Chapter 9: Tricking Hinata
"Eight Inner Gates, Fourth Gate — Open!"
Mingyu directly activated the Fourth Gate of the Eight Inner Gates.
He knew very well that in the Anbu, strength was everything. Without enough power, people would look down on you and suppress you at every turn. If that happened, he would never have a chance to rise.
So he decided to make a strong first impression and intimidate everyone right from the start.
"Eight Inner Gates…? You…"
The cat-masked man's eyes widened in shock. He never expected a kid like Mingyu to know the Eight Inner Gates — let alone open up to the Fourth Gate.
Bang!
Mingyu moved. With a single powerful step, a violent shockwave erupted from his foot, cracking the floor beneath him.
"Not bad," the cat-masked man sneered. His figure blurred and vanished into the shadows.
Anbu members specialized in assassination, so hiding their presence was one of their most basic skills.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The moment he disappeared, seven or eight kunai shot toward Mingyu at blinding speed.
"Hmph!"
Mingyu snorted coldly and flicked his own kunai out with perfect precision, knocking every single one down.
Then, without hesitation, he spun around and delivered a fierce kick behind him.
Boom!
A loud crash rang out as the cat-masked man was forced out of the shadows.
"What?! You actually detected my position?" the man exclaimed in disbelief.
"Did you really think you were hiding that well?" Mingyu sneered.
He accelerated again and immediately engaged the man in close-quarters combat.
With the Fourth Gate open, his speed and strength far surpassed normal levels. In the confined space, he moved like a ghost, constantly changing positions and launching relentless attacks.
"Enough!"
After taking several hits, the cat-masked man finally got angry. His hands flew through hand seals.
"Earth Style: Earth Wall Technique!"
Hard earthen walls rose from all directions, instantly trapping Mingyu inside.
"As expected of an Anbu elite. Pretty strong," Mingyu thought.
But he wasn't worried at all.
With a casual flip of his hand, a cyan card appeared and instantly merged with him.
A much more powerful aura exploded from his body.
With 100% physical enhancement active, he feared nothing. He threw a devastating punch at the wall on his left.
Crack!
The wall shattered instantly, revealing the stunned cat-masked man.
"You…!"
Before the man could react, Mingyu was already in front of him.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A barrage of extremely fast strikes rained down. The cat-masked man could only defend desperately — he had no chance to counterattack.
After two full minutes, Mingyu finally stopped.
The cat-masked man was now covered in bruises and huddled in the corner, trembling.
"You've lost," Mingyu said coldly, his expression calm.
"Ha… Fine. I take back what I said earlier," the man admitted bitterly. Mingyu's strength had far exceeded his expectations.
After registering his information and receiving his own cat-faced mask, Mingyu left.
In the Anbu, every member had a codename. He had chosen "Night" for himself — just like the Anbu's purpose: to protect Konoha from within the darkness.
Once outside the small room, Mingyu stepped onto a large open platform. Several other new Anbu recruits were already waiting there.
"Reporting in. Night has arrived."
"Night?"
The senior jonin in charge frowned slightly when he saw Mingyu. The boy was only twelve years old and barely 140 cm tall — the shortest one present.
"Fall in."
"From today onward, you are members of the Anbu. Your only mission is to remove all obstacles in Konoha's path — even if it costs your life. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!"
Everyone responded loudly.
But deep inside, Mingyu remained unmoved. If I hadn't transmigrated here, I might have actually been brainwashed by that speech.
He knew the truth: Anbu members were just disposable tools. If they died, no one would shed a tear. They were the ones the village quietly discarded.
He wasn't that noble.
He joined the Anbu for one reason only — to become stronger. But everything had to be under the condition that he stayed safe.
You could call him selfish.
But in this world, who wasn't selfish?
Uchiha Itachi killed his entire clan for his little brother, yet doomed Sasuke to live in eternal hatred. Wasn't that selfish? The Third Hokage let Orochimaru go after he killed so many innocents — all for the sake of his favorite student. Wasn't that selfish too? The Second Hokage, Danzo… none of them were truly selfless.
Mingyu's goal was simple: he only wanted to protect what he cared about.
Like Hinata.
After a long session of ideological "training," the new recruits were finally dismissed. Since they had just joined, their main focus for now was training. Real missions weren't required yet.
Three days passed quickly.
During these three days, Mingyu lived a very fulfilling life — training in the Anbu during the day, occasionally going on dates with Hinata in the evening, giving Naruto some guidance, and spending the rest of his time training.
Until this day.
"Big Brother Mingyu, tomorrow I have to go out for training with my teacher. I probably won't be able to see you for a while," Hinata said reluctantly, her face full of reluctance.
"Training outside the village?"
Mingyu was slightly stunned. Hinata's teacher should be Kurenai Yuhi. If she left, how was he supposed to complete his stupid system mission?
He silently cursed the system again for giving him such a troublesome task.
"Big Brother Mingyu?" Hinata called out, confused.
"Ah, it's nothing. Going out for training is good. With Kurenai-sensei taking care of you, there shouldn't be any problems. By the way, what kind of person is Kurenai-sensei?"
"Teacher is really nice. She's gentle, kind, and very beautiful."
"Oh!"
Mingyu nodded. Of course he knew Kurenai was beautiful. He just wondered… if he got caught peeping, would she still be so gentle?
"Speaking of which, Hinata, have you ever heard of a certain legend?"
"A legend? What legend?"
"I read it in an old book. It says that before ninjas go out on a mission, if they take a nice hot bath together, it brings good luck and makes the mission go smoothly."
"Huh? Is there such a legend?" Hinata looked puzzled. She had never heard of anything like that.
"Of course there is. Would I lie to you?" Mingyu smiled.
Of course, he had just made it up on the spot. If he wanted to peep, he had to start with Hinata.
"Oh… Then I'll take a bath when I get home!"
"Wait, that won't work. The legend says the effect only happens if the people who are going on the mission take the bath together. So I think you should invite Kurenai-sensei to join you. That way, your mission this time will be completely safe."
Mingyu continued his smooth deception.