Chapter 59 Collective Action

Birds chirped and twittered, the daylight brightened, and a few sparrows perched on branches, looking around in all directions. As the scorching sun emerged from the clouds, the sparrows flew away with crisp chirps.

"The weather is getting hotter and hotter." Logan pulled open the wooden paper door, trying to disperse the obvious heat in the air by waving his hand.

The Land of Fire was located in the center of the continent, occupying the most fertile and prosperous land. However, due to certain undisclosed but widely known reasons, the seasons were peculiar. Not to mention the neighboring Land of Rain next door, even the Land of Wind nearby was unpredictable.

Fortunately, it is quite normal here in Konoha, with four distinct seasons. As summer deepened, people started wearing lighter clothes.

Logan woke up a bit later than usual today. After getting dressed, he headed to the ANBU's Headquarters for work.

On the way, street vendors began setting up stalls selling cooling and refreshing fruits. Despite the hot weather, Konoha remained bustling.

Logan pondered as he walked, 'Should I reduce the amount of training?'

Logan remembered that the Ninja Academy would be over in the evening. Almost another week had passed since the last time, so Sasuke should come to 'submit his homework' today.

The two of them had gradually become familiar with each other. Of course, Logan was already very familiar with Sasuke. Through continuous guidance and occasionally showing off, the relationship between Sasuke and Logan grew. Sasuke even started to differentiate when facing Logan compared to others, at least his expression wasn't as cold as before.

Arriving at the ANBU's Headquarters, Logan noticed that there were more people than usual.

He's a little confused. There aren't many ANBU's people in the first place, and usually, there are very few people walking around in the building, 'Could there be some collective action?'

Based on past experience, Logan thought this way, and a few minutes later, he awkwardly found out that he had really hit the mark.

In the office, Takeshi's expression was solemn. As soon as Logan entered, he straightforwardly said, "There is a mission."

Logan, who originally wanted to joke around a bit, saw Takeshi's expression and had to straighten up as well, "What mission?"

'Why is the atmosphere so heavy? As a leader, shouldn't you need to be calm? Didn't you see that a bunch of colleagues outside were all wearing stern faces? If this continues, how can we develop the unique ideological character of Konoha's ANBU...'

"It's a mission against the traitor, Orochimaru." Takeshi was quite direct, even to the point of startling Logan, who wasn't prepared.

"Ah, Orochimaru!" Logan reacted.

Takeshi looked at Logan strangely, "You seem to be very excited. Do you have any grudge against him?"

"No... He's one of the Legendary Sannin, after all. I've heard of him." When faced with Takeshi's question, Logan casually replied.

Takeshi, who was talking about business, was meticulous and corrected Logan's concept, "Now, Orochimaru is just a traitor, a lunatic who is obsessed with human experiments and has no humanity."

The title of Sannin is almost universally known in the Ninja World. This legend was once a source of pride for Konoha, but times had changed, and friends could become enemies.

A mission is a mission, and Logan naturally had no objections. Moreover, while he admired Orochimaru when watching the anime, in reality, no one would accept his inhumane experiments.

Without grudges or grievances, but because of conflicting positions and Orochimaru's hands were stained with countless crimes and blood, Logan had no psychological burden if he was told to fight Orochimaru.

Takeshi then handed over the mission briefing, "According to the information collected earlier, Orochimaru has joined the Akatsuki organization, but for some reason, he has recently withdrawn from there..."

Takeshi said. It is universally known that every Ninja Village would send people to pay attention to the Ninjas who defected from their own villages, and even special departments like ANBU would go to assassinate them to solve the troubles. As for figure at Orochimaru's level, Konoha would certainly keep a close watch on them.

'It seems being a traitor is very troublesome...'

Logan sighed secretly, as he was also carrying another identity now.

"...But Orochimaru hasn't been idle. Recently, a team obtained important information after investigation. The other party seems to be showing signs of establishing a Ninja Village."

Takeshi focused on briefing Logan about the mission, and a file that had been inadvertently placed underneath was inadvertently exposed.

[Missing-Nin Assassination List. ]

[1. Name: Orochimaru, Danger level: S...]

[2. Name: Uchiha Itachi, Danger Level: S...]

[3. Name...]

Logan's expression shifted slightly. For a moment, he didn't pay attention to what Takeshi said. Regarding Itachi appearing on the assassination list... He already expected so. But he just didn't expect that he would be ranked so high, second on the list…

'However, Itachi was instructed by Konoha's higher-ups to be an undercover agent, so him being ranked so high would make his job easier. And the actual resistance from the village would be much smaller, so it was just a formality.'

Then suddenly, Logan had a terrible thought, 'What if one day, I also have to leave with Akatsuki? Where would I rank on this list?'

Well, the lower the ranking, the better. That way, there will be less trouble. But why couldn't he resist the urge to compare himself with others?

Takeshi noticed that Logan's distracted gaze and furrowed his brow. At the next moment, he immediately noticed the problem.

Stopping his speech, he put the list back in the drawer, his expression calm as he looked at Logan and said, ""Don't dwell too much on Itachi's situation... Everyone has their own choice."

Itachi's defection may have caused Takeshi to be even more disappointed, because he originally had high hopes for this ANBU's genius. And unlike Logan and a few others who knew the truth, it wasn't easy for him to speak so calmly during this period.

"Don't worry, I'm fine with it." Logan could only smile at this. He really didn't have that much thought. He also finished thinking about it on the night of the genocide.

Takeshi looked at Logan's expression carefully, and sensed no deception from him. He nodded and began discussing the details of the mission.

"Let's continue... The Land of Rice Fields, located north of the Land of Fire's border, has traditionally been guarded by Samurai. However, there have been rumors recently that the Daimyo of the Land of Rice Fields intends to establish a Ninja Village."

Logan knew that the subsequent Otogakure was indeed Orochimaru's handiwork.

"Is there evidence of Orochimaru's involvement?"

"It's very likely." Takeshi said, "If the Ninja Village is not established by strong people, it will not be able to gain a foothold."

Logan held the mission briefing, scanning through most of it. When he saw the operational plan, a look of surprise flashed in his eyes.

"Four teams?"

Takeshi nodded, "You were the last one to be notified. Three teams, nine people, and you alone count as one team, making a total of ten people."

Logan had already seen that all their forces were Jonin. The ten of them working together would be a force that could not be ignored. When he heard that he was considered one team by himself, Logan felt a bit embarrassed.

After all, he's an ANBU Captain, yet did not form a team for a long time and went alone, which was not in line with the rules.

[Mainly for reconnaissance, and if possible, carry out sabotage. ]That was the mission objective. As for why it wasn't to capture Orochimaru, perhaps the higher-ups felt it was unrealistic to capture Orochimaru, who had cunning methods, with just these people.

"When will we gather?" Logan shrugged. This time, their opponent was Orochimaru. But he could even survive against Akatsuki, so Orochimaru should be no problem.

"Tonight."

Logan was taken aback and rubbed his face, 'It wasn't tomorrow? Sasuke should be coming over in the evening.'