Soon afterward, Shibi Aburame finished discussing matters with Takumi Tengyuan and walked over.
Takumi said, "Since time is pressing, I hope we can depart immediately. Sorry for the inconvenience, honorable ninja."
Aozora couldn't help but take a second look at this plump merchant. For an adult in his thirties to address three underage teenagers as "honorable" without showing any embarrassment showed how shrewd he was. Aya, who had been slightly annoyed earlier, immediately forgot her displeasure upon hearing this.
After some quick preparations, Team Three followed Takumi's caravan heading north toward Lianyun City. Unlike their last bandit-hunting mission, this time Team Three rode comfortably aboard the caravan's wagons instead of hoofing it all the way.
Sitting on the wagon, leisurely admiring the beautiful scenery around them, Aozora and the rest of them felt cheerful and relaxed.
In the afternoon, Shibi Aburame said to Aya, "Go to the front of the convoy and begin scouting."
Although this mission was meant as a relaxing break for Aozora and the others, Shibi didn't let his guard down. No sooner had they left the village than he assigned Aya to start reconnaissance.
On the road, Shibi demonstrated the rich experience of a jonin, continuously teaching the three how to identify routes, select camping grounds, and set traps. Faced with Shibi's generous instruction, Aozora and the others listened like normal school kids, even taking notes diligently whenever important knowledge came up.
During the first two days of uneventful travel, Takumi occasionally came over to chat with Aozora and build rapport, sometimes bringing delicious snacks to treat Team Three. Knowing well from his extensive travels that building good relations with ninjas was important—even if it wouldn't reduce the mission fee, at least they would take it more seriously—Takumi kept up the friendly interaction.
Thus, Takumi's caravan proceeded at a leisurely pace, gradually moving away from Konoha into the northern territories notorious for rampant banditry.
One afternoon, Aya—who had been scouting—returned abruptly and reported, "I detected three people trailing behind the convoy, and another three lying in ambush ahead. They each possess considerable chakra."
Upon hearing this, Aozora and Jifeng simultaneously exclaimed, "Rogue ninjas?"
Rogue ninjas were usually made up of renegades from major hidden villages and scattered ninja remnants from smaller destroyed villages. These individuals generally weren't very strong, so they often occupied small countries without protection from ninja villages, bullying people there. Normally, they dared not step foot into powerful nations.
Aozora expressed surprise, saying, "Have they lost their minds? Daring to enter our Land of Fire now?"
Jifeng speculated after hearing this, "Maybe they want to take advantage of the conflict between Hidden Cloud and Konoha to seize gains opportunistically."
Shaking his head in disagreement, Aozora said, "Don't you think they'd be too foolish? Even if Konoha has weakened somewhat, even a single jonin could easily crush them like bugs."
After speaking, Aozora looked toward Shibi Aburame and asked, "Teacher, what's your opinion about handling this?"
Shibi examined the situation using his insect scouts before replying, "Deal with them yourselves."
As soon as Aozora heard this, he instantly understood that the enemy's strength fell within their capability range.
Gathering his two companions, Aozora said, "The teacher told us to handle this ourselves. Let's hear your thoughts."
Aya said decisively, "Life's short—hit them before they hit us!"
"Ahem," Jifeng cut in carefully, "be careful. Don't underestimate rogue ninjas."
Aozora was speechless. "Is this even about whether we can handle it or not? The mission just got upgraded!"
Shaking his head, Aozora left their carriage and walked toward the caravan, facing Tengyuan Takumi. "Director Tengyuan, our scouts discovered that some rogue ninja have targeted your convoy."
Takumi Tengyuan looked around nervously. "Honored Ninja, we've already hired you. You must protect our safety!"
Aozora grew serious. "Even so, what you posted was a C-rank mission. Involvement in actual ninja conflicts exceeds the scope of a C-rank. We have the right to refuse."
Takumi tightly gripped Aozora's hand. "Please don't abandon us!"
Aozora replied flatly, "No."
Fighting ninja raises the danger level significantly.
Facing Tengyuan's desperate gaze, Aozora finally softened slightly. "Payment needs to increase~~"
Takumi first appeared stunned, then quickly understood, excitedly replying, "No problem! I'll upgrade the mission rank and increase the bounty!"
He'd witnessed how ninja fought—ordinary people stood no chance against them, just like grass beneath a scythe.
Nodding at last, Aozora returned to their carriage.
"I've discussed with Director Tengyuan. The mission has been upgraded to B-rank, and the payment will be adjusted accordingly."
Aozora continued assigning combat roles. "Six ninja total. I'll take the three lying in ambush ahead, while the three behind are yours."
Aya curled her lip and muttered, "So you look down on us, huh?"
After traveling together for a month, she knew deep down that both she and Jifeng were truly inferior to Aozora in strength, yet still felt reluctant.
Jifeng smiled gently. "Fine!"
With plans decided, the three split up to act.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The three became afterimages, rushing separately toward the rogue ninja trailing them from front and back.
For Aozora's group, after just a few steps forward, he spotted three badly-hidden rogue ninja with his sharp observational skills.
Still perched atop trees, the three rogues caught sight of Aozora when suddenly—Zzzzzip!—they felt sharp pain in their necks. Blood spurted upward as they desperately clutched their throats.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
The three collapsed onto the ground, raising clouds of dust. They twitched briefly before losing consciousness completely.
Seeing a golden Droplet newly appear on his Heavenly Book, Aozora didn't bother finishing them off and simply turned back toward his team.
Just as Aozora finished his fight, Aya and the others also returned after concluding theirs.
Trained at the Ninja Academy and trained in their clan techniques, both Aya and Jifeng were already top-tier Genin—just lacking enough experience to reach Chunin. Against rogue ninja, they absolutely dominated, ending things decisively and cleanly.
Within mere breaths, Aozora's team defeated enemies more than twice their number. Admittedly, opponents were weak, yet it still adequately demonstrated the trio's outstanding abilities.
Arriving at the rear of the convoy, Tengyuan Takumi hesitantly asked, "Lord Ninja, are those rogue ninja really dealt with?"
Aozora replied indifferently, "Behind the tenth tree to the left front. Have your guards go handle it. Leaving corpses rotting in hot weather easily spreads disease."
Aya said, "There are also three corpses in the bushes behind on the left."
Tengyuan Takumi hurriedly replied, "Yes! Yes! I'll send guards to handle it right away."
With that, he stepped back into the caravan. Shortly afterward, two groups of guards were dispatched to the site where the bodies lay.
After the guards returned from collecting the corpses, the entire caravan continued its journey forward.
The battle seemed like a minor, forgettable incident that didn't slow the caravan's pace, but Tengyuan Takumi now clearly showed far more respect to Aozora and the others than before.
Previously, he respected them merely for the forehead protectors they wore; now, it was their true strength that earned his respect.
Thus, Team Three continued to escort the caravan for another two days, almost reaching the destination when a thunderous boom suddenly erupted.
Everyone from Team Three looked up at the sky and saw three plumes of red smoke rising from the horizon.
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