Mamoru, Hinata, and Shino stood outside the door of the Mission Assignment Office, the warm sunshine stretching their shadows. Occasionally, ninjas wearing green vests hurried past them, their scrutinizing gazes not lingering on the three newcomers.
"Shouldn't we wait for Kurenai-sensei?" Hinata looked somewhat nervously at the scattered figures entering and exiting the main entrance.
"No need. It's too much of a downgrade for a Jonin to accompany us on such simple missions."
Mamoru looked up somewhere, the corner of his lips curving slightly. "However, she's definitely watching us from the shadows."
As for D-rank Missions, let alone a Jonin, if he were serious, he could complete many 'Lost Item Retrieval' missions in a single day.
Of course, that was if he were alone. Since they were a three-person squad now, he had to give the other two more opportunities to train and perform.
He focused his mind, pulling his attention back to the mission, and casually asked, "Where should we start looking?"
Shino adjusted his sunglasses, analyzing calmly, "Since it's a crocodile, it would normally lurk near a body of water. I suggest it's most reasonable to start searching the village rivers."
Mamoru nodded in agreement. "We'll go with Shino's plan."
Shino's idea coincided with his own, he had also immediately considered the village rivers.
Hinata responded softly, "Mhm."
A short while later, the three arrived at a bridge spanning a tributary of the Naka River.
The bridge deck was about five meters above the river channel below. The water glittered under the sunlight, and sturdy iron railings stood along the edges of the walkways on both sides of the river channel to prevent pedestrians from accidentally falling.
"Hinata, it's up to you." Mamoru looked at the white-eyed girl beside him.
"Yes." Hinata raised her hands to her chest and quickly formed a hand sign.
Byakugan, Activate!
The veins around her eyes slightly bulged, and her field of vision instantly expanded to over a kilometer in all directions and all obstacles became transparent to her.
Mamoru asked, "How is it?"
Hinata raised her hand, pointing downstream. "Over there. There is a similar-looking creature at the bottom of the river, but... its size seems much larger than in the photo."
Mamoru pondered, pinching his chin. "The size is different? Regardless, let's go over and confirm first."
Following that, they quickly ran along the path beside the river channel.
"It's just ahead." Hinata pointed forward, reminding them.
"Is this it?" Mamoru stopped at a bend in the riverbank.
"Mhm." Hinata nodded affirmatively. "It's right below here, at the bottom of the water."
"Have either of you learned how to walk on water using Chakra?" Mamoru suddenly turned his head and asked Hinata and Shino.
"N-Not yet." Hinata replied quietly.
"I've been practicing recently." Shino's implication was that he hadn't fully mastered it yet.
"Alright." Mamoru shrugged. "Neither of you can do it yet."
He flashed, transforming into a black shadow, deftly flipped over the railing, and landed steadily on the surface of the river channel. The moment his soles touched the water, only a faint, imperceptible ripple appeared. To him, the river surface was as solid as flat ground.
His black eyes quietly transformed into pale blue ones. The underwater world was completely visible within the sensory field of the Six Eyes. A massive crocodile was slowly lurking in the deep water not far away, swinging its enormous tail.
"What the hell! This thing is huge!" Mamoru couldn't help but gasp.
A dangerous, giant creature lurking in the village river channel. Even if it wasn't a mission, he couldn't just ignore it.
He squatted down and dipped his arm into the slightly cool river water, shaking it back and forth continuously. Ripples spread out centered on his arm, and the disturbance successfully attracted the attention of the underwater predator.
Sure enough, the commotion attracted the crocodile's attention. It shook its massive body in the water, moving its powerful limbs and whipping its thick tail as it slowly approached its prey.
"Mamoru-kun, be careful! It's coming right for you!" Hinata, standing on the bank, gripped the cold iron railing tightly, her voice rising due to tension.
"Don't worry, I can see it." Mamoru's tone remained calm. "It's impossible for it to hurt me."
Within the sensory field of the Six Eyes, every twitch of the crocodile's muscles and the slightest change in water flow were completely visible. As the crocodile got closer, its body slowly rose, its massive snout slightly open, ready to tear its target to shreds in one bite.
Just as the crocodile prepared to hunt its prey, Mamoru clenched his fingers into a fist and struck the water seemingly casually, yet his punch landed with incredible precision on the crocodile's hard skull.
Thud!
A muffled sound transmitted through the water.
The heavily struck crocodile thrashed violently in the water, attempting to retaliate, but immediately after, its head was hammered repeatedly several more times.
Biological instinct told it that the seemingly minuscule creature on the water's surface was definitely not something it could provoke. It immediately decided to retreat, twisting its body to try and dive into the deep water and escape.
How could Mamoru let it succeed?
He raised his hand and waved, instantly activating Blue.
Splash!
Massive water splashed skyward, and along with it, the terrified and bewildered giant crocodile was forcefully dragged out of the river by an invisible power and slammed onto the reinforced stone embankment beside the river channel.
The crocodile was thoroughly dazed from the impact. It slid down the wall to the ground, rolled twice, and then lay sprawled there, temporarily disoriented and losing its sense of direction.
Mamoru lightly leaped from the river surface, landing steadily on the railing on his toes. He looked down at the crocodile, his gaze falling on its tail, where a familiar lace decoration band was tightly fastened.
"The mission target must be this one." He said, pointing to the crocodile's tail.
The decoration on the giant crocodile's tail was similar to the style in the photo.
"Mamoru-kun, are you hurt?" Hinata's first concern was for his safety.
"Nope." Mamoru easily jumped down from the railing.
He walked up to the still-dazed giant crocodile, placed his hand on its rough head, and activated Limitless to put it into a deep coma. The crocodile's eyelids slowly drooped, and it completely lost consciousness.
"Good luck, we found it right away."
Mamoru gave a thumbs-up. "Hinata, well done."
Although, relying on the power of the Six Eyes, he could handle everything alone, it was still a three-person squad mission. If he completed all the work by himself, over time, it would not only dampen the enthusiasm and confidence of the other two but also be detrimental to team harmony—that was his thinking.
"Oh... I... I'm just glad I could help." Hinata lowered her head shyly.
"So, how do we take it back?" Shino looked at the giant creature on the ground and raised a very practical question.
"You found it so quickly?" Kurenai's figure appeared silently beside them like a falling leaf, her eyes showing approval. "Such high efficiency for your first mission, perhaps you can complete a few more tasks."
"We'll take our time." Mamoru didn't mind. "Let's just take this big guy back first."
He looked at Shino, someone who controlled insects, whose strength was probably limited.
Then he looked at Hinata, and setting aside whether she could lift it, it wasn't appropriate to make a girl do such heavy physical labor.
Of course, if Tenten were here, he would definitely tease her and try every way possible to make her attempt it.
Mamoru pressed his palm onto its cold, rough skin and used Chakra to generate an adhesive force. Then, under the slightly astonished gaze of Kurenai, Hinata, and Shino, he easily lifted the behemoth above his head with a single hand.
"Done, mission accomplished."
He was the first to push off the ground, leaping onto the adjacent stone wall. After a few bounds across the continuous roof tiles, his figure quickly receded.
Seeing this, Kurenai said to her two students, "Let's follow him."
Hinata and Shino nodded simultaneously.
The three figures immediately darted out, chasing the retreating silhouette.