Chapter 292: Danger in the Desert

"Shouldn't ANBU be all about dangerous missions? Like assassinating enemy Daimyos or burning down enemy granaries, not delivering supplies like when I first became a Ninja."

As soon as Tenko left Konoha, he complained to Tatsuma, expressing his frustration. As the first ANBU member from the Uchiha clan, Tenko had been thrilled for a long time. He had held back for quite a while before deciding not to share this news with his grandmother and younger brother. It was also thanks to the past few years of concealing the Sharingan that he had become much more discreet.

But when he eagerly received Tatsuma's mission notice and rushed to the assembly point, he discovered that their mission was actually to transport supplies.

Such a task was no different from when he had just graduated from the Academy and followed the main forces to the Land of Rivers battlefield to deliver supplies. Even a group of Genin could handle it—what was the point of him being there?

"Transport supplies? How did you come to think that was the mission?"

Tatsuma's tone was teasing, but Tenko didn't seem to catch on and said, "It was written on the mission scroll. I was the last one to see it, and I even burned it after reading. Could I have gotten it wrong?"

"Our mission this time is to attract no fewer than twenty rogue ninjas and cause a disturbance within the Land of Wind, ideally making things difficult for Hidden Cloud Village. It's not about transporting supplies."

After Tatsuma finished speaking, Tenko was silent for a few seconds, and his movements while leaping through the trees became slightly unsteady, nearly causing him to fall.

However, the stumble was inevitable, and it made him snap back to reality. He quickly returned to Tatsuma's side and said:

"Impossible! Although my cipher decoding isn't very proficient yet, the content I decoded is worlds apart from what you described. How could I have read it so wrong?!"

"If you don't believe it, you can ask Owl and Caterpillar."

Hearing this, a reluctant Tenko actually went to ask Minato and Shicho. After a while, Tenko finally believed it and stopped speaking.

Hours later, when they stopped to rest, Tenko asked with a slightly trembling voice, "Is there some kind of insider deal for me to join ANBU? I can't even decode ANBU ciphers—how could I possibly pass the ANBU test? Leader, we can't be doing this! I don't want to become an example of ANBU's self-reformation!"

"Hahaha~" x3

Listening to Tenko's words and his fearful, aggrieved, and resentful tone, the other three burst into laughter.

Although Tenko's passing the test did seem a bit like special treatment, his performance did indeed meet the minimum requirements for ANBU. While no ANBU Ninja has ever just barely passed, as the line is the minimum requirement, each person invited by ANBU actually exceeds at least one or more requirements.

For example, Tatsuma scored full marks in all theoretical and technical assessments, and even won Shinku Yuhi's practical assessment with a single victory.

Caterpillar may seem extremely mediocre and often jokes about it, but he is an expert in corpse handling and trace elimination among ninjas.

It can be said that Tenko is the most ordinary among those recruited externally into ANBU. However, due to his young age and potential, combined with the leniency from Tatsuma, Sakumo Hatake, and Sarutobi Hiruzen, he was smoothly admitted.

Otherwise, he would have been assessed for at least another year and a half to evaluate his potential and possible growth range before being admitted.

But Tenko was unaware of all this. He only knew that whenever he thought of the assessment scenes, the attitude of each examiner towards him was quite unsatisfactory.

With this current blunder, Tenko became even more doubtful, wondering if he was completely unqualified to join ANBU. The thought that his friends might have engaged in some improper actions to get him into ANBU left him anxious and worried.

Tatsuma stopped teasing him and said, "There's no problem with your interpretation of the cipher. We did indeed leave the village under the guise of transporting supplies, but it's actually a double-layered confidential mission."

"Double-layered confidential mission?"

Relieved, Tenko's eyes lit up at the grand-sounding term. Tatsuma then explained their real mission to Tenko.

After listening, Tenko had an epiphany, slapped his thigh, and said, "Just wait and see! Leader, I'll definitely take out all those who are targeting you!

But if you can sense their locations, why wait for them to approach? Why not take the initiative to find them?"

"Sensing and visual perception are still quite different. I can sense their locations, but I can't understand their stances, observation directions, or what they're doing.

If I act rashly, I might be discovered early. I don't want to alert them unnecessarily."

In fact, Tenko's suggestion had also been considered by Tatsuma, but due to limitations in his abilities, he couldn't ensure it would be done effectively, so it was safer to wait.

Of course, Tenko's suggestion wasn't entirely unfeasible. If Caterpillar did retire and Sento was brought into the team, they could use his Byakugan to initiate a counter-hunting mode. This is essentially the counter-surveillance function of the Execution squad that Tatsuma had previously considered.

