Chapter 118: S-Rank Missing-Nin
The Anbu squad leader "Yoru," whose real name was unknown and whose current name was Sarutobi Nanaka, was the wife of Sarutobi Shinnosuke and the eldest daughter-in-law of Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Nanaka…
Asuka glanced at the squad leader walking ahead of him, his thoughts drifting to a Pokémon from his previous life.
There was apparently a Pokémon that evolved into one called Nanaka.
"Yo, isn't that Might Guy?"
Sarutobi Nanaka stopped for a moment and turned to look at Asuka, who was greeting someone else. Her brows knitted slightly.
Did he forget the rules of the Anbu?
At that moment, Might Guy was holding a dango and eating it while carefully examining Asuka, his eyes filled with confusion.
"Oh? This person… looks familiar."
Seeing the bewildered expression on Guy's face, the corner of Asuka's mouth twitched. He took off his mask and called out,
"Look carefully. It's me. Me!"
Smack!
Might Guy suddenly slapped his right palm against his left fist.
"I see! It's Asuka!"
"Hahahaha! Sorry, sorry! I didn't recognize you!"
Ah, I'll deal with it after I finish the mission…
As he spoke, Asuka felt someone grab him by the collar.
He glanced at the squad leader forcefully dragging him away, then waved toward Guy.
"When I get back, I'll give you an eye examination."
Sarutobi Nanaka gritted her teeth as she dragged Asuka forward.
"Shut up!"
Might Guy waved back at Asuka with a brilliant smile.
"No problem!"
Hearing this, Nanaka glared at Might Guy again and snapped,
"Might Guy, you shut up too!"
Guy watched Asuka being dragged away by another masked Anbu and couldn't help shaking his head with a sigh.
"So fierce!"
The moment he finished speaking, the corner of his eye caught sight of another masked figure walking past him with his head lowered.
This person… looks familiar too. Kakashi…
"Kakashi! Let's have a duel!"
A youthful roar rang out.
Kakashi's body stiffened.
Then his figure disappeared from the spot.
"You are not allowed to reveal your identity to anyone. You are Anbu now. Didn't you listen carefully during your first lesson?"
Listening to the constant scolding coming from ahead, Asuka picked at his ear and answered perfunctorily,
"Squad leader, I remember."
As he spoke, he saw a silver-haired man walking over.
He raised his hand and waved again.
"Kakashi, you're here too!"
Kakashi paused.
After hesitating for a moment, he asked,
"Asuka?"
Smack!
Sarutobi Nanaka slapped her right hand against her forehead.
It feels like this mission has turned into a reunion.
"Yoru."
At that moment, an Anbu wearing a dog-faced mask appeared before the three of them. His voice was hoarse.
"I didn't expect you to bring him along for a pursuit mission. Are you afraid of dying?"
"Speaking of that…"
He looked at Asuka's squad leader, then shifted his gaze toward Asuka.
"Uchiha Asuka. I've heard your name before. This is our first time meeting. You look very promising."
"I'm nothing special!"
Asuka glanced at Kakashi standing beside him and modestly clicked his tongue.
At that moment, the man wearing the dog mask stepped closer, looking at Asuka with undisguised appreciation.
"I've seen your combat records from the Third Shinobi World War. I personally admire your fighting style very much. You're an excellent shinobi."
As he spoke, he looked at Asuka with some regret before turning toward Sarutobi Nanaka.
"It's a pity he's your subordinate. If he'd been transferred to my squad back then, his record would definitely have been much more impressive. An exceptionally powerful combat shinobi who is also one of the Uchiha clan's top medical-nin has been left idle by you for three months."
"I'd like to say something too."
Kakashi suddenly stepped forward.
"If you've had enough here, you can come find me alongside the Fourth Hokage. I'm sure we'll have plenty to talk about."
He was currently an Anbu member, serving as a squad leader under his teacher, Minato.
Kakashi genuinely admired Asuka.
He possessed overwhelming strength and superb medical ninjutsu—practically the perfect candidate for a bodyguard.
Unfortunately, when the candidates for Lady Kushina's escort team and the Fourth Hokage's guard unit had been selected, this guy had reportedly been the very first person eliminated.
