Chapter 35

Morning.

Ayane was playing with the bird in the cage in the hallway, a gentle smile on her fair and clean face.

At the other end of the hallway, Hizashi, who had already finished washing up, saw this scene. The beautiful moment seemed to freeze, and Hizashi was momentarily lost in thought.

It had been several years since he first met Ayane.

At that time, he never thought that Ayane would stay by his side and become his maid.

"Good morning, Young Master Hizashi."

When Ayane saw Hizashi, she calmly stood up, stopped playing with the bird, and smiled at him with warmth and respect.

Her pure white eyes conveyed all the beauty of the world.

Every time Hizashi saw Ayane's eyes, he had the same question in his heart.

Has she accepted her fate in the branch family?

Has she truly submitted to the main family?

There was no resentment or hostility in her eyes.

It seemed that over the years, she had let go of her prejudice against the main family.

"Good morning, Ayane."

Hizashi was not a deliberately cold person, and both he and Ayane were very clear about this.

But because he was too gentle, he had to maintain a serious and stern image.

His gentleness could be a disaster for the Hyuga clan and could hurt others.

His gentleness had once hurt his younger brother, Neji, so he did not want Ayane, who had been his maid for years, to be hurt as well.

"I heard you are going on a mission, is that right?"

"Yes, Young Master Hizashi. I am very sorry, but I may not be able to serve you at all times in the future."

Ayane bowed apologetically.

"That's fine. The Hyuga clan is also a part of Konoha. Don't worry, your team leader, Sakumo Hatake, is an excellent ninja."

Hizashi seemed to know something.

"Did you request this from the clan head, Young Master Hizashi?"

Ayane's pure white eyes were filled with a gentle, unadulterated color.

Hizashi did not answer.

He passed by Ayane with a calm expression.

Ayane checked the time; it was almost time to gather, so she prepared to leave.

"Um..."

Hizashi's voice came from behind.

Ayane turned her head, looking at Hizashi with a puzzled expression.

Hizashi did not turn around, his back facing Ayane.

"Please take care of yourself."

After saying this, Hizashi suddenly quickened his pace and disappeared at the end of the hallway.

Unlike the cold and proud members of the main family, Hizashi always had a soft spot in his heart.

Ayane smiled gently, as if she had heard Hizashi's words, or perhaps she hadn't.

She tied her forehead protector to her forehead, her black, silky hair flowing down. She paused for a moment in the hallway, then lifted her feet and walked out of the Hyuga clan's territory.

I don't deserve such treatment, Young Master Hizashi. She left this thought in her heart.

◎

After the exorbitantly priced barbecue yesterday, the team's atmosphere was relatively harmonious.

Sakumo had gained some understanding of the three members of his team.

Shiro Kiba, a medical ninja, whose personality was not yet fully revealed, but overall, he was a common ninja. However, being a medical ninja added a lot of points to his favor.

Hyuga Ayane, from a prestigious branch family, had a gentle and considerate personality, occasionally showing a bit of slyness, fitting the lively nature of a young person. The most important thing was that she had a huge appetite.

Uchiha Ruri, a genius of the Uchiha clan, from the brief encounter yesterday, her skills were already on par with a typical jōnin. A special note: she was wealthy.

In the eyes of Shiro and the others, Sakumo Hatake, known as the White Fang of Konoha, was casual and far from the cold and ruthless person described in rumors. He was also a poor guy who couldn't even afford barbecue.

A disgrace to jōnin.

After all, the gap between reality and rumors was always significant. Interacting with Sakumo became very casual, as he had no airs of a jōnin and could communicate with anyone on equal terms.

At ten in the morning, the members of Sakumo's team gathered at the entrance of Konoha.

"I just received an A-rank mission from the Hokage. We'll use this as a training exercise."

Shiro's mouth twitched; he knew this team wasn't for ordinary missions.

Using an A-rank mission for training, Shiro could already feel the bleak and tragic future of his mission career.

It was too late to back out now.

"Let's go."

Sakumo nodded, seeing that the three of them, despite their different expressions, obediently followed his instructions, and then disappeared from the spot.

Shiro and the others were not slow either. The moment Sakumo disappeared, they all quickly followed.

Because long-distance travel required maintaining sufficient stamina, the ninjas did not move too fast, otherwise even a jōnin would struggle.

"Sakumo-sensei, what is the content of the A-rank mission?"