However, Sento couldn't join ANBU in the short term, and with Caterpillar still in the team, even if Tatsuma knew the solution, he wouldn't reveal it in front of Caterpillar.

Tenko, being more straightforward and less complicated than Tatsuma, simply nodded and assumed his suggestion was a dead end.

"Badger, is your stamina okay?" Tatsuma shifted the topic, saying, "For this operation, I plan to draw the battlefield into the Land of Wind. On one hand, this will reduce the losses for the Land of Fire; on the other hand, it relates to our official mission."

"Are we really delivering supplies? Isn't it a double-layered confidential mission? But my stamina is fine; I can run for three days and nights without any problem."

Fearing Tatsuma might think he was making excuses to back out, Tenko slapped his chest to show that he was definitely up for it.

Tatsuma explained, "We are indeed delivering supplies, and the location has been decided after multiple discussions. However, the recipients of these supplies are not our Konoha spies sent to the Land of Wind but rather ninjas from Hidden Sand Village."

"Huh? Are we inciting Sand Ninjas?"

"Not exactly. Our movements have been deliberately leaked by the village, and those receiving this information won't be limited to just rogue ninjas from the gold exchange but also various ninja villages, including Hidden Sand Village. Once we enter the Land of Wind, Sand Ninjas will definitely come to stop us, either to kill us or to find out our purpose in the Land of Wind. In any case, they will come."

As Tatsuma spoke, there seemed to be a faint, almost imperceptible laugh from beneath his mask. He added, "And the supplies we're carrying are explosive tags."

Tenko, who had been somewhat confused, finally realized what the supplies were when he heard they were explosive tags. He clenched his left hand into a fist, fingers pointing upwards, and then abruptly opened his hand.

Although he didn't say anything explicitly, his meaning was clear. Tatsuma nodded and said, "Exactly, a work of art in explosions."

"Heh heh heh~ You're so bad~"

Tenko said sarcastically. After speaking, he instantly stood up, bounced in place a couple of times, stretched his wrists and ankles, and then said:

"So what are we waiting for? Let's get going!"

Since the team was already accommodating Tenko's pace and stamina, and seeing that he was eager to move, Tatsuma didn't insist on him resting. He nodded and said, "Alright, let's move quickly."

The four set off again towards the Land of Wind. Tatsuma hadn't traveled in this direction for several years and felt a bit nostalgic.

During the journey, Tatsuma and Minato also left behind Flying Thunder God Marks as they went. They did this every time they went out, especially after missions in Hidden Cloud Village, where they increased the frequency and reduced the distance between the marks.

Because of Tatsuma's injury, one of the major reasons, aside from his underestimating the Third Raikage's speed, was the lack of "transfer stations," which made Tatsuma's sensing take longer.

This loses the essence of Flying Thunder God's agility. The simplest way to address this is to have one or more teleportation points within a range where you can always sense them.

This is the most suitable method. Expanding the conventional sensing range consumes too much Chakra. Although Tatsuma's Chakra reserves have increased significantly, it's still not something he can afford to squander.

The cost-effectiveness of leaving more Flying Thunder God Marks is much better, especially since it's just a matter of convenience while traveling.

After two days of travel, Tatsuma and his group finally crossed the Land of Rivers and arrived in the Land of Wind. Standing on the yellow sand, Tatsuma looked into the distance and said:

"This is truly a wonderful place!"

Tenko swallowed, his legs feeling a bit weak. The thirst, sticky sweat, and glaring sunlight were making him very uncomfortable. Looking at the endless yellow sand, he said:

"What's so good about this place? There isn't even a drop of water, let alone a place with air conditioning."

"The Leader means that this place is very suitable as a graveyard for enemies. After all, the shifting yellow sand is like the sea—it can quickly wash away traces, which will significantly reduce your workload."

Caterpillar said slowly, adjusting his sunglasses. As the only one wearing sunglasses among the four, he was extremely comfortable and thus more enthusiastic about the conversation than usual.

Hearing this, Tenko also realized, saying, "That actually makes a lot of sense. From this perspective, this place really is a good spot."

Minato, who was crouching on the ground and not participating in the conversation, was noticed by Tatsuma for his odd behavior. Tatsuma asked, "Owl, did you find something?"

"Hmm."

After a nasal sound, Minato picked up a handful of yellow sand from the ground and said, "This sand is not right."

"Is there gold?! I take back what I just said; this is definitely a good place!"

Tenko leaned in for a closer look and became excited. Tatsuma, however, frowned. Finding gold in a desert in this world of Naruto might not necessarily be a good thing.

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