Kitazawa and Kurenai arrived at the Ninja Academy.
Hyuga Hinata, Nara Shikamaru, and Aburame Shino were already waiting on the training field.
Seeing them, Kitazawa couldn't help smiling.
Three kids, three moods—plain as day.
Hinata looked full of anticipation.
Shino's face barely moved—calm as ever.
Shikamaru wore a look of reluctance and nerves.
"Let's go," Kitazawa beckoned. "We're meeting the client."
"Kitazawa-sensei, what rank is this mission?" Shikamaru asked first.
"B-rank," Kitazawa replied.
Shikamaru quietly breathed out. If it was B-rank, chances were low they'd run into a jōnin. Sure, Hinata and Shino were strong, but the three of them together would still struggle against a jōnin.
Kitazawa glanced at him. A B-rank wasn't likely to change that laid-back personality. His plan was to find an Iwagakure squad to put some pressure on them once they reached the Land of Earth. It was an escort mission—on paper, enemies could appear at any time—and Shikamaru wouldn't suspect he'd "invited" the trouble.
The five of them left the Academy and headed for Konoha's main gate.
Their escort target was a Land of Fire trade caravan. Outside of the great ninja wars, commerce between nations was perfectly normal.
"Kitazawa-sama?!" The caravan owner lit up when he saw him. He'd paid B-rank rates and somehow landed the famous Kitazawa, a Konoha jōnin—what a steal. With safety in hand, he could relax. And Kitazawa was Tsunade's current student and an excellent medical ninja; even if his people were injured, there'd be nothing to worry about.
After a bit of small talk, the caravan set out.
Kitazawa's team even got their own wagon.
"Nice client," Shikamaru said, stretching out on the seat.
"That's because Kitazawa-sensei has pull," Shino adjusted his glasses. Normally, clients didn't go out of their way to accommodate ninja. In fact, most clients were pretty indifferent. It was the long-standing norm: ninja take the money and do the job; clients don't waste time cozying up to them.
Hinata nodded. She'd already noticed how the caravan owner treated Kitazawa—with deep respect, even a touch of deference.
"We're about to leave Konoha's borders. For safety, we'll patrol in shifts," Kitazawa said, glancing out the window.
"Don't we have Shino's kikaichū?" Shikamaru countered. If he could ride, he definitely didn't want to patrol.
"Kikaichū aren't omnipotent," Kitazawa shook his head. "You stay alert during a mission."
Shikamaru felt it was overkill, but he didn't dare argue.
"I'll pair with Hinata; Shikamaru, you're with Kurenai. Two hours per patrol, then rotate," Kitazawa continued. "Shino, you don't need to patrol—just use your kikaichū to keep watch."
Shikamaru looked openly envious at that last part. He wanted to stay on the wagon, too.
Hinata, on the other hand, was quietly thrilled.
"Come on, Hinata," Kitazawa said, hopping down.
Hinata hurried after him.
The wagon's pace was decent, but slow for ninja.
Kitazawa and Hinata ran point. The client—the caravan boss—was in the first wagon, so if an ambush came, they could reach him first. In theory, as long as the client survived, the mission wasn't a failure. Everyone else was a lower priority.
"Hinata, eyes on the surroundings," Kitazawa said, rapping her lightly on the forehead.
Hinata turned away, embarrassed.
The Land of Earth lay to the northwest of the Land of Fire. The route didn't border directly; a line of small countries—like the Land of Waterfalls, the Land of Rain, and the Land of Grass—sat between. Kitazawa chose the shortest path: straight through the Land of Grass.
Even with Konan around, and thus no real trouble in the Land of Rain, the constant downpours there were terrible for travel. The Land of Grass was different—clear skies and endless prairie.
"So beautiful!" Hinata blurted as they entered the Land of Grass. The sun was sinking, its afterglow rolling over the plains like something she'd never seen.
"When do we rest?" Shikamaru asked listlessly. After a day on the road, he was already mentally and physically tired.
"Now," Kitazawa decided. "We'll camp for the night. Tomorrow we cross the Land of Grass and enter the Land of Earth."
He went to speak with the caravan boss.
"Make camp! We move out tomorrow!" the man shouted.
Tents sprang up in dense rows. Normally, ninja found hidden spots to rest when traveling, but with a big caravan, hiding was hard—better to set up openly.
