Grom Hellscream, the famous green-skinned brute and chieftain of the Warsong Clan from another world, once asked: “Gul’dan, what must we give in return?” That famous quote proved one universal truth: everything comes at a price.
Inaba Hyuga was well aware of this.
And his price arrived quickly.
The very next day, it reared its head— Early that morning, Captain Tomoe gathered the whole squad and announced a new mission handed down directly from Orochimaru.
“This mission is designated S-rank.
It’s extremely difficult and exceptionally dangerous!
Everyone, gear up.
We move out in one hour!” “Understood!” Inaba sighed inwardly.
He knew Orochimaru’s protection wouldn’t come free.
Especially now, when Konoha’s Southern War Zone was severely lacking manpower and locked in a tense stalemate.
Orochimaru’s directly commanded forces were extremely limited.
How could he resist squeezing every last drop out of a capable, desperate runaway like him?
The only reason Orochimaru assigned an S-rank mission was probably that S-rank was as high as the official ranking system went…
An hour later, equipped with their gear and ninja tools, the squad assembled at the town gate and set off.
Once clear of the town, Inaba conscientiously activated his Byakugan and moved to the head of the formation to begin scouting.
Only then did the cautious captain begin briefing the team on the mission details, minimizing the chance of being overheard by any enemy spies lurking in town.
“Our mission is to penetrate deep behind enemy lines, approach the coastline, sever Kirigakure’s maritime supply route, and burn as many of their ships and docks as possible.” *This mission is going to drive me bald,* was Inaba’s initial thought after hearing the brief.
This was indeed the cost of turning to Orochimaru.
Calling this a slim chance of survival was an understatement.
After all, Konoha was currently at an absolute disadvantage in the Southern War Zone.
Konoha was waging war on four fronts simultaneously—against Sunagakure, Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure.
Apart from Sunagakure, who were too weak to make major moves lately, the other three war zones exerted immense pressure.
And Kirigakure, aside from sending small units to raid the Land of Rivers and the Land of Wind, had thrown virtually its entire main elite force onto the southern coast of the Land of Fire!
Orochimaru was essentially fighting the entire Mist Village with less than a third of Konoha’s total forces!
Holding the line was already a miracle, so the defense line had naturally fallen back time and again, leaving the coastline far behind.
Right now, Inaba and his team were at least two hundred kilometers away from Kirigakure’s initial landing point!
And that wasn’t even the most desperate part.
Worse still, Konoha no longer possessed any naval forces.
They used to have a maritime ally—the Land of Whirlpools—but Konoha had sold them out with its own hands.
Which meant that for this mission, Inaba and the others could only operate on land.
They could expect zero naval support.
If they were surrounded, it would be a suicide run into the meat grinder.
“This mission is really going to kill us…” Even Anko, Orochimaru’s direct disciple, voiced a pathetic complaint.
Inaba glanced at Anko sideways, finding a rare bit of comfort in his heart.
Looking on the bright side, Orochimaru didn’t seem ruthless enough to treat him entirely as expendable.
He had sent his only disciple along, which meant that in Orochimaru’s mind, this wasn’t purely a suicide mission.
Though the difference was paper-thin…
At that moment, Rinfu Gekko spoke up in his usual terse tone.
“Stop complaining.
Completing the mission is a shinobi’s duty.” Though cold, those words unexpectedly helped Inaba adjust his mindset.
Yeah, what was there to complain about?
He had no choice to begin with.
Returning to the village to face the Head House and Anbu wouldn’t be any safer than charging forward against Kirigakure.
In his current situation, he had no path forward except through death!
Shinobi moved fast.
In just one day, they took a roundabout route and covered more than half the journey.
Along the way, Captain Tomoe stopped multiple times to check the mission scroll, constantly adjusting their route.
This sparked a realization in Inaba.
“Captain, is our path planned out?” Captain Tomoe didn’t hide it, nodding in reply.
“Yes.
Lord Orochimaru mapped out this route for us in the scroll.
He must have made arrangements in advance.” That answer relieved Inaba, giving him a bit more confidence in the mission.
It proved Orochimaru hadn’t just thrown them out blindly.
A pre-planned route meant Orochimaru had definitely placed preparations along the way.
The proof was that they hadn’t encountered a single fight all day.
They had penetrated so deep into the war zone without running into a single Kirigakure squad.
As expected of the Cold Lord.
In Konoha right now, when it came to strategy and troop deployment, Orochimaru was indisputably the top commander!
However, this was the Ninja World, where extraordinary power existed.
The influence of supreme powerhouses could completely overturn any tactical strategy or layout.
Perhaps that was why Minato Namikaze’s prestige was increasingly overshadowing Orochimaru’s in the village.
Minato rarely laid complex schemes, but he could single-handedly achieve strategic objectives that an entire army might fail to accomplish.
When Orochimaru decisively left Konoha years later to build his own force, was it partly due to resentment and a desire to prove himself?
As his thoughts drifted, Inaba pulled himself back to reality.
Now wasn’t the time for idle daydreaming.
Night was about to fall.
After a full day of traveling, they decided to rest in the wilderness before approaching the Kirigakure dock near the coast tomorrow.
A shinobi’s superhuman physique allowed them to sleep anywhere in the wild.
They only needed to find a relatively flat clearing among the trees.
“Inaba, you’re our scout, so you’ll have to take the first watch tonight.
I’ll relieve you for the second half,” Captain Tomoe said, tapping Inaba’s shoulder.
“Sure, Captain.” Inaba had no objections.
As a scout, night watches were routine for him.
They quickly built a small campfire.
Without pitching tents, they leaned against nearby tree trunks to rest.
Inaba leaped to the top canopy of the tallest tree in the vicinity, activating his Byakugan to keep watch.
Normally, under Orochimaru’s grand design, all nearby Konoha squads would receive combat directives to draw enemy attention, creating operational space for Inaba’s team to reach the coastline.
Barring any accidents, they shouldn’t encounter any Mist squads in the first half of their journey.
However, the battlefield was a place full of uncertainty.
Plans could never keep up with changes, and no strategy was foolproof.
Sure enough, not long after night fell, Inaba on the treetop issued an alert— “We have a situation!
About ten kilometers away, two shinobi squads are engaged in combat, and they’re heading in our direction!” The rest of the team resting under the tree snapped awake instantly.
Little Anko was the first to exclaim in surprise, “Your Byakugan can see that far?!”