Chapter 98: ANBU Observing, Judging, Hating Silently

Chapter 98 - ANBU Observing, Judging, Hating Silently Once Mizuka stepped out of the tent, he didn't show any signs of being shaken. In fact, his expression looked even calmer than before. There was a faint trace of a smile on his lips, though it was well hidden behind the noble's usual formal expression. He walked back to the caravan with light steps and immediately began issuing instructions to his guards and servants. "Unload the sealed crates. Leave the black-marked ones to the side, those will remain here. Everything else, prepare it for return transport." His tone was crisp and efficient, different from the laziness he had shown during most of the journey. His guards moved without complaint, quickly opening some of the carts and moving crates into a separate tent that had been prepared nearby. None of them asked questions. This looked like it had been arranged beforehand. From a high vantage point, Ren's eyes never left Mizuka. He crouched on a sturdy branch, leaning against the trunk, his body relaxed but his gaze fixed. Something didn't sit right. His instincts weren't flaring, but there was a persistent tightness in his chest. Like standing near the edge of a cliff. Like something had passed just inches away without touching him, but the wind from it still brushed his face. 'That tent...' Ren thought as he stared at the place Mizuka had just exited from. 'Who was inside?' Nothing had come out. Not a single soul. No trace of movement. Not even chakra fluctuations that he could sense. But the man who walked in and the man who walked out felt different, even if only slightly. It was subtle, almost unnoticeable, but Ren trusted his senses. He knew what unease felt like. And this was it. 'Was that man planning something for us, but then changed his mind?' He kept replaying the journey in his head. No ambush. No accidents. No poisoning. Nothing suspicious. Mizuka had never been loud, slightly annoying, and weirdly obsessed with flowery words and polite phrasing, but never openly problematic. So the question wasn't what Mizuka did. The question was what he didn't do. 'Or maybe it wasn't him.' Ren narrowed his eyes slightly. 'Whoever he met here, that's where the danger is.' The unease crept up again. There was something wrong, but the worst part was, he couldn't prove it. No evidence. No concrete data. No enemy signature. No strange interactions with the outpost guards. Everything was too clean. Yugao's voice came from behind him, "He's wrapping up. Should we go down?" Ren gave a short nod. "Yeah. But keep your guard up. I don't like the vibes here." Yugao didn't question it. Hitoshi had already deployed his insects again and simply followed silently. The three of them dropped from their perches and regrouped near the outer boundary of the outpost, revealing themselves casually, like they had simply taken a break nearby. Mizuka spotted them and gave a slight wave. "Ah, young shinobi," he called out with his usual politeness, "we'll be leaving soon. I've completed my business here. Thank you again for your protection." Ren nodded, offering nothing more than a neutral expression. "We'll escort you to the Suiren Village before we part ways." Mizuka smiled. "Of course." They didn't exchange anything more than that. But even as they followed him toward the checkpoint, Ren's thoughts didn't leave that tent. He glanced at it once more. Still no movement. Still nothing strange. But something had definitely happened there, and whatever it was, it had left a feeling in his gut stronger than the time he had seen Obito staring at him after he stabbed him. 'Who was that?' he thought, his eyes fixed as they finally reached the gate, and yet, despite his suspicions, he didn't ask any more questions. He didn't want to. Ren was a firm believer in instincts, especially the one that told him when to not dig deeper. And this time, that instinct was screaming. He knew shinobi who thought they were clever. Who poked where they shouldn't, who tugged at threads that were better left alone. They ended up on missing-nin lists. Or worse, on graves with no names. Ren didn't fear many things. But he respected danger. And this danger, whatever it was. It was bigger than Obito. He didn't know how or why, but he felt it. He didn't want answers. He just wanted to get back to the village. ~~~ It took another two days before they reached Suiren village again. This time, their travel was faster and less stressful, as the load they carried back was significantly lighter