Arriving at the Hokage’s office, Senzan couldn’t hide his surprise.
Standing before him were several Anbu operatives and, to his absolute shock, the legendary Sakumo Hatake.
“Oh!
Lord Sakumo, long time no see!” Senzan greeted cheerfully.
Sakumo smiled and gave a slight, polite nod in return.
“Enough joking around, Senzan,” Hiruzen interrupted, taking a drag from his pipe.
“We have an emergency mission that requires your specific talents.
You’ll need to make a trip.”
“Old man, I’m just a lowly Chunin—”
“As of this moment, you are officially a Special Jonin of the Hidden Leaf,” Hiruzen stated flatly.
“We’ll handle the actual promotion paperwork when you get back.”
Senzan stared at him.
‘…Are you serious?
You’re just promoting me on the spot?!
Damn it.
Now I can’t use the ‘I’m just a Chunin’ excuse to dodge work anymore.
This sucks!’
“Senzan, you are absolutely vital to this mission, and the difficulty is exceptionally high,” Hiruzen continued, his expression hardening into absolute seriousness.
“I need you fully prepared for what’s coming.”
Seeing the Hokage look so grim, Senzan’s heart did a nervous little flip.
‘Crap.
Something really bad is happening, isn’t it?’
“You are aware that the Hidden Cloud recently sent operatives to abduct Kushina, correct?” Hiruzen asked.
“Kushina is an Uzumaki; her chakra is incredibly special.
Kumogakure’s actions have effectively shredded our fragile peace treaty.
Recently, our Anbu intercepted intelligence suggesting Cloud ninja have crossed the border into the Land of Hot Water.
I want you to accompany this Anbu squad to investigate their movements.”
‘With the Anbu?’ Senzan clicked his tongue, glancing at the three masked shinobi in the room.
‘Is this mission really that terrifying?
They’re sending a black ops team straight out of the gate.’
“These three are some of the absolute best within the Anbu,” Hiruzen said.
“Take off your masks.
Senzan will be joining you for this operation.”
The three operatives reached up and removed their porcelain masks.
“Huh?
Heiichi Yamanaka?” Senzan blinked in surprise at the familiar face.
“I was wondering why I hadn’t seen you around lately.
Turns out you got drafted into the Anbu.”
Heiichi Yamanaka was a Special Jonin of the Yamanaka clan, and the older cousin of Inoichi Yamanaka.
“Hahaha!
Long time no see, Senzan,” Heiichi laughed warmly.
“I was just chatting with Suzaku the other day.
He was complaining non-stop about how you extorted him.”
However, the guy was incredibly shameless.
Not perverted—just utterly shameless.
Because of this, the two of them were actually kindred spirits who got along famously, though Senzan hadn’t heard from him in ages.
“These other two are my teammates: Kawa Mizuno and Hironobu Yoshimori,” Heiichi introduced.
Senzan quickly offered them a polite greeting.
Mizuno offered a faint, courteous smile, but Yoshimori openly sneered in disdain.
“Sakumo, do you have anything to add?” Hiruzen asked.
Sakumo turned to face the four shinobi.
“The primary objective of this mission is strictly reconnaissance.
If, by some misfortune, you are discovered, your absolute first priority is to secure your own survival and retreat.
The Hidden Cloud’s motives are already quite clear.
I do not want to see any casualties on this team.
Understood?”
Sakumo’s words brought a faint warmth to their chests.
“Don’t worry, Lord Sakumo.
I’ll make sure they all get back in one piece,” Heiichi promised, nodding solemnly as the squad captain.
With that, the four-man team moved out.
The mission was so urgent that Senzan didn’t even have time to swing by his house to leave a note.
They immediately set off for the Land of Hot Water.
The Land of Hot Water, located northeast of the Land of Fire, was famously known as the ‘village that forgot war.’ Following the end of the Second Great Ninja War, the once-militant Hidden Steam Village had gradually downsized, primarily due to their Daimyo drastically slashing their military budget.
However, blessed with beautiful natural environments and rich tourist attractions, the Daimyo pivoted heavily toward commercial development.
As a result, almost every town and village in the country was incredibly prosperous.
