Tall ancient trees reached towards the sky, and the forest was lush and green. The four of them quickly (shuttled) through the forest.
Yuhi Shinku introduced the mission this time: "Our destination this time is still the Land of Hot Water, but not at the border between the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Fire. Instead, it's at the border between the Land of Hot Water and the Land of the Moon."
The Land of Hot Water was located to the northeast of the Land of Fire. Passing through the Land of Hot Water led to the Land of the Moon, and then further on was the Land of Lightning. Their purpose of going to the Land of the Moon this time was to retrieve intelligence.
The five great ninja villages all had spies infiltrating each other, gathering intelligence on their opponents. Ninjas from each village would establish hidden strongholds in various places to pass on the intelligence collected by spies, and the villages would send ninjas to pick it up regularly.
And this C - rank mission had been assigned to them.
The time given by the village was relatively ample. According to what Yuhi Shinku said, they could play for a few days. This was also a kind of tacitly - approved benefit.
Of course, they didn't just play on the way. Yuhi Shinku taught them which places were suitable for setting traps and which places were good for hiding.
After all, only a tiny minority of ninjas would confront their opponents head - on and use powerful techniques. Most ninjas were accustomed to using poison and setting traps. This knowledge would make them more cautious when performing missions outside.
"It's quite common for a chunin to kill a jonin with poison. You need to learn to detoxify yourselves. Seisuke, you can't just know how to use poison but not how to detoxify. Lord Orochimaru is proficient in both using poison and detoxifying."
Only a small number of people knew that Orochimaru had accepted Seisuke as a disciple, and Yuhi Shinku was one of them. Moreover, apart from his own "Kekkei Genkai," the ninjutsu Seisuke usually used was the characteristic ninjutsu of Orochimaru. It was hard not to notice. Generally, anyone who had seen the Hidden Shadow Snake Hands could tell that Seisuke was Orochimaru's disciple.
"I know that, but Teacher Orochimaru hasn't taught me yet." Using poison was easy. Just let a snake bite. According to Orochimaru, detoxifying was also simple. Let a snake bite again.
He hadn't learned the method of using poison to counteract poison yet. To master this method, one needed very extensive knowledge. Ordinary people couldn't do it. However, under Orochimaru's instruction, Seisuke could detoxify weaker poisons. For toxins like those of the mountain - pepper fish, even Orochimaru himself found them tricky, let alone Seisuke.
Along the way, Yuhi Shinku instilled knowledge into the three young ones, but not too much. Too much would be counterproductive, and they needed time to digest it.
This time, without any goods to escort, the four - person team crossed the Land of Fire and entered the Land of Hot Water, hiding their identities as Konoha ninjas.
There were also ninjas from the Village Hidden in the Hot Water in the Land of Hot Water. This time, they were here to retrieve intelligence, so it was a matter of sneaking in quietly without making any noise.
They couldn't expose their identities. Such things couldn't be done out in the open.
On the way, they also encountered several Hot Water ninjas on missions, but they didn't seem to be very strong, not even as good as the three of them, who were genin.
Yuhi Shinku said, "The Village Hidden in the Hot Water is almost on the verge of collapse. I heard that the daimyo of the Land of Hot Water is planning to weaken the village and hire ninjas from other villages for future matters."
"Hiring ninjas from other villages would cost more, wouldn't it? And if a war breaks out, each village would act independently. It's impossible for them to spare the energy to protect the Land of Hot Water." Seisuke said, not understanding.
When a war came, everyone would only care about their own affairs. Who would care about others?
"Have you forgotten? There are also rogue ninjas and missing - nin! They're much cheaper than us regular ninjas. To survive, they'll take on some shady missions." Yuhi Shinku said.
"I see. Missing - nin are indeed short of money. But if it were me, I would never become a missing - nin." Seisuke said.
"Betraying the village is absolutely unacceptable." Yuhi Shinku said seriously. Although he knew that the three in front of him would never betray the village, he still said, "If any of you become a missing - nin, I'll hunt you down to the ends of the earth."
He said this, but deep down, he knew that the three of them would never betray.
Among the three, Asuma was the son of the Hokage. It was impossible for him to defect. He knew his own daughter well. She had been instilled with the Will of Fire since childhood, so she was the same. And Seisuke was Orochimaru's disciple, so betrayal was also out of the question. I'm afraid that before he could take action, Lord Orochimaru would deal with the traitor.
Seisuke smiled and said, "What's so good about being a missing - nin? Living a vagrant life, being hunted by the village with a bounty on your head, eating one meal and starving for three. A life like that is really not good."
Not everyone was like Orochimaru. After defecting, he could even establish his own ninja village, making that village earn money for him and provide research funds. Most missing - nin either worked alone or grouped up with missing - nin from other villages or rogue ninjas, doing dirty and dangerous jobs without any guarantee of living.
A small number of them joined some mercenary organizations, hoping to return to their villages and redeem themselves!
"It's good to have such thoughts. Everything is for the village, and we can even sacrifice our lives for it." Yuhi Shinku said seriously.
Speaking of missing - nin, Seisuke remembered that in a few years, Minato would become the Fourth Hokage, and soon after, Orochimaru would defect. He definitely wouldn't follow him out. What if one day Orochimaru took over his body? That would be troublesome.
He also needed to start making some efforts. Otherwise, when Orochimaru defected, his status in the village would probably plummet. He might even be monitored by the Anbu or ROOT when going out to buy groceries.
Orochimaru's defection was inevitable, and he himself had little influence. Even as his disciple, his suggestions probably wouldn't be of much use. He'd better gradually distance himself from Orochimaru after Minato became the Hokage.
...
It took them a few days to cross the Land of Hot Water and reach the border of the Land of the Moon.
The scenery of the Land of the Moon was also beautiful. Because it was close to the Land of Lightning, the terrain was mostly mountainous and canyon - like, with clouds and mist swirling around, a breathtaking sight.
The meeting place was in a dilapidated small town on the border of the Land of the Moon. Pushing open the door of an izakaya, Yuhi Shinku, who had transformed into an ordinary old man, sat at a table. He coughed three times in a row and said, "Alas, my body is getting weaker and weaker. Young man, bring me a cup of warm sake and three plates of side dishes."
Before long, he was full and called the waiter. Just as he was about to pay, he touched his pocket and found no money. The waiter got angry. "If you have no money, what are you drinking for! Get out of here right now!"
After saying that, he pushed and shoved Yuhi Shinku out of the izakaya and knocked him to the ground. Yuhi Shinku got up cursing and slipped into an alley. He said to the three hidden in the shadows, "We've got the intelligence. It's time to retreat!"
"Yes!"