Inside the Mizukage's office, Asuka stood calmly in front of the Third Mizukage's desk.
Behind the desk, the Third Mizukage rested his chin on his hands and spoke in a deep voice.
"Asuka, I called you here so late because I have an important mission for you."
Asuka remained silent, waiting for him to continue.
"Currently, Kumogakure has suffered repeated setbacks on the Sunagakure front. According to reliable intelligence from our spies, they intend to withdraw from that battlefield and shift their focus to war against Iwagakure."
The information surprised Asuka slightly. He hadn't expected the situation on the Sunagakure battlefield to be decided so quickly.
"Your mission this time is to infiltrate the Land of Lightning and gather as much intelligence as possible. This mission is highly confidential. You are the jonin I trust the most, so I've decided you will carry it out alone. With your strength, I believe you will complete it perfectly."
The Third Mizukage's words sounded like praise and trust, but the true intention was to suppress him. He deliberately didn't specify what intelligence Asuka should collect, giving the appearance of freedom. However, if Asuka failed to obtain valuable information by avoiding deeper infiltration for safety reasons, the Mizukage would have an excuse to punish or suppress him.
If Asuka chose to venture deep into the Land of Lightning to gather intelligence, he would inevitably face enormous danger. Once discovered, he would be relentlessly hunted by the ninja of Kumogakure. Even if he managed to escape back to the Land of Water, his strength would likely be severely depleted.
That was the Third Mizukage's calculation.
In his broader plan to suppress the ninja clans—especially those possessing bloodline limits—this mission served as another tool. Asuka had recently been gaining attention, and his strength was no longer something the Mizukage could ignore. Sending him on this mission was meant to weaken him.
Of course, Asuka could refuse the mission. But doing so would only give the Third Mizukage more opportunities to act against him.
Asuka understood this perfectly. Although the Mizukage often behaved as if he valued him highly, Asuka had long seen through his true intentions and had always remained cautious.
However, he had no intention of refusing.
Coincidentally, he had already been thinking about leaving the village for a while. Moreover, he had a feeling this mission might bring unexpected rewards.
After a moment of thought, Asuka replied calmly.
"Lord Mizukage, I accept this mission. However, I would like permission to study the Uzumaki clan's sealing jutsu to improve my strength."
Since the Mizukage had already targeted him, there was no reason not to take advantage of the situation. Besides, Asuka had long been interested in the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques.
Speaking of the Uzumaki clan, Kirigakure had played a significant role in the destruction of the Hidden Eddy Village. The Land of Whirlpools was a small country located between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water. As an ally of Konoha during the First Shinobi War, it had provided considerable assistance.
However, many nations feared the power of the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques. As a result, they secretly joined forces to destroy the Land of Whirlpools.
As the village closest to it, the Hidden Mist gained the greatest benefit from its destruction, seizing a large number of Uzumaki sealing techniques.
Hearing Asuka's request, the Third Mizukage pondered briefly before agreeing.
The sealing techniques of the Uzumaki clan were notoriously complex and difficult to master. In all the years since Kirigakure had acquired them, only a handful had ever been successfully learned. Therefore, the Mizukage didn't believe Asuka could master them in such a short time.
He summoned an Anbu ninja and ordered him to escort Asuka to the storage location of the sealing scrolls—but only granted him one night.
Asuka followed the Anbu to the archive room. The Anbu remained outside the door while Asuka entered alone.
Looking at the cabinets filled with scrolls, Asuka couldn't help but wonder how much effort Kirigakure must have invested in destroying the Hidden Eddy Village to obtain such a massive collection.
Calming his mind, he began reading.
His reading speed was astonishing. As soon as he finished one scroll, he immediately reached for the next.
This had been his plan from the beginning. With his mediocre talent for ninjutsu, mastering complex sealing techniques in a single night was impossible. Instead, he would memorize as much as he could first.
The sealing techniques recorded on the scrolls were extremely complex and difficult to memorize in a short period of time. Sealing jutsu were already considered the most difficult category of ninjutsu in the ninja world—and the Uzumaki clan's techniques were the most advanced among them.
That was precisely why the Third Mizukage had felt safe allowing Asuka to study them. He believed that even if Asuka tried, memorizing these techniques perfectly in such a short time would be impossible. With sealing jutsu, even the smallest mistake could lead to completely different results.
But what the Mizukage didn't know was that Asuka had been enhanced by several mutant abilities.
Recently, he had awakened the psychic mutant ability of Silver Fox, greatly strengthening his mental power and granting him near photographic memory.
As his mind entered a state of intense focus, the Uzumaki sealing techniques were imprinted into his memory one after another.
Time passed without him noticing.
In the blink of an eye, the sun of a new day rose in the east.
The Anbu guarding the door knocked to urge him to leave. Asuka stood up and walked out behind the Anbu, his steps slightly unsteady.
After an entire night of intense mental activity, even with his powerful recovery abilities, he felt exhausted. His head throbbed and felt swollen.
Once he returned home, Asuka collapsed onto his bed and fell into a deep sleep.
…
When he opened his eyes again, the sun was already high in the sky.
Asuka got up, washed briefly, prepared a nutritious lunch, and then began checking his equipment. Realizing that his supplies were running low, he headed to the Anbu base to replenish them.
As he walked through the corridors of the base, several Anbu recognized him and greeted him respectfully. Asuka responded to each of them with a polite smile.
After restocking all his equipment, he bid farewell to the Third Mizukage and departed.
Traveling alone allowed Asuka to move far faster than usual. At full speed, he reached the border of the Land of Water in no time. Without slowing down, he crossed the border and left the country behind.
When he next touched the ground, he was already near the border of the Land of Lightning.
Asuka carefully approached the border region. Hiding beneath a cliff, he used his heightened perception to observe the number and frequency of Kumogakure patrols.
Concealed in the shadows, he sensed groups of Cloud ninja constantly passing by.
He couldn't help but marvel at their strength. It was no wonder Kumogakure still dared to continue its war against Iwagakure despite setbacks on the Sunagakure front. Even their patrol units were formidable.
The strength of Kumogakure's patrol teams generally surpassed those of Kirigakure and were close to Konoha's standards. Calling them the second-strongest force in the ninja world would not be an exaggeration.
With the help of his powerful sensory abilities, Asuka avoided patrol after patrol and gradually infiltrated deeper into the border of the Land of Lightning.
However, just as he was about to move even deeper into the territory, his presence was suddenly detected by a sensory ninja from Kumogakure.
---------------Author---------------
Read 10 advanced chapter on
👉 patreon.com/Master_fic
U can read 10 chapters ahead just for 5$
Every 50 power stones= 1 chapter
Every 5 reviews = 1 chapters