Seeing that Ruri and Ayane had no intention of asking about the mission, Shiro took the initiative to speak.

Sakumo did not hide anything: "A large-scale battle is taking place on the front lines. Our mission is to eliminate the enemies hiding within the borders of the Fire Country. They often attack supply convoys from Konoha and destroy towns in the Fire Country."

"Is it that serious? That means..."

Shiro had a vague idea.

"Ah, your guess is correct. An A-rank mission can turn into an S-rank mission at any time because even the Anbu cannot fully track the movements of the infiltrators. That's why a ninja with the Byakugan is assigned to the team. Our mission is to roam around the Fire Country and eliminate all enemies within the range of the Byakugan."

The number of ninjas, and how many of them are chūnin or jōnin, are all unknown.

This is why Sakumo said that an A-rank mission could turn into an S-rank mission at any time.

"Are we the only team?"

Ruri asked calmly, showing no fear.

"Of course not. An Anbu squad will be assisting us."

Shiro and the others nodded, feeling a bit more at ease.

With an Anbu squad assisting, the work should be much easier.

The Anbu force consists of seventy members, with a commander and a deputy commander, who serve as the Hokage's personal guards and generally do not go on missions.

Under the commander and deputy commander, there are four Anbu squads.

Each squad has a squad leader, and each squad leader has four teams, with four Anbu members in each team.

In other words, one squad leader plus sixteen Anbu members from four teams, a total of seventeen Anbu members, will assist Sakumo's team in eliminating the infiltrators within the Fire Country.

The rest of the journey was silent. An hour after leaving the village, Ayane immediately activated her Byakugan to scan the surroundings for any hidden enemies.

Ayane's Byakugan has a detection range of five kilometers, a significant improvement from a few years ago.

Another hour later, Sakumo, who was at the front of the team, made a stop signal.

The four of them landed on an open ground and stopped.

"Let's rest here for a moment."

Discipline is crucial in a team, and since Sakumo was the leader, Shiro and the others naturally followed his instructions unconditionally.

After sitting down, Sakumo said, "We are entering a dangerous area ahead. We may encounter ambushes at any time. You three have excellent theoretical knowledge from the academy, so you should know the basic teamwork principles."

"Are they the three principles of medical ninjas?"

Shiro asked.

Sakumo nodded.

The three principles of medical ninjas, established by Tsunade, one of the Sannin, are:

1. A medical ninja must never give up treatment until a teammate is dead.

2. A medical ninja must not fight on the front lines.

3. A medical ninja must not die before the other members of the team.

Therefore, avoiding combat is not shameful for a medical ninja, and being protected by others is not a disgrace.

"I will take the lead. Ruri and Ayane, you must stay close to Shiro at all times. Even if it seems safe, do not prioritize combat. If you must fight, Ruri, you will engage the enemy, and Ayane, you will protect Shiro."

"Understood!"

Understanding and being able to do it are two different things, but Sakumo could only trust their cooperation.

After resting for about ten minutes, Sakumo led them forward.

As Sakumo said, the area ahead was dangerous, and combat could break out at any time.

"Two o'clock direction, about 2,300 meters ahead, there are seven Sand ninjas ambushing. Two are underground, three are behind trees, and two are in the bushes."

Suddenly, Ayane, who had her Byakugan activated, shared the information she observed.

"Follow me."

Sakumo's pace suddenly quickened, and he rushed toward the 2 o'clock direction.

With the Byakugan, all ambushes and hiding places were exposed, leaving nowhere to hide.

The distance of 2,300 meters was not long, and they reached the ambush site in less than three minutes.

"Sakumo-sensei, should we be careful..."

Before Ayane could finish, Sakumo had already disappeared from sight.

Under the Byakugan, they saw flashes of sword blades, and the chakra signatures of five Sand ninjas disappeared, turning into cold, lifeless bodies.

The remaining two, panic-stricken, fled in their direction, likely terrified by Sakumo's sudden attack.

"Two targets directly ahead. They are for you to practice. Use Fire Release to take care of them."

Ayane sighed.

The number of enemies, their positions, and the methods to use were all clear with the Byakugan.

This isn't a battle at all.

Ruri had already formed the seals.

Two massive fireballs were spat out in quick succession.

The two fleeing enemies had no idea the fireballs were coming so perfectly timed, turning into charred remains in the flames.