Chapter 124: S-Rank Mission: Support the Front Lines!
For the next few days, Nara Keisuke had been methodically advancing his numerous research plans. With the round-the-clock cooperation of Yakushi Nono'o and Pakura, the growth rate of his [Wisdom] stat had nearly doubled compared to before.
However, he had never again found the mellow fragrance of the wine-brewed golden goose from that night. Keisuke could roughly guess that the golden goose was deliberately avoiding him. However... To take a bite and then run, you've really got guts, Princess Tsunade!
Keisuke made up his mind that if he had the chance in the future, he would definitely avenge the "kiss" from last night.
This morning.
Keisuke was just about to, as usual, give Yakushi Kabuto some guidance on his cultivation of the [Sage Clan Guidance Technique] and then go to research Pakura of the Scorch Release. A somewhat familiar lacquer-black crow flew into the Kikyo Orphanage, circling and cawing around him.
"Alright, it seems the vacation days are gone for good." Keisuke raised his arm and accepted the crow raised by Uchiha Shisui. As expected, he found a small message scroll tied between the crow's legs. The content was still very concise. "Hokage-sama Mission Summons!"
After tidying up, Keisuke left Kikyo Castle and arrived in Konoha Village. But this time, he was the last to arrive.
"Is everyone here?" Keisuke sat on the back of a [Shadow Creature], looking at the equally ready-to-go Uchiha Shisui, Hyūga Retsu, and Shizune. "Then let's set off together! Shisui, what's the mission this time?"
"Uh... actually, I don't know the specific content of the mission yet." Shisui said with some hesitation. "I just received a temporary notice from Lord Third. The specific mission content still needs the captain to go to the Hokage's Office to accept and confirm."
"What a pain..." Keisuke landed from the [Shadow Creature] and stood beside his team members. "Shisui, didn't I give you the heavy burden of accepting missions before? You are truly too lazy."
"My deepest apologies! Captain!" The honest Uchiha Shisui pressed his hands tightly against the seams of his pants and gave a solid ninety-degree bow. "I will definitely be more careful next time!"
Hyūga Retsu, with her Byakugan, coolly watched all of this happen. Although she said nothing, her white eyes seemed to say everything.
"Captain, Shisui-kun, let's not dwell on who accepts the mission anymore." Shizune stepped up to smooth things over. "Lord Third has urgently summoned us; there must be an important mission for us. We should hurry to the Hokage's Office!"
The four-person squad skillfully made their way to the Hokage's Office.
Thanks to the secret reminder from before, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't waste any words this time. He directly took out a mission scroll and handed it to Nara Keisuke's... side, to Uchiha Shisui.
"Hm?" Hiruzen looked at Shisui, who had proactively stepped forward to accept the mission, then at the idle Keisuke beside him. He could only sigh in his heart, "Young people don't follow traditional rules."
"Well, due to the special nature of your squad, this mission scroll does not have the detailed mission content recorded. The specific requirements will be confirmed with Orochimaru when you reach the front lines. Your mission this time is to support the front lines!"
A new mission message popped up on Keisuke's panel.
[S-rank Ninja Commissioned Mission Detected!]
[S-rank Mission: Support the Front Lines]
[Mission Content: Proceed to the Land of Grass and support the Konoha ninja stationed on its border in resisting the Iwagakure forces.]
[Mission Reward: One S-rank Shinobi Secret Scroll]
'The first time I've accepted an S-rank commissioned mission from the village!' Keisuke thought. 'I wonder if the village's S-rank secret scroll will be different from the family's...'
Just as this thought appeared in his mind, the panel once again popped up with a prompt.
[This mission is a long-term faction mission!]
[During the mission period, it does not affect the acceptance of other missions within the faction mission!]
'Hm? This is...'
After bidding farewell to Hiruzen, Keisuke led the other three members of the squad out of the Hokage's Office. With the experience of the last mission to the front lines, after leaving the building, Keisuke directly created a [Shadow Creature] and carried the four-person squad out of Konoha.
During the flight, Keisuke silently called up his panel and looked at the mission prompt from before. 'Accepting the S-rank mission [Support the Front Lines] will not affect the triggering and acceptance of other missions. This situation seems to have happened before... S-rank mission [The Battle for Kikyo Castle]! I remember during that S-rank mission, fighting the Suna Puppet Brigade didn't trigger any missions at all. It wasn't until the mission was over that a few new combat missions were triggered. This kind of faction commissioned mission... is a new type of mission!'
'I just don't know what kind of missions I'll be able to accept later...'
Keisuke came back to his senses and controlled the [Shadow Creature] to fly towards the Land of Grass battlefield at top speed.
Departing in the morning, arriving in the afternoon. Team Keisuke once again came to the Konoha ninja's encampment on the border of the Land of Fire. The [Shadow Creature] concealed itself in the shadows. The team entered the camp according to procedure and came to the main command tent in the center. After several days, almost nothing inside the tent had changed.
