Chapter 44
The next morning, when Asakawa Naoki and the others arrived at the meeting spot, Orochimaru and his team were already waiting.
"Pack up what you need," Orochimaru instructed. "We're heading to the Fire Country's border for a mission. It might take a while before we return."
Elsewhere, Jiraiya and Tsunade were also gathering their disciples, passing along the same instructions. Their destination — the Land of Rain.
After hearing the orders, the nine newly graduated Genin scattered in different directions to quickly gather their things.
Asakawa Naoki returned home, though there wasn't much for him to bring. After a moment's thought, he grabbed the fairy scroll. With no telling how long this mission would last or what might happen along the way, it wasn't something he could afford to leave behind.
Next, he picked up the ninja tool bag Orochimaru had handed out yesterday. Inside were more than twenty carefully refined shuriken and kunai — expensive tools if bought on his own.
Finally, he retrieved the old, defective katana he'd found two years earlier. Over time, Naoki had ground and reshaped it, embedding small fragments of chakra metal meant for flying swords. Though nowhere near the quality of the two flying swords hidden up his sleeves, it was decent enough for a Chūnin's standards.
By the time he arrived back at the gathering point, the caravan was already preparing to move out.
Sitting in the carriage, Naoki found himself reflecting. He'd just graduated, hadn't even taken on a single official mission yet, and now he was being sent to the Land of Rain.
Of course, the real situation was being kept quiet. The tension along the Fire Country's borders was rapidly escalating, and Sarutobi Hiruzen was forced to deploy Konoha's elite ninjas to guard against potential moves from the Wind and Lightning Countries. Unable to head to the Land of Rain himself, he entrusted the front line there to his three disciples.
Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade had debated whether to bring their students along. Jiraiya was in favor. He argued that only through hardship could a ninja truly grow — the battlefield in the Land of Rain would be the proving ground for Minato Namikaze, the so-called Child of Prophecy.
Tsunade, however, objected. She wasn't comfortable sending freshly graduated Genin to a war front, especially with her younger brother Nawaki among them.
In the end, the decision fell to Orochimaru. After weighing the options, he sided with Jiraiya. The village was stretched thin. There weren't enough available ninjas to entrust these Genin to, and if they stayed behind, there'd be little else for them to do. Even if they only handled rear-line logistical work, it would be safer than being left unsupervised.
Tsunade had no choice but to agree.
Since they were heading out, the team also took up a C-rank mission — escorting a supply caravan bound for the Land of Rain. There were ten carriages in total. Orochimaru's disciples rode at the front, Jiraiya's at the rear, and Tsunade's in the middle. That way, if anything happened, they could cover each other from both sides.
Orochimaru and Tsunade themselves had already departed toward the Fire Country's border, leaving Jiraiya behind to discreetly watch over the students. He didn't travel with the caravan, keeping a safe distance so the Genin wouldn't notice his presence. It was a measure to both protect them and let them accumulate real mission experience.
In truth, transporting supplies in the current ninja world wasn't a simple matter. Though classified as a C-rank mission, the unstable situation meant it could turn into a B-rank at any moment — a level typically reserved for Chūnin. If not for the personal guarantee from Orochimaru and the others, the caravan would never have accepted Genin as escorts.
Even so, the caravan leader at the front of the line kept glancing over at Naoki and the others with visible distrust, something Naoki found irritating.
"Alright, focus up," he reminded the others quietly. "Didn't Orochimaru-sensei tell you to practice ninjutsu?"
"Yeah, yeah," Nawaki grumbled, though his dissatisfaction gradually faded as he opened his scroll.
He was excited. This would be his first real ninjutsu, beyond the standard Academy Three Techniques. As the grandson of the First Hokage, he'd grown up with high expectations, yet Tsunade had always kept him away from combat ninjutsu. Now, thanks to Orochimaru, he was finally getting his hands on one.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" The title alone made him grin.
Their other teammate, Masamura Oki, was also studying the same ninjutsu. Both he and Nawaki had Wind chakra affinity, and Orochimaru, perhaps worried about overcomplicating things, had chosen to give them both the same technique.
Naoki, on the other hand, received a Lightning Style ninjutsu — "Lightning Needle", a C-rank technique. Given his dual affinities for Fire and Lightning, and the fact that he'd already picked up a Fire technique, it made sense.
Still, Naoki merely skimmed through the scroll, committing the details to memory. He planned to test it later, in private. For now, he was more interested in the fairy scroll he'd brought along. What he really wanted was to see whether it contained any techniques he could safely attempt.
With no way to practice inside the carriage, he instead sharpened his awareness of the surroundings while silently running the basic Qi Refining Technique. The food from breakfast quickly digested, the nutrients converted into essence and energy before being refined into mana.
It was a familiar process by now. Ever since he'd successfully ignited his Essence Fire, Naoki had noticed subtle changes. The Samadhi True Fire he'd struggled to control before now worked almost autonomously, tempering his essence and energy without conscious effort. Not only did this eliminate the risk of overheating or going red from the strain, it also sped up the process.
If left unchecked, it would constantly draw on his food reserves, leaving him hungrier than usual. He even had to deliberately slow it down to keep his stomach from growling in front of everyone.
Still, the improvement in his cultivation efficiency was undeniable. What might've taken him years before could now be accomplished in half the time.
Quietly, Naoki adjusted his breathing and let the carriage rock beneath him, his mind steady and focused as the convoy made its way toward the Land of Rain.
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