Rest Tent
Inside the tent, one person was packing supplies, another was quietly reading a book, and the third was lost in evil thoughts, occasionally letting out a low, creepy "hehehe" laugh.
Taiichi finished stuffing his gear, then slapped Yohei on the back of the head to snap him out of his daydream. "That's your cousin, remember? Don't go too far."
Deep down, Taiichi was thinking about the future. No matter whether Obito ever defected or not, after all the "brotherly love" Yohei was showing him now, the second Obito awakened his Mangekyo he would definitely come looking for payback.
He was curious who would come out on top when that day arrived.
"I won't be around, so you're the strongest one here. Protect everyone and don't do anything stupid, got it?" Taiichi said as a final reminder.
"I know, I know. Why are you starting to sound like an old lady, Taiichi?" Yohei grumbled, straightening his rumpled clothes.
Still, Yohei was reliable when it counted. He listened to advice, especially when Saori was there to keep him in check. Taiichi felt comfortable leaving the team in their hands.
The two of them walked Taiichi all the way to the camp gate, where they ran into Kakashi's group saying goodbye to Minato.
Minato was giving them the usual mission warnings. No need to eavesdrop—they already knew the drill.
When they got closer, Taiichi called out, "Minato-sensei, ready to go?" He nodded politely to Kakashi, Obito, and Rin.
"Yep, Taiichi." Minato finished giving Kakashi a few last instructions, then turned to Yohei. "Yohei, I'm counting on you to keep an eye on Kakashi and the others for the next little while."
Yohei immediately remembered Taiichi's earlier warning and stood a little straighter. "No problem, Minato-senpai. We're all good friends."
After the goodbyes, Minato and Taiichi finally set out on their mission.
The current fighting between Iwagakure and Sunagakure was taking place inside Wind Country territory. Iwagakure had even built their forward base on the ruins of one of Sunagakure's old border outposts—an incredibly arrogant move that showed they didn't take Sand seriously at all.
Minato and Taiichi would travel from the Land of Rivers into Wind Country, then make their way to the actual battlefield from inside enemy lines.
"Minato-sensei, for this mission—should we operate together or split up?" Taiichi asked while they ran.
"If you hadn't learned Flying Thunder God, I would've said we stick together. But now…" Minato turned and flashed that same warm smile. "Splitting up will be way more efficient."
"Same thought here. Let's separate once we reach the battlefield."
Because they had to avoid Sunagakure's patrols, they couldn't push their speed too hard. It took them two full days to reach the edge of the war zone.
"Taiichi, this is where we split," Minato said.
"Got it." Taiichi pulled several bottles of medicine and a custom Flying Thunder God kunai from his pouch and handed them over. "These are special antidote pills, soldier pills, and hemostatic pills. And this is my Flying Thunder God kunai. Keep it on you in case of emergencies."
Minato took the items. When he saw the words "With Me, Invincible" engraved on the kunai, he couldn't help smiling. Who would have guessed the usually calm and collected Taiichi had such a chuuni side?
He tucked the medicine and kunai away, then handed Taiichi one of his own "Sword of the Shinobi's Love" kunai. Now, as long as they stayed within range, they could find each other instantly if needed.
After one final equipment check, Taiichi still felt like something was missing. When he noticed Minato's headband, it clicked. Since this was a black-ops mission, they couldn't run around with Leaf symbols on their foreheads.
He was about to say something when he saw Minato already removing his own headband and stowing it.
As expected from a veteran elite jonin. Minato thought of things Taiichi, who relied mostly on raw power, would overlook.
Taiichi quickly took off his own headband and put it away.
That was when Minato noticed the green diamond seal on Taiichi's forehead. He recognized it immediately—it was almost identical to the one Lady Tsunade had. The Yin Seal.
Feeling Minato's gaze, Taiichi unconsciously touched his forehead. The slight raised mark confirmed what Minato was looking at.
"Tsunade-sensei taught me the Yin Seal," Taiichi explained, pulling out a bandage and wrapping it around his head to cover the mark. It was pretty eye-catching.
Minato nodded without comment. Taiichi already had massive chakra reserves. With the Yin Seal on top, he wouldn't have to worry about running out during this mission.
Once they were fully prepared, the two men split up and began their separate parts of the mission.
Land of Wind – One of the Iwagakure-Sunagakure battlefields
The site was close to a small oasis town. A minor skirmish had taken place here not long ago. A dozen or so bodies lay scattered across the sand—roughly half from Sand, half from Rock. Looked like a fairly even fight.
A few vultures were already pecking at the corpses, and more kept circling down from the sky.
These desert scavengers had a nose for death. Wherever bodies appeared, flocks of them soon followed. In no time at all, the corpses would be stripped down to rags and scattered bones.
Taiichi was hiding inside a ruined wall not far from the site. The battle had ended recently, so the winners should be coming back to clean up soon.
Sure enough, his sensing picked up three approaching shinobi. A quick check showed they were from Iwagakure.
As they drew closer, the trio noticed the vultures circling overhead and their expressions darkened.
The most annoying thing about fighting in the desert wasn't the constant battles—it was these damn birds. No one wanted to die and then have their corpse picked clean and eaten.
They picked up speed, but when they reached the site their rage exploded. A flock of vultures was already tearing into their comrades' bodies.
"Filthy animals!" the three Rock ninjas roared. They tried to drive the birds off while firing Earth Style: Rock Iron Cannon at them.
