Madara pulled a black sheet of paper from his robes and handed it over.
A Black-Rank mission? Xuan thought as he took it. A Black-Rank mission meant it was a Jōnin-level assignment. No wonder Madara had come looking for him.
After reading the mission briefing, Xuan frowned slightly. "Did the Clan Head really issue this to you?"
Madara suddenly looked very intently out the window, pretending to admire the scenery, and didn't answer.
"This is going to be a bit troublesome," Xuan said seriously.
Seeing that Xuan was finally willing to discuss the mission, Madara dropped the goofy act. Returning to his usual serious demeanor, he nodded. "But nothing the two of us can't handle, right?"
Xuan shot him a look. "I haven't agreed to go with you yet. First, tell me how exactly you got your hands on this mission. I don't believe the Clan Head would assign something like this to you."
Madara shrugged. "It's simple. The clan's manpower is stretched to the absolute limit. We've been at war for a month now, and the pressure on both fronts is massive. It's especially bad on the Hyūga front. That old bastard Hyūga Tennin personally took command and has led their forces to assault our main defensive line at least fifteen times. They nearly broke through a few times; the situation is not optimistic. Father is even planning to deploy to the front lines himself if things deteriorate any further.
"Every single Jōnin stationed at the compound has already been dispatched on missions. We are severely short-handed. Father originally didn't want to give this to me, but after I begged him a few times—and considering he literally has no one else left to use—he finally handed it over."
Xuan nodded, accepting the explanation, and turned his attention back to the mission slip.
The brief was relatively straightforward. The Hyūga had been besieged for a month and were starting to get desperate. Although their remaining food reserves were currently sufficient, they were planning for the long term. Using Tennin's fierce assaults on the Uchiha defensive lines as a distraction, they had managed to slip several operatives past the blockade. These operatives were now scattered across the Warring States, desperately trying to purchase and hoard grain. This specific mission reported suspected Hyūga activity in the southern region of the Land of Fire, and the clan needed someone to investigate it.
"The Uchiha have blockaded every single road leading into Hyūga territory. Even if they manage to buy grain, how are they planning to transport it inside?" Xuan asked.
Madara's voice darkened. "The sky. There is a faction in the Warring States called the Nohara clan. They possess a unique chakra that allows them to communicate with animals. The Nohara once received a massive favor from the Hyūga. As long as the Hyūga operatives deliver the grain to them, the Nohara can use massive flocks of birds to airlift the supplies right over our blockade. Aside from a handful of highly specialized Ninjutsu, birds flying at high altitudes are completely out of our attack range. Actually, they already managed to pull this off twelve days ago, though the amount of grain they airlifted that time wasn't very large."
Xuan rubbed his chin, rapidly processing the tactical implications. "Why not just exterminate this Nohara clan? Isn't complete eradication the Uchiha's standard operating procedure? Are they too strong?"
Madara smiled bitterly. "They aren't strong, but their territory is too far away. With the clan fighting a brutal two-front war, we simply don't have the spare military capacity to open a third theater of war."
"What about the Hyūga operatives who slipped out? What exactly is their combat strength? Intel should have that figured out, right?" Xuan nodded, pivoting to the main issue.
"The strongest among them is a Peak Jōnin. Aside from him, there are three Elite Jōnin and seven standard Jōnin, all scattered across the continent," Madara stated calmly.
"How do we confirm the rank of the guy operating in the south? If he turns out to be an Elite Jōnin or that Peak Jōnin, the two of us are not going to have a good time," Xuan analyzed. With his current strength, he was fully capable of hunting a standard Jōnin. But an Elite Jōnin would be pushing his limits, unless he ambushed them with a sudden, point-blank Kamui for an instant kill. And unless absolutely necessary, he didn't want to expose Kamui as his trump card just yet.
"That Hyūga Peak Jōnin is the clan's highest priority target. His trail has already been discovered, and the clan deployed one of our own Peak Jōnin to hunt him down. We also have confirmed the locations of two of the three Elite Jōnin. The whereabouts of the final Elite Jōnin are unknown, but our strategists strongly suspect he infiltrated Senju territory. There is an over eighty percent probability that the operative spotted in the south is just a standard Jōnin."
Xuan shot him a side glance. Madara had clearly done his homework on the intelligence front. He was dead set on completing this mission.
Madara had finally come to him for help with something other than throwing themselves into a massive battlefield meat grinder. Since this was just a targeted assassination, Xuan didn't feel like brushing him off this time. He handed the mission slip back. "So, what's your plan?"
Madara tucked the paper back into his robes. "The simplest plan, of course. I hate overly complicated, roundabout schemes. The two of us go together. The brief clearly states the suspected Hyūga Jōnin was sighted in the territory of the Yomu clan. They are a minor vassal of the Chiba clan. It's a tiny faction; their Clan Head's strength is only around the Jōnin level. We breach their compound and investigate the truth. Buying up massive quantities of grain isn't something you can keep a low profile on. Once we confirm it, we find the Hyūga Jōnin, kill him, and come home. Mission accomplished."
Listening to this "plan," Xuan was temporarily rendered speechless. As expected of Uchiha Madara, he thought dryly.
"Didn't you just say the Yomu are a vassal of the Chiba clan?" Xuan pointed out. "From what I know, the Chiba are not a minor faction. When I was hunting the Blood Ninja last time, I ran into one of their younger generation Jōnin. To be honest, his strength was pretty decent. Are you sure the Chiba won't intervene?" Xuan couldn't help but feel that Madara's entire plan boiled down to: Follow me and kill everyone.
Madara waved his hand dismissively with absolute arrogance. "They wouldn't dare. We taught them a bloody lesson twenty years ago, and they've only just recovered a bit of their vitality. The two of us are the greatest geniuses of the Uchiha's new generation. If they have the absolute gall to touch us, they will bring total annihilation upon their entire clan. Hmph. Besides, as long as we strike fast enough, the Chiba won't even have time to react."
Xuan chewed on the logic for a moment. He suddenly realized that while Madara's plan was incredibly crude and barbaric, as long as they moved fast enough, the success rate was actually alarmingly high. He mentally reminded himself not to underestimate Madara. Anyone who could stand alongside Hashirama Senju to pacify this chaotic era in the original timeline was a genuine strategic monster in their own right.
In that moment, he suddenly felt a strong desire to meet Hashirama Senju. He wanted to see for himself exactly what kind of freak of nature could actually suppress a maniac like Uchiha Madara.
Looking at Madara, Xuan thought silently, Soon. Madara is eight years old this year. The day he meets Hashirama isn't far off.
"When do we leave?"
The exact moment the words left his mouth, an emotionless voice chimed in his mind.
[Ding! Quest Triggered: Sabotage the Hyūga Clan's Grain Hoarding Operation and assassinate the Hyūga Jōnin. Reward upon completion: 10,000 Points. Penalty for failure: Deduction of 10,000 Points. If points are insufficient, the Host will be obliterated.]
A herd of alpacas instantly stampeded through Xuan's mind. Damn you, System! he cursed furiously. Can you at least give a warning before issuing these quests?! Every single time, it's out of nowhere! And you always threaten to obliterate me! If you threaten to wipe me out one more time, I'm going to chop you up for firewood!
Naturally, the System ignored his tantrum.
"Speed is everything in war. We leave right now." Madara stood up and practically dragged Xuan toward the door.
Having grown somewhat accustomed to his friend's forceful pacing, Xuan merely yelled over his shoulder, "Hotaru! I'm heading out for two days! Look after the house!"
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