Shinma arrived near Konoha Village's Memorial Stone.
He found a tombstone behind the Memorial Stone with the name Shinna inscribed on it.
"Brother, I've been recommended for Jonin by Lord Sakumo. You were always strict with me when we were young. I never thought you would die only a Chūnin, while I am about to become a Jonin."
"I will also be strict with my two children, hoping they can surpass us."
Shinma looked at Shinna's photo, placed a bouquet of flowers, and left the Memorial Stone.
He had received a village mission to go to the Kikyō Mountain fortress on the border of the Land of Fire to scout for enemy activity.
The Kikyō Mountain fortress was the most remote fortress in the Land of Fire, bordering the Land of Rivers.
Shinma arrived at the village gate and saw the three team members assigned to this mission.
"Let's go. Quick round trip."
Shinma thought to himself that although the Jonin assessment wouldn't be canceled just because he was on a mission – it would be automatically postponed – he should still try to catch the first wave of assessments.
A good attitude would leave a positive impression on the Jonin Commander and the higher-ups.
A few minutes later, the Hippo Squad also arrived at Konoha's main gate.
Just as the Hippo Squad was about to depart, a figure suddenly appeared before them using the Body Flicker Technique.
"Captain?"
Yōkō glanced at Hippo and the three ANBU members and said, "I'll go too. This mission carries a certain degree of danger."
The mission to assassinate Shinma must fail.
Yōkō was unwilling to let a Tokubetsu Jonin like Shinma die due to infighting among the village's higher-ups.
To ensure nothing went wrong, he decided to make the trip himself.
If even Yōkō couldn't complete it, then the higher-ups would consider this mission genuinely troublesome.
Team Shinma traveled west, reaching the southwestern border of the Land of Fire.
Entering the Kikyō Mountain fortress, the stationed Jonin said to Shinma:
"I cannot leave the fortress too far. About 50 kilometers from the fortress, Suna-nin have been spotted."
"Therefore, I requested reinforcements from the village, asking them to send someone to investigate whether the Suna-nin are up to some scheme."
Listening to the stationed Jonin's briefing, Shinma said, "I understand. I'll set out immediately."
Looking out from the Kikyō Mountain fortress, one could see the busiest port in the southeast of the Land of Fire, Kikyō Port. This port was the primary protection target of the Kikyō Mountain fortress.
The stationed Jonin was from the Sarutobi clan. He looked at the sparkling sea in the distance, his eyes flickering.
After leaving Kikyō Mountain fortress, Team Shinma headed west.
Hippo, following from a distance, said, "Captain, I've made arrangements in advance."
"The Suna-nin will learn the detailed information about Team Shinma from a spy."
"Shinma is a subordinate of Konoha's White Fang and knows intelligence about him."
"Chiyo and Ebizō, knowing this, definitely won't pass up this opportunity. They will send a large number of Suna-nin to capture Shinma."
"What we need to do is confirm that Shinma is either captured or killed by the Suna-nin."
If the ANBU needed to execute a specific Konoha shinobi, they rarely did it directly.
As long as they used spies to leak the information during a mission, they could easily use the enemy's hand to eliminate a Konoha shinobi.
Mission assignment authority was one of the Hokage's most important powers, a power that all village shinobi either feared or relied upon.
Hippo said, "Konoha's spy network is all controlled by Root. If only our ANBU could control spies too, I wouldn't have to repeatedly liaise with Root."
Yōkō thought to himself that espionage was his weak point. He wondered if Yakushi Nonō had seen the letter he left at the orphanage.
After his last communication with Pakkun, Pakkun hadn't contacted him again. He also didn't know how Hatake Sakumo planned to rescue Shinma.
The village wouldn't allow Hatake Sakumo to leave the village at this time.
The first Jonin Commander meeting after the war was where the real struggle would happen, determining the village's power structure for the next few years.
Whichever side had more Jonin would hold the advantage.
He didn't know who Hatake Sakumo had arranged as the rescue.
