Chapter 71 – An Absurd Mission
"What's going on?"
As soon as he entered the cave and sensed the oppressive atmosphere, Ryuya frowned and asked.
Inside, Aburame Ryūma and another Root operative wearing a painted mask both glanced at him but said nothing.
"The village has issued us a new mission," Guy—wearing his white bear Anbu mask—answered first.
There was an unusual heaviness in his tone.
For someone as eternally optimistic as Guy to sound this grave, the mission was clearly no simple matter.
Kakashi silently handed over the mission scroll.
Ryuya took it and skimmed through it quickly.
Within ten seconds, his expression darkened.
This time, the village was ordering them to attack a Kumogakure grain depot stationed in the Land of Hot Water.
According to intelligence gathered by Konoha, Kumogakure had stockpiled massive amounts of food and supplies there, guarded by more than three hundred Kumo shinobi.
That was practically a small shinobi army.
It was absolutely not something Anbu Squad Eleven could shake with just four people.
Assigning such a mission to them was no different from sending them to their deaths.
"Absurd. How could anyone expect us to carry out something like this? Who issued this order?" Ryuya flicked the scroll in his hand and scoffed.
Hearing the undisguised contempt in his voice, both Root operatives bristled. The painted-mask shinobi stepped forward and rebuked him sharply:
"How dare you! This is an order from the village. Are you defying it?"
"An order from the village?" Ryuya shook his head, his tone dripping with mockery. "Since when does the Third Hokage need Root to deliver commands to us?"
The painted-mask operative was about to explode in anger, but Aburame Ryūma stopped him and said in a low voice:
"This order comes from Danzō-sama. Do you have an objection?"
"Danzō?" Ryuya's tone didn't change. "Sorry. Anbu Squad Eleven reports directly to the Hokage. He doesn't command us."
"Anyone who insults Danzō-sama deserves death!"
Unable to restrain himself any longer, the painted-mask Root shinobi flashed forward and attacked Ryuya.
"Hmph."
A cold gleam flashed in Ryuya's eyes as he stepped forward to meet him.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The two clashed inside the cave, fists and kicks colliding with violent shockwaves.
Kakashi, Shisui, and Guy were startled at first, but then instinctively withdrew to the side.
They had confidence in Ryuya.
The mission was outrageously unreasonable—none of them were satisfied with it. So when Ryuya clashed with the Root operative, none of them moved to stop it immediately.
Seeing this, Aburame Ryūma hesitated briefly before also retreating outside the combat circle.
Within the narrow cave, after barely more than a dozen exchanges, the painted-mask Root shinobi was already at a disadvantage.
With a swift step and a straight punch, Ryuya struck him squarely in the face before he could react, sending him crashing toward the cave entrance in a sorry state.
In pure taijutsu, the Root operative was no match for Ryuya.
With the augmentation of the Sealing Glutony Method and his forbidden body-activation technique, Ryuya's physical attributes and taijutsu had already surpassed the vast majority of shinobi.
Humiliated and furious, the painted-mask shinobi's eyes flashed viciously. He raised his hands to perform hand seals, intending to retaliate with ninjutsu.
He couldn't accept being forced into such a miserable state by a junior.
Seeing this, Ryuya merely curled his lips in disdain, not moving at all.
Kakashi, Guy, and Aburame Ryūma all reacted in alarm and were about to intervene—
—but the Root operative suddenly froze.
His hands stopped mid-seal, suspended stiffly in the air.
The scene turned eerie.
Shh—
Aburame Ryūma instantly flickered to his companion's side.
Shielding him, he looked up—
—and met a pair of scarlet eyes.
The Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
Ryūma's heart tightened as he looked toward Shisui with shock and vigilance.
In just a single instant, a Root elite had been subdued by Shisui's Sharingan.
Shisui of the Body Flicker.
Worthy of the Uchiha prodigy who had shaken the shinobi world in his early teens.
The standoff lasted only a few seconds before the tomoe in Shisui's eyes slowly faded.
"Ha… ha…"
Released from the genjutsu, the painted-mask shinobi collapsed weakly, cold sweat pouring down his forehead as he gasped for breath. His eyes, when they turned toward Shisui, were filled with fear.
Ryūma quickly supported him.
After casting a deep look at the four members of Anbu Squad Eleven, Ryūma helped his companion and vanished.
Silence fell over the cave.
"You're actually planning to accept this mission?"
Ryuya looked at the other three, his brows tightly knit.
After several seconds, Kakashi spoke in a low voice:
"According to intelligence from the village, our conflict with Kumogakure has dragged on too long. The Iwagakure forces stationed near the Land of Earth's border are beginning to stir. They could attack the Land of Fire at any time. If this front doesn't end quickly, the village may face enemies on two fronts."
None of them doubted the authenticity of the mission.
The scroll bore Konoha's official mission seal. Without authorization from the Hokage's office, such a directive couldn't be issued.
"Even if the village situation is urgent, that doesn't mean we should go die!" Ryuya shot back bluntly. "Do you really think four of us can take on a shinobi army?
And besides—I don't trust Danzō. I don't trust Root."
He had no intention of sacrificing himself for the village.
Especially not in a situation that could easily be manipulated by a schemer like Danzō.
Shisui and Guy remained silent.
Compared to Ryuya—the "outsider"—Kakashi, Shisui, and Guy had all grown up immersed in the Will of Fire. Their loyalty to Konoha ran deep.
Though the order delivered by Root was absurd, their resolve to defy it was not strong.
Shisui had already begun formulating potential strategies in his mind.
"I know this mission is almost certainly a one-way trip," Kakashi said, shaking his head. "So I won't force anyone. But I'm going."
"I'm going too!" Guy declared after glancing between Kakashi and Ryuya.
Shisui said nothing—but stepped to Kakashi's side.
His stance spoke for itself.
Behind his mask, Kakashi opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately remained silent.
Ryuya stood in place for several long minutes.
Finally, he let out a faint sigh and shook his head helplessly.
"Fine. I really can't do anything with you guys."
If he withdrew now, he would be branded a missing-nin of Konoha.
And unless pushed into absolute desperation, Ryuya had no desire to abandon his current identity.
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