Chapter 47: Face slapping’s a bitch tamed by some Son of a bitch

Chapter 47 - Face slapping's a bitch tamed by some Son of a bitch {Long Chapters for the missions so that it doesn't get too stretched} {Read the note at the end. It's important.} As soon as Team 1 reached the gates, Utakata walked straight toward the gate guard, who had an eagle perched on his shoulder and was reading a message. The guard finished reading, handed the note to Utakata, and pulled out what looked like a mission deployment form. Utakata skimmed through the note quickly, handed it back, and then signaled his team to follow him out of the gate. Without a word, Team 1 rushed into the forest, moving eastward. As they traveled, Utakata finally spoke, his voice steady and neutral. "Team Akira, led by Jonin Akira Hyuga, was deployed for border patrol near the sea, close to the Land of Waves. They had just made contact with the border patrol team when they had a brief skirmish with disguised enemy shinobi. However, the enemy retreated before the fight could escalate. Jonin Akira, a Hyuga Jonin could have easily chased them and determined the enemy location however there was a chance that it was just a decoy unit planted to lure the two teams to the location where they had their allies so they chose to prioritize retreating and relaying information to the village first. It is highly likely that the enemy shinobi were from the Hidden Cloud Village. Our job is to establish contact with the two teams and then do a recon and eliminate the enemy is possible otherwise retreat. The first dispatch squad have to rush towards any emergencies during a mission for any mission below S-Rank above which falls under the ANBU job profile. This would be treated as an A-Rank mission. I have said before that we would do missions below A-Rank however I deem you ready for this mission which is why we are going to the location. " He finished everything in one go giving them answers to any questions they might have, and the team pressed forward. Ren, who had pulled out a map of the Elemental Nations, examined the layout and asked, "Why Cloud? Wouldn't the Mist Village be a more likely suspect? They're much closer, and their shinobi are better suited for water-based operations. The Cloud shinobi would have had to travel a much greater distance over the sea." Utakata responded without missing a beat. "The Mist Village has locked its borders. No shinobi have been seen leaving the Water Country for some time now." He paused before continuing, "Ever since the Nine-Tails incident, the Cloud has been aggressively probing Konoha's defenses, looking for weaknesses. They've tried multiple infiltration routes already, but this is the first time they're coming in from the east. Even though we are almost certain it's Cloud behind this, there is still a small chance it could be the Mist." Ren nodded as he processed the information, his mind working rapidly. 'There's still a year left before the Cloud sends a team under the guise of a peace treaty to kidnap Hinata. This must just be another reconnaissance attempt. But they wouldn't be foolish enough to think Konoha wouldn't react, especially when this is the last untested infiltration route. It's likely that both Konoha and Cloud have their own hidden agendas in play. I need to be careful not to get caught up in the schemes of those old men on either side.' Team 1 continued their rapid travel through the dense forests, maintaining a steady pace until nightfall. When the sky turned dark, they finally stopped to rest in a dense forest area, where the thick canopy provided a natural cover. Utakata gave a quick order, "Eat a ration pill and rest. I'll take watch duty. We move again in two hours." The three genins immediately took out their ration pills and consumed them without complaint. Then, securing their sleeping bags to the tree branches, they entered a half-sleep state light enough that they could wake up instantly if necessary. Two hours passed in silence before Utakata's voice called out, "Wake up." At the sound of his command, the three genins' eyes snapped open, and within a minute, they had already sorted their supplies and were back on the move. They didn't stop until morning. As the sun began rising, Utakata pulled out a small piece of cloth and handed it to Hitoshi. "This has chakra residue from Jonin Akira." Hitoshi took it, and his kikaichu immediately swarmed over the fabric. A moment later, he released them, closing his eyes for a few seconds as they spread out into the forest. "I found a trail," Hitoshi confirmed, turning toward the east and leading the way. The team moved swiftly through the trees, following the trail until they neared a clearing with two visible camps. When they were about 100 meters away, two sharp whooshing sounds broke the silence, and suddenly, two figures appeared in front of them. Reacting instantly, Ren and Yugao moved into position to protect their healer (Utakata) and sensor (Hitoshi), as they had trained to do in combat formations. However, before