Escape from Konoha.

There was no longer any resentment or hostility in her eyes.

It was as if, after years of getting along, she had let go of her prejudice against the main family.

Good morning, Ayane.

Hiashi was not a deliberately cold person, a fact that both he and Ayane were well aware of.

But precisely because he is so gentle, he must project a serious and cold image.

His gentleness might be a disaster for the Hyuga clan and could also hurt others.

His gentleness had hurt his younger brother, Hizashi, so he didn't want Ayane, his maid who had followed him for years, to be hurt as well.

"I heard you're going on a mission?"

"Yes, Master Hiashi. I'm very sorry, I may not be able to serve you at your beck and call from now on."

Ayane bowed apologetically.

"It's alright, our Hyuga clan is also part of Konoha. Don't worry, your Jonin leader, Hatake Sakumo, is an excellent ninja."

It was as if Japan knew something.

"Was it young master Hiashi who requested this from the clan head?"

Ayane's pure white pupils held a gentle, unblemished color.

Japan did not respond.

He brushed past Ayane with a calm expression.

Ayane checked the time; it was almost time to gather, and she prepared to leave.

"that……"

The Japanese man's voice came from behind.

Ayane turned her head and looked at Hiashi with a puzzled expression.

Hiashi didn't turn around; his back was to Ayane.

Please take good care of yourself.

After saying this, Hiashi suddenly quickened his pace and disappeared at the end of the corridor.

Unlike those cold and arrogant main families, Hiashi always had a soft spot in his heart.

Ayane smiled gently, seemingly having heard Hiashi's words, yet also seemingly not having heard them at all.

She tied her headband to her forehead, her long, black hair cascading down. She paused in the corridor for a moment, then lifted her foot and walked towards the outside of the Hyuga clan's territory.

"I don't deserve to be treated like this by you, Master Hiashi." These were the words that remained in her heart.

◎

After yesterday's exorbitantly priced barbecue, the atmosphere in the team is now quite harmonious.

Sakumo had also learned a bit about the three members of the team.

Chiba Shiraishi is a medical ninja. We haven't seen much about his personality yet, but overall he's a typical ninja. However, his profession as a medical ninja adds a lot to his appeal.

Hinata Ayane, born into a branch family of a wealthy clan, has a gentle and considerate personality, with an occasional hint of mischievousness, reflecting the lively nature of young people. Most importantly, she has an enormous appetite.

Uchiha Ruri, a genius of the Uchiha clan, judging from their brief exchange yesterday, her skills are already comparable to those of a typical Jonin. One more thing to note: she's rich.

In the eyes of Shiraishi and the other two, the ninja known as Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sakumo, was easygoing and not at all as cold and ruthless as people had made up in the rumors. He was also a poor guy who couldn't even afford to buy barbecue.

The shame of a Jonin.

After all, the difference between the truth and the rumors is always huge, and it became very easy to get along with Sakumo. Sakumo didn't have the airs of a Jonin at all and could communicate with anyone on an equal footing.

At 10:00 AM, the members of Sakumo's squad gathered at the main gate of Konoha Village.

"I just accepted an A-rank mission from the Hokage. Let's use this to practice."

Shiraishi's lips twitched; he knew this squad wasn't on a regular mission.

By practicing with A-rank missions, Shiraishi could already sense the bleak future of his mission career.

It's probably too late to back out now.

Let's go.

Seeing that the three of them had different expressions but were all obediently following instructions, Shuo Mao nodded and disappeared from the spot.

The three of them, including Shiraishi, were quick to react and chased after Sakumo the moment he disappeared.

Because maintaining sufficient physical strength is crucial for long journeys, ninjas don't travel very fast, otherwise even a Jonin would be exhausted.

"Teacher Sakumo, what are the requirements for an A-rank mission?"

Seeing that neither Ruri nor Ayane showed any interest in inquiring about the mission details, Shiraishi took the initiative to speak.

Sakumo didn't hide anything: "Large-scale battles are taking place on the front lines. Our mission is to eliminate the enemy lurking in the Land of Fire. They frequently attack supply convoys transporting goods from Konoha and sabotage towns in the Land of Fire."

"Is it that serious? That means..."

Shiraishi had a vague idea of ​​what was going on.

