章 96: Chapter 96: Mission Complete and Leaving the Team

"Nice attack, Ink," Tenzo said, withdrawing his own jutsu. Several forcibly grown tree branches around them receded back into the ground, although some remained on the surface, contributing to the world's greenery.

"It was only because you, Captain, had him perfectly restrained. I just finished him off," Natsuro replied.

"Not necessarily. Even without me, you still had a good chance of killing him," Tenzo remarked with a hint of admiration. If this had been his first encounter with Natsuro, without prior intelligence, he himself might not have been able to react in time.

At first, they'd thought this ability was some unique Body Flicker Technique, but later, Tenzo had specially gone to the ANBU archives to research. With his clearance level, he could access quite a bit of useful information.

He managed to find a record of a technique very similar to what Natsuro used.

However, that technique belonged to a legendary figure. If Natsuro indeed knew that technique, his background was certainly far from simple. He was no mere child of a prominent clan—he might be something more...

Moreover, that legendary shinobi was also known for using a spherical chakra-based jutsu. There might be an even closer connection between them than he'd thought, though Natsuro's hair color didn't match. Could it be...?

After discovering this, Tenzo pondered Natsuro's true identity but decided against sharing his findings with Hyena and Fox. After all, it wasn't bad to assume he was just the offspring of a large clan.

"No, there's still a gap," Natsuro disagreed. Even though this was a jōnin from the Hidden Mist Village, if he had been at full strength, Natsuro's Rasengan might not have landed as solidly. Even if it could gravely injure the jōnin, it was uncertain if he could have finished him off.

After all, Natsuro's chakra had been largely depleted by the Raikiri Kunai, Flying Thunder God, and Rasengan.

Tenzo paused for a moment, feeling that Natsuro was excellent in every way, except that he was too hard on himself. For someone his age, he was already incredibly skilled...

"Let's head back. I'll lead the way," Natsuro said, pouring a soldier pill from the bottle Fox had given him. He lifted his mask slightly and popped the pill into his mouth, chewing. It really tasted awful—couldn't the medical ninjas do something about the flavor?

"Captain, want one? It's from Fox," Natsuro tossed the bottle to Tenzo.

"From Fox? You know she'll charge you later," Tenzo replied, catching the bottle with a grin.

Natsuro's body stiffened at the words. Was there still time to spit it out and avoid the fee? There probably wouldn't be any more battles, so had he just wasted the pill?

"Heh, don't worry. Killing a jōnin earns you a lot of credit. Eat up," Tenzo said with a smile. After all, Natsuro's family situation didn't seem particularly affluent. Maybe he really wasn't a child of a big clan.

"That's not just my contribution. The majority of the credit should go to you, Captain," Natsuro shook his head.

"What would I do with all that credit? Better you have it, especially since... you're leaving soon, right?" Tenzo said, pausing mid-sentence before continuing.

Natsuro fell silent at those words. So, Tenzo had figured it out, after all.

Natsuro's silence confirmed Tenzo's suspicion, and though he felt a pang of sadness, he put on a brave face. "So, consider this my last gift to you as your captain. I hope you continue to grow. And if possible, don't forget that you were once a part of Tenzo's squad."

Natsuro nodded quietly, feeling the weight of the moment. He then lightened the mood, "Of course I won't forget. Captain, just wait and see. It won't be long before you can boast to the other ANBU that I was once your squad member."

His confident tone made Tenzo freeze for a second, then laugh, "I'll look forward to it."

Soon after, Natsuro and Tenzo returned to where the Master Blacksmith was, and seeing the restored order around them made Natsuro pause. Those three genin were pretty capable after all.

Upon further investigation, Natsuro realized their captain had arrived and was now directing things. No wonder.

The three genin stiffened when they saw Natsuro and Tenzo approach, making no attempt to stop them.

"Captain, Ink!" Fox and Hyena excitedly called out when they saw them.

Though they trusted Tenzo and Ink's abilities, unpredictable things happened in battle, and they couldn't help but feel relieved to see them.

"You all did well," Tenzo praised as he took in their surroundings.

"Heh, everything taken care of, Captain?" Hyena asked, scratching his head.

"All taken care of. Ink took down that jōnin," Tenzo replied directly.

Fox and Hyena gasped, staring at Natsuro like he was a monster. He was only about 12 or 13 years old, right? At that age, he was already capable of killing a jōnin? What were they doing at his age? Just graduating and chasing cats?

"Don't listen to the captain. He had already beaten that guy almost to death. I just landed the final blow," Natsuro said.

