New Mission

Sitting under the shade of a tree in the 44th training ground, Yami closed his eyes and concentrated his chakra. He took a deep breath, focusing on channeling the energy to his forehead, trying to form a chakra seal.

Minutes passed as he continued to concentrate, his brow furrowed in deep focus. The chakra began to gather, but just as he thought he was making progress, it suddenly dispersed, slipping out of his control. Yami's eyes snapped open, and he let out a frustrated sigh.

"I've been at this for over a month with no success," he muttered to himself. "It's harder than I thought."

But then, he reminded himself that if it were easy to master and without any drawbacks, everyone would be trying to do it.

The chakra seal he was attempting wasn't the same as Tsunade's but was similar in principle. It was a technique meant to store chakra in a specific point on the body, usually the forehead, to be released later in battle when needed. The drawback, however, was significant. If not done correctly, the chakra could disperse, as it just had, or worse, cause internal damage due to improper chakra flow, which could even lead to paralysis. It also required a huge amount of spiritual energy to continually suppress the chakra in the seal.

The strain of maintaining the seal took a toll on the user's body and mind, making it a risky technique even for experienced ninja. The amount of chakra the seal could hold depended on the user's spiritual energy; the more spiritual energy you had, the more chakra you could store, and vice versa. This limitation was why not many used this seal.

"Dammit, Hiruzen, couldn't you have given me Tsunade's technique, you cheap bastard," Yami cursed under his breath. But he knew it was unrealistic. Just because Hiruzen was the Hokage didn't mean he had the right to distribute others' secret techniques, whether he knew them or not.

'Sigh' "It doesn't matter. This seal is only temporary while my chakra capacity is low. Besides, if I think about it, this seal suits me quite well."

The seal might not be very useful now, but as long as he kept absorbing souls, his spiritual energy capacity would keep increasing, meaning he'd be able to hold more chakra. By then, he could fully utilize the seal's potential.

"I should get back home and rest," he thought.

Feeling his chakra reserves barely at half, Yami sighed and prepared to leave. But suddenly, he sensed a soul presence rapidly approaching him. To train his soul vision and increase its range, he had been trying to keep it active as long as possible, and he noticed the difference as it increased by five meters.

After a few seconds, a shadow jumped from a tree and landed in front of him.

"Anbu?!"

The Anbu, wearing a cat mask, stepped forward and spoke in a calm, measured tone. "The Hokage has summoned you."

Yami narrowed his eyes, suspicion flickering in his mind. 'How did they know I was here? Was I being watched?'

Every time he went to train, he made sure to change his training location and always used a transformation jutsu to arrive at a distance. Yet, they had found him with ease. 'Does that mean I've been watched from the start? But how did they escape my soul vision? A Hyuga, maybe?'

Then, Yami remembered something. The Hokage had a secret technique he could use to observe the entire village.

'Dammit, now I don't even have a place to train my Kekkei Genkai in secret,' he thought, frustration creeping in.

Following behind the Anbu, Yami's thoughts were distracted, contemplating where he could train now. 'I don't know the range of Hiruzen's telescope jutsu, so I'll assume it covers the whole village, which means there's no safe place to practice.'

He couldn't go outside the village either. The barrier that surrounded Konoha would detect his exit, and he'd likely face questions later. Even if he managed to slip away unnoticed, repeatedly passing through the barrier would undoubtedly put Konoha on high alert.

'There's another option,' he considered. 'The three holy places where the three immortal beings reside. There, I wouldn't have to worry about being spied on. Not only that, I might even secure a contract with one of the summoning beasts... and then there's natural energy.'

Yami had always intended to practice natural energy and attain Sage Mode, but his focus on mastering his Kekkei Genkai had consumed all his time. And even if he decided to train in natural energy now, it wasn't a simple task. Few people ever managed to secure a summoning contract with the three holy places, and there was no guarantee he'd be accepted. Moreover, Sage Mode was risky—one wrong move, and he could turn to stone.