they could engage, Utakata's voice cut through the tension. "Stop." The two figures remained on guard as they faced Team 1. One was wearing a Konoha Jonin uniform, and the other was dressed in traditional robes. Utakata stepped forward, reaching into his vest and pulling out the mission deployment form he had received before leaving the village. Passing a small amount of chakra through it, the paper turned a faint green color. Without a word, he handed the form to the Jonin in the traditional clothing, a man with his Byakugan-activated, he wore his headband on his head which means there is 90% chance that he belongs to the branch family. The Hyuga Jonin scanned the document carefully, confirming its authenticity, before nodding toward the man in the konoha jonin uniform beside him. The two then relaxed their stances. The Konoha Jonin spoke first. "I am Izumo Nara, border patrol officer." He then gave a short whistle, and three shadows flickered into place behind him. "These are my team members Sho Inuzuka, Inko Yamanaka, and Koichi Aburame." A young boy, a girl, and another boy stepped forward, saluting Utakata. Utakata gave a brief nod in response before gesturing toward his own team. "My students, Ren Takahashi, Yugao Uzuki, and Hitoshi Aburame." Finally, the Hyuga Jonin spoke, his expression calm and composed. "Haruto Sarutobi, Sora Utatane, and Aoi Mitokado." Now, at the border patrol site, the assembled Konoha force consisted of three Jonin, six Chunin, and three Genin. Utakata glanced at the two Jonin and asked, "Any injuries?" Both men shook their heads. "Good," Utakata responded. "Then my team will rest for two hours before we start the operation." The two Jonin nodded in agreement, and with that, Team 1 set up a small tent, where the three Genin immediately lay down to sleep. Meanwhile, Utakata disappeared into the trees. Two hours later, they were awakened by Utakata. For a shinobi, even a short power nap was enough to regain peak combat readiness, so they quickly got up and stretched. As they stepped out of the tent, Ren took the opportunity to observe the other two teams. The Hyuga-led team had members from the Sarutobi clan and two minor clans the Utatane and Mitokado clans which belonged to the elders of the village. The clan status is divided in three categories in konoha which are ordinary, minor and great clans. The level of Utatane and Mitokada clans barely reached ordinary clan level however due to the positions of their leaders they were granted the status of a minor clan. Ren suspected they were placed together as part of some political arrangement by the oldies in the hokage office. Meanwhile, the border patrol team was built for recon and support, with Nara, Inuzuka, Yamanaka, and Aburame members filling strategic roles. The border patrol units had two teams. One like the ones they were interacting with and the other was a combat focused team. However once a war ended it was compulsory that the combat unit was not within 20kms of the border. However nearly every village had a way to circumvent this rule so it wasn't really important. It is likely that the combat team for this unit has different orders which is why they were not present here. Despite their serious mission, the entire camp atmosphere was unusually relaxed, as if they were on a casual training drill. It was a psychological tactic for making the enemy feel uneasy, as if they were the ones forced to hide, not the other way around. Which was true in this scenario since the Cloud team was trying to infiltrate so they do have to hide. As Ren, Yugao, and Hitoshi emerged from their tent, a few Chunin cast brief glances in their direction before turning away, saying nothing. Yugao noticed this right away, sounded slightly excited as she muttered, "Woah. Are they ignoring us on purpose? Trying to make an example of us just because we're younger than them?" Ren raised an eyebrow. "You sound excited about that. Shouldn't you be annoyed?" Yugao shrugged. "Well, I've read stories where older ninja look down on the younger ones, only to get their faces slapped when the younger ninja turn out to be way stronger than expected and they understand they have offended Mount Tai. I don't understand some words like Mount Tai but I think I understand the meaning" Her eyes gleamed with anticipation as she cast another glance at the Chunin before looking back at Ren. Ren instantly felt a headache coming on. "What?" Yugao huffed. "You wouldn't understand, Fang Yuan." Ren's entire mind went blank for a second. 