But their aim was terrible and the power was weak. Only one vulture got hit by concentrated fire and fell from the sky with a broken wing. The rest that were struck simply flapped higher into the air and kept circling, refusing to leave.
Taiichi watched from his hiding spot and shook his head. These three were clearly just cannon fodder—older shinobi stuck at genin level, sent to the front lines to do odd jobs. They couldn't even use a simple Rock Iron Cannon properly.
His sensing confirmed no more Rock ninjas were coming. Taiichi stopped hesitating. He had already planted several Flying Thunder God kunai around the bodies earlier. In the next instant he vanished from his hiding spot and reappeared behind the three Rock ninjas.
A single Great Breakthrough followed.
Dozens of razor-sharp wind blades tore through the air. The three Rock ninjas didn't even have time to react before the blades ripped across them, leaving them dead on the sand.
To hide his identity and stir up hatred between the two sides, Taiichi was deliberately using only Wind and Earth styles on this mission. It also gave him a chance to train those two natures.
After confirming all three were dead, he collected his Flying Thunder God kunai and prepared to leave.
But when he looked up at the circling vultures and then back at the bodies, he hesitated about burning the scene. In the end he decided against it.
Humans ate animals, animals ate humans—it was the cycle of nature. This was a battlefield. There was no room for that kind of sentiment.
This was Taiichi's third day on the battlefield. He had already witnessed seven or eight small clashes between Sand and Rock, but he had only been able to take advantage of a few of them. And the enemies he killed were mostly chunin and genin—small fry who barely affected the overall war.
Back at the hidden rest spot he had prepared earlier, Taiichi considered his next move. He couldn't join large battles without exposing himself, and small skirmishes weren't producing meaningful results.
After thinking it over, he decided to head for the Land of Birds. That was Iwagakure's rear territory. Hitting their supply lines there would be far more effective than killing a handful of low-level soldiers on the front lines.
Once the plan was set, Taiichi quickly ate some dry rations, rested for a short while, then disguised himself with a Sunagakure headband and slipped toward the Land of Birds.
Inside the Land of Birds he ran into quite a few small Sunagakure teams on reconnaissance and sabotage missions behind Rock lines.
Since Rock currently held the advantage, Taiichi didn't bother hunting them. But if any unlucky Sand ninjas stumbled right into his path, he didn't mind collecting a couple extra kills.
Take the lone Sunagakure jonin he had just run into, for example. In the past few days Taiichi hadn't encountered a single lone Rock jonin, but this Sand jonin had terrible luck and walked straight up to him.
What else was there to say? Body Flicker, short sword flashing— even a jonin caught completely off guard couldn't last more than a few moves before Taiichi took his head.
Looking down at the wide-eyed corpse, Taiichi could only shake his head. What terrible luck. I came here to cause trouble for Rock, and you just walked right up to me wearing a Sand uniform. Who else was going to die if not you?
It was just a small side note. Taiichi's real goal was to find and destroy Iwagakure supply points.
After two days of searching the Land of Birds, he finally locked onto a target—a small Iwagakure supply depot.
From his observations, it was guarded by roughly one platoon: two jonin, two special jonin, and the rest chunin. For a small supply point that was actually quite luxurious, but for Taiichi it was well within reach.
He found a hidden spot and used Earth Style to dig out an underground cave. He rested there, conserving his strength. When he saw through the ventilation hole that night had fallen, he slipped out and moved toward the supply point.
The moon was hidden behind thick clouds—a perfect night for an assassination. The land was pitch black.
Taiichi crept up to the outer wall. He had already scouted during the day and confirmed there were no sensory barriers or sensor ninjas.
He released his chakra sensing at low intensity, careful not to alert the jonin inside, and used the patrol routes and blind spots to slip inside completely silently.
He headed straight for the sleeping tents.
Inside the first tent were four Rock ninjas—clearly a squad. Using the faint light from outside, Taiichi moved silently to the one who looked like the squad leader.
Short sword already drawn, he clamped a hand over the man's mouth and slit his throat in one smooth motion. The Rock squad leader died in his sleep without a sound.
Taiichi moved like a ghost between the beds, his short sword harvesting life after life. Warm blood soaked the bedding and dripped onto the floor. The thick metallic smell began to spread through the tent.
He finished the first tent and slipped into the next—this one belonged to a special jonin squad.
Same routine, same ruthless efficiency. After killing the leader and two more squad members, the smell of blood could no longer be contained.
Outside the first tent, a patrolling Rock ninja suddenly stopped. He sniffed the air, his face twisting in horror. He yanked open the tent flap and found four corpses.
"Enemy atta—"
The loud cry shattered the night. A piercing alarm rang out across the entire supply point.
Taiichi's eyes narrowed. No more hiding.
The last target sat up in alarm, but Taiichi's short sword had already opened his throat.
After finishing the final man, Taiichi formed seals instantly.
Wind Style: Vacuum Wave.
Dozens of razor-sharp wind blades tore through the air, sweeping toward the last jonin squad's tent.
The powerful wind ripped everything in its path to shreds and finally exposed Taiichi to the Rock ninjas.
From the direction Taiichi had attacked, a series of agonized screams rang out. Only one Rock ninja staggered out of the wreckage, left arm missing, blood pouring from the stump. He was clearly badly wounded.
Looking at the handful of weaklings now surrounding him, Taiichi sneered and spoke in a rough, disguised voice. "I just walked in and killed more than half of you. Now there's only a few of you left, and instead of running you want to surround me? Pathetic."
---