than the one they had delivered. The sky was a dull grey when they reached the outskirts of the village. The guards recognized the group, and after a quick check of their mission scroll, they were waved through without trouble. As soon as they arrived at the village gate, Mizuka stepped out from his carriage, his robes looking far less pristine than they did at the beginning of the mission, but his expression was calm and polite as always. Ren and the others landed in front of him without any delay. Without waiting, Ren took out the mission scroll, extended it toward him, and spoke in a flat tone, "The mission has been completed. Please sign this." Mizuka nodded, smiling as he accepted the scroll and scribbled his signature on the bottom without even reading it. He rolled it up neatly and handed it back to Ren, who stored it away in his belt pouch. Mizuka, however, wasn't done. "Why don't you come with me to the inn?" he offered. "Allow me to treat you to something. A small token of gratitude." Ren didn't hesitate. "No. We'll be late for our return to the village." There wasn't even a hint of hesitation in his voice. Mizuka's smile didn't falter. "Ah, so you're planning to participate in the Chunin Exams then? I heard they're starting soon." Ren didn't let his surprise show, but he filed away that information instantly. 'That's earlier than I expected,' he thought. "Yes," he replied simply. "So forgive us for declining your invitation." Mizuka gave a small bow, still smiling. "No need for apology. I wish you all luck in the exams. I'm sure we'll see each other again soon." 'Surely not,' Ren thought, but he nodded politely. "Of course, Lord Mizuka." He then turned to Yugao and Hitoshi and gave a small hand gesture. "Let's go." All three flickered away in unison. ~~~ A short distance away, atop the trees beyond the village view, two masked figures sat still and watched. Tiger and Fox. They had seen Team 1 wrap up the mission and watched their brief exchange with Mizuka. After a moment, Fox broke the silence. "You see how arrogant he was?" she said. "The way he talked to the client, like it was beneath him. And you expect him to become someone great?" Tiger didn't respond immediately. He kept his eyes on the fading silhouettes of the three Genin moving away, then slowly turned toward her. "So you didn't sense anything strange after the noble left that tent?" he asked. Fox frowned. "Strange?" "There was a change," Tiger said. "Very minor. Barely noticeable. But his behavior was different. More composed. More distant. That wasn't how he was acting during the mission. Something happened inside that tent, and the boy noticed it." Fox said nothing as Tiger continued, "The boy was cautious. Suspicious. Which is what a trained shinobi should be. You call it arrogance. I call it instinct." Fox slowed slightly, her pace faltering. She didn't argue back, not immediately at least. Tiger didn't wait for her response. "You've been lagging behind, Fox," he said bluntly. "Not the boy." His voice wasn't angry, just cold. Detached. "I know what you're thinking. I know what happened after you encountered Shisui," he continued. "But that shouldn't be an excuse. Not when it interferes with your work." He didn't raise his voice, but every word landed like a knife. "How many times have you let your emotions cloud your judgment during this assignment? How many times have you considered altering the report just to paint the boy in a negative light?" Fox's jaw tensed under the mask, but she didn't speak. "You're ANBU," he said. "Our role isn't to judge. Our role is to observe and report. Nothing else." He paused, then added, "You broke that rule." The silence between them stretched. Then Tiger turned away. "This will be reported to the Hokage. He will determine your punishment." Fox still didn't respond. Tiger spoke one last time before flickering away. "If you don't like what I said, then be like the boy. At least dream of being free from someone else's control. Otherwise, just follow orders and do your job. If you can't do either of those, then you shouldn't be a shinobi at all." And with that, he disappeared, leaving Fox alone on the branch. The leaves rustled quietly around her, but she remained still, staring in the direction Ren had gone. She didn't speak. She didn't move. Eventually, she too vanished into the trees. ~~~ Only a few hours later, Team 1 reached the border checkpoint and smoothly crossed back into the Land of Fire. There were no complications from either side, just a routine inspection and