Morning.
Ayane was teasing the birds in a cage on the corridor, a gentle smile gracing her fair, clean face.
At the other end of the corridor, Hizashi, who had already washed up, saw this scene. The beautiful moment seemed to freeze in time, and Hizashi looked at it, momentarily lost in thought.
It had been several years since he first met Ayane.
He never expected Ayane to stay by his side all this time, becoming his maid.
"Good morning, Young Master Hizashi."
Upon seeing Hizashi, Ayane calmly stood up, stopped teasing the bird in the cage, and smiled at Hizashi with warmth and respect.
Her pure white eyes conveyed all the beauty in the world.
Every time Hizashi saw that look in Ayane's eyes, he couldn't help but wonder.
Had she accepted her fate as a branch family member?
Had she truly submitted to the main family?
There was no longer any hatred or hostility in her eyes.
It was as if, after years of being together, she had let go of her prejudices against the main family.
"Good morning, Ayane."
Hizashi was not a deliberately cold person; both he and Ayane knew this very well.
But precisely because he was too gentle, he had to project an image of seriousness and ruthlessness.
His gentleness, for the Hyuga clan, could be a disaster and could cause harm to others.
His gentleness had once hurt his younger brother, Hizashi. Therefore, he did not want Ayane, the maid who had followed him for several years, to be hurt as well.
"I heard you're going on a mission, is that right?"
"Yes, Young Master Hizashi. I apologize, but I may not be able to serve you at your side all the time from now on."
Ayane bowed apologetically.
"It's alright. Our Hyuga clan is also a part of Konoha. Don't worry, your squad leader, Sakumo Hatake, is an excellent ninja."
Hizashi seemed to know something.
"Was this something Young Master Hizashi requested from the Clan Head?"
Ayane's pure white eyes held an unblemished, gentle hue.
Hizashi did not answer.
He walked past Ayane, his expression calm.
Ayane checked the time; it was almost time to gather, so she prepared to leave.
"That..."
Hizashi's voice came from behind.
Ayane turned her head, looking at Hizashi with a puzzled expression.
Hizashi did not turn around, his back facing Ayane.
"Please protect yourself."
After saying this, Hizashi suddenly quickened his pace and disappeared at the end of the corridor.
Unlike the cold and arrogant members of the main family, Hizashi always had a soft spot in his heart.
Ayane merely smiled gently, as if she had heard Hizashi's words, and yet as if she hadn't.
She tied her forehead protector to her forehead, her long, silky black hair flowing down. After pausing in the corridor for a moment, she began to walk out of the Hyuga clan compound.
'I don't deserve this treatment from you, Young Master Hizashi,' she thought to herself.
◎
After yesterday's exorbitantly priced barbecue, the team's atmosphere had become quite harmonious.
Sakumo had also learned a bit about the three members of his squad.
Chiba Shiraishi, a medical ninja. His personality wasn't fully apparent yet, but overall, he seemed like a typical ninja. However, his profession as a medical ninja added a lot of points to his favor.
Hyuga Ayane, a branch family member from a prestigious clan. Her personality was gentle and considerate, with an occasional hint of mischief, fitting the lively disposition of a young person. Most importantly, she could eat a lot.
Uchiha Ruri, a genius from the Uchiha clan. From their brief encounter yesterday, her fighting skills were already on par with an average Jonin. A special note: she was rich.
And in the eyes of Shiraishi and the other two, Sakumo Hatake, the ninja known as Konoha's White Fang, had a laid-back personality, completely unlike the cold and ruthless image people had fabricated in rumors. He was also a pauper who couldn't even afford a barbecue.
A disgrace to Jonin.
After all, the gap between reality and rumor is always vast, and interacting with Sakumo became very casual. Sakumo had no Jonin airs and could communicate with anyone on equal terms.
At ten in the morning, the members of Sakumo's squad gathered at the main gate of Konoha Village.
"I just picked up an A-rank mission from the Hokage. Let's use this to get some practice."
Shiraishi's mouth twitched. He knew this squad wasn't going to be doing ordinary missions.
Using an A-rank mission for practice, Shiraishi could already foresee a bleak and tragic mission career ahead of him.
It was probably too late to back out now.
"Let's go."
Sakumo saw that although the three had varied expressions, they all obediently followed his arrangements. He nodded and then vanished from his spot.
Shiraishi and the other two were not slow either; the moment Sakumo disappeared, they all quickly followed suit.
Because the most important thing for long-distance travel is to ensure sufficient stamina, ninjas do not run very fast during their journeys; otherwise, even a Jonin would not be able to endure it.
"Sakumo-sensei, what's the A-rank mission about?"
Shiraishi saw that Ruri and Ayane had no intention of asking about the mission details, so he took the initiative to speak up.
