Chương 32: Chapter 31
Chapter 31
It has been over a month since Kaen sealed his students' abilities. During that time, they learned not to rely on their clan gifts and strengthen their weaknesses. Of the three Kaen like Shino the most, the boy proved resourceful. It was he who managed to break the seals Kaen placed on them. Kaen didn't expect the boy to find a way so soon without anyone's help.
While Hinata showed some interest and talent in medicine and medical ninjutsu, Shino was thoughtful and patient enough to learn some seals from Kaen. Kiba could only learn taijutsu, but Kaen didn't forget to teach him about tracking. How to distinguish tracks, stalk they target, and so on. Of course, he worded it to be a hunt, so Kiba was willing to learn.
Everything went smoothly, but Kaen could feel how done his students were with D-rank missions, especially when they did three or four every day. Even Kaen was getting bored, he hadn't left the village for some time, and he desperately wanted to stretch his limbs and have a good fight. His Uchiha blood boiled at the thought.
He knew that he should get missions outside the village. His students needed to experience a mission outside of a safe environment to grow further. And he knew a mission that would push them and make them realize that everything can and will go to shit when leaving the village. It would be an excellent lesson for them.
As Kaen led his team through the Hokage tower, he met with Kakashi and his team. Kaen looked at the excited Naruto and noticed Sasuke smirking from ear to ear. He knew he was too late to take the mission. He knew he shouldn't have slept for so long with Ash on his chest. But it took too much willpower to wake up his cat.
"I see you are happy," Kaen commented. "Got a mission outside the village?"
"Yep, C-rank mission," Naruto eagerly answered.
"Good for you," Kaen smiled. "But I wouldn't be so excited."
"Why not?" A girl with pink hair asked.
"You didn't know?" Kaen smiled sinisterly.
"Knew what?" Naruto's smile dropped as he saw Kaen's.
"Oh, nothing, just that the first mission of a genin team always goes to shit."
"What do you mean?" The pinky asked.
"You know, a simple mission to escort someone always leads to the assassination, then it becomes worse and worse with missing-nin coming out of nowhere, old enemies of your sensei showing up for revenge. Before you know it, your sensei is dying. You are left alone in an unknown land without any support, surrounded by enemies. Then someone has to decide to stay behind so his teammates can run away."
"I would appreciate it if you didn't scare my students," Kakashi said. "And it would take much effort to kill me. At least I could always escape."
"Hey, what about us?" Naruto asked.
"I am sure you will make a noble sacrifice, Naruto," Kakashi's eye smiled before leaving.
Kaen chuckled as he and his team passed Naruto's horrified face and went to the Hokage's office. It was always nice to tease someone. Especially when they have such a variety of expressions like Naruto, he put that thought aside as he entered the Hokage's office. Looking at the old man, Kaen got an idea.
"Where did you send Kakashi's team, Hokage-sama?" Kaen asked.
"Hmm?" The Third Hokage looked at Kaen and his team. "Nothing special it was a mission to escort a bridge builder to the Land of Waves."
"Land of Waves," Kaen repeated, his smile dropped. "I heard some unsavory thing about the island."
"I wouldn't worry do much," The Third Hokage said. "Kakashi is with them. Once they escort the bridge builder, they will return."
"Bridge builder on an island that Gato has set his sights on," Kaen commented. "I remember Gato being quite ruthless with his shipping business."
"You know of him?" The Third Hokage asked.
"I know of many things and many people," Kaen replied. "I had investigated Gato before. He is greedy and would not let anyone stand in his way. Yet I never managed to get any evidence of his wrongdoings."
"Hmm, the Land of Waves is close to the Land of Fire. It is an important place for trade," The Third Hokage said. "It wouldn't do us any good if a tyrant took control of it."
"And it so happens that a team has set to go to that country," Kaen replied, his smile getting bigger. "It wouldn't be so bad to use the distraction that the team would provide for another team to infiltrate the country and look for evidence of Gato's crimes."
"Yes, a secret mission for experienced and capable shinobi," The Third Hokage agreed, and Kaen's smile dropped. "I will draft the mission. Come back tomorrow."
That sneaky old man, he already knew about Gato. And he wondered why he agreed to send the Kakashi team so easily to the foreign land when there could be missions in the Land of Fire. Kakashi could be said to be the best shinobi, just behind himself, of course. The Third Hokage knew how important the Land of Waves was, and he got an opportunity to send a team without any suspecting anything.
And now Kaen offered himself to go too. After training with Jiraiya for so long, Hokage knew how good he was at infiltrating, and it was a good mission for his team to test their mantle. After all, his team was created for such kind of mission, and he would have support from Kakashi and vice versa in case something went badly.
