Chapter – 71: Mission

[Rei POV]

"That is not the only problem. As this is a C Rank mission, I am certain that there will be bloodshed involved! If you guys really want to take this mission, you must have the resolve to kill otherwise, you will be putting your teammates in danger… think about it carefully before giving your response… are you mentally prepared to take a life?"

"Sensei, you said that there is a high chance that another war will erupt soon between all the hidden villages, right?" I ask after thinking for a while.

"Yes, why are you asking about that now?" he nods and questions.

"Since we will be dragged into the war soon anyway, I think this is a good chance to go out and gain experience… otherwise we will be helpless when the war begins… according to what I see, it is way better if we make mistakes now when we have you to look after and guide us rather than during a war…"

Nodding, Inoichi looks towards my other teammates who also appear to be in deep thought after hearing my words. From time to time, I can see different expressions flash across their face such as panic, disgust, anger, etc. however, a thirst to prove themselves is also clearly visible.

"Sensei, let's take the mission… I know it will be dangerous, but I don't want to remain ignorant and useless too.." surprisingly it's Yuri who speaks out first in favor of taking the mission.

"What are you looking at me for, I was the first to agree…" Kazuma says after we all turn to look at him.

"Okay, since all of you agree to it, let me speak to Hokage-sama and accept the mission… You guys have an hour to prepare… we will be out of the village for a few days so make sure you prepare enough rations…"

"Sensei, what is the mission?" I ask.

"I don't know yet, I will give you the details after we gather at the main gate… okay, now go and prepare…"

With that, all of us turn and head back to our places to prepare.

'Damm, if he had said what the mission was all about, I could have had my clone scout the place for me… no I am blind like them too… the main problem is, the clone can't be too close or as a sensor, Inoichi will definitely spot him… no matter, let me have a clone waiting outside the village so that once I know the details, I can have it move towards the target... I hope it will not be too late by then... well whatever… since Inoichi is somewhat of an important character, he will survive for sure… but my teammates… it will be a shame if they died on their first mission…' I muse internally.

…

An hour later, Konoha main gate.

"So, have you guys prepared enough supplies?" Inoichi asks after all of us gather back.

"Hai-sensei…" "Hai-sensei…" "Hai-sensei…"

"Okay, let's depart… I will brief you on the mission details while traveling… this way…" says Inoichi and starts to rush towards the north with great speed.

Along the way, I finally learned the objective of our very first C Rank mission. It seems to the north of Konoha, there is a small village called Satagawa village. If traders want to go to either the Land of Lightning or the Land of Earth from the Land of Fire, they have to travel through this region, and as the only settlement nearby, many people would visit the place to rest and resupply. Recently though, there have been a number of robberies taking place around the village which has made the traders fear the place and start taking a different route instead. Therefore, the village lost one of its major sources of income. A few days ago, the leader of the village came to Konoha to put out a mission to exterminate the bandits and after getting all the details, the enemies were determined to not have any shinobi among them, so it was rated a C Rank mission.

'Why am I feeling as if there is something fishy with this mission…' I ponder and immediately send the other clone towards the said village. Since we are only a team of genins, and with the clone rushing at full speed, it will reach the village way ahead of us…

"Sensei, how far is this Satagawa village from Konoha?" asks Yuri.

"With our current speed, we will reach the village in around a day's time…"

'A day… my clone should be there six to eight hours before me. That should be enough I guess…' I think.

…

The next day.

A few minutes ago, my clone arrived at the village and the first thing it saw was injured people trying their best to hide everything; cleaning up blood, fixing doors, etc. It also saw a middle-aged man sitting there overlooking everything while the supposed village head lay at his feet; unconscious!

'If you want them to stay alive, keep your mouth shut…' after making sure everything was believable, he heard the middle-aged man threaten the villagers before leaving with his men.

'So, the bandits somehow found out about the village head giving out a mission to Konoha and now they have taken some of the villagers as hostages, ha? Are we late or did they strike early?' I ponder seriously and have my clone secretly follow the young man to their bandit base, 'Also, how did the bandits know about the mission? is there someone among the villagers who ratted on them? It's certainly not that guy who was threatening the villagers as he didn't seem to a villager at all… so, it has to be someone else, who else could it be?'

'Also, since when did bandits turn so smart? just as I suspected… something is definitely fishy here… I have to be careful…' I think with a frown, 'Let's see how Inoichi deals with it… don't disappoint me sensei…'