Early the next morning, Taiichi and his team arrived at the Daimyo's mansion.
The Daimyo had achieved his goal and didn't make things difficult. The mission scroll was stamped without issue, marking the successful completion of the mission.
Yohei and Saori wanted to explore more, but after the previous night's incident, Taiichi wasn't in the mood. He suggested returning to Konoha immediately.
Saori didn't mind, but she noticed Yohei's unusual silence. He didn't protest Taiichi's decision at all. Did something happen last night?
Under Saori's scrutinizing gaze, Yohei sweated. After being caught by Taiichi, he didn't dare make a peep.
"I played all night! Seen it all! Let's go home and train!" Yohei explained stiffly.
Taiichi ignored their silent exchange. "Let's move!"
The return trip took two days.
Seeing Konoha's open gates, Taiichi felt a sense of security. This is home.
They submitted their credentials and entered the village.
"Yohei, Saori, go rest. I'll submit the report. Meet tomorrow morning at Training Ground 3," Taiichi instructed.
"Okay!" x2
---
Hokage's Office.
Knock, knock, knock.
Taiichi waited.
Inside, a voice shouted, "Hiruzen, you will regret this!"
Ah, Danzo again.
The door flew open, and a gloomy Danzo stormed out. Seeing Taiichi, he paused, then gave him a meaningful smirk before leaving.
SLAM!
Is the door yours? Do you pay for repairs? Taiichi thought.
"Enter!" Hiruzen's voice called out.
Taiichi peeked inside cautiously, scanning for traps before slipping in and closing the door gently.
Hiruzen laughed. "Brat, who are you performing for? Stand straight."
Taiichi straightened up and handed over the mission scroll.
Hiruzen glanced at it. Just a standard C-Rank escort mission.
"How about the other mission?"
"Preliminary trust established," Taiichi said conservatively.
He recounted Noda's probing and the Daimyo's private summons. Then he pulled out a storage scroll.
"Here are the 30 million ryo and the ninjutsu books the Daimyo promised."
"Oh? Generous," Hiruzen took the scroll but handed it back without checking. "Keep it. You earned it with your life."
"Thank you, Hokage-sama!" Taiichi was happy. Getting official permission to keep the loot was best.
"So the Daimyo wants intel on talented ninjas." Hiruzen nodded, unsurprised.
"Yes. Other tasks will be communicated later."
"Understood." Hiruzen pondered. The Daimyo was trying to poach talent. He underestimated ninjas. Nobles and ninjas are different creatures.
"I will provide you with a list of reliable personnel later. You can leak it to the Daimyo at the appropriate time."
"Yes!"
Taiichi waited for further orders. When none came, he prepared to leave. But remembering Danzo's smirk, he felt uneasy.
"Grandpa Hokage, this counts as a mission, right? Is there a rank? And a mission scroll?" Taiichi put on a cheeky smile. "I'm taking the Chunin Exams next year. I need to pad my resume!"
Hiruzen looked at Taiichi with amusement. "What? Don't trust me?"
"No, no! Just following procedure! A ninja must be rigorous!" Taiichi defended himself, though internally he screamed, YES! I DON'T TRUST YOU! BLACK AND WHITE OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN!
"Fine, fine. I'll write it." Hiruzen scribbled a mission scroll.
Taiichi pointed at the bottom. "Here, and here. Seal and signature, please."
Hiruzen rolled his eyes but complied. "Happy now? Get out!"
"Yes, yes! Leaving now!" Taiichi grabbed the scroll and fled.
Outside, he looked at the scroll thoughtfully. Better safe than sorry. With this, no one can accuse me of being a traitor later.
---
Days passed. It had been almost a month since the spy mission.
Taiichi's squad continued without their captain, taking C-Rank missions like transport and patrol.
Surprisingly, every mission was peaceful. No bandits, no rogue ninjas.
For most, this was great. For Team 8, who craved combat experience, it was boring.
Eventually, they stopped taking missions and focused on training and sparring.
Taiichi's Fire Nature Transformation and Chakra Control improved leaps and bounds.
> [Fire Nature Transformation Lv9 (262/1600)]
> [Chakra Control Lv9 (16/1600)]
He could now coat his entire upper body in flames, requiring immense control and nature transformation.
This was just a parlor trick for now. His goal was the "Pyrofication Technique" (Fire-ification), inspired by the Hozuki clan's Hydrification Technique.
Turning his body into fire to dodge attacks and enhance fire jutsu.
He found a lead in the book from the Daimyo's library: On the Conversion of Chakra: Matter and Energy.
The book theorized that chakra could convert matter into energy (fire, lightning) and vice versa. It sounded crazy to most ninjas, but to Taiichi, who knew about mass-energy equivalence (E=mc²), it made sense.
In the ninja world, chakra was the medium for this conversion.
Taiichi had taken the first step from 0 to 1.
While Taiichi was engrossed in research, a bloodied figure collapsed at Konoha's gate. His right side was missing a chunk of flesh.
It was Jonin Masasuke Yamaguchi.
"Medic! Stretcher!" The guard shouted. They carefully moved him. "Check his mission status! Report to the Hokage!"
Yamaguchi was unconscious. Without his conscious suppression, the wound bled freely, leaving a trail of blood to the hospital.
News reached the Hokage half an hour later.
Hiruzen was shocked. Yamaguchi's mission was to investigate the border movements of Sand and Stone. If he came back like this, the intel must be critical.
Hiruzen rushed to the hospital.
---
Konoha Hospital. Operating Room.
The red light was on. Biwako Sarutobi (Hiruzen's wife and head of the hospital) was waiting.
"Biwako, how is he?"
"Bad. Half his right kidney and part of his intestines are gone. It's a miracle he's alive."
Footsteps approached. Danzo, Homura, and Koharu arrived. They knew about the mission too.
"Hiruzen, did we get the intel?" Danzo asked immediately.
Hiruzen shook his head. "Wait."
Soon, the door opened. Dr. Sana Fujita walked out.
"Dr. Fujita, status?" Biwako asked.
Fujita glanced at the high-ranking officials. "Still in critical condition. We're barely maintaining vitals."
She handed over a scroll. "He was clutching this. It has a seal we can't break."
An ANBU checked it. "Highest level code seal. We need the key."
"Can we force it?" Danzo asked impatiently.
"It will self-destruct. Brute force cracking would take at least a month."
Danzo glared. A month? Useless.
"Hiruzen, send a Yamanaka to read his mind," Danzo suggested.
"Elder Danzo, the patient is on the brink of death. Mind reading now would likely kill him," Dr. Fujita interjected firmly.
"Agreed. We don't sacrifice comrades for intel like that," Koharu added. It was a political risk.
"Stop arguing," Homura sighed. "I issued the mission. For secrecy, I placed a seal in his brain. Unless he speaks it himself, outsiders can't extract the intel."
Silence. Even Danzo shut up.
"So we have to wait for him to wake up," Hiruzen concluded. He looked at Fujita. "Can you save him?"
"Difficult. His body is too damaged. To wake him, we must heal the body first."
"Then heal him!" Danzo ordered.
Fujita ignored him. "For organ loss this severe, the only option is the Cellular Activation Technique (Chikatsu Saisei no Jutsu). But due to the recent mission surge, many medical ninjas are away. We don't have enough qualified personnel in the hospital right now."
The expressions of the leaders darkened. Their pride in the mission volume had become a noose. Was there no other way?
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