—
An elite Suna-nin unit crossed the rivers of the Land of Rivers, heading straight for the direction of Kikyō Mountain.
"Hurry! The spy risked his life to send back the intel! A subordinate of the White Fang is near Kikyō Mountain! We must capture him!"
Konoha's White Fang was Sunagakure's most hated enemy. The White Fang had killed Advisor Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law, nearly severing the pinnacle inheritance of Puppet Masters.
Everyone in the village said Chiyo's grandson, Sasori, was a genius in puppet techniques, but no one knew how far Sasori could truly grow.
If they could capture a subordinate of the White Fang and interrogate him for information about the White Fang, an S-rank mission reward was guaranteed.
On a distant mountain peak, Hippo lowered his binoculars and said, "Captain! The Suna-nin are here!"
A Suna-nin squadron appeared at the edge of their vision.
Yōkō picked up his binoculars and saw that Team Shinma had also spotted the Suna-nin. After assessing the numbers, they immediately began retreating towards Kikyō Mountain.
The Suna-nin were powerful and quickly caught up with Team Shinma.
The three Genin of Team Shinma were too weak, completely holding Shinma back.
This was a mission arranged jointly by the ANBU and Root. The three weak Genin were also part of the ANBU's plan.
The battle erupted quickly.
Shinma drew his ninjato.
Most civilian shinobi practiced taijutsu rigorously, excelling in ninja tools and sword techniques, with very solid foundational skills.
After drawing his ninjato, Shinma stood in front of the three Genin, telling them to go to Kikyō Mountain fortress to report the situation while he covered the rear.
As the three Genin left, Shinma charged towards the Suna-nin.
Yōkō thought that if Hatake Sakumo's arrangements didn't arrive in time, Shinma would die here.
Flames suddenly burst forth on Shinma's blade.
No wonder Shinma has hopes of promotion to Jonin. It turns out he has mastered a special Fire Release nin-taijutsu that allows him to coat his ninjato with Fire Release chakra.
Shinma's strength surprised the Suna-nin, but at most, it just meant a bit more trouble.
Within the Suna-nin squadron, there were three Jonin.
"Huh?" Hippo suddenly said, "Something's not right. Why are a few of Shinma's enemies collapsing inexplicably?"
A gap opened in the encirclement, and Shinma broke through and escaped.
Hippo said, "Captain, should we change into Suna-nin disguises, go kill Shinma, and ensure the mission's success?"
Yōkō shook his head repeatedly and said, "Hippo, look carefully. If you miss key information and charge in recklessly, not only will the mission fail, but we will also be exposed."
Hippo continued watching Shinma's desperate escape and said, "Sorry, Captain, I can't see anything unusual, but the Suna-nin are indeed dying inexplicably."
Yōkō said, "During the Land of Whirlpools war, I cooperated with a Bloodline Limit Jonin."
"Konoha's Transparency Release bloodline allows complete invisibility and silent attacks."
"Unless something unexpected happened, there is a Transparency Release user beside Shinma."
"Withdraw. Mission failure."
"A Transparency Release Jonin is protecting Shinma. With our sensing methods, we cannot kill the Transparency Release Jonin to silence them."
"Transparency Release Jonin? Gekkō Sō?"
Hippo was greatly annoyed inwardly. Why would he encounter Jonin Gekkō Sō here?
That was a Jonin who mastered the Transparency Release and possessed sharp sword skills.
It wasn't that they couldn't defeat Gekkō Sō, but as the Captain said, they couldn't find the invisible Gekkō Sō if he chose to escape, making silencing him impossible.
Being unable to silence him meant mission failure and their own exposure.
On the way back, Yōkō breathed a sigh of relief.
Among Hatake Sakumo's subordinates were several Jonin, and Gekkō Sō was one of the best.
No shinobi could complete missions 100% of the time. It was unavoidable for the Fox Squad to occasionally fail when faced with insurmountable odds.
***
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(Chapter end)