Two days later, at the main gate of Konoha Village, the five-person squad consisting of Tatsuya, Mitarashi Anko, Kurenai Yuhi, Hayate Gekko, and Yugao Uzuki officially set out, their destination: the Land of Demons.
The mission Kurenai's team had accepted this time was designated S-rank: a formal request for aid from the Miko of the Land of Demons.
The Land of Demons was an island nation located far overseas, a considerable distance from Konoha. The journey from the village required crossing several smaller countries, including the Land of Fields and the Land of Frost, before eventually taking a ship from a seaport situated near the border separating the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Earth. The entire trip was estimated to take about half a month.
Within the shinobi world, the Land of Demons held a unique status. Its supreme ruler was known not as a Daimyo, but as the Miko – a priestess possessing the rare and vital ability to seal powerful demons. A persistent legend circulated throughout the major nations: the specific demon sealed by the Miko of the Land of Demons possessed apocalyptic, world-destroying power. Should it ever be released, it would unleash catastrophic disaster upon the entire ninja world. Because of this potent threat, the great hidden villages had always maintained a cautious, respectful distance from the remote island nation.
This current mission had arisen simply because the cyclical period for reinforcing the demon's seal was fast approaching. Seeking to prevent any unforeseen complications or mishaps during the critical sealing process, the Miko of the Land of Demons had sent out official requests for aid to the major hidden villages.
Within Konoha's roster, Kurenai Yuhi was recognized as a ninja highly proficient in both genjutsu and the sealing arts, fuinjutsu. Hayate Gekko and Yugao Uzuki were both designated Special Jonin, particularly skilled in the traditional Konoha Style kenjutsu. Adding the recently 'enhanced' version of Mitarashi Anko into this lineup, the overall combat strength of this particular ninja squad was arguably extremely high.
However, this specific S-rank mission felt… pointedly arranged.
When Anko had returned two days prior and explained the mission details – specifically the fact that their team had been personally requested by the Hokage's office – Tatsuya had immediately understood. This was the Third Hokage's unsubtle maneuvering, scheming to leverage Tatsuya himself once again.
Over the past two years or more, the close, complicated relationship between Tatsuya, Kyoko, and Anko had become something of an open secret within Konoha. By specifically assigning Anko to such a demonstrably high-risk mission, the leadership had calculated correctly: how could the perpetually idle Tatsuya possibly stand by and not accompany her?
Frankly, Konoha's upper echelon could no longer tolerate Tatsuya's blatant indolence. Ever since his transfer to the Konoha Military Police Force, his routine slacking and profound lack of initiative had drawn significant dissatisfaction from the village leadership. With the tense relationship between the village administration and the Uchiha clan having eased slightly in recent times, the Third Hokage was undoubtedly beginning to regret his decision to move Tatsuya out of ANBU. Not only had the original objective – using Tatsuya to restrain and monitor the Uchiha – failed spectacularly, but Konoha had also needlessly sidelined a high-end combat asset they could have otherwise regularly utilized.
Having endured the cumulative losses of the Third Shinobi World War, the devastating Nine-Tails Attack, Orochimaru's subsequent defection, and numerous other incidents, Konoha's overall military strength had significantly declined. Full recovery would be a long process. The most pressing, immediate task facing the village was the urgent need to cultivate a new generation of capable, independent shinobi as quickly as possible.
During such a weakened period, maintaining healthy village finances and ensuring a consistently high mission completion rate was paramount. To achieve this, the village had little choice but to rely more heavily on its established, powerful shinobi taking on frequent, often demanding, missions outside the village – a standard practice common to all major hidden villages in lean times.
At a critical juncture like this, a ninja possessing Tatsuya's level of power became exceptionally valuable. And yet, under these very circumstances, this incredibly strong shinobi was content spending his days effectively slacking off within the relatively low-stakes environment of the Military Police Force. From Konoha's perspective, this represented a tremendous, unacceptable waste of vital resources.
Regarding the village's blatant manipulation this time, however, Tatsuya wasn't particularly resistant.
The legendary demon of the Land of Demons... he was actually somewhat curious to see it for himself.
After traveling continuously for five days, Tatsuya and his team finally reached the northwestern border of the Land of Fire. As evening began to settle, the squad made camp in a sheltered clearing within the wilderness, preparing to rest outdoors for the night.
