Half an hour later, Uchiha Yuan's team gathered at the camp gate.
Hyuga Asana briefed the two of them—mainly Yamanaka Kagetsu—on the mission.
She had mentioned it before, but now gave a more detailed explanation:"Yuan, Kagetsu, our mission this time is to deliver the sealed scroll in Yuan's hands back to the village. The mission is classified as A-rank."
"A-rank? Just escorting a scroll to the village is an A-rank mission?" Kagetsu asked, visibly surprised.
"I told you already, didn't I? That scroll contains all the Water Release techniques we've collected from the Mist during the Bear Country war. It's incredibly valuable for expanding the village's jutsu library."
Kagetsu still didn't quite get it. He scratched his head and mumbled, "Even then, A-rank seems a bit much."
"Isn't it a good thing the rank's high? At least the mission rewards will be better," Yuan replied.
"Uh… true. So, are we heading out?"
Both Yuan and Asana nodded. The three left the Konoha camp together.
It normally took five days to travel from the Bear Country battlefield to Konoha. If they pushed themselves, they could make it in three.
Even though this was an A-rank mission, there was no time limit. So Yuan and Asana weren't in a hurry. Kagetsu wanted to move faster, but seeing how leisurely the other two were, he kept quiet.
The trio continued forward and soon exited the battlefield zone.
Asana shot Yuan a look. Yuan understood immediately and stopped walking.
"It's almost noon. Let's rest for a bit," he said.
"This soon?" Kagetsu asked, puzzled.
"There aren't good resting spots ahead. This cave is perfect," Asana replied.
Seeing her agree, Kagetsu didn't object further.
The three of them stopped and entered the cave.
Yuan took out some prepared rations and water.
He had prepared all these supplies. Kagetsu didn't suspect a thing and ate and drank normally.
Soon after, his eyelids felt heavy.
Thud—Asana, sitting across from him, collapsed to the ground.
Yuan's face changed dramatically as he stood up—only to fall to the ground as well.
"Kagetsu, it looks like we've been drugged," Yuan muttered before losing consciousness.
Kagetsu was already limp all over. As he faded into sleep, his last thought was:"No wonder this was an A-rank mission. We just set off and it's already gone south."
Once he confirmed Kagetsu was fully unconscious, Yuan got up and pulled a small vial from his storage ring. He waved it under Asana's nose.
One minute later, she opened her eyes.
"Yuan, you drugged the food and water?" she asked right away.
"Yeah. We needed a believable excuse to leave," he replied.
"Won't Kagetsu suspect anything later?"
"Don't worry. His trust in us is far greater than you imagine."
"What if something happens while he's left alone?"
"I've already set up a barrier at the cave entrance. There'll be no problems."
Satisfied, Asana nodded and asked no more questions.
Yuan told her to go ahead first. Then he activated his Sharingan and thoroughly checked the cave for any snakes, insects, or other dangers.
Next, he ran to the entrance and placed a sealing tag there.
Both the tag and the drug had come from items he'd obtained in the text-based game.
The tag came from a cultivation world and created a concealment barrier lasting 24 hours—rendering the cave invisible to outsiders.
The drug was a powerful sedative. Anyone without the antidote would sleep for two full days.
However, its effectiveness weakened against stronger ninja. Yuan estimated that someone like Asana would awaken in 7 to 8 hours.
Kagetsu should be out for about 10 hours.
That was more than enough for Yuan to complete the task and return.
Once everything was set, Yuan and Asana used Transformation Jutsu to disguise themselves as Bear Country civilians and returned to the battlefield.
Under Asana's lead, they arrived at the rendezvous point set by Orochimaru.
"When will the Hyuga main house arrive?" Yuan asked from a tree perch.
"Orochimaru said the meeting time was 3 p.m. We've got about 30 minutes," Asana replied from another tree.
Yuan said nothing and silently activated his Mind's Eye of the Kagura.
About twenty minutes later, the Konoha group arrived.
Just as planned, a Hyuga clan member from the main family was being escorted by one jonin and two tokubetsu jonin. He hadn't even activated his Byakugan and looked quite relaxed.
But in the next second, he froze—because he saw three Mist ninja emerging from the woods ahead.
Normally, spotting Mist ninja shouldn't have scared him. After all, he'd come here to earn battle merit by killing them. He should have been excited.
But these three weren't ordinary. One of them was clearly a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
Even Yuan was surprised by the Mist's lineup.
The three included:
Ao, the future Byakugan user;
Kuriarare Raiga, a member of the Seven Swordsmen Yuan had fought before;
A third unknown ninja who, judging by chakra levels, seemed to be a sensory type.
As expected, the one with the least chakra said something to Ao after scanning the surroundings. Ao glanced toward Yuan and Asana's hiding spot and said,"Didn't you bring a few too many people?"
The Konoha jonin realized at once that Yuan and Asana were already in position. He replied,"You brought a member of the Seven Swordsmen! We just don't want to get backstabbed."
Even the Hyuga main house member started sensing something was wrong after hearing his protector speaking so casually with Mist ninja. He turned to flee.
Ao reacted instantly, throwing two shuriken that struck the Hyuga's thigh.
The man collapsed to the ground.
"So eager to act already? Where's the payment?" the jonin asked.
Raiga casually tossed over a sealed scroll. The jonin checked it and nodded in satisfaction.
"You'll hand over the Byakugan now, right?" Ao asked.
Without hesitation, the jonin reached out and gouged out one of the Hyuga's eyes, placing it into a saline jar and tossing it over.
(To Be Continued...)