Chapter 21: First Mission
Hidden Mist Village, Anbu Main Base, Commander's Office.
"Is it really okay for our squad to carry out this mission?" Kazama asked, filled with worry.
"Kazama, don't worry. Their abilities are sufficient for this task. Go!" Ken, the Anbu Commander and also the Captain of the entire Anbu corps, replied with confidence in his voice.
Generally, an Anbu squad consists of one Jōnin, one Elite Chūnin, and two Chūnin. However, Kazama's Sixth Squad unusually had two Jōnin. Kazama understood that his squad was considered luxurious in terms of Anbu squad configurations, but after all, two of them were rookies who had not yet carried out any Anbu missions. Therefore, Kazama still felt a bit uneasy.
First Training Ground, Kiyoshi, Yagura, and Senno were in a detailed conversation, getting to know each other's fighting styles and abilities.
At this moment, Kazama instantly appeared in front of the three.
"Check your equipment. Mission location: the capital of the Land of Water. Gather at Gate 6 in fifteen minutes. Dismissed!"
Hearing the order, the three quickly dispersed. Kiyoshi put on his mask, donned his gray Hidden Mist flak jacket, and then put on a dark blue-black Hidden Mist insignia battle robe. Having prepared everything, he quickly ran towards the gate.
"Let's go!" After everyone had arrived, Kazama gave the command.
"Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!"
Four sounds of air being cut rang out, and the figures of the four disappeared from their original positions.
"The mission was issued by the Daimyo's Mansion of the Land of Water. The mission objective is to secretly eliminate a general in the Land of Water. This involves the internal political struggle of the capital, and it's inconvenient for our Hidden Mist to directly intervene. Since the mission was very likely directly ordered by the Daimyo, it can only be entrusted to our Anbu for assassination, and we must not leave a single trace." During their travel, Kazama explained the detailed situation of the mission to the three.
"We already have the target's specific information, but to be absolutely safe, we need to conduct another reconnaissance after arriving in the capital," Kazama said cautiously, not fully trusting the information provided by the Daimyo's Mansion.
"Yes!" the three replied simultaneously.
Among the four, the weakest was already a Chūnin. Therefore, traveling at full speed, it only took them two days. On the evening of the second day, the four arrived at the capital of the Land of Water. As the capital controlling the economic lifeline of the Land of Water, it was very prosperous. Although it was already late, it was still bustling with noise.
"Let's rest for the night and split up to gather intelligence tomorrow," Kazama decided after casually finding an inn to stay in.
As the four who had come to carry out an assassination mission, and whose target was an important figure in the Land of Water, it was best for them not to go to the Hidden Mist's official office in the Land of Water out of caution. And although the Anbu also had a base in the capital, the four also did not go there in order to avoid leaving any clues.
The next day, the four who had rested and recuperated began collecting intelligence.
Kazama was responsible for personally investigating the security of the general's mansion, Kiyoshi was responsible for formulating the retreat plan and route, and Yagura and Senno were responsible for collecting relevant information about the general himself.
Not long after, Kazama quietly returned, and then Kiyoshi, who had been observing the surrounding routes, also returned to the lodging.
"Did you find anything?" Kiyoshi asked.
"The security is very tight. There are patrolling soldiers everywhere, and samurai are stationed at key locations. There should also be hidden ninjas lurking. I was afraid of alarming them, so I didn't investigate deeply. Tonight, we'll investigate again together. We'll need to rely on your and Yagura's sensory abilities," Kazama replied, his tone slightly serious.
Under such tight security, wanting to complete the assassination silently and then retreat without being discovered by the guards was simply extremely difficult.
Around noon, Yagura and Senno, who had gone out to collect intelligence, also returned.
"Our guess was correct. The Daimyo personally issued the mission 99% of the time!" Senno opened with a bombshell.
"We learned from the close subordinates of the Land of Water's Daimyo that recently, this general and the Daimyo have repeatedly argued. The general holds a large number of troops and has privately raised many samurai, forming a substantial threat to the Daimyo's rule. In addition, their political views are completely opposite, so the Daimyo wants to use our Hidden Mist to eliminate him," Yagura added.
"As expected! It seems this general is also afraid that the Daimyo will secretly attack him, no wonder the defenses in his mansion are so tight!" The expression on Kazama's face was not good.
"Damn Daimyo!" Kazama, who came from the Anbu, was only loyal to the Mizukage and had no respect for the Daimyo.
The group, having not reached a conclusion, prepared to wait until night to investigate the general's mansion again before making further plans.
At night, Kazama led Kiyoshi and Yagura to quietly infiltrate the general's mansion.
On the roof of the gatehouse at the side entrance of the general's mansion, three dark figures quietly lay prone. Kazama signaled Kiyoshi and Yagura with his eyes to use their sensing abilities.
Yagura formed hand seals with both hands, his Chakra slightly fluctuating as his sensory perception quickly enveloped the general's mansion.
Kiyoshi's movements were even simpler. He slightly closed his eyes, kept his body still, and the Chakra throughout his body gradually became active. He brought the index and middle fingers of his right hand together and touched the roof tiles. In an instant, the situation inside the general's mansion appeared in Kiyoshi's mind as if he had a god's-eye view.
"Ninja Art: Chakra Sensing Technique!"