brief confirmation with the scrolls. Once the border was behind them, the forest began to look familiar again, the subtle signs of Konoha's influence showing in the well-maintained paths and watchful chakra signatures scattered around. As they continued moving forward at a steady pace, Yugao broke the silence. "Ren, what happened? You've been acting strange ever since we left the outpost." Ren slowed a little, his pace dropping just enough for the others to notice. "I don't have any proof," he said calmly, "but I kept getting the feeling something was wrong with the noble after he left the outpost. I couldn't shake it." Yugao's expression grew serious. "Danger?" Ren nodded, glancing at the trail ahead. "Yeah. It felt like we were standing on the edge of a cliff but didn't fall. That's why I kept asking you both to stay alert. I wouldn't have repeated myself that much otherwise." Yugao nodded slowly, understanding dawning on her face. Hitoshi, who had been quiet the entire time, finally murmured, "That explains why you asked for constant scans, even when it didn't seem necessary." Ren gave a faint shrug. "Better paranoid than dead." They fell into silence again, the forest sounds returning to fill the quiet until Yugao spoke once more. "Anyway," she began, "it looks like we'll be entering the Chūnin Exams this year." Her voice wasn't as excited as one would expect. It held a note of reluctance. Ren turned his head slightly, catching that tone. "Shouldn't you be happy about that? We're finally going to become Chunin. Why do you sound disappointed?" Yugao hesitated for a moment, then replied, "It just feels, I don't know. Rushed? I mean, we didn't even work together as a team for the past year. I was gone for all of it. Now we're suddenly being thrown into the exams, and the last mission was just a boring escort, Sensei wasn't even there with us." Ren listened quietly, then gave a small smile. "Don't be so down about it," he said. "Just think about everything we've done up until now." He gestured vaguely as he spoke. "We've been through infiltration missions, border conflicts, survival missions, and actual S-rank engagements. That's not normal genin stuff. Most genin teams don't even see a B-rank until their second year, let alone fight Orochimaru." He continued, "There are full-fledged Jonin who don't have a single S-rank mission under their belt. We've got multiple. If we were to compare records, I think only the Sannin's original team would top us." He looked at her again. "So you shouldn't be sad it's ending. You should be proud that you were part of one of the most dangerous, and legendary, Genin teams the village has ever produced." Yugao blinked, then gave a short laugh. "I didn't know you had such a flair for inspiring speeches." Ren scoffed, "Of course I do. If I'm going to be the strongest someday, I'll probably need to lead armies at some point. So I've been practicing morale-boosting speeches early." Yugao opened her mouth to respond but stopped, unsure if he was joking or not. With Ren, it could go either way, and that was the most frustrating part. Hitoshi gave a subtle grunt of acknowledgment, as if silently agreeing with both of them, and the team kept moving forward. Not long after, a sharp screech echoed through the canopy. All three of them looked up instinctively. Above them, the silhouette of a large bird circled, an eagle with a distinct black marking on its left wing. Ren recognized it immediately. "Jonin emergency eagle," he muttered. The bird didn't descend but kept circling above them, clearly waiting for confirmation. Ren took a second to think. They were already back within the Land of Fire, the mission had been completed, and if an emergency eagle had found them this fast, it meant something urgent was going on nearby. He looked at his teammates. "Let's go." {Alt Title:- Oh Look, A Bird. Probably Doom.} ~~~~ {What do you think? Was Ren joking, or did he really practice the morale-boosting speeches?} {Also, see. Nothing was wrong on the mission, you guys have been so brainwashed by webnovel that you just kept ignoring the obvious. {Anyway, I wonder who'll die the next Chapter, you wanna know? Then join the pat-reon. Yugao is currently having an epic fight with someone important, if you wanna that soon, join the pat-reon.} {Thanks 66835 for becoming a member of pat-reon.} { h t t p s : / / w w w . p a t r e o n . c o m / / Z e e n o n } {You can just search for my name too, it's the one with tom's pic (from tom and Jerry)} {You know what else to do.} {STONES!!!!}