The Shibi Aburame Squad completed their assembly at the Konoha Village gate. After the guards registered their information, they were allowed to pass. As Shibi Aburame led Shinichi and the others away, the ninjas on duty at the gate retracted their gaze and began chatting amongst themselves:
"Is that child the Hyūga Clan's prodigy?"
"Is he heading out on a mission?"
Izumo Kamizuki, at the age of 16, was at the height of his gossip-loving years. He nudged Kotetsu Hagane, his childhood friend who had just logged the group, and asked with curiosity.
"Yep, his name is Hyūga Shinichi."
"Starting with a B-rank mission right away, worthy of the Hyūga Clan," Kotetsu replied. He had the detailed registration information and didn't hide it from his partner.
"B-rank?"
Hearing the mission difficulty, Izumo was clearly surprised. He hadn't been a Chūnin for long. After graduating from the Academy, he performed D-rank and even E-rank missions, only slowly getting involved in C-rank missions after more than a year of training. Shinichi was so young, and yet his very first mission was a B-rank—this was outside his expectations.
Kotetsu, on the other hand, seemed to have an inexplicable filter of respect for the powerful Hyūga Clan, and his surprise was less evident.
"I hope they can safely complete the mission and return to Konoha," Izumo sighed softly, silently wishing his comrades well.
Outside the Village, the team immediately picked up their pace.
Their figures sped through the dense forest. Might Guy acted as the squad's arrowhead, the young Hyūga Shinichi occupied the center, and the two flanks were covered by Shibi Aburame and Uchiha Shisui.
They had temporarily tucked away their Konoha headbands. They planned to first enter Galán City, meet up with the informant, and then secretly track the Missing-nin's location to perform an assassination. Therefore, concealing their identities during this process was crucial.
For their squad, hiding their identities wasn't difficult. After all, the young age of Hyūga Shinichi and Uchiha Shisui was their best protective color. Unless people knew they were ninjas, they wouldn't have been much guard against children their age.
Given their pace, they would reach their destination in just over a day.
Along the way, the team didn't just focus on traveling. Shibi Aburame, as the captain, used the opportunity of this mission to instruct Shinichi on the basic qualities of a ninja. For example, reading tracks, tracking, identifying traps, and setting traps.
Hyūga Shinichi received the rigorous education of the Hyūga Main Family. Due to the existence of the Byakugan, the clan had never arranged courses for him on reading tracks, identifying traps, or setting traps—skills every ninja should know.
On this trip, Shibi Aburame was clearly entrusted with a task beyond the bandit suppression. He acted as a mentor, beginning to teach Shinichi these essential ninja skills. Although the instruction was aimed at Shinichi, Shibi Aburame's teaching content was also helpful to Might Guy and Shisui.
Guy became a Jōnin based on his powerful Taijutsu and massive mission volume. Outside of Taijutsu, he was not proficient in skills like tracking and trap setting. Shisui, conversely, was quite experienced in this area. While "auditing" the course, he was even able to offer supplements to Shibi Aburame's lessons, pointing out small details others might overlook. This well-rounded young man continued to impress Shibi Aburame, forcing him to refresh his understanding of Shisui. In terms of pure ninja skills, Shisui was arguably even better than he was...
The group traveled, stopping intermittently, but the teaching sessions didn't delay their journey significantly.
When the outer walls of Galán City appeared in their sight, it was evening. The sunset painted the sky a fiery red. The colorful pagodas within the city shone with a dazzling brilliance under the twilight glow.
The Land of Fire was a country with deep faith. Many people within the nation were Buddhists, and the largest temple, the Fire Temple, even monopolized all of the Daimyō's ceremonial activities. Galán City was a city of Buddha. Many temples and pagodas were built here, and the residents were mostly devout followers. The city was also a gathering point for pilgrims, tourists, and merchants from all regions, making it a relatively prosperous city within the Land of Fire.
The more chaotic the era, the stronger the power of religion. People struggling in hardship required a safe harbor when facing a chaotic world. This City of Buddha had taken in many refugees during the war.
The squad briefly paused at the city gate before entering.
The city was saturated with a thick smell of incense. Perhaps because there were too many temples and too many pilgrims coming to worship, every corner of the city was imbued with this scent. Walking on the streets, Hyūga Shinichi could even see barefoot monks walking on the pavements, chanting scriptures and offering blessings to almsgiving followers. Similar scenes were everywhere.
This scene of peace and harmony even made Shinichi momentarily believe he was not in the perpetually warring Ninja World, but in some other place entirely. If Might Guy and Uchiha Shisui weren't standing beside him, Shinichi might have genuinely lost his sense of which world he was in.
"A place like this... could a bandit group really be hiding here?" Might Guy scratched his head, voicing his confusion.
"We'll find a place to stay tonight."
"First thing tomorrow, we'll meet the informant, and then...."
Shibi Aburame was quietly discussing their next move with his teammates when he sensed someone approaching and immediately fell silent. Looking up, the group saw three monks walking slowly toward them. Before they even reached them, the lead middle-aged monk bowed deeply from a distance, then approached and spoke:
"Are you travelers from out of town?"
"Have you found lodging? Our temple has empty rooms. If you don't mind..."
Shinichi and the others thought the monks were there to ask for alms, but they were unexpectedly there to offer lodging!
"For accommodation, the cost is..." Shibi Aburame intended to follow local custom. If they had a place to stay, he didn't mind staying at a temple.
"No payment is required. If you could help us with some simple sweeping and cleaning tasks at the temple, that would be sufficient." The monk bowed, his words surprising the group.
Just as they were conversing, two children in rags ran out from a nearby alley, crashing head-on into the monks and knocking the middle-aged monk to the ground. The begging bowl in the monk's hand dropped. The two children quickly snatched the bowl, then swiftly ran into the alley opposite, disappearing from sight.
By the time the two younger monks helped their master up, the two street urchins were long gone.
"Master, are you alright?"
"I'll go chase them to retrieve your property."
The young monk was about to leave, but was held back by the older man.
"Let it go..."
"Let it go..."
Repeating the phrase twice, the middle-aged monk clearly had no intention of retrieving his "rice bowl." Witnessing this, Shibi Aburame and Might Guy exchanged glances, developing a slight favorable impression of the monk.
Hyūga Shinichi activated his Byakugan and focused on the direction the two street urchins had fled. After they navigated several street corners, he saw them knock on the door of a house in a dark alley. They were let in by a strong man, handed over the begging bowl, and received a few paper bills in return.
The Great Monk's item... could actually be traded for money?
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