In the Hozuki clan mansion
Hozuki clan head office
Zangetsu was sitting in his office doing some paperwork.
"KNOCK, KNOCK."
Suddenly, Zangetsu heard a knock on his office door. He looked at the door and said loudly, "ENTER."
Zangetsu's office door opened slowly and Gangetsu entered the office while looking seriously at his brother.
Zangetsu raised his eyebrows in surprise when he saw his twin brother entering his office.
Gangetsu didn't bother with Zangetsu's reaction; he looked seriously at his twin brother and said to him, "Big brother Yukitaro has been spotted spying on my daughter many times lately while she was training under Juzo-senpai."
"Yukina just left the village with Juzo-senpai and his disciple to undertake a mission, but some of our Chunins reported to me saying that they saw Yukitaro smirking strangely when he saw Yukina departing the village."
"Big brother I think Yukitaro is scheming against my daughter. What should we do about it?"
Zangetsu narrowed his eyes when he heard this. While his brain was working overtime,
He then asked Gangetsu, "Do you know what kind of mission little Yukina took?"
Gangetsu nodded in response to Zangetsu's question and replied, "She is undertaking a C-rank mission, a bandit extermination mission on Maiko Island."
Zangetsu nodded his head after hearing Gangetsu's response; he then instructed Gangetsu, saying, "Go and tell Kangetsu to select some Chunins from our clan and head out to Maiko Island; his mission is to act as a backup team for Yukina and her team."
"He and his team are only allowed to act when Yukina and her team needed assistance do I make myself clear, Gangetsu?'
Gangetsu was surprised at what Zangatsu said and he asked Zangetsu, "You can't be serious, brother? Kangetsu is one of the strongest Jounin in our clan; isn't sending him overkill?"
Zangetsu narrowed his eyes at Gangetsu and said, "You are underestimating Yukitaro a lot, Gangetsu. Right now that fool can't act against Yukina openly, especially not after Fuguki paid his visit to the Yuki clan mansion not long ago."
"Also, Juzo is protecting Yukina right now. Yukitaro had already offended Fuguki-sama; he will not dare to offend another member of the seven ninja swordsmen."
"Despite his arrogance, Yukitaro is not an idiot; he will definitely start scheming from the shadows against Yukina, after all, this is his style whenever he is cornered."
Gangetsu nodded his head after contemplating what Zangetsu just said and Zangetsu continued saying, "Right now, that fool is scheming something; I can smell it. We need to be ready for whatever scheme he is planning."
"Sending Kangetsu is our best choice right now because we don't know what scheme that fool Yukitaro is plotting."
"Go and tell Kangetsu about his mission; he can choose any Chunins he wishes to take with him on this mission. Also, don't forget to tell Kangetsu that failure in this mission is not an option."
Gangetsu nodded his head seriously to Zangetsu, then he quickly turned around and exited Zangetsu's office to meet with Kangetsu.
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With Yukina
After the trio left Kirigakure, they arrived at the port.
Juzo chose a small ship that fit his small team perfectly to use and sail away from Kirigakure.
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With the trio
Yukina, Zabuza, and Juzo were sailing in a small ship toward Maiko Island.
Maiko Island is very close to the Hidden Mist Village; it takes only a few hours of sailing to reach it.
While they were sailing towards Maiko Island, Juzo saw that Zabuza and Yukina were arguing with each other. He sighed helplessly at this and then he yelled at the two angrily, "Well, you two stop wasting time. You two should start coming up with a strategy so we can complete this mission smoothly and fast."
After hearing what Juzo just said, Zabuza sat on the deck and started thinking of a feasible strategy to use in this mission.
However, Yukina looked strangely at Juzo and said to him, "Sensei, we lack a lot of information; it is impossible for us to come up with any kind of strategy right now unless we start gathering information first."
Juzo smirked when he heard this and started complimenting Yukina: "Not bad, girl. So what kind of information do you think we need to gather first before we start coming up with a strategy?"
Yukina thought for a moment, then she replied to Juzo, "Well, for starters, we need to know the numbers of bandits that we need to exterminate, their combat strength, and the environmental location of their base."