'Who the hell is Fang Yuan?!' His expression darkened as he thought, 'Is someone spreading those ridiculous novels in this world too?! NO. I have to stop that cancer from spreading.' Shaking his head, he ignored Yugao's antics and turned to Hitoshi. "Let's go talk to the Chunin," he said, striding toward them with Yugao and Hitoshi following behind. As Team 1 approached the Chunin group, the conversation among them quieted slightly, and a few heads turned toward the approaching genin. Ren looked at their levels, three of them were in the 30s range, two in the 40s and the highest one had was level 51 which was Sho Inuzuka who also looked the oldest among the chunins. Since Ren had already taken the lead, he spoke first. "Excuse us," he began, his tone neutral and direct. "We wanted to ask about your confrontation with the enemy yesterday. Any details you can share would help us prepare." The Chunin exchanged glances, and a blonde-haired girl Inko Yamanaka (LV 43) was the first to respond. "You're the first dispatch team, right?" Ren nodded. "Yes." A black-haired Chunin with a small mark on his left cheek and a Konoha headband tied around his arm, Sho Inuzuka (LV 51) crossed his arms. "It wasn't much of a fight. It lasted less than a minute, and we didn't suffer any injuries. The problem is, we don't know what they were after." Hitoshi adjusted his glasses slightly. "They retreated that fast?" Sho nodded. "Yeah. We spotted them in the middle of the night, but as soon as we engaged, they vanished into the trees. We managed to get a few hits in, but they didn't seem interested in fighting." "They might have just been scouts," Yugao suggested. "That's what we thought too," another Chunin, Koichi Aburame (LV 45), spoke up, his tone calm. "But if that were the case, why risk detection by engaging us in the first place? They could've avoided us entirely and observed from a distance. Instead, they made contact, fought for a few seconds, then disappeared." Ren frowned slightly. "Testing our reaction time?" Sho rubbed his chin in thought. "Maybe. But they didn't fight long enough to gather much information. It's like they wanted us to know they were there." The group fell into brief silence before one of the Chunin from the Hyuga-led squad, Haruto Sarutobi (LV 39), spoke up. "They left behind a few weapons when they retreated. Nothing special, just standard kunai and shuriken, but all of them were from Konoha." Yugao's eyebrows furrowed. "So, they're trying to frame us? Or throw off any investigation into their origins?" Koichi adjusted his glasses. "That's the most logical conclusion. If we only relied on the weapons they left behind, we might assume they were rogue Konoha shinobi. But based on their movements and tactics, they were definitely not trained in Konoha's style." Ren exhaled, absorbing the information. "So, a group of enemy ninja deliberately revealed themselves, engaged for only a moment, left behind Konoha weapons, and then disappeared before they could be properly identified." He glanced around. "That sounds more like a distraction than a serious infiltration." Sho nodded. "That's what we're thinking too. They wanted to divert our attention to something meaningless while their real objective was elsewhere. The question is what?" Hitoshi suddenly spoke up. "It could be a multi-step operation. They make contact, plant fake evidence, then observe how Konoha reacts. If they're patient enough, they might be using this to plan a much larger operation in the future." A few of the Chunin nodded at that reasoning. Inko sighed. "Great. So now we're stuck trying to figure out if this was just a random scouting attempt or something much bigger." Ren folded his arms, glancing at Yugao and Hitoshi before speaking again. "Either way, we'll know soon. If they wanted a reaction, they're going to be watching us. Which means they're still out there somewhere." Sho gave a dog like smile, "That's what we're hoping for." and a "Woof" was heard from his behind where a dog was hanging on his back. Yugao gave an eager grin. "Then let's not disappoint them." The conversation ended without any problems like someone insulting Team 1 for being young. The first dispatch squad has the right to obtain any information necessary from the ninja's involved for most understanding and the other party could not refuse. {A/N:- I noticed that some (probably all) don't like Eiji, however I can only tell you guys to wait a little longer to make that decision because what I have planned for him is very very important for Ren's peaceful future. Also another important thing, this is FAN fiction. A fan version of a fiction so I have to introduce characters that were not in the canon to expand the lore for MY protagonist. So even if Eiji (Age 10) looks like a genius he wouldn't compare the likes of Itachi/Kakashi/Minato but at the very least I have to make a character that could handle what his future holds. So I can only say that if you cannot enjoy the character before I even have the chance to expand them do not hate them. However if you guys don't like this type of writing style you are free to drop the fic because you do not pay for it so it is not compulsory that you waste YOUR time, I thank you for reading till here but you can drop it if you don't like it.} {The above rant does not mean that I can't handle criticism but if you repeat the same thing even though I've explained it already, then as Ren had said "Looks like it's a YOU problem" because I don't plan to stop writing anytime soon.}