Ambush

After continuously completing several D-rank missions, one day, Satoru and his companions were summoned by Shibi to a training ground.

After briefly explaining the mission requirements, Shibi spoke in a solemn tone, "Do you all understand the requirements of this mission?"

"We understand," Anko hesitated a bit and raised her hand, "but Sensei, is it too difficult for us to undertake a B-rank mission on our first outing?"

The leaf village's scouts had discovered traces of Iwa shinobis' activities near the border of the Grass Country. It seemed they were searching for supplies, and their mission was to prevent them from taking those supplies back.

These kinds of missions involving clashes between shinobi from two countries have a minimum starting rank of B.

"The enemies' highest strength is only Chunin level. If it were just me, I could finish them off in an instant. This is for your experience," said Shibi.

"Quite straightforward," Anko's mouth twitched.

Satoru's eyes flickered as he saw the traces of Iwa shinobi near the border. This was a prelude to war, indicating that the disastrous Third War, as he remembered it, was not far off.

With their team's composition, his Byakugan's strategic significance, and Shibi's versatility, there was no way they would be assigned to a simple mission.

Rin, on the other hand, didn't think so much and was eager to try.

"Then it's decided. You have half an hour to prepare supplies, and we'll gather here in half an hour."

...

After several days of travel, Satoru and his companions finally arrived at the location indicated in the intelligence. Standing on a tree branch, they could see a lush green plain.

"According to the latest intelligence, the group of Iwa shinobis will be transporting supplies through here. My mission is to prevent them from taking the supplies back," Satoru said.

He hid in the bushes and silently observed the surroundings.

During this period, searching for supplies undoubtedly meant preparing for war. Intercepting the Iwa shinobis' supplies might delay the arrival of the Third War, and time was what they needed the most now.

His Byakugan had been honed to the limit, and after more than a year of training, its range had increased to three kilometers.

Before long, a disguised merchant caravan appeared in his field of view. Through the Byakugan, he could see the decent chakra flow in their bodies.

"They're here!" Satoru whispered, "Three o'clock direction, three kilometers away, five opponents, four Chunin and one Genin."

"Five shinobis?" Anko swallowed unconsciously.

"We have Shibi with us. There shouldn't be too much to worry about."

When she looked back, however, she was startled.

Huh? Where's Shibi-sensei?

He was just here a moment ago. How could he disappear?

Except for the three of them, the hidden bushes were empty.

"Never mind, don't worry about Shibi-sensei. He probably went to another place to watch the battle. We have to handle this fight on our own for now."

Satoru took a deep breath, calming his emotions, and looked at the other two.

"At this distance, they should pass by here in about three minutes. Let's plan our tactics. First..."

Anko and Rin listened in silence.

...

At the front of the formation, Iwato took the lead, and the five-man caravan looked like an ordinary merchant group. But if one looked carefully, they could vaguely see the equipment of shinobis, such as shuriken and kunai, hidden under their dusty clothes.

This time, the supply handover went quite smoothly. As long as they delivered the supplies back, they would receive a reward from the Tsuchikage.

Iwato was happy in his heart. Their team had departed from the Land of Craftsmen, passed through the Land of Grass, and now they were getting closer to the Land of Earth.

As they passed by a patch of bushes, an unexpected incident occurred!

A shuriken suddenly shot out from the bushes, straight towards Iwato.

An ambush?

Do they think they can harm me with such an attack? Iwato's eyes turned cold.

He held a kunai to block the path of the incoming shuriken, but just as the shuriken was about to be blocked by Iwato, its trajectory suddenly changed strangely. It carved a curved path and firmly nailed itself into Iwato's throat.

His pupils shrank in surprise, and Iwato's mouth opened wide, his face full of disbelief. He wanted to say something, but his mouth was filled with foamy blood.

"Iwato, the captain!"

"Damn it!"

"Enemies attack!"

Seeing their captain fall in such a tragic state, the Iwa shinobi team quickly calmed down after a moment of panic. They tore off their disguised cloaks, revealing full shinobi gear underneath.

Since they had fallen into an ambush, their identities had already been exposed. Continuing to disguise themselves would only make the battle more inconvenient.

As they removed their disguises, three figures suddenly rushed out of the bushes, wielding kunai in their hands and charging toward the Iwa shinobis.

"Byakugan? Just three little brats managed to kill Iwato?"

The large-built Iwa shinobi clenched his teeth. Looking at the position of the carriage, he shouted, "Kaito, guard the supplies. We'll handle these three brats!"

"Got it!" The slim Iwa shinobi responded.

Seeing that one of the remaining Iwa shinobis did not rush over but chose to guard the supplies, Satoru was delighted. This way, their lineup would be perfectly matched—three against three, reducing the pressure.

"Rin and I will deal with the two Chunin, and Anko, you stop the Genin."

"Understood!"

Satoru faced the large Iwa shinobi, and he consecutively threw several shuriken while in mid-air, but the trajectory of the shuriken was suddenly changed by the opponent using a kunai to block them. They only caused some superficial injuries.

"Little brat, you killed Iwato with such an ability?"

As the large Iwa shinobi gazed at the bloodied wound from the shuriken, he clenched his teeth tightly.

"Controlling shuriken, what a bizarre ability! No wonder Iwato was hit. However, it's useless now."

Satoru's expression remained unchanged as he used electromagnetic force to alter the trajectory of the shuriken. Though the ability was peculiar, its most significant effect was the element of surprise. If the opponent was prepared, its efficacy would be limited.

Revealing this ability was traded for the life of their strongest member. No matter how one looked at it, it was a favorable exchange!

On the other side, Rin's expression was somewhat solemn as she held kunai in both hands, parrying the rapid slashes of a shinobi sword.

"A sword user? Quite troublesome."

Performing a backflip to avoid a slash aimed at her waist, Rin spat disdainfully.

One had to admit that a sword user was quite effective against her type of combat. Her short-range combat advantage with kunai didn't work well here, and using ninjutsu would leave her vulnerable to rapid close-quarters attacks. For the time being, the battle had reached a stalemate.

Anko's fight was also quite dangerous. Her opponent was much more experienced than her and had her pinned down.

Withdrawing his gaze, Satoru thought to himself, "We can't delay any longer. We must end the battle quickly and go support them."

The large Iwa shinobi, who was facing Satoru, seemed to have seen through his intentions and smiled. "As long as I'm here, you won't be able to help them at all."

"After delaying for so long, it's time to end this."

"Secret Technique! Rock Armor!"

The large Iwa shinobi suddenly made hand seals, and his body was covered in dense rocks, making him look like a giant stone man.

The giant opened his mouth, emitting a deep, rumbling sound like wind howling through a valley.

"Little brat with the Byakugan, you're from the Hyuga clan, right? I refrained from close combat earlier because of your Gentle Fist. But now, with this Rock Armor, your Gentle Fist won't be able to break my defense."

With that, he charged toward Satoru, his sandal-like fists aimed at Satoru's head.

"Who told you I was using Gentle Fist?"

Satoru raised an eyebrow, crouched slightly, and quickly formed a hand seal at the giant's side.

With a muffled sound, severe pain made the giant Iwa shinobi's pupils contract. Looking down, he saw that the spot where Satoru had touched had completely disappeared, leaving a blood-red hole.

"Huh, my waist hurts?"