Beside the crackling campfire, the young couple, Hayate Gekko and Yugao Uzuki, were already leaning gently against each other. Their quiet, affectionate display – the soft murmurs, the shared glances – was intensely irritating to Tatsuya, who sat slightly apart.
Nearby, Anko was huddled close with her friend Kurenai, the two speaking in hushed tones. This effectively left Tatsuya sitting alone, feeling distinctly like a third (or fifth) wheel. He didn't know what was wrong with Anko lately; she'd been giving him the cold shoulder, barely responsive, for the entire duration of the trip.
"I'm going to scout the perimeter," Tatsuya finally announced quietly to the group, feeling a familiar flicker of annoyance rise within him. He glanced up briefly at the bright, indifferent moon hanging in the night sky, then pushed himself to his feet and walked away from the firelight into the encroaching shadows.
By the fire, Yugao, Hayate, and Kurenai all watched him go. Anko, however, kept her head bowed, seemingly lost entirely within the confines of her own troubled thoughts.
"Why have you been ignoring him these past few days?" Once Tatsuya was out of earshot, Kurenai couldn't resist quietly asking the still-slumped Anko.
"Huh?" Anko looked up, her expression slightly dazed, before her voice dropped low, laced with guilt. "It's my fault... I dragged him into this."
"Hmm? What do you mean?" Kurenai asked, looking genuinely surprised by the admission.
"You don't know him," Anko mumbled, avoiding Kurenai's gaze. "He's always been... well, really lazy. If it weren't for me being assigned this, he never would have voluntarily come on a mission the village handed out."
"Are you saying," Kurenai asked slowly, her expression turning slightly perplexed, "that the village deliberately used your assignment to provoke Tatsuya-kun into taking this mission?"
"Mmhmm," Anko confirmed with a glum nod.
"But..." Kurenai's expression shifted from perplexed to outright puzzled, her voice rising slightly in pitch. "If Tatsuya-kun was willing to make such a concession, such a compromise, for you, why aren't you happy about it?"
"Because I don't want to be a burden to him!" Anko finally looked up, meeting Kurenai's eyes, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks. "I don't want him doing things he obviously dislikes just because of me!"
Kurenai looked intently at her friend. "Anko, think about it clearly. The very fact that Tatsuya-kun was willing to bend his own rules and compromise with the village for your sake clearly shows how much he values you! How important you are to him! So why on earth have you been giving him the cold shoulder this whole time?"
Anko looked utterly bewildered, her eyes wide. "Cold shoulder? I haven't been!"
Kurenai lightly slapped her own forehead, radiating pure exasperation. This silly girl!
"You've been completely distracted and barely saying two words to him the entire trip!" Kurenai retorted, unable to keep the exasperation from her voice. "If that's not giving someone the cold shoulder, what is?"
"Huh?" Anko stammered, her mouth slightly agape. "Y-you mean... he might be angry? At me?"
"Whether he's actually angry or not, I have no idea," Kurenai admitted, pursing her lips slightly. "What I do know is that very few normal people would appreciate being treated the way you've been treating him."
"No! I have to find him! I need to explain!" Hearing Kurenai's words, Anko immediately panicked. She scrambled hastily to her feet and dashed off into the darkness, following the direction Tatsuya had gone.
"Kurenai-senpai," Yugao commented curiously, watching Anko's frantic departure with a thoughtful tilt of her head, "why did you trick Anko like that? I really didn't get the sense Tatsuya-kun was angry at all just now."
"Hmph! It's entirely your fault, you two!" Kurenai shot Yugao an annoyed glare, crossing her arms indignantly. "Tatsuya-kun probably just left because he couldn't stand watching your sickeningly sweet display for another second!" Being on a ninja team constantly subjected to their public displays of affection was wearing thin.
"Hmph! Well, Kurenai-senpai, no need to be jealous of us," Yugao retorted cheekily, her own face flushing slightly but refusing to back down. "I heard Asuma-senpai is coming back to the village very soon. Maybe you could request to form a special team with him then, hmm?"
Kurenai's normally composed face instantly flushed a deep crimson.
Silvery moonlight spilled onto the damp earth at the edge of the forest. Tatsuya stood alone and silent, gazing into the dark woods.
Suddenly, the distinct sound of hurried footsteps rustled on the leaves behind him.
"Why did you follow me out here?" Hearing the noise, Tatsuya didn't bother turning around, his voice calm and even, devoid of any particular emotion.
The moment the words left his mouth, however, Tatsuya's entire body went unexpectedly rigid.