"What incredible body flicker speed…"
Activating his Byakugan, Hyuga Satoru peered in the direction where the black-clad ninja had vanished—but saw nothing. He extended his vision range further and still found no trace of the man. The opponent's speed far exceeded his expectations.
A faint sigh escaped his lips. The world was vast indeed—encountering a random ninja mid-mission, only to find that person possessed such overwhelming strength, was a sobering reminder of how small he still was.
"The enemy's gone," Satoru said, turning toward Aburame Shibi, who was still in a defensive stance. Caught off guard by the sudden appearance of such a formidable foe, Shibi had stayed tense, expecting a follow-up strike. Only after Satoru spoke did he realize the enemy had already retreated.
Cold sweat dotted his forehead. Seeing Satoru standing beside Guy, Shibi's heart finally eased a little.
The Byakugan of the Hyuga clan was an invaluable asset in battle—having Satoru present meant they didn't have to fear a sneak attack.
It was supposed to be a simple side task—exterminating a human-trafficking ring during their mission route—yet somehow they'd encountered a ninja of frightening power. The sudden ambush had left Shibi badly shaken.
"You made it, Satoru," Shibi said after steadying his breathing. "What's the situation inside?"
"Shisui's rescuing the captives," Satoru replied. "When I sensed fighting, I came ahead to assist. That black-clad ninja who fled—what was his deal?"
For some reason, that man had felt familiar to Satoru. He was sure he'd never met him before, yet the sense of familiarity was so strong it left him unsettled, gnawing at his thoughts even after the man's disappearance.
"No idea," Shibi said, his eyes narrowing. "But he came together with this guy."
He turned sharply toward the richly dressed middle-aged man Might Guy had pinned down.
"Hey—you. Was that your bodyguard?" Shibi demanded coldly.
The man's eyes flicked nervously toward the Leaf headbands they wore. He swallowed hard and stammered, "N-No! He's—he's my employer! Please, let me go! I don't know anything! I only did what the boss told me—I was just transporting goods!"
"I'm just a merchant, I swear! I don't know anything else!"
Seeing the Konoha ninja, the man had already guessed he'd been caught in something serious. His "generous employer" was likely someone Konoha had been watching.
While the Land of Fire was governed by the daimyo's administration, Konoha, as the nation's primary military organization, held significant autonomy.
In cases like human trafficking, the ninja of Konoha had full discretionary authority—they didn't need to report to the daimyo.
The man might call himself a "simple merchant," but this wasn't his first job for that employer—and he knew perfectly well what his "cargo" really was.
"You think we'll believe that?" Shibi said, his voice icy. "Don't worry—you'll tell us everything soon enough."
If this had merely been a mundane trafficking case, Shibi wouldn't have been this serious. But the moment a ninja became involved, the nature of the incident changed entirely.
His instincts told him this was far more complicated than it appeared.
Even if it wasn't directly related to their assigned mission, an unknown, powerful ninja operating inside the Land of Fire—and connected to a trafficking network—was something Konoha could not ignore.
Whatever this man's background was, interrogation would sort it out.
Hearing Shibi's words, the merchant collapsed to the floor, trembling and begging for mercy. But none of the Konoha ninja paid him any heed.
They waited in the warehouse for a while longer. When no other traffickers appeared, Satoru and the others realized it was time to wrap up.
Using the Flying Thunder God Technique, Satoru transported the rescued orphans directly to the temple where they'd been lodging.
Abbot Wuzhen, still half-asleep, was roused by his disciples. Seeing the children suddenly appear in the courtyard, his expression became… complicated—somewhere between shock and joy.
After chanting a brief sutra under his breath, he hurried to arrange lodging for the rescued children.
Meanwhile, Shibi, as team leader, compiled his mission report and sent it back to Konoha via messenger hawk.
The report included details of the unidentified ninja and requested that the village dispatch additional personnel to take over the matter.
The rescued children would need identification; those who could be reunited with their families would be returned home. The rest—orphans with no traceable kin—would be taken to Konoha's orphanage.
The follow-up work was extensive—well beyond what Shibi's small squad could handle.
That night, as the team busied themselves cleaning up, a massive fire broke out in the western slums of Garan City. The blaze spread quickly among the tightly packed wooden homes and wasn't extinguished until dawn.
Satoru's team, exhausted from their mission, paid the incident little attention.
By morning, an ANBU squad from Konoha arrived to take over. The surviving traffickers and the captured merchant were handed to them, and the children were also placed under ANBU custody.
Having worked through the night, Satoru's team finally earned a day of rest.
Perhaps word of Konoha ninja in Garan City had spread—or perhaps that great fire had spooked certain people.
Either way, despite days of covert searching, Shibi's team found nothing more about the rogue ninja. The mission had hit a dead end.
After reporting back to the village, they soon received orders to withdraw.
Only then did Satoru realize, somewhat dazed, that his first official mission as a ninja had ended in failure.
The outcome was far from what he'd imagined.
He wasn't arrogant by nature, but still—the first mission of his shinobi life ending in failure left him both disappointed and confused.
Sensing Satoru's mood, Shisui approached and said gently, "No mission ever goes perfectly, Satoru."
"This outcome… isn't so bad, right? At least, our whole team's returning home safely."
There was a quiet weight behind his words.
Having become a chunin during the Third Great Ninja War, Shisui had clearly been through countless missions—and from his tone, it was likely he'd brushed shoulders with death more than once.
Feeling that faint sorrow in Shisui's heart, Satoru nodded silently, gathering himself again.
After returning the team to the village via the Flying Thunder God, they went straight to the Hokage's office to turn in their mission scroll.
Minato did not scold them for failing. Instead, he offered a few words of reassurance and dismissed them to rest—leaving only Aburame Shibi behind.
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