Sakumo didn't hide anything: "There's a large-scale battle happening on the front lines. Our mission is to eliminate enemies lurking within the Land of Fire. They often attack supply convoys transported from Konoha and also destroy towns in the Land of Fire."
"Is it that serious? So that means..."
Shiraishi vaguely guessed something.
"Ah, your guess is correct. An A-rank mission can turn into an S-rank mission at any time, because even the Anbu cannot fully track the movements of those infiltrators. That's why a ninja with a Byakugan is assigned to the team. Our mission is to wander around the Land of Fire and eliminate every enemy that appears within the Byakugan's field of vision, leaving no one behind."
How many ninjas there were, and among them, how many were Chunin, how many Jonin—it was all an unknown.
This was why Sakumo said that an A-rank mission could turn into an S-rank mission at any time.
"Is it just our group?"
Ruri asked calmly, not showing any fear due to the mission's content.
"Of course not. There will be an Anbu squad cooperating with us."
Shiraishi and the other two nodded, feeling a little relieved.
With an Anbu squad cooperating, the work should be much easier.
The Anbu force consists of seventy members in total, with a General Commander and two Deputy General Commanders. They serve as the Hokage's personal guards and generally do not undertake missions directly outside the village.
Below the General Commander and Deputy General Commanders, there are four Anbu squads.
Each squad has a Squad Leader, and each Squad Leader commands four teams, with each team consisting of four Anbu ninjas.
This means one Squad Leader plus sixteen Anbu from four teams, totaling seventeen Anbu ninjas, will cooperate with Sakumo's squad to eliminate the lurking enemies within the Land of Fire.
The journey continued in silence. An hour after leaving the village, Ayane immediately activated her Byakugan to scan the surroundings for any enemies lurking within its detection range.
Ayane's Byakugan had a detection radius of five kilometers, a significant breakthrough compared to a few years ago.
Another hour passed, and Sakumo, at the front of the team, signaled to stop.
The four landed in an open space and halted.
"Let's rest here for a bit."
Discipline is paramount for a squad, so since Sakumo was the leader, Shiraishi and the other two naturally obeyed unconditionally.
After sitting down, Sakumo spoke, "Further ahead is a dangerous area. We could encounter ninjas ambushing us at any time there. All three of you had excellent theoretical grades in the academy, so you should know the basic coordination within a squad, right?"
"Are you referring to the three medical ninja rules?"
Shiraishi asked.
Sakumo nodded.
The so-called three medical ninja rules were established by Tsunade, one of the Sannin.
First rule: A medical ninja must never give up treating a teammate until that teammate is dead.
Second rule: A medical ninja must not fight on the front lines.
Third rule: A medical ninja must not die before their squad members.
Therefore, avoiding combat is not shameful for a medical ninja, nor is it a disgrace for a medical ninja to accept protection from others.
"From now on, I'll be responsible for the assault. Ruri and Ayane, you two must stay by Shiraishi's side at all times. Even if the surroundings seem safe, do not prioritize combat. If you encounter a situation where you absolutely must fight, Ruri, you handle the engagement, and Ayane, you focus on protection."
"Yes!"
Understanding and being able to execute are two different things, but in this matter, Sakumo could only trust the coordination among the three of them.
After resting for about ten minutes, Sakumo led the three of them forward.
As Sakumo had said, further ahead was an unsafe, dangerous area where battles could break out at any moment.
"One o'clock direction, approximately 2,300 meters away, there are seven Sand Shinobi ambushing. Two are hidden underground, three behind trees, and the other two in the bushes."
Suddenly, Ayane, who had kept her Byakugan activated, shared the intelligence she had gathered.
"Follow me."
Sakumo's pace suddenly quickened, and he sprinted rapidly towards the one o'clock direction Ayane indicated.
Under the Byakugan's insight, all ambushes and hidden positions were exposed to the sunlight, with nowhere to hide.
A distance of 2,300 meters was not long; they reached the enemy's ambush point in less than three minutes.
"Sakumo-sensei, should we be careful..."
Ayane was about to say something when Sakumo had already vanished from sight.
Under the Byakugan's detection, only flashes of blades were seen, and the chakra signatures of five Sand Shinobi directly disappeared, turning into cold corpses.
The remaining two fled in a panic towards them, likely terrified by Sakumo's sudden attack.
"Two targets directly ahead. Sensei deliberately sent them over for us to practice on. Just use Fire Style to deal with them."
Ayane sighed.
Where the enemies came from, how many targets there were, and what methods to use against them—the Byakugan saw everything clearly.
This wasn't even a battle.
Ruri had already completed her hand signs.
Two massive fireballs continuously spewed from her mouth.
The two who were fleeing towards them had no idea the fireballs would arrive so perfectly, as if timed precisely. They were incinerated in the fireballs.