To gather intelligence as quickly as possible, Heiichi set their destination straight for Sunset Town—a bustling settlement located in the extreme north of the Land of Hot Water, sitting right on the border of the Land of Lightning.
A day later, the team officially crossed into the Land of Hot Water.
“I still don’t get it,” Yoshimori grumbled, shooting a deeply annoyed glare at Senzan as they leaped through the trees.
“The three of us are more than enough for a simple recon mission.
Why did we have to drag this brat along?”
“Knock it off, Yoshimori.
You’ve been complaining this entire trip,” Heiichi reprimanded sharply, clearly unhappy with the hostility directed at his friend.
“Just follow your orders and leave it at that!”
“Yoshimori isn’t entirely wrong, Captain,” Mizuno interjected.
His tone wasn’t openly hostile, just incredibly practical.
“Gekko Senzan, was it?
We’re about to reach the target area.
Don’t you think it’s time you came clean about what exactly it is you bring to the table?
What are you good at?”
It was a fair point.
They were about to step onto a potential battlefield.
If they didn’t even know their teammate’s capabilities, how were they supposed to coordinate?
He wasn’t exactly known for his gentle temper, and facing two guys who had been disrespecting him for a whole day?
Yeah, they weren’t getting a polite answer.
“Sorry.
That’s classified.”
“Senzan, Mizuno, that’s enough!
Drop it, both of you,” Heiichi snapped, cutting off the brewing argument before it could escalate.
He sighed, looking at his two Anbu subordinates.
“The Gekko clan possesses the Transparency Kekkei Genkai.
It is the absolute pinnacle of concealment.
Mizuno, Yoshimori, the two of you are his seniors.
Stop holding such a ridiculous grudge!”
‘If it weren’t for Heiichi holding this team together, I’d just ditch these two idiots and go solo,’ Senzan grumbled internally.
‘Sticking with them is just begging for trouble!’
The moment the words ‘Kekkei Genkai’ left Heiichi’s mouth, the two dissenting Anbu immediately clamped their mouths shut.
They knew perfectly well that any bloodline limit was an incredibly rare and powerful asset on the field.
Not long after they crossed the border, they found exactly what they were looking for—the tracks of Hidden Cloud shinobi.
The team was currently traversing a rather large forest.
To avoid leaving an obvious trail, they had deliberately strayed far from the main roads.
Who would have expected them to bump into enemy forces deep in the woods?
“It seems Lord Hokage and Lord Sakumo were entirely correct in their suspicions.
Kumogakure forces have indeed infiltrated the Land of Hot Water,” Heiichi whispered, his eyes narrowed.
“And in significant numbers, too.”
Relying on his sensory abilities, Heiichi had instantly detected a five-man squad resting just a short distance ahead.
Judging by their chakra signatures, it was a full Chunin team.
‘We literally just crossed the border and we’re already running into them?’ Senzan frowned.
‘Damn it.
Has the Hidden Cloud really penetrated the country this deeply?’
“Orders, Captain?” Mizuno asked quietly, his hand drifting toward the hilt of his ninjato.
“Do we take them out, or observe?”
Heiichi crouched low on a thick branch, his gaze locked on the clearing ahead where the Cloud ninja were stationed.
“How about I go take a closer look?” Senzan suddenly offered, immediately drawing the attention of all three Anbu.
Yoshimori opened his mouth, fully prepared to spit out some venomous remark about the kid playing hero, but the words died in his throat.
Right before their very eyes, Senzan’s body slowly and seamlessly faded into thin air.
“Alright, Senzan.
You’re unmatched when it comes to pure stealth,” Heiichi agreed, nodding at the empty space where the boy had just been standing.
“Just remember to prioritize your own safety.
We’ll hold position and wait for you here.”
“Hehehe, don’t worry about me.
I value my life more than anything,” Senzan’s disembodied voice floated through the air.
“Besides, I’ve heard the hot springs here in the Land of Hot Water work absolute wonders for the skin.
I wonder if I’ll catch a glimpse of anything…
interesting on the way…”
His voice grew fainter and fainter until it disappeared completely, signaling that the invisible shinobi had already slipped away.