And so, Kirito joined Tenten's group as a carriage driver accompanying the convoy as they left the village to carry out their mission.
For most of the first half of the day, the journey was completely peaceful.
Which was only natural.
They were still relatively close to Konoha, and any bandits foolish enough to cause trouble here would practically be courting death.
"Heave-ho! Heave-ho! Heave-ho!"
With nothing to do along the road, the ever-energetic training fanatic Rock Lee began doing all sorts of physical exercises—moving forward on his hands, frog jumps, and other intense drills.
With diligence like that, it was no wonder that someone without natural talent could still develop such formidable taijutsu.
Out of boredom, Tenten walked over to Kirito and nudged his shoulder with her elbow.
"By the way, Kirito-kun, you should really learn from Lee. If ninjutsu and genjutsu aren't your thing, you could at least become a taijutsu-type ninja."
Kirito simply smiled at Tenten's well-meaning reminder but didn't respond.
Seeing his casual attitude, Tenten puffed her cheeks in annoyance.
"You… are you planning to never become a ninja for the rest of your life? With such excellent weapon skills, are you really going to just waste them like that?"
Faced with Tenten's string of questions, Kirito felt a headache coming on.
But suddenly, as if noticing something, his expression relaxed slightly. He quickly changed the subject.
"An enemy is coming, Tenten."
"Oh? Ohhh! Finally, an enemy attack!"
A group of vicious-looking men carrying weapons suddenly emerged from the forest. It was obvious at a glance—they were bandits lying in wait.
Yet upon seeing the enemies, Rock Lee looked excited rather than worried. He cracked his knuckles, ready to fight.
Neji glanced at the bandits in front of them and immediately dismissed them with a look of disdain.
Tenten didn't take the incoming attack seriously either. She poked Kirito's shoulder with a finger, looking slightly irritated.
"That kind of small matter can be handled by Lee alone. Let's continue our conversation here. Don't think you can change the topic so easily. No matter how you try to dodge it, I'll bring the discussion right back!"
"Hiya!"
Charging alone into the enemy crowd, Lee unleashed his agile and dynamic taijutsu.
Despite their overwhelming numbers, the bandits were beaten back step by step, completely unable to fight back.
However, as Kirito watched from the side, he began to feel that something about the scene was… off.
Everything was going too smoothly.
Narrowing his eyes, his gaze swept across the faces of the bandits one by one.
Most of them had stiff, rigid expressions. Their eyes were dull and lifeless, almost as if their bodies were not under their own control.
Kirito placed a hand on Tenten's shoulder and said in a low voice,
"Focus, Tenten. Look carefully at their expressions. Something's wrong."
"Huh? Lee still hasn't finished with something this trivial?" Tenten turned her head impatiently.
But when she followed Kirito's indication, she froze slightly.
The enemies really did seem strange.
At the same time, Neji—who possessed sharp observation skills as the team leader—had already noticed the problem.
The veins on his temples bulged as his pale eyes suddenly transformed into a clear, pure white.
"Byakugan!"
"…I see. There's a faint stream of chakra flowing abnormally inside their bodies. It's genjutsu."
Through the Byakugan's vision, Neji could see the chakra flow within the enemies' bodies, allowing him to determine that these bandits were being controlled through an illusion technique.
After realizing the enemy's plan, Neji expanded the search range of his Byakugan.
However, something strange happened.
Within a one-kilometer radius, he couldn't detect the enemy's location at all.
Normally, genjutsu had a certain range limitation between the caster and the target.
"Underground!"
Neji's expression changed immediately as he realized where the enemy truly was. He quickly leapt upward.
But the moment he jumped, a hand suddenly burst out from the ground, almost grabbing the spot where he had just been standing.
At the same time, Tenten and Rock Lee reacted just as quickly.
Before the enemies beneath their feet could grab them, they both leapt far away.
All three ambush attempts failed.
A moment later, an annoyed voice clicked its tongue, and three figures emerged from beneath the ground.
"Didn't expect someone with the Byakugan to be here. What a miscalculation."
After retreating slightly, Neji and the others saw their attackers clearly.
The three enemies were dressed in tight gray outfits, wearing headbands from Takigakure.
However, the deep slash carved across the symbols on their headbands clearly indicated they were missing-nin who had abandoned their village.
"Judging from the chakra levels in their bodies, they're barely at the level of Chunin," Neji said coldly, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. "Good."
"If the enemy is Chunin, then this will be a good chance to test our skills."
"Oh! How lucky!" Rock Lee exclaimed excitedly. "A C-rank mission actually turned into a real ninja battle!"
Even when facing genuine ninja enemies, Lee showed not the slightest hint of fear.
Tenten silently pulled out a scroll from her pocket.
"It's been a while since I've had a chance to stretch my muscles."
Without hesitation or awkwardness, the three of them each rushed toward their respective opponents.
Their quick reactions, precise responses, and fearless advance proved one thing clearly—
This wasn't their first mission.
Over the past year since graduating from the academy, the three of them had experienced all kinds of missions. Their mindset and strength had grown rapidly.
Confidence and strength went hand in hand.
Facing three enemy ninjas at the level of Chunin, they charged forward without the slightest hesitation.
"Tch… arrogant little brats."
The three Takigakure rogue ninjas naturally weren't afraid of these half-grown kids.
At least, that's what they believed.