The clan meeting ended in silence.
Amamiya Raizen was the first to stand. Without waiting for dismissal, he turned and strode toward the exit.
"Raizen—wait!"
Amamiya Jane caught up to him, eyes sharp with worry. "Why'd you accept this mission? You know how dangerous the Tiannan front is!"
Raizen didn't even look back.
"Of course I know," he said dryly. "But I already told you—there's no one in the Ueshi Clan who can keep me."
The corner of his mouth curled upward in that usual, cocky half-smile. Then, as a few older clan shinobi approached, he straightened his back and added, louder this time—
"It's my honor to serve the clan!"
That tone—steady, almost noble—made the older ninja pause.
One of them patted his shoulder, his eyes soft with guilt and pride. "Good spirit, kid. The clan needs shinobi like you. If you come back alive… we'll be behind you all the way."
Raizen gave a small bow, masking the flicker of amusement in his eyes.
"Then I'll make sure you don't have to wait long."
As he walked off, the others watched him go—not as a child genius anymore, but as a true shinobi. Someone who carried the will of the clan on his own shoulders.
At home, Raizen dropped the act and exhaled through his nose.
"'Honored to serve,' huh. Guess I should start charging for performances like that."
This mission was suicidal for most Amamiya shinobi. But for him? Not so much.
First, the Tiannan Mine target was perfect terrain for his fighting style. With Detonation Clay, he could attack from the skies using his clay bird—Earth Style users below would be helpless.
Second, he still had the Flying Thunder God Technique. Worst-case scenario, he could bail before anyone even realized he was gone.
"So yeah," he muttered, packing a scroll. "Dangerous for them, not for me."
The whole "brave hero walking toward death" act was just that—an act. Prestige bait.
In the eyes of most clan ninja, he was still a seven-year-old brat with too much talent and not enough wrinkles. Nobody followed a kid unless that kid proved himself under fire. So, he'd play the part—
die for the clan, come back alive, and let them choke on their doubts.
From the looks they gave him earlier, this single mission could flip the clan's opinion entirely.
If he succeeded, they wouldn't see a child anymore.
They'd see a name.
Still, caution came first.
Ueshi De had suffered from Raizen's Flying Thunder God and Detonation Clay before—he'd be ready.
And if the Hyūga Clan had stationed any shinobi at Tiannan… things could get ugly fast.
"So, contingency first."
He placed a marked kunai in the corner of his residence, engraving the formula for Flying Thunder God.
"If things go south, I'll jump straight back to Songshan."
Once preparations were done, Raizen summoned his clay owl and waited until nightfall.
Moonlight gleamed off his forehead protector as he mounted the creature.
"Alright, time to earn my heroic reputation," he said with a smirk, and took off into the night sky.
Halfway through the flight, a strange chill coiled through his gut. His chakra prickled.
"...Huh?"
He froze, feeling the instinctive dread of a shinobi who's lived too many near-death moments. He didn't know what it was—but when that kind of fear struck, he always listened.
Raizen guided the owl down into a forest clearing, his eyes sharp. He hid a spare Flying Thunder God kunai and a sealed batch of Detonation Clay under the roots of an old tree.
"Just in case," he muttered.
The tension in his chest eased. With a click of his fingers, the owl flapped back into the air, gliding silently toward Tiannan.
Two hours later, he hovered above the mine. The entire area lay still and quiet—too quiet.
Raizen didn't move. Didn't breathe.
He'd wait until just before dawn, when the world's half-asleep.
That's when he'd strike.