"Nara-kun, you've arrived." Orochimaru was not at all surprised by their arrival; clearly, he had already received news from the village.
Keisuke looked at Orochimaru sitting in the main seat of the tent, his eyes narrowed slightly, and Princess Tsunade's previous request flashed through his mind. 'Given the current situation on the front lines, the matter of demanding an explanation from Orochimaru... should be postponed for now.'
After a polite greeting, Keisuke got straight to the point. "Lord Orochimaru, when Lord Hokage dispatched us to the front lines, he did not give us any specific mission content. Do we need to carry out a mission now? If not, we'll go rest first. The journey was tiring, and we've consumed a lot of energy."
Rest... Orochimaru lightly licked his lips, his hoarse voice echoing in the tent. "Nara-kun, war does not give anyone a moment's respite."
Keisuke was unwilling to waste any more words with him and elbowed his teammate. "Shisui."
"Oh? Oh!" The slow-to-react Uchiha Shisui took a step forward and bowed to Orochimaru with some restraint. "Lord Orochimaru, may I ask what our squad's mission is?"
"It's been many years since I've seen such a polite and restrained Uchiha..." Orochimaru's gaze focused on Shisui's young face, and a few thoughts flashed through his mind. A pity his target was the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama. The Uchiha were just a group of losers who had fallen before the God of Shinobi!
"This is your mission. Proceed to the heartland of the Land of Grass, attack and destroy the supply and replenishment node that the Iwa ninja have set up there." Orochimaru took a scroll from a nearby desk and threw it to Shisui. "Do not get entangled in battle. Strike fast and decisively. Destruction is the main objective; killing is not your mission."
"Understood!" Shisui nodded respectfully and walked out of the tent with his other companions, quickly arriving at the spot where they had just landed. The squad members checked the mission content together. A mission prompt immediately popped up on Keisuke's panel.
[B-rank Ninja Commissioned Mission Detected!]
[B-rank Mission: Cut Off Supplies]
[Mission Content: Destroy an Iwagakure supply point located within the Land of Grass.]
[Mission Reward: One B-rank Shinobi Secret Scroll]
'As expected, a new mission was triggered! The battlefield is the best place to trigger missions...'
Keisuke shifted his attention from the panel to his team members. A [Shadow Creature] emerged from the shadows. "Who has the map of the Land of Grass now?"
Hyūga Retsu responded concisely, "I do."
"That's good. Your Byakugan is the best reconnaissance tool." Keisuke gestured for his team members to board the [Shadow Creature], and the shadow eagle soared into the sky. "Hyūga, show me the way."
Retsu took out the map scroll, sat beside Keisuke, and continuously scanned the environment below with her Byakugan. She quickly found the execution location for the B-rank mission issued by Orochimaru. "This way, Captain."
With her assistance, Team Keisuke quickly found the precise location. It was a hidden valley within the Land of Grass. A rock-structured warehouse stood in the valley, with a few ninja wearing Iwagakure forehead protectors scattered around it.
Keisuke controlled the [Shadow Creature] to slowly land on a nearby mountain peak, without attracting the attention of any of the ninja in the valley. The group looked down on the rock warehouse below.
Keisuke suddenly spoke, "Hyūga!"
The understanding Retsu activated her Byakugan, looked down, and accurately reported the position of every ninja. "A total of twelve ninja. Their internal chakra levels are roughly only at the Genin level. The one with the most chakra is only at the level of an ordinary Chunin. They are located at..."
After she quickly finished her report, Keisuke looked at Uchiha Shisui at his side. "Shisui, go."
"Yes!"
Shisui leaped down from the mountain peak and landed at the bottom of the valley. His landing immediately attracted the reaction of the Iwa ninja guarding the area.
"Alarm! Someone's here!"
"Wearing a Konoha forehead protector, it's a Konoha ninja!"
"He's alone, everyone get him!"
A scarlet light flashed in Shisui's eyes. The three-tomoe Sharingan instantly activated. His hands flew through seals, and one after another, clones ran out from his side. 'When was I ever alone... Why didn't the captain come with me!?'
Aided by his special "Phantom Body Flicker Technique," Shisui perceived his surroundings and found that he really was the only one who had landed in the valley. But the battle was urgent, and he had no time to complain about his captain's shameless behavior. He drew his ninja sword and engaged the dozen or so Iwa ninja.
Faced with these Iwa ninja of low average skill level, Shisui's "Phantom Body Flicker Technique" was an excellent lawn-mowing technique. In no time at all, with a series of miserable screams, the many Uchiha Shisuis returned to one, and the Iwa ninja guarding the nearby warehouse were all declared wiped out.
"Shisui, hurry up and set another fire." Keisuke's urging voice came from the sky. "Preferably a high-power fire jutsu, to burn and blow up this stone house!"
Uchiha Shisui grumbled internally, but the hand signs he was forming did not slow down in the slightest. Fire-nature chakra accumulated and surged within his body.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
(End of Chapter)
☆☆☆
-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE
-> FOR EVERY 200 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER
☆☆☆
-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you