The mission Seimei and the other four got was quite simple yet dangerous at the same time.
According to the reports from the scouts stationed on the border, the activities of the rogue Shinobi in the towns near the border were increasing at a concerning rate.
This was especially true on the borders of the Land of Hot Springs and the Land of Rivers.
The Land of Rivers worked as a buffer zone between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind. At the same time, the Land of Hot Water worked as a buffer zone between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning.
Although it looked like a wide area problem caused by the unruly rogue ninjas on the surface, Tobirama understood that many of those so-called rogue ninjas could very well be disguised as Sunagakure and Kumogakure Shinobi.
The intel from the ANBU's intelligence squad also confirmed this guess to a certain extent. It was clearly Kumo and Suna ninjas stirring up trouble.
However, they didn't have any concrete evidence yet.
These unusual activities started just a couple of weeks ago. There just wasn't enough time to gather enough intel.
Konoha had already deployed multiple teams of ninjas to control, capture, and eliminate unruly rogue or unaffiliated ninjas that were causing trouble in the Land of Hot Springs' border.
And now, Seimei's five-person squad would be one of the few teams that were being deployed to the borders of the Land of Rivers.
Their target: Kitakari town.
They would stay there and patrol the town for five days before switching with another squad and returning to Konoha.
During their patrol time, their goal was to capture or eliminate any unidentified or rogue ninjas causing trouble in the town.
To do that, they would coordinate with the other Konoha Shinobi squads there. They would also have to hand over the prisoners and unidentified Shinobi corpses to the ANBU ninjas following them from the shadows.
After understanding the mission details and accepting the mission scroll, Seimei and his squad immediately left Konoha to reach Kitakari town as soon as possible.
With the possibility of war looming on the horizon, they couldn't afford to slack off while participating in any mission related to the borders or rogue ninjas.
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After traveling for nearly half a day, Seimei and his team finally reached the entrance of the Kitakari town near the border of the Land of Rivers.
Seimei's whole team was composed of highly capable Jonin-level ninjas.
Otsutsuki Seimei had already reached Elite Jonin-level prowess.
The names of his other team members were…
Senju Haku—the official Elite Jonin of the team and the team leader, specializing in all basic nature transformation Ninjutsu except for the Lightning Release and Taijutsu.
Uchiha Sorata—a Jonin of Konoha, specializing in Kenjutsu, Genjutsu, and Fire and Wind Release Ninjutsu.
Aburame Shoji—the other Jonin, specializing in tracking, the Aburame clan's insect Ninjutsu, and Earth and Fire Release Ninjutsu.
Hyuga Ginjo—the only Special Jonin of the team, specializing in reconnaissance, Gentle Fist Taijutsu, and Water Release Ninjutsu.
None of them was a slouch.
They effortlessly covered nearly 1,200 km between Konoha and Kitakari town in less than ten hours by constantly traveling at a steady speed of 150 km/h while taking just one break in the middle.
People never exaggerated when they said that true Jonin-level ninjas were nothing short of forces of nature.
Once they checked in with the gatekeeper and entered the town, the team leader, Senju Haku, commanded, "Let's find an inn and rest for one hour."
"Then, we will assemble and begin exploring the town. I will operate alone while you four will work in groups of two."
"Follow the notes in the scroll, we should be able to find our targets pretty soon."
Seimei and the other three nodded.
Soon, they found a proper inn and went into their rooms for a little rest and to prepare for the upcoming battles.
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After an hour, Seimei stored all his weapons, explosive tags, and other combat supplies in his storage seal bracelet, met Uchiha Sorata, and teamed up with him to scout the city.
Their scroll had all the information they needed to identify rogue ninjas who were causing trouble, including their physical descriptions, looks, behavior, etc.
Seimei mentally applauded the Intelligence Department of Konoha for gathering such comprehensive intel. It would definitely make finding and capturing the targets easier.
So, without any hesitation, he activated his Tenseigan and scanned his surroundings.
The city wasn't actually large. Seimei's eyes could cover it with ease.
