A Dangerous Mission! Journey to the Land Of Silence - 2

On a bright and pleasant morning, three young genin stood at the entrance of Konoha, their eyes filled with anticipation. This was team Orochimaru – Satoru, Bob, and Anko, and they had been eagerly awaiting the arrival of their sensei.

After a few minutes, a figure appeared in the distance, slowly making its way towards them. As the figure drew closer, the genin could see that it was Orochimaru, their sensei.

"Good morning, Orochimaru sensei," Anko greeted him excitedly.

Orochimaru looking at the genins, asked,"Are you all ready for today's mission?"

The Anko nodded eagerly, ready to prove herself to her sensei.

Orochimaru looked at them with a keen eye, sizing them up and assessing their readiness.

"Very well, then. Today's mission will be a simple one, but an important one nonetheless," Orochimaru said, as he gestured for them to follow him.

"Let's make our way to the mission briefing and get started."

Orochimaru explained the mission to his team as he opened the mission scroll.

"Our mission is to deliver these critical documents to a Jonin currently deployed in the Land of Silence. As you may know, there was a recent discussion between the Daimyo of the Land of Silence and Konoha, but due to some missing documents, the talks were halted. It's our job to ensure that these papers are safely delivered and the negotiations can resume."

The mission that Orochimaru had just explained to his team was nothing more than a deceitful scheme crafted by Danzo. He had forged a letter supposedly from Asura Sarutobi, which he then presented to the Hokage, thereby convincing Hiruzen to assign a mission to the Land of Silence. The aim was to ensure that only Orochimaru and his team were tasked with the mission.

Satoru's gaze fell upon the mission scroll and he examined it with a curious expression. It was a C-rank mission, issued directly by the Hokage himself. The fact that it had been arranged by the Hokage only reinforced the importance of the mission in his mind.

On his first-ever mission outside of Konoha, Satoru couldn't help but feel a mix of excitement and nervousness. His mother, Aina, had packed a bag for him that was almost comically large. It seemed as though she had packed as if Satoru was going to settle in some foreign land and never return.

He knew he couldn't take it with him on this mission, but he didn't want to upset his mother either. So, he decided to take out the first aid box from the bag and put it in his ninja pocket bag.

"Let's go!"

Anko, who had just become a genin, could barely contain her excitement as she exclaimed, at the top of her voice. It was her first mission as a genin, and she had already been assigned a C-rank mission.

Meanwhile, Bob was unusually calm. This wasn't his first C-rank mission, nor was it his first time leaving Konoha for a mission. He simply nodded in agreement with Orochimaru's instructions, ready to complete the mission at hand.

With this Team Orochimaru left Konoha and headed for the Land of Silence.

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Half an hour has passed,

Team Orochimaru proceeded at a leisurely pace toward their destination, taking in the sights along the way. While Satoru was enjoying the journey, Bob grew increasingly restless and spoke up, "Orochimaru sensei, shouldn't we be running? Won't it take too long to get there like this?"

Anko nodded in agreement, looking like she had been wanting to ask the same question. Orochimaru remained calm and replied, "The Land of Silence is located far west in the Land of Fire and is very close to the Land of Stone. Even if we run, it will still take us three days to get there. Walking like this will take us 4-4.5 days. Let's conserve our energy and not get too excited."

Satoru was curious and asked, "Isn't the Land of Silence a separate country?" Orochimaru explained, "The Land of Silence is very small with a population of only 300-500. Although it is technically part of the Land of Fire, the people there consider themselves to be separate and believe they have their own country."

Satoru thought to himself that calling it a country was an exaggeration; it would be more accurate to describe it as a city or a town at best.

As the team made their way toward the Land of Silence, Satoru noticed two puddles of water on the ground. It was a sunny day, so he found it odd that there was water. Despite his unease, he continued walking.

'Splash Splash'

Suddenly, he heard a faint sound of splashing water, and two people emerged from the puddles. They had metallic claws attached to their arms and wielded a chain-like weapon. In a swift motion, they used the chains to tightly bind Orochimaru.

Before anyone could react, two more rogue shinobi appeared from the sides, wielding sharp axe-like weapons. They quickly jumped toward Orochimaru and cleaved his body in half.

With a sinister grin, the rogue shinobi with the axe-like weapon declared, "One down."

"Orochimaru senseiiiiiiiiiiii"

Anko's scream echoed through the forest as she watched Orochimaru being taken down by the rogue shinobi.

One of the shinobi with metallic claws charged towards Satoru, while Bob was surrounded by another with the same weapon, and one with an axe. Anko found herself facing off against the axe-wielding shinobi.

"Hahaha, this is easy" The metal claw shinobi laughed confidently as he closed in on Satoru.

But Satoru, although caught off guard, was quick to react. He jumped backward, evading the attack. The rogue shinobi chased him, but Satoru's agility allowed him to easily stay ahead. The metal claw shinobi was fast, but Satoru was faster even with the sealed weights.