"Ah, you guessed right. An A-rank mission can turn into an S-rank mission at any time, because even the Anbu can't completely track the whereabouts of those infiltrators. That's why we have a Byakugan ninja in the team. Our mission is to roam around the Land of Fire and eliminate every enemy that appears in the Byakugan's field of vision."

How many ninjas were among them, and how many of them were Chunin or Jonin, were all unknown.

This is also why Sakumo said that an A-level mission could be transformed into an S-level mission at any time.

Are we the only group here?

Liuli asked calmly, showing no fear despite the mission's content.

"Of course not, there will be a squad of secret agents cooperating."

The three of them nodded, feeling slightly relieved.

Having a team of covert agents to assist would make the work much easier.

The Anbu consists of a total of seventy people, with two captains and two vice captains. They serve as the Hokage's personal guards and generally do not go out on missions directly.

Below the commander-in-chief and deputy commander-in-chief, there are four detachments of secret units.

Each squad is led by a squad leader, and each squad leader has four platoons under their command, with each platoon consisting of four ANBU ninjas.

In other words, a squad leader plus sixteen ANBU members from four squads, for a total of seventeen ANBU ninjas, worked with Sakumo's squad to eliminate the lurking enemies within the Land of Fire.

The rest of the journey was silent. An hour after leaving the village, Ayane immediately activated her Byakugan to scan the surrounding environment for any enemies that might have infiltrated its detection range.

Ayane's Byakugan has a detection range of five kilometers in radius, a significant improvement over previous years.

Another hour later, Sakumo, who was at the front of the line, gave a stop signal.

The four landed and stopped in an open area.

"Let's rest here for a bit."

The most important thing for a squad is discipline. Since Sakumo is the captain, Shiraishi and the other two will naturally obey him unconditionally.

After sitting down, Sakumo said, "The area ahead is dangerous. We might encounter ninjas lying in ambush there at any time. The three of you all had excellent theoretical grades at school, so you should know the basic teamwork, right?"

"Are these the three principles of medical ninjas?"

Bai Shi asked.

Sakumo nodded.

The so-called Three Principles of Medical Ninjas were established by Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin.

First point – Medical ninjas must never give up on treating a team member before they die.

Second point – Medical ninjas cannot fight on the front lines.

Thirdly, medical ninjas cannot die before their squad members.

Therefore, it is not shameful for a medical ninja to avoid battle, nor is it shameful for a medical ninja to accept protection from others.

"Next, I'll be in charge of the advance. Ruri and Ayane, you two must stay by Shiraishi's side at all times. Even if there seems to be no danger around, you are not allowed to prioritize fighting. If you have to fight, Ruri, you will be responsible for engaging, and Ayane, you will be responsible for protecting him."

"Yes!"

Understanding and being able to do are two different things, but in this matter, Shuo Mao could only trust the cooperation between the three of them.

After resting for more than ten minutes, Sakumo led the three of them to continue forward.

As Sakumo said, going further ahead leads to dangerous areas where safety cannot be guaranteed, and battles could break out at any time.

"At one o'clock ahead, about 2,300 meters away, there are seven Sand Village ninja lying in ambush. Two are hiding underground, three are hiding behind trees, and the other two are hiding in the grass."

Suddenly, Ayane, who had kept her Byakugan active, shared the information she had observed.

"Follow."

Sakumo suddenly quickened his pace, running rapidly in the direction Ayane had pointed to, at one o'clock.

Under Bai Yan's keen insight, all ambushes and concealments were exposed to the light of day, leaving no room for escape.

The distance of 2,300 meters is not long, and it took less than three minutes to reach the enemy's ambush area.

"Sakumo-sensei, should we be careful...?"

Just as Ayane was about to say something, Sakumo had already disappeared from sight.

Under the Byakugan's detection, only flashes of blade light were seen before the chakra reactions of the five Sand Village ninjas vanished, turning them into cold, lifeless corpses.

Two others fled in panic toward them, probably terrified by Shuo Mao's sudden attack.

"There are two targets directly in front of us. They were sent over by the teacher specifically for practice. Let's just take them out with Fire Release."

Ayane sighed.

Bai Yan could clearly see where the enemy was coming from, how many targets there were, and what methods they would use to attack them.

This isn't a fight at all.

Liuli has already completed the hand seals.

Two enormous fireballs were spat out of its mouth in quick succession.

The two people fleeing towards this place never expected the fireball to arrive so perfectly, as if the timing was perfect, and they were turned into charcoal in the fireball.