicuous and unsuitable for covert operations. Wear these."

Satoru took them, examining them curiously, and his eyes widened.

"These are... coloured contact lenses?"

No way! Did the ninja world even have coloured contacts?

Shibi scratched his head awkwardly, "These are used by ANBU to disguise eye colour. Don't worry, though they look odd, they're quite comfortable to wear."

After putting them on, Satoru blinked. His vision remained unchanged, and he felt no significant discomfort after adjusting.

Looking in the mirror, he saw that his pupils had turned the common brown of the ninja world, making him look just like any other person.

Satoru thought with a sigh that the technological tree of the ninja world had really taken a bizarre turn.

With preparations complete, the two entered the capital city of the Land of Iron.

The Land of Iron was a typical samurai nation, with architecture reminiscent of the Warring States period. On the streets, many armoured samurai walked about with long swords at their waists.

"Samurai don't use ninjutsu, but their bio-magnetic fields are much stronger than regular ninja."

Looking at the samurai on the street, Satoru clicked his tongue in wonder.

A strong bio-magnetic field was closely related to physical prowess, and none of the samurai he saw had fields weaker than those of a Chunin. Some were even comparable to Jonin or Taijutsu specialists.

It's no wonder samurai could establish a nation despite the ninjas' dominance. Their physical strength alone surpassed many ninjas.

A Taijutsu specialist focused on swordsmanship?

It seemed he had a perfect counter for them. Satoru shrugged.

Covered in metal armour and wielding metal swords, these samurai wouldn't stand a chance against him.