What's going on?
Why has he suddenly become so popular?
Kakashi welcoming him was understandable.
But who exactly was that man wearing the dog mask?
Thinking about it, Asuka answered perfunctorily,
"I don't have any plans yet. I'll think about it later."
Seeing that he showed no intention of backing down, Sarutobi Nanaka stepped forward two paces and smiled amiably.
"You two are trying to steal my subordinate from me. Are young people really that popular these days?"
"And besides, it's not that I didn't want to give him any missions. There were simply some matters that needed to be dealt with recently. Now that everything has been resolved, I won't leave him with any free time from now on."
The man wearing the dog mask looked at Asuka regretfully and said casually,
"Then we'll follow the assignments distributed this morning. You take your people to the Land of Rain. I'll take mine to the Land of Rice Fields. Kakashi will take his people to the Land of Grass."
"All right!"
The moment he finished speaking, Sarutobi Nanaka grabbed Asuka and disappeared from the spot.
In the forest.
Asuka's feet landed on the treetop.
He forcefully pushed off with his calves and shot forward like a cannonball.
"Squad leader, who was that guy wearing the dog mask?"
Hearing the question, Sarutobi Nanaka immediately answered without even thinking.
"He's one of Danzo's men. A shameless bastard who'll make a move whenever he gets the chance, whether there's an opportunity or not."
"Danzo?"
Asuka immediately felt that Orochimaru probably wouldn't appear in the Land of Rain if the person assigning them the mission was one of Danzo's subordinates.
Danzo must have some special means of contacting Orochimaru, right?
"By the way…"
Asuka looked around.
After discovering that only the two of them were running through the dense forest, he asked in surprise,
"Squad leader, you aren't planning to pursue Orochimaru with just me, are you? Isn't that underestimating him too much? Even if he's injured, he's still one of the legendary Sannin."
"Of course not."
Nanaka waved her hand.
"I've already sent word. Our comrades are waiting for us near the Land of Rain."
We're really going to the Land of Rain?
Is Hanzo dead?
Asuka began to question the timeline.
Madara hadn't pulled out his tubes as expected, so nobody knew whether Hanzo had already been killed.
Around this period, Pakura seemed to be in the Land of Rain.
He could secretly go and take a look.
Thinking of this, he looked toward Nanaka's flat stomach and asked,
"Squad leader, how is your pregnancy preparation going?"
"Uh…"
Nanaka's expression stiffened for a moment before quickly returning to normal.
She said calmly,
"A lot has happened in Konoha recently, and the Anbu is somewhat understaffed. Shinnosuke and I discussed it and decided to postpone having children for the time being and focus on our duties first."
Asuka rubbed his chin while running and muttered,
"Looks like I failed. Three months wasted for nothing. I should've switched squads sooner."
Hearing this, Nanaka glared at Asuka angrily.
"Shut up. It's too late to talk about switching squads now."
Meanwhile.
In the Land of Rain.
Pakura looked at the intelligence Konan had handed her and praised her,
"You managed to obtain such detailed information about such a major incident in Konoha in only one day. That's truly an impressive intelligence-gathering ability."
"Of course."
"Because I have a very powerful team behind me."
Looking at the information Zetsu had just provided, Konan's face rarely showed a faint blush.
Does lying really make one's heart beat faster?
At present, her team consisted of only four people, including herself.
One was responsible for gathering intelligence.
One had mysterious whereabouts.
One guarded the village.
And only she traveled throughout the ninja world, searching for people they could recruit.
"You plan to recruit an S-rank missing-nin? Orochimaru?"
Hearing this, Konan raised her head and said very seriously,
"We plan to."
Pakura lowered her head and looked at the Akatsuki robe she was wearing. She pouted.
"I only borrowed your clothes for a couple of days. Don't count me as one of you."
Konan turned toward the east and asked softly,
"Then, are you leaving?"
Pakura nodded.
A fighting spirit flashed through her eyes as she smiled.
"I'll go help you recruit him."
Konan reached out and tugged on Pakura's robe, emphasizing,
"We."