"You heard Hokage-sama," Kaen turned to his team. "Rest for today and prepare to depart tomorrow. And remember not to tell about the mission to anyone, not your family or friends. It is top secret."
While Kiba looked excited and elated, the rest of the team didn't share the sentiment. Hinata looked nervous, darting her eyes everywhere, and Shino kept calm. Kaen imagined that he kept his clear and expressionless face even behind the shades over his eyes and collar covering his mouth.
…
The next day he met his team by the gates of the village. Kaen had someone to feed and care for Ash before leaving the Village. Team Kakashi had already left, and Kaen knew they couldn't run fast while escorting a civilian. So, Kaen wasn't in a hurry. He could take his time and teach his students about espionage.
The Academy didn't teach much about the subject, leaving it to Kaen to tell his wisdom. While they traveled to the Land of the Waves, he would tell his team about the importance of disguising and keeping a low profile. As well as what to look for when you are stalking someone.
"Remember, when we arrive at the Land of the Waves, we will not be shinobi but just civilians. That means you can't show strength or skills beyond those of a civilian. Never let your disguise drop, even when you think you are alone. You never know who is watching you."
Everyone, even Kiba, looked like they understood what Kaen meant. His students seemed to have grown, as they didn't even complain. Kaen led his team through forests, nowhere near any roads. When they reached the waters, he walked through it. His team was still struggling with walking on water, but they managed.
…
The town looked like a wasteland. Few people walked in the streets, and even fewer would talk to them. Kaen had to resort to his charm to get some ladies to tell him how things went in the town. It wasn't a pretty tale, and his students shared the sentiment. The town was on its last legs.
Gato bought every ruffian he could find, and for those who didn't want to join him, he disposed of them. Now there wasn't anyone who could put up a fight, nor anyone who wished to. They have resigned themselves to their fate, even if it is bleak. Well, it was as Kaen had expected.
It gave some motivation to his team. Shino looked tenser, Kiba looked angrier, and Hinata lost her nervousness and seemed to prepare herself for what would come. Kaen liked how they reacted. After all, this was the first place outside the village, and it wasn't pleasant. They could have been defeated or sad, but they were determined, and Kaen liked that.
"We are going to split up," Kaen said. "We need to find where Gato's base is. Kiba, follow around some ruffians and see where they lead you to. Shino, you are to look around the town, maybe you will find some useful information. Hinata, you will stay with me, and we shall look outside the town."
His team quickly nodded and left to do what they were ordered. Kaen and Hinata went outside the town to look around. Kaen knew that Gato didn't stay inside the city, but his base shouldn't be far away. With his and Hinata's eyes, they should be able to find it sooner rather than later.
…
It took a couple of days for the information to be gathered. Kiba found a few hideouts the ruffians used. Shino observed the town and concluded that no one could fight against the ruffians and that a certain household was observed. Hinata and Kaen found Gato's base and even managed to infiltrate and locate where he kept his documents and money.
Still, Kaen didn't find any documents or ledgers that would indicate that Gato was doing something illegal. As days passed, Kakashi and his team arrived at the town at some point and started preparing for a fight. Kaen got used to the town and walked around dressed in dirty clothes, with a straw hat obscuring his face.
Kaen only took one look at Kakashi's team to find out how they were doing and then left and regrouped with his team. The next part of the plan was to find something that could be used against Gato, and finding nothing in his base, Kaen determined that he had important information on himself, so he had to get close to him.
Knocking one of his men out and pretending to be him wasn't hard. While his team observed the rest of the men that Gato had employed, he followed Gato around as one of his ruffians. Soon enough, Kaen found himself before the Demon of the Mist. While talking to Zabuza, who was injured, Kaen managed to swipe Gato's pockets clean—taking a notebook and a key to some safe.
From the notebook, he found that Gato had some personal ship nearby. Kaen deduced that the ship contained everything he needed. So, he quickly left to investigate. There was no problem infiltrating the ship, and with Hinata's eyes, they quickly found a safe. Inside was full of money and documents containing Gato's dealings with some important people in the Land of Fire and other countries.
With his job done, Kaen could leave the rest to Kakashi. But seeing how his students wanted to help the town, he relented to staying and put down Gato. Kaen explained that if they wanted to help the town, they needed to do it correctly and round up all the men involved with Gato.
It was a good situation to put his students in a fight against non-shinobi opponents. They spent the last month sparring with him, so Kaen knew they could kill some ruffians easily, but subduing them without killing them would make them care about their strength. His team was created to capture people rather than kill them so that it could be a good lesson. And it so happens that Gato was rounding up his men and preparing to strike the town after Zabuza's fight with Kakashi.
A.N. As always, If you want more, up to five advanced chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852
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