"Even landing a final blow takes skill. If it were us, we wouldn't even dare get close!" Hyena retorted, still amazed.

At this moment, the team's chūnin leader overheard their conversation. Looking at Natsuro, who was around the same age as his own team members, he was in disbelief. He... killed a jōnin? How was that even possible? The difference between people was just too vast!

"What do you want?" Tenzo asked, turning to the chūnin.

Snapping back to reality, the chūnin explained his dilemma. The convoy leader had fled, leaving only civilians. Should they continue the mission and escort them to the Land of Iron, or abandon the mission?

Natsuro, remembering what he had overheard, shared the information about the meteorite iron.

"Meteorite iron?" the Master Blacksmith emerged, having overheard Natsuro's words. "I know about it, but they said it wouldn't be transported until later..."

As he spoke, the Master Blacksmith's face grew dark, as if realizing something.

After consulting the map, Tenzo decided they were close enough to the Land of Iron to continue the mission. Returning now wouldn't necessarily be safer, and they couldn't just abandon the civilians.

After some discreet words with Tenzo, Natsuro set out to retrieve some stray horses while Tenzo crafted makeshift wooden carts, much to the chūnin's astonishment at the speed and resourcefulness.

The journey that followed was surprisingly smooth. With the Hidden Mist jōnin taken out, it didn't make sense for them to send more reinforcements.

Natsuro suspected that the real meteorite iron had already been transported elsewhere, and this whole operation was just a diversion.

If that were true, then the ones responsible would face the wrath of the Hidden Mist, and Natsuro couldn't help but smile. This was the price for deceiving them!

"Big brother Ink, be sure to visit me in the future. I'll forge the best weapon for you!" said Tetsuya, waving goodbye.

"How old are you?" Natsuro asked.

"Twelve. Why?"

"Then stop calling me big brother. I'm younger than you," Natsuro replied.

Everyone in Tenzo's squad turned to look at him. If he was saying it so confidently, that meant Ink wasn't even 12 yet... how was this even possible?

Tetsuya blinked in surprise. Natsuro's skill and demeanor had led him to assume he was older. But, age didn't matter. Shaking his head, he declared, "Then I'll just call you boss!"

"Fine, then I look forward to the best weapon you can make," Natsuro smiled.

"Deal! I'll study smithing as hard as I can. See you later, boss!" Tetsuya said, waving vigorously.

"Goodbye," Natsuro waved back without turning around.

The Master Blacksmith smiled at the scene. Building a connection with such a skilled shinobi would certainly benefit Tetsuya in the future.

…

Without the limitations of civilians slowing them down, Tenzo's team quickly returned to Konoha and went their separate ways.

Natsuro also headed to the Anbu's merit exchange office, selecting sword techniques. These weren't expensive, at least not nearly as valuable as ninjutsu, so he didn't have to spend much merit to get what he wanted.

From basic sword moves to more advanced sword styles, everything he needed was available. Unfortunately, there were no higher-level techniques, but he figured that what he had was enough to keep him practicing for a while.

In the following days, he didn't immediately leave the team. Instead, he continued doing some missions with them while practicing his swordsmanship, aiming to better integrate it with his ninjutsu.

It had to be said that as his swordsmanship improved, he became increasingly proficient in using his ninja sword.

Then, one day, Natsuro finally brought up the topic of leaving to Tenzo.

This made everyone feel a bit reluctant. They had known that Natsuro wouldn't stay with them for long, but they hadn't expected it to be so soon—after all, it had only been half a year!

However, none of them tried to persuade him to stay. They all understood that with his talent, keeping him in this squad would be a waste.

"You can probably guess where I'm from—Inuzuka Clan. If you ever get the chance, come visit me sometime," Hyena said, laughing as he patted his companion, Gray Fang.

"If you ever need supplies, you can still buy things from me. You can also mention Tenzo's squad at the medical headquarters—I'll be there," Fox added.

"Thank you..." Natsuro nodded, then turned to Tenzo.

Looking at Natsuro, Tenzo sighed and said, "I won't say much. After all, everything I have is here in the ANBU. But if you ever find yourself in a situation you can't handle, feel free to come to the ANBU and find me."

"Alright, then. Captain, Hyena, Fox, I'm leaving." Natsuro didn't refuse. After expressing his gratitude, he turned and walked away from the squad that had been part of his life for quite some time—even though he was only ten years old.

They all watched watched Natsuro's departing figure, feeling a mix of sadness and admiration. It seemed they had truly witnessed the rise of a genius!

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