Kitazawa's team set up two tents of their own instead of using the caravan's. As in the day, they split into two groups for the night watch. The point of field missions was to train the students and run a live-combat exam, so patrols and night watches were a must—good practice and a chance to show what they could do.
"Sleepy?" Kitazawa asked Hinata as they sat on the grass.
"No," Hinata shook her head. Any time she was with Kitazawa, she inexplicably felt energized.
"You're Hyuga. If anything feels off, activate your Byakugan immediately," he said, ruffling her hair.
"Mm." Hinata nodded obediently.
With nothing pressing during his watch, Kitazawa started training: Ninja Art Creation Rebirth — Strength of a Hundred Technique.
Hinata's eyes widened. Black markings flowered over his face—eerie to look at—and even without her Byakugan she could feel the vast surge of chakra. It was more than ten times her father Hiashi's!
She was stunned. Sure, having lots of chakra didn't automatically make you strong, but with too little, you'd never be a powerhouse.
The first half of the night passed uneventfully.
Kitazawa finished his training. The black marks receded, condensing into a diamond on his forehead. Strength of a Hundred required releasing the Yin Seal to use—same went for training it.
"Go get some sleep," he told Hinata, who was already nodding off, her head bobbing now and then.
"I-Is it… over?" she asked, blinking up at him, then realized and flushed, nodding.
"Shikamaru." Kitazawa stood and went to the tent.
"Mm?" Shikamaru sat up, bleary-eyed.
"Your turn on watch," Kitazawa said, lifting the flap.
Shikamaru shook himself hard, crawled out, and took his spot, yawning and staring blankly at the grass.
"Just like you said—great at everything, except he's lazy," Kurenai said with a smile as she stepped out of the other tent.
"He mostly lacks pressure," Kitazawa took her hand. "I'll stay up with you."
"No need. You already did the first half. Go sleep," Kurenai refused.
"You know me," Kitazawa grinned. "Even without a wink of sleep, I'm full of energy."
Kurenai froze, then flushed scarlet and shot him a glare—even if he wasn't wrong.
The night passed without incident.
After breakfast, the caravan moved on.
By midday, they entered the Land of Earth.
"The Land of Earth isn't like the Land of Grass. We could run into Iwagakure ninja at any time—stay sharp," Kitazawa warned.
Hinata, Shino, and Shikamaru all nodded seriously.
They kept the two-team patrol. When it was Kitazawa and Hinata's turn, he split off two shadow clones to scout left and right.
"I sent them to check the area," he said, catching Hinata's curious look with a casual smile. In truth, he wanted to find a suitable Iwa squad to serve as their opponents.
An hour later, the caravan reached its destination: the largest city in the southeast of the Land of Earth.
"That was easy," Shikamaru laughed. They hadn't encountered anything. Even this deep into the Land of Earth, no Iwa ninja had popped out—maxed-out luck.
"Konoha and Iwa are at peace. Under normal circumstances, Iwa shinobi won't pick a fight for no reason," Kurenai explained. "They have their own missions and try to avoid complications while on them."
"Are there exceptions?" Hinata asked.
"Some shinobi are violent by nature—they might attack," Kurenai said.
"How can there be people like that?" Hinata couldn't understand.
"It's a kind of mental illness," Kurenai pinched her cheek lightly. "Aside from that, anyone with a personal grudge might come for us."
Kitazawa's brows lifted. Both shadow clones dispelled, feeding him their memories. They really had run into an Iwa squad with a grudge—more precisely, a grudge against the Aburame.
He'd encountered the Kamizuru Clan, Iwa's insect-handlers like the Aburame. Long ago, during Iwa's assault on Konoha, the Kamizuru met the Aburame and were almost wiped out.
Only a handful of Kamizuru remained. In the original story, three survivors were mentioned: Kurobachi, Suzumebachi, and Jibachi. From his clones' memories, those were exactly the three he'd found.
By rough measure, their strength matched Hinata, Shino, and Shikamaru's current level—close enough for a fair fight.
Kitazawa chose them without hesitation. They were easy to bait—just leak info about Shino. The Kamizuru hated the Aburame to the bone for their near-extermination.
"Mission complete. We should head back. But you three go on ahead—I've got one more thing to take care of," Kitazawa said, clapping to draw their attention.
Kurenai already knew, so she wasn't surprised. She glanced at Shikamaru and felt a moment of silence for what was coming. If Kitazawa said he'd set something up, it wouldn't be easy—but she supported it. The whole way, Shikamaru's laziness had stood out. For a shinobi, that would cause trouble sooner or later.
