"Antelope Squad! Move out!"
Yen's captain wore an antelope mask, so everyone called him Captain Antelope.
Besides Yen, the squad had Purple Cat and Horned Ox.
Their true identities were unknown. Even if someone behind the Purple Cat mask had been swapped out, Yen would never know.
The four left the Forest of Death and followed the wall of Konoha.
After a while, Yen felt uneasy.
This direction… toward Konoha's main gate?
Were they leaving the village?
That was bad news.
Inside the village, if danger struck, at worst he could shout for help.
Calling reinforcements wasn't shameful.
But outside the village, no one would hear his cries.
Antelope Squad arrived at the gate.
Without handing in any exit paperwork, they kept their pace, passing through without slowing.
One of the gate guards said enviously, "ANBU is so cool. They wear masks and look so cold and mysterious."
"You could apply to ANBU. Then you'd wear a mask too."
"Forget it. You wear the mask your whole life, and only see daylight after you're dead."
Yen's mood sank. Why did they have to leave the village?
As they ran, Captain Antelope explained:
"Our target this time is a jonin-level chunin captain.
He's already in charge of a genin team and has been carrying out transport missions near the front.
This elite chunin is suspected of ties to Iwa spies. We're to tail him, gather evidence, and eliminate him if necessary."
Yen grew even more nervous.
In the ninja world, fighting someone two ranks higher could mean instant death.
The rough rank ladder: genin, chunin, elite chunin, special jonin, jonin, elite jonin, kage-level, super-kage, six paths.
An elite chunin could wipe out a genin instantly. Someone like Yen, a fake chunin and real genin, was no match.
As they traveled, Yen watched his teammates closely, trying to gauge their strength.
Captain Antelope had to be at least elite chunin. Otherwise he wouldn't speak so casually about "eliminating an elite chunin."
Yen himself was just genin level. Purple Cat and Horned Ox were probably chunin. That would make the squad's average strength meet the ANBU requirement for a chunin-level team.
Once they left the Land of Fire and crossed into the Land of Rivers near the front, caution was constant.
Captain Antelope soon spotted their surveillance target.
Through binoculars, Yen saw a broad-shouldered man with a firm, rugged face.
His three subordinates: one was from the Akimichi clan, one was a civilian girl with no clan crest, and the last was a bespectacled civilian boy.
All four carried large backpacks, hauling supplies to the front.
Yen lowered the binoculars after just two seconds.
Illusion or not, it felt like the elite chunin had glanced his way.
The captain kept watching. "Maintain two hundred meters distance. Don't get close. Collect intel slowly."
For five days, Antelope Squad shadowed the targets.
The team moved back and forth along the Fire–River border, ferrying supplies.
Those five days passed quietly.
Yen counted the days.
Three days at Tsurugetsu Tavern, four days traveling to the border, five days of surveillance. Twelve days total. Thirteen more to the full moon.
He prayed things would stay calm until then.
Suddenly Captain Antelope called out, "Something's up!"
The elite chunin slipped behind a large tree, away from his team.
He stashed a scroll under the roots, then quickly moved on.
"Move! Confirm the scroll, then act as planned!"
The four ANBU rushed for the tree.
Yen sprinted fast.
Speed was everything. Get there first, and you could pick the softest target.
He angled toward the civilian girl.
Eleven years old. A civilian. Weak, surely.
The captain got to the tree first, grabbed the scroll, and scanned it.
"Iwa spy! Eliminate!"
Planting a spy of elite chunin level was no easy feat for Iwagakure.
He had to have contacts. Based on experience, most likely among his students.
The Akimichi genin was unlikely. He came from a loyal clan.
That left the civilian boy and girl.
But ANBU custom was not to distinguish.
Yen hurled two kunai at the girl.
One aimed at her left eye to draw her attention.
The other at her abdomen to ensure a hit.
Instinctively, she blocked the one coming for her eye.
But she couldn't guard both. The second buried itself in her stomach.
Blood sprayed.
Whether she was a spy or not, Yen didn't hesitate. He kicked her down and pinned both her hands to the ground with kunai.
The Akimichi boy saw her agony and snapped.
Ignoring Purple Cat's kunai, he charged straight for Yen.
Yen stood still, watching calmly. Purple Cat was right behind him. Surely the Akimichi wouldn't reach him.
But the boy popped a secret pill into his mouth.
Yen didn't even see the color.
Not good.
"Human Bullet Tank!"
As expected of a clan shinobi, he swelled into a giant rolling sphere, barreling toward Yen at speed.
Yen leapt back in a panic.
Crap, this was bad. Was he about to wipe here?
The rolling mass caught him and crushed him against a boulder.
At the last instant, hiding behind the massive body, Yen secretly formed seals and used Earth Release: Fish in the Earth.
His body slipped into the stone and vanished.
Thank god for that system jutsu. Without it, he'd be dead.
Stones flew everywhere.
When the spinning body slowed, Yen emerged again, not wanting others to know he had earth-style.
The rolling Akimichi was so big no one saw clearly.
To make it convincing, Yen deliberately let himself get crushed, cracking a few bones.
"Enough!"
Captain Antelope's sharp voice cut through.
The Akimichi shrank back down, startled by the unfamiliar voice.
He turned to see, in the distance, the elite Iwa spy pinned to a tree with kunai.
The female genin had a blade in her chest, courtesy of the captain.
And the bespectacled boy lay dead, Horned Ox's kunai in his throat.
"Who are you?!"
The Akimichi tried to shout, but Captain Antelope appeared before him in a flash and punched him in the gut, knocking the rage out of him.
"We're Konoha ANBU. We're dealing with Iwa spies. Calm down and don't cause trouble."
Civilian genin could die without consequence. But an Akimichi was clan-backed. Couldn't be killed so easily.
The boy crawled to the girl's side, weeping bitterly.
"I never told you… I liked you…"
Shinobi matured early. Who knew what bond they had. But she was dead, and death cut all ties.
Captain Antelope came to Yen and looked him over.
Yen quickly pleaded:
"Captain! The Will of Fire, right? We don't abandon comrades of Konoha! I'm just injured. You won't abandon me, will you?"
"Worthless. Healing you will waste ten days."
Hearing he wouldn't be abandoned, Yen sighed in relief.
Then realized — ten days of recovery?
That meant dragging things out until the next full moon. What a blessing in disguise.
Horned Ox carried him back to Konoha.
Half a month later, Yen had healed. The full moon had come.
But so had a new mission.
ANBU commander Danzo ordered two full ANBU squads to the Land of Waves and the Land of Whirlpools.
Unease gripped Yen.
Was the Whirlpool Clan about to be wiped out?
And what could a small fry like him do, caught in a catastrophe like the destruction of an entire clan?
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