The next day.
The entrance of Konoha.
A crowd of people had gathered in the vast open space. The vast majority wore the standard green ninja vests, with only a few scattered individuals in civilian clothes. A faint sense of tension permeated the air, making even the occasional bird song sound exceptionally clear.
Among the crowd, a tall, thin young man was particularly eye-catching. He stood tall and straight with long limbs. Just by standing there quietly, the aura he exuded was completely different from those around him. It was a kind of composure that had settled after experiencing countless life-and-death trials.
In the guardroom in the corner, Kotetsu had his arms crossed, his gaze fixed on that tall, thin figure, his brow furrowing involuntarily.
"The leader of this team seems to be Miki?" His voice was low, carrying a rare seriousness.
"That's right, it's indeed him. But it looks like the vice-captain is also a familiar face." Izumo leaned against the edge of the long table, his eyes also following the team outside.
"Yuya?" Kotetsu gasped. "That guy is actually the vice-captain? It seems the difficulty of this mission isn't small."
Izumo nodded slightly. "Looking at the number of people in the team, it's at least an A-rank mission."
Just as he finished speaking, his peripheral vision inadvertently swept across the village's main road, and he suddenly caught sight of an unexpected figure.
"Hey! Look..." He nudged his companion with his elbow.
A figure could be seen in the distance, slowly walking toward the gate.
The boy wore a black sleeveless hoodie and simple grey shorts, carrying a small backpack. Most striking was what he held—in his right hand was a skewer of half-eaten tri-colored dango, and in his left was a paper bag, his pace leisurely.
"The Uchiha twin? The one who provoked us last time?" Kotetsu's face immediately darkened. "What is he doing here?"
Izumo narrowed his eyes. "He couldn't also be a member of Miki's mission this time, could he?"
"We'll see." Kotetsu squeezed the words through his teeth.
Mamoru lazily strolled to the village entrance and stopped at the very edge of the team.
He had intentionally dawdled at the dango shop until the gathering time to arrive, for a simple reason—he hated waiting for people.
With a "chomp," he bit off the top tri-colored dango and chewed without any reservation, the smacking sound exceptionally clear in the quiet air.
This untimely sound immediately caught the attention of the other ninjas in the team. When they saw Mamoru's casual attire, most of them furrowed their brows, their faces written with displeasure.
Some turned away in disgust, while others spat on the ground and cursed.
"Young people these days really..." A middle-aged ninja shook his head.
In the eyes of these experienced ninjas, one should maintain a tense and serious attitude before an important mission, but this boy was so lax. It was practically an insult to them as seniors.
Mamoru might not have known that in these few short seconds, he had already been labeled by his surrounding colleagues as a 'foolish rookie' and 'disrespectful to elders'.
But even if he did know, he would probably only curl his lip indifferently and curse in his heart: "Mind your own business."
Just then, a chubby boy in a grey jacket took the initiative to walk up to him and asked friendly, "Are you also a Genin assigned to this mission?"
Mamoru nodded while chewing and responded unclearly, "Halo..."
The boy smiled and extended his hand. "My name is Mashima Teruhito, also a Genin. Please look after me on this mission."
Mamoru unhurriedly finished the last dango, glanced at the hand extended before him, and then looked toward the guardroom.
That pair of 'best friends' were blatantly watching the show. A playful arc curved at the corner of his lips, and he casually flicked the bamboo skewer in his hand.
Whoosh—
The bamboo skewer cut through the air, heading straight for the guardroom with a slight whistling sound.
Inside the guardroom, Kotetsu and Izumo looked up alertly at the same time.
Thwack—
A crisp sound echoed inside the guardroom. The bamboo skewer was accurately pinned to the frame of a blackboard inside that had a simple map of Konoha drawn on it, its end still vibrating slightly.
Kotetsu stared fixedly at the skewer, his voice squeezed through his teeth. "Were we just provoked by that brat again?"
Izumo was stunned for a moment and replied uncertainly, "It seems so."
"Dammit, looking for trouble time and again, how can I endure this?"
Before Kotetsu's voice had even faded, he had already leaped out of the guardroom window in a rage, charging forward aggressively.
Izumo hurriedly chased after him, taking the opportunity to grab him around the waist from behind, repeatedly trying to dissuade him, "Forget it, don't lower yourself to a child's level."
"Don't stop me! Today I must teach him a lesson!" Kotetsu struggled, the veins on his forehead bulging.
Meanwhile, Mamoru's attention had already moved away from that farce.
His freed hand shook the hand extended by the chubby boy. Swallowing the dango in his mouth, he raised an eyebrow and smiled. "I'm Uchiha Mamoru. Fatty, you're lucky."
"Eh... Uchiha?" Teruhito froze for a moment, a flash of surprise and curiosity in his eyes. "Is it that Uchiha clan?"
"That's right, the Uchiha you're thinking of." Mamoru replied flatly, his gaze already drifting toward the front of the team.
"Alright, everyone quiet down and listen to me!"
At that moment, a loud voice rang out from the very front of the team.
Miki, facing the crowd, continued in a deep voice after seeing everyone's attention was focused, "I am the captain for this mission, Takano Miki."
The young man standing beside him spoke immediately after, "I am the vice-captain, Fujimoto Yuya."
Miki's sharp gaze swept the field, confirming, "Everyone should be here."
He took out a scroll. "We'll start roll call now. Respond when your name is called."
"Shigemitsu, Yuda, Hayabusa..."
The ninjas in the team whose names were called gave powerful responses one after another, echoing in the early morning air.
Once Miki confirmed that everyone had arrived, he cleared his throat and began to describe the specific details of the mission.
"The target of this mission is to wipe out the bandit group entrenched in the Muomu Mountain area."
Miki's voice echoed across the open gathering ground.
"The personnel involved in this mission, including myself, total twenty-four people. This includes one Jonin, one Special Jonin, nineteen Chunin, and three Genin."
He looked around at the ninjas present and continued to explain the plan of action, "The main combat personnel will be divided into two squads: Squad One led by me, and Squad Two led by Vice-Captain Yuya. The Genin will not directly participate in frontal combat."
"Squad One will mainly be responsible for the frontal assault, while Squad Two will handle reconnaissance, assistance, and rescue work..."
Miki explained the tactical arrangements in detail.
"Now I will announce the personnel list for Squad One. Those called please stand to the right."
(End of Chapter)
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