He strolled through the city with Sorata to look for their targets. And fortunately, it didn't even take them five minutes to find their first target.
Seimei's glowing, ocean-blue eyes stared in a particular direction with unwavering focus. Soon, he signaled Sorata to stop.
Sorata didn't speak and just stared at Seimei with a questioning expression.
Seeing this, Seimei spoke in a low voice, "I found three targets approximately 540 meters away. From their chakra reserves, one of them seems like a special Jonin, and the remaining two are Chunin."
Uchiha Sorata didn't inquire how Seimei located the enemies despite their line of sight being blocked by various buildings and houses.
Every ninja had their own secrets. As a proud Uchiha, he wouldn't poke his nose in other people's business.
He simply nodded and replied with a blank face, "Very well. Lead the way."
"I will take the Special Jonin on. Meanwhile, you go after the two Chunins and try to subdue them."
"If subduing seems difficult, we will just kill them. However, try not to damage the head. Otherwise, the Yamanaka ninjas wouldn't be able to extract necessary information from their corpses."
Seimei agreed with him. "Understood."
"Let's move," said Uchiha Sorata.
With that, Seimei and Sorata both disappeared from the spot using the Body Flicker Technique and quickly made their way toward the three troublemaker rogue ninjas.
They traveled using the rooftops and walls of the buildings and houses, and found their targets within a matter of seconds.
Meanwhile, the Special Jonin-level unidentified ninja also noticed their approach and barked, "Be careful. Two enemies incoming."
He held a kunai in his right hand while alerting his subordinates, who were only Chunin-level ninjas at best.
Seeing the enemy's actions, Uchiha Sorata immediately unsheathed his short blade and rushed toward the Special Jonin-level ninja Seimei pointed at.
His short blade was cloaked in Wind Release chakra, making it incredibly sharp.
With a quick dash, he arrived right in front of his enemy and swung his short blade downwards.
The other ninja also brought his kunai forward to block the incoming blade.
Clang~
The sound of metal clashing metal resounded as the short blade and kunai clashed, making sparks fly in the air.
However, the enemy Special Jonin's expression was grim. Sorata's blade strike just now left a deep mark on his kunai.
However, he didn't have time to dwell on it since Sorata slashed his blade at him once again. This time, it was a downward diagonal slash.
Clang~
The unidentified special Jonin blocked it with his kunai once again. But just as the kunai and the blade separated, he puffed his mouth and threw a sharp, thin senbon at Sorata's throat.
Sorata's eyes widened in horror as he helplessly saw the senbon piercing his throat. He clenched his bleeding throat with his hands.
Seeing this, the unidentified ninja distanced himself, put his kunai away, and started forming hand seals.
He watched his opponent's plight with glee and said, "It's over."
But before he could complete his hand seals and end the enemy in front of him with his Ninjutsu, a blade suddenly pierced through his back, punctured his heart, and came out of the front of his left chest.
Squelch~
The Wind Release chakra coating the blade shredded the heart and the nearby internal organs into pieces, sealing the unidentified ninja's fate.
"Yes, it's over for you." A cold, emotionless voice sounded near his ear as he stared at the edge of the blade coming out of his chest in disbelief while coughing out a mouthful of blood.
Meanwhile, Sorata, who had been clenching his throat with his hand, suddenly vanished like a disintegrating mist right in front of the unidentified ninja's eyes.
"A…Ge…Genjutsu…when?" The unidentified ninja asked this question with great difficulty. But before he could hear the answer, his life faded away.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Sorata, who appeared behind the unidentified ninja and killed him, pulled his short sword out, causing the dead ninja's corpse to collapse on the ground with a thud.
Thud!!
Uchiha Sorata began wiping the blood away from his blade, and his pair of two-tomoe Sharingan stared at the corpse with disdain.
"You, who didn't even realize that I activated my Sharingan, were trapped in my Genjutsu from the start."
"In front of these eyes, you were destined to be doomed."
"Anyway, it's time to check on the Senju kid."
"I hope he's fine."
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