The next morning, at the gates of the Uchiha compound, the six members of Team Five were already fully equipped and ready to set out.
This was their first time leaving the village to carry out a mission, so of course they were a bit excited.
Karin was handing out candy to everyone, but Kimimaro and Gaara both refused.
Haku, Shion, and Kurama Yakumo, on the other hand, shoved the candy straight into their mouths.
Rengoku arrived right on time.
"Sensei!", Karin happily ran over, wanting to stuff some candy into Rengoku's hand.
But she ended up being grabbed and lifted by Rengoku instead.
"What's that on your back?", Rengoku frowned.
Karin had a huge bundle strapped to her back, and it looked heavy just at a glance.
"Uh, of course it's supplies for traveling," Karin's eyes darted around, then she replied with a righteous face.
"Oh?", From Rengoku's understanding of Karin, it would already be good if she wasn't trying to sneak or slack off, how could she possibly be carrying that much?
He reached out and quickly undid the bundle.
"Ah! Sensei, don't!", Karin's face turned bitter as a big pile of snacks scattered out.
When someone's at a loss for words, sometimes they really can't help but laugh.
Rengoku was so exasperated he actually laughed.
He reached out and flicked her on the head, "This is a mission, not a picnic."
Rengoku glanced around and noticed Shion and Kurama Yakumo also had bundles on their backs.
Although much smaller than Karin's, judging by their guilty expressions, those were probably filled with food too.
Karin rubbed her forehead pitifully and said to Rengoku, "Sensei, we eat fast, it won't delay the mission."
Just then, a black cat came running at full speed from the distance.
"Lord Rengoku, urgent delivery," Looking carefully, this black cat was wearing a special vest.
Clearly, it was a ninneko.
Rengoku raised his brows and took the letter from the cat's mouth.
"I understand, thank you for your trouble."
The black cat saluted Rengoku, then disappeared.
Rengoku opened the letter, and his heart suddenly gave a heavy thump!
'Found it!'
'The underground ruins has been found!'
After searching for so long, finally, they were found.
The ruins themselves weren't important, what mattered was the Gelel ore veins inside them.
Gelel ore was stone that contained the essence of life. With this, his plan could finally begin to accelerate in full.
He immediately notified his shadow body at home. When he came back to his senses, Karin was still staring at him pitifully.
Rengoku, in a good mood, didn't bother to argue with her anymore.
"Fine, this time I'll let you learn your lesson."
"Carry your snacks yourself, see if you still think it's fun."
"Yay! Sensei, you're the best!", Karin cheered loudly, happily stuffing the snacks back into her bag.
Rengoku waved his hand, "Let's go!"
———
[Rengoku's Home]
His shadow body moved out from the darkness of his own room.
Ryuri was leaning on Kaori like a docile little kitten.
Kaori was whispering softly to her, her eyes full of doting affection.
Rengoku didn't disturb them, only thought to himself whether he should push Kaori a little.
'After all, she already has three-tomoe Sharingan. If…'
Rengoku thought about it, then temporarily set the idea aside and went to find Orochimaru first.
He shuttled through the shadows and soon arrived at Orochimaru's laboratory.
Orochimaru had many research projects.
Besides limb regeneration and improvements to Edo Tensei, he had even researched a method to undo the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
And of course, there were his studies on Uchiha eyes.
"You actually came here with your shadow body, what happened?"
Orochimaru's senses were sharp; naturally he detected Rengoku slipping in through the shadows.
Rengoku stepped out of the darkness.
"The underground ruins were found. Hurry and get ready to come with me."
Orochimaru's eyes widened, and Rengoku could practically see them glowing.
"I don't have much to prepare, just let me tell Kabuto."
"Bring a large storage scroll," Rengoku gave the order, then sank into Orochimaru's shadow.
"Be careful on the way out."
Orochimaru quickly arranged everything, then left the Uchiha compound at once.
———
Meanwhile, Rengoku's real body, in a good mood, led the six little brats on their very first mission.
The mission difficulty: C-rank.
Mission details: Wipe out the bandits occupying Mount Shirakumo.
The bandits on that mountain were all ordinary people, but all were strong adult men. If careless, injuries were still very possible.
For ninjas, who hit hard but had low defenses, caution was the first lesson they needed.
On the other hand, it was also time for these kids to see some blood.
After all, they were already genin. The earlier they saw blood, the earlier they would mature.
Mount Shirakumo was located near the border of the Land of Waterfalls. At the pace of these brats, it would take four to five days.
Rengoku leapt from tree to tree, leading the six forward.
Karin, who had sworn so confidently earlier, was already flagging after four hours of nonstop running.
She was carrying the most stuff, and her stamina was getting drained fast.
Karin had calculated it beforehand. If it was just walking on the ground like usual, with the amount of snacks in her bundle, she could totally handle it.
But what she hadn't expected was that once they left the forests around Konoha, there weren't even roads anymore. All of them had to keep leaping through trees.
Carrying a heavy bag while jumping constantly made her stamina drain even faster.
If it was just a short while, it wouldn't matter, but now it had been four hours.
"Rengoku-sensei…", Kurama Yakumo called out between gasps.
"Could we… maybe rest a little?"
Karin immediately looked like she'd been granted amnesty and quickly added, "Master, Yakumo's tired, let's rest for a bit!"
Rengoku glanced at the sky. It was almost noon anyway, "Fine, let's stop and eat a little."
"Yay! Hooray!", Karin and Shion cheered in unison, their mischievous selves instantly alive again.
They quickly dug food out of their packs, ready to eat some now so their loads would be lighter later.
Rengoku landed beside Kurama Yakumo to check on her.
Yakumo was very stubborn. She'd run until her face had turned pale before finally speaking up.
"Sorry, Rengoku-sensei, I've slowed everyone down," Yakumo held back her discomfort and apologized.
"Don't say silly things. You all graduated together, got put in one team together, so of course you need to support each other."
"You have strong abilities. Later, you'll be able to help the whole team too."
With Rengoku's reassurance, Yakumo felt a bit better.
Rengoku briefly checked her body, then said, "You're fine, it's just that your body is weak, so you can't draw chakra quickly."
"Did Orochimaru give you medicine?"
Yakumo quickly pulled out a bottle from her bag, "Yes, it's all here."
Rengoku motioned for her to take it, then added, "If you're feeling unwell, stop early. Don't push yourself. Everyone else needs rest too."
Yakumo nodded timidly, "I understand, Rengoku-sensei."
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