"Eh?" Hinata sounded reluctant to part.
Kurenai patted her head. The girl really liked sticking to Kitazawa—but it made sense. He was strong and a good teacher; it would be strange if he weren't popular.
"We're off, Kitazawa," Kurenai called, then left with Hinata and the boys.
Kitazawa watched them go.
A gust of wind swept by—Konan appeared.
"Give it one more day," Kitazawa said, knowing why she'd come.
She was curious but didn't press, nodded, and vanished.
…
Kurenai, Hinata, Shino, and Shikamaru walked along a mountain path. The Land of Grass had vast prairies, but other terrain as well. In the distance, the colors of a massive rock shifted, and three figures emerged: one girl and two young men—Suzumebachi, Kurobachi, and Jibachi of the Kamizuru Clan.
Suzumebachi was the granddaughter of the clan's late first leader. Young as she was, she captained the squad. Her lifelong dream was to restore the Kamizuru.
"That kid in the white cloak is definitely Aburame," said Kurobachi, the oldest, bearded man.
"So young and already on missions—he's got to be a prodigy," Jibachi, the blond one, adjusted his glasses. "Killing him would gut the Aburame."
"Then we kill him," Suzumebachi said, murder in her eyes.
"Be careful of the Konoha jōnin," Kurobachi warned. Strictly speaking, none of the three had reached true jōnin level.
"I've got the Queen Bee. One jōnin won't be a problem," Suzumebachi said confidently.
The Aburame raised kikaichū; the Kamizuru raised bees—not normal bees, but venomous chakra-using bees. Their queen bee was the strongest of them all, practically a summoned beast. (The Aburame had one too; in the original story, Shino summoned a giant insect.)
"Fair enough," Kurobachi nodded.
The three blended back into the rock—A-rank Hiding with Camouflage Technique, superb for hiding.
"Wait!" As Kurenai's group neared the valley exit, Shino spoke up. "I just lost contact with several kikaichū!"
Wind howled.
A massive queen bee burst into view ahead of them, hovering midair, surrounded by a writhing cloud of smaller bees.
"That's the Kamizuru's Queen Bee," Shino said after a quick look. "They're insect-handlers like us Aburame."
Bee Senbon Technique!
The small bees shuddered and flung a storm of venomous needles, a rain of senbon that blanketed all four.
"Poisoned needles!" Shino warned, sending his kikaichū forward to form an insect wall. The needles punched in; toxins spread; insects died and fell like rain.
Then the queen flicked its body, launching its massive stinger like a blade.
Shino's pupils shrank. He couldn't block it—he was still just a kid.
Kurenai realized it at once. She swallowed one of Kitazawa's antidote pills, leapt up, and smashed a fist forward.
Monster Strength!
Her blow hammered the giant stinger, batting it away to bury itself deep in the ground.
She landed. A dozen bees suddenly peeled off from the queen and streaked toward them.
"Careful!" Hinata shouted, Byakugan flaring. "The chakra in those bees is unstable—highly volatile!"
Secret Technique: Insect Gathering!
Shino raised a hand. Nearby bugs surged out and slammed into the incoming bees.
A chain of explosions ripped the air—each bee burst like an explosive tag, fireworks in midair.
Kurenai reacted fast, yanking Shino and Hinata back. As she passed Shikamaru, she tossed Shino behind him and grabbed Shikamaru too.
"I found them!" Hinata called. "Three targets—on that big rock to the northeast!"
"How strong?" Kurenai asked, eyes on the queen bee still chasing them.
"No jōnin," Hinata judged from their chakra levels.
"You three take them. I'll handle the queen," Kurenai said, setting Shikamaru and Hinata down and stopping. She could be so confident because she knew Kitazawa was nearby.
Shino nodded as he landed. As the clan head's son, he knew full well the Aburame–Kamizuru history. It was no exaggeration to say those three had come for him; Kurenai and the others were just collateral.
The trio sprinted toward the northeast rock.
"They've spotted us," Kurobachi noted.
"Accidental or not, it works in our favor," Jibachi sneered. "The Aburame kid is mine," Suzumebachi said, stepping off the rock and fixing her gaze on Shino.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 100 Chapters Ahead of Others!
Also, get 50% off your first month on every membership tier this December! Take advantage of this offer and join. Thank you!