Satoru leaped backward once more, attempting to create some distance between himself and the rogue shinobi. He retrieved four shurikens and hurled them at his foe, but they missed their mark.

"Your aim sucks," the rogue shinobi taunted him.

Satoru murmured "Wind Style: Rotating Shuriken" The shurikens mid-air made an awkward u-turn and their speed increased and struck the back of the rogue shinobi.

"AAAAAHHHHH!!!" the rogue shinobi was in pain.

Satoru's eyes narrowed as he saw the rogue shinobi in pain. He didn't waste any time and quickly unleashed another ninjutsu. "Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere!" Satoru yelled, forming a small sphere of compressed air in his hand. The sphere flew towards the rogue shinobi's head like a bullet, piercing it and mortally wounding him.

As Satoru watched the rogue shinobi convulse in pain and cry out in agony, he felt a wave of conflicting emotions wash over him. He had trained for years to become a ninja and had always known that one day he might be forced to take a life, but the reality of it was far more intense than he had ever imagined.

On one hand, he felt a sense of relief that he had been able to defend himself. He knew that the rogue shinobi was a threat, and by eliminating him, he had prevented any further harm from being inflicted. However, at the same time, he was also overwhelmed with a deep sense of guilt.

As he watched the rogue shinobi take his last breath, Satoru's heart felt heavy.

The metal claw shinobi who was facing Bob, seeing his comrade die charged towards Satoru, but Bob was quick to react. He threw a kunai at the shinobi's feet, forcing him to stop. "You're mine now," Bob said, charging towards him. He took out another Kunai and slit the throat of the rogue shinobi with it.

But Bob was not done yet.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Bob exclaimed, releasing a fierce stream of flames toward the shinobi. The enemy ninja was quick to dodge the attack, but the burst of flames gave Bob an opportunity to close in.

As he approached the foe, Bob used the jutsu again and this time, he was dangerously close to the target, leaving no room for escape. The raging fireball hit the shinobi with full force, engulfing him in flames. The enemy ninja cried out in pain as he fell to the ground, writhing in agony.

Meanwhile, Anko was having a hard time fighting the axe-wielding shinobi. She dodged his attacks with ease, but she couldn't find an opening to strike back.

"You're pretty good," the shinobi said, grinning.

"I'm not as easy as you think," Anko replied, taking out a few kunai from her pouch.

The shinobi charged toward her, but Anko was ready. She threw the kunai at him, but he easily blocked them with his axe.

"Is that all you've got?" the shinobi taunted.

Anko smirked. "No, this is just the beginning." She performed a few hand signs and said, "Genjutsu: Crushing Snake Constriction."

The shinobi was caught in the genjutsu and found himself unable to move from the spot. The only thing left was to kill him.

As Anko stood face to face with the shinobi, her breaths came in short gasps. She could feel her hands shaking as she held the kunai. This was her first time facing the prospect of taking someone's life, and the weight of the decision was almost suffocating. But she knew that she couldn't back away now – Her sensei had been taken from her, and it was up to her to avenge him.

She was going through the same feelings as Satoru as she also had never killed anyone before. But she can't back away now. She closed her eyes, steeling herself for the act, aiming at the shinobi who was in genjutsu but her aim was missed because of her closed eye. She only managed to scratch the shinobi.

The external pain made the shinobi snap out of genjutsu and attacked her with his axe.

But then, a figure appeared in front of her, who also probably saved her just now - a figure that she knew all too well.

Orochimaru!!!

First, he saved Anko from the attack of the rogue shinobi and then he swiftly dodged the rogue shinobi's second attack and plunged his kunai into the enemy's heart, ending his life instantly. He did not use any kind of jutsu to defeat this guy. It was too easy for him.

As Anko's eyes opened, she saw Orochimaru standing in front of her. For a moment, she was too stunned to speak, too stunned to react.

After killing the rogue shinobi, Orochimaru turned to Anko with a look of disappointment. He spoke in a stern tone, "Anko, if you manage to trap your enemy in genjutsu, then why did you close your eyes?

He added, "You should have gone for the head."

Anko felt a mix of emotions, happy to see her sensei, yet disappointed in herself for not living up to his expectations.

"Never again"

She swore to never let him down again.

Orochimaru had always been strict with Anko, as she was his favorite student among the three. He remembered his conversation with Danzo before they left for the mission. He knew that it was a dangerous one and they might not return together. So, he wanted to give his students some real-life experience, because if things went bad, this might be his last mission as the sensei of Team Orochimaru.

"A traumatized young shinobi is still better than a dead one." he thought.

Satoru watched as Orochimaru scolded Anko from a distance, feeling a sense of frustration towards the sly ninja. He couldn't help but wonder why Orochimaru didn't lend a hand during the fight against the rogue shinobi.

The battle had come to an end, and it was disappointingly easy. Satoru and Bob dug graves for the fallen enemies, a small gesture to ease the guilt they both felt. As they paid their respects, Satoru couldn't shake off the feeling that there was more to come.

Eventually, the team continued their journey, and after four days of travel, they finally arrived at their destination, the Land Of Silence.