'Anyway, I'll try to put it on the agenda…'

Upon entering the Hokage's office, Yami noticed that there were a few other people present besides himself.

'Ah, shit, here we go again…' he thought, already expecting what this might be about. Ignoring the others for the moment, he first saluted the Hokage.

"Lord Hokage, you requested my presence?"

Hiruzen nodded and gestured toward the people in the room. "Yes, Yami, I need you to participate in this mission."

'I knew it,' Yami thought, already anticipating this when he was called in.

Hiruzen continued, "But first, let me introduce you to a few individuals. This is Sarutobi Asuma," he said, indicating a young man with a confident stance and a stick hanging from his lips.

'Is he practicing how to hold a cigarette?' Yami wondered.

Yami nodded at Asuma, who returned the gesture.

"And this is Kurenai Yuhi," Hiruzen continued, introducing a young woman with striking red eyes and a calm demeanor. Yami exchanged a nod with her as well.

Finally, the Hokage gestured toward a man who looked to be in his mid-twenties. "And this is Sarutobi Shinsuke."

Yami's gaze lingered on Shinsuke, who nodded in acknowledgment. 'If my memories serve me right, this should be Konohamaru's father, right? But wasn't he supposed to be in the Anbu?' Yami wondered, but before he could dwell on it further, Hiruzen started explaining why they were there.

"Well, I know that I summoned you all without notice, but this matter is quite urgent and needs our immediate attention," Hiruzen said in a solemn tone. "To cut the story short, an envoy from the Tsuchigumo Clan arrived in Konoha a few hours ago with a message from the clan head…"

Yami raised his hand, interrupting Hiruzen.

"Yes?" Hiruzen prompted.

"Forgive my ignorance, but it looks like I'm the only one out of the loop here. Can anyone tell me who the Tsuchigumo Clan is?" Yami asked, noticing that everyone else was silent.

Asuma and Kurenai glanced at him briefly. In truth, neither of them knew much about the Tsuchigumo Clan either, but they were too embarrassed to interrupt the Hokage and ask. They didn't expect Yami to be so bold. Even Asuma, despite being the Hokage's son, wouldn't dare use his status to speak out so casually.

After a brief pause, Shinsuke answered, "The Tsuchigumo Clan is located in Tsuchigumo village in the south east of the land of fire, and they're quite a strong clan with powerful kinjutsu that could tip the balance of war if they decide to join one side."

"Exactly," Hiruzen nodded. "Apparently, some parties tried to win them over, but when the Tsuchigumo Clan refused, they started getting attacked. So, they sent an envoy to form an alliance with us."

"I won't sugarcoat it—you all know the precarious situation Konoha is currently facing. We're barely holding our ground against attacks from other villages. So this alliance with the Tsuchigumo Clan might prove critical in turning the tide of war in our favor and emerging victorious."

Everyone nodded, understanding the weight of their upcoming mission and its importance.

"Your mission is to escort the envoy back to his village and negotiate on Konoha's behalf for the terms of the alliance. This mission is ranked as A-level, but due to the danger you might face, it could escalate to S-rank at any time, so be careful," Hiruzen warned.

Yami finally understood why the Hokage would assign such a mission to his son. Shinsuke was probably one of the few people he could trust to negotiate in his stead. Was this perhaps an attempt to groom Shinsuke to take over as Hokage one day?

While Yami was mulling over these thoughts, Hiruzen handed a scroll to Shinsuke containing the mission details.

"You have one hour to prepare yourselves. You'll meet the envoy at the gate," Hiruzen instructed.

After a brief discussion, Hiruzen dismissed them, but before Yami could leave, the Hokage spoke up. "Yami, stay behind. I have something to discuss with you."

'Huh? What does he want? It couldn't be another bribe, right?' Yami thought, waiting to see what he was scheming.

***

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