Juzo chuckled after hearing this and said, "Not bad, girl. You two should always remember this before going on any kind of mission: you two need to come up with a strategy to complete your mission; this way your teams will suffer fewer losses."
Both Yukina and Zabuza listened intently to what Juzo was saying and Juzo continued, "To come up with a strategy, you first need to gather information and identify the variables in your mission."
Zabuza was confused when he heard this and asked, "What are the variables, sensei?"
Juzo smirked. When he heard Zabuza's question, he replied, "Variables are the people or the things that can affect the success of a mission."
"For example, in this mission, our variables are the number of bandits, their combat strengths, and Arika Village itself on Maiko Island."
Zabuza was confused when he heard Juzo's answer, so he asked, "Why is Arika Village considered a variable, sensei?"
Juzo sighed in disappointment when he heard Zabuza's question and wondered to himself, "Why is this kid so slow to grasp things? Why isn't he as intelligent as little Yukina? Do I always need to explain everything to him word by word for him to understand?"
After Juzo finished complaining to himself, he answered Zabuza, saying, "The reason Arika Village is considered one of the variables is because it is currently used as a base for those bandits. The bandits may have also planted some traps around the village to ambush us; do you understand now, Zabuza?"
Zabuza widened his eyes in realization as Juzo continued speaking.
"According to the information we received from our client, all the bandits are currently located at Arika Village, and their total number is 50."
"The combat strength of those bandits is genin-level combat strength so tell me, girl, what kind of strategy should we use to deal swiftly with those bandits?"
Yukina started thinking deeply after hearing Juzo's question; she then answered by saying, "Well, the first thing we need to do is do some reconnaissance." I will use my sensory skills to confirm the bandits' numbers and their strength."
"After that, we will strategically place traps outside Arika Village, ensuring that any bandit who tries to flee when we begin our attack will meet their demise."
"After we finish setting up our traps, we will disable all traps around Arika village that the bandits set."
"Then we will execute the hidden mist jutsu and use the silent killing technique to exterminate all the bandits."
"The bandits will not question the hidden mist jutsu because Maiko Island's climate is quite similar to our village; dense mists are quite a normal occurrence on Maiko Island."
Zabuza was in awe when he heard Yukina's strategy, and Juzo smirked.
He then complimented Yukina, "Well done, girl; you are quite talented in strategizing."
Yukina smiled when she heard Juzo's compliment, and the ship continued sailing towards Maiko Island.
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Maiko Island.
After three hours, the trio arrived on Maiko Island.
When they reached the outskirts of Arika village, Yukina closed her eyes and began using her sensory skills to detect both the number of bandits in the village and their strength.
After a few seconds, Yukina detected the number of bandits inside Arika village and assessed their strength. "There are 50 bandits, just as Juzo-sensei mentioned, and they possess genin-level strength; it seems the information we received from the village was accurate." Yukina thought to herself.
Suddenly, Yukina sensed four large and powerful chakra signatures among the bandits, which shocked her.
Yukina's face turned serious when she sensed these chakra signatures and tried to concentrate her sensory abilities more on them.
Yukina noticed that the moisture in the air was enhancing her sensory skills, so she focused more on the moisture without any reservations.
After a few minutes, Yukina opened her eyes and looked seriously at Zabuza and Juzo before saying to them, "I sensed four powerful chakra signatures among the bandits: three of them had Chunin chakra reserves and the last one had Jounin chakra reserves."
"The Jounin is quite powerful; his chakra is as strong as Fuguki sensei; we need to be really careful when we deal with him."
Juzo was stunned when he heard this; he then gave a bloodthirsty smirk and said to himself, "oh, things are getting interesting!" I never thought I would be involved in this mission today... I wonder who that guy is that Yukina just sensed."
Juzo then waved his hand and told Yukina and Zabuza, "we will follow the strategy that Yukina came up with for now; you don't need to worry about the Jounin; I will deal with him or her."
"You two need to be careful of the Chunins; don't attack them head-on, try to catch them off guard instead."
"Now go and set the traps and be prepared for anything."
Zabuza and Yukina smiled and nodded at each other, then they quickly shunshin away and they started setting traps outside the village.
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