The Land of Fire was rich in resources. After passing through the vast forest, Byakuya came upon a bustling iron mine. Leaf ninja patrolled the perimeter, and watchtowers were built on the high ground. Unless you were a ninja skilled in stealth jutsu, passing through unnoticed was impossible. Unfortunately, Byakuya wasn't that kind of ninja yet.
So, he walked openly into the line of sight of the patrol, flashing his Root pass and Leaf forehead protector.
To confirm his identity, the patrol ninja grilled him with a barrage of questions about the Hidden Leaf's local culture. One of them, apparently a huge fan of Ichiraku Ramen, even asked Byakuya what flavor Old Man Teuchi was best at making.
"Tonkotsu ramen. Actually, I don't like tonkotsu."
"Huh? Someone who doesn't like Teuchi's tonkotsu ramen? Then tell me, which one do you like?"
"Definitely the miso ramen with extra chashu."
"Oh, right. Now that you mention it, I like miso too, but tonkotsu is still my number one."
Byakuya's handsome face was hidden behind the eerie Shuten-doji mask. "Are we done? I need to get moving."
"Judging by your direction, you're heading to the Land of Rivers?" one asked.
Byakuya didn't answer. For questions like that, confirming or denying were both wrong. Silence was the best way to keep people guessing.
"Who told you to ask that? Hey kid, here. Take these kunai forged at the mine."
The ramen-loving patrol ninja unclipped a tool pouch from his waist and handed it to him.
"Thanks."
"Safe travels."
"You too."
Byakuya pocketed the pouch, took back his Root pass, forehead protector, and the mine pass they gave him.
His mysterious outfit naturally attracted attention.
Choza Akimichi, who was returning from the front lines against the Cloud to transport important ninja tools to the rear, stopped him.
After some questioning, Choza roughly guessed which department Byakuya belonged to.
"You're quite young, aren't you? On a mission alone?"
Byakuya stayed silent.
"Minato Namikaze went back to the Leaf to rest and reorganize. Did you see him?"
Still silent.
"What a boring ninja. Tell me your code name. Maybe we'll have a chance to work together someday."
Byakuya remained wordless, simply pointing a finger at his mask.
"Your code name is Shuten-doji?"
Choza tossed the Root pass back to him. "Don't be impulsive on the battlefield. Since the higher-ups dare to send you on a solo mission, you're either exceptionally capable or expendable cannon fodder. Whichever it is, I hope you survive..."
"You kids are the hope of the Leaf, after all."
Choza's chubby face had swirl markings painted on his cheeks, and his eyes were narrowed into slits as he spoke.
The Akimichi clan was one of the Leaf's noble founding clans, the "Cho" in the legendary Ino-Shika-Cho trio. They possessed the secret Multi-Size Techniques and Butterfly Mode. However, Byakuya was more interested in the Akimichi clan's Three Colored Pills.
The Green Spinach Pill boosted potential explosively. The Yellow Curry Pill fortified the body. The Red Chilli Pill increased strength by a hundred times.
Although all three had severe side effects, they were undoubtedly trump cards for turning the tide of a battle.
Byakuya remembered that this Choza Akimichi had once formed a squad with Minato Namikaze and fought the Cloud Village's famous A-B Combo—the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer Bee.
He wondered if, at this stage of the Third Great Ninja War, the A-B Combo had clashed with Minato yet.
As a warehouse manager at the Academy, Byakuya had zero access to real battlefield intel. The news circulating in the village was always propaganda about how the Leaf was winning, winning, winning.
Byakuya actually agreed with the village's method. Only by keeping morale high could they sustain a war this cruel.
After all, the war hadn't been going on that long, yet the names on the Memorial Stone were multiplying rapidly.
He left the mine smoothly and entered another forest.
Beyond the forest lay endless farmland. A village the size of a town came into view, but Byakuya didn't enter. He skirted around it to continue his journey.
After several days on the road, Byakuya was better prepared this time—he had brought a camping tent.
The border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers was also garrisoned by Leaf ninja. There must have been a sensory type among them, because a three-man squad intercepted him.
Two of the ninja kept a cautious distance, while the one in the back stood with veins bulging around his activated Byakugan.
Ninja from the Hyuga clan were practically in a league of their own when it came to reconnaissance.
Especially the Byakugan—it was even more "plug-and-play" than the Uchiha's Sharingan. No wonder other villages coveted it so much. If not for the Caged Bird Seal, which Hyuga would dare travel alone? Enemies had plenty of ways to gouge those eyes out.
To say he wasn't envious would be a lie.
Byakuya withdrew his gaze from the Branch House ninja and tossed his Root pass to the squad, who were ready for combat.
"Is this really an ANBU pass? Why does it look like this?"
After carefully verifying the chakra anti-counterfeit seal embedded in it, one of them stepped forward and respectfully handed it back to Byakuya.
They escorted him to the border checkpoint and let him cross into the Land of Rivers.
The border was long, but there were only a few viable crossing points. The rest were canyons, mountain ranges, or hostile forests...
Since Byakuya had the pass, why make life hard for himself?
Even if it was a Root mission, think about it: would they give a mission that required absolute secrecy and total information lockdown to him?
So, he decided to be nice to himself.
Intentionally leaking his movements was also a form of "Laying Low."
See? I'm this clumsy. Don't give me the dangerous missions.
Once inside the sparsely populated Land of Rivers, he didn't rush.
He spent time finding a valley with a bubbling stream to finish his system mission before the deadline hit.
> [System: Hard Work Pays Off]
> Limited Time Mission (6 Days): Hit 200 Bullseyes with Kunai (200/200)
> Status: Complete.
> Reward: Minor increase in Chakra Control.
> Destiny Choice 2: Establish a foothold in the ANBU Training Division (Limited Time: 19 Days).
> Reward: Major increase in Chakra Quality.
He carved a target onto a wide tree trunk and threw two hundred times.
With his current chakra levels, stamina, perception, and reaction speed being worlds apart from when he started, he completed it effortlessly.
Before sleeping that night, he mused, I wonder if my current strength is up to Chunin standards...
Following the Way of Laying Low, the Genin rank was the perfect camouflage. There was no need to chase a promotion just for better pay or to please others.
Solid skills and the combat power to survive a crisis—those were the core essentials.
During the night, footsteps woke him. He used his katana to kill a bear that was trying to raid his tent. In the morning, he packed up and trekked over mountains and rivers toward the surveillance unit where his target, Sansan Kaoru, was stationed.
The Land of Rivers lay between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind. Its purpose was to be a buffer zone, so it didn't have many powerful ninja of its own.
Sand ninja could come here. Leaf ninja could come here. But if the Land of Rivers' own ninja tried anything funny, they'd better weigh their own strength first.
Byakuya found a small village and paid a villager two hundred ryo to swap his clothes for a set of herb-gatherer's garb. Then, he crept toward the Leaf surveillance unit.