Chapter 37: B-Rank Mission

After the incident of the Roran is over, all of us returned to Konoha.

I looked at my right hand which had that strange Fuinjutsu seal. For some odd reasons, the seal is visible only to me. I can only see the seal with my Sharingan. I feel uneasy with this unknown seal on my body as it continues to absorb my Chakra passively. I can't suppress this seal with Fuinjutsu and even if I seal my Chakra the 'Seal' will break the seal on my Chakra and start absorbing it again.

My Chakra reserves are almost at the level of Two-tails and this continuous absorbing of my Chakra doesn't affect me much. The only drawback being when I start to infuse more Chakra for a Jutsu, the Chakra absorption rate also increases leading to a rapid drain in my Chakra. I am helpless against this seal.

This unknown 'Seal' is still a cause of potential future danger and I can't afford such a risk. Even my Sharingan is useless against it. It is too complex to be deciphered by just my Three-Tomoe Sharingan and maybe I need Mangekyo Sharingan to figure out its secret.

As I am unable to do anything with it, I just left it to its own. Also just six months after me, Shisui graduated and joined a team. He also awakened his Sharingan on one of his mission. Most of the time Hiruzen will pair me with Shisui's Team for a mission and I began to like its members.

Shisui's team consisted of Shisui, Kazuko an orphan, and a civilian girl called Mami. Kazuko is a very cheerful guy who is also a genius in Ninjutsu. His parents died while on a mission and he grew up in an orphanage. Mami is a shy girl and she seems to have a crush on Shisui which he is unaware of. I tease Shisui as usual for how dense he is.

After the Roran mission, Minato-san requested for a rank promotion for both me and Kakashi to Jounin. But Hiruzen just promoted me to Chunnin and denied the promotion to Jounin by specifying various implications and such. He even made it clear that promoting Kakashi to a Jounin is an exception and Kakashi isn't ready for it.

Recently, the Iwa ninjas had a rise in suspicious activity at Land of Grass. Most of the Jounin are deployed there and this leaves Chunnins and Genins with many high-level missions. Many times, the difficulty of a mission for a genin team lead by a Chunnin even rises to B-Rank.

I am assigned as the temporary Chunnin leader of the Shisui's team and our previous mission happened to be a B-Rank. It was also during this mission that Shisui awakened his Sharingan directly with Two-tomoes. To be honest I was quite jealous of Shisui to directly awaken a two-tomoe Sharingan but the trauma that caused it conflicted my emotions.

Today, I am practicing with Shisui's team on their teamwork and co-operation during a mission. I have learned a lot of things from Minato-san about teamwork and I am trying to teach that to them. Recently, Minato-san and his team are too occupied at borders and even the Jounin Leader of Team Shisui is out on a mission. I don't know why but I never got to pair with any team after my first team retired.

As we were practicing, a summoning eagle starts to hover above us. Shisui and I quickly noticed the eagle as we hurriedly departed to Hokage's office.

As usual, when we enter the office, Hiruzen is smoking from pipe as he inhales a deep puff of smoke before he exhales it and places the pipe on the table.

"Izuna Uchiha and Team 4, today I have called you here for an urgent B-rank mission. Usually, the mission would have been handled in care of a Jounin but the unrest at borders had left us short-handed. So, this mission will be handled by your team and Izuna will be your team leader.

Now, here are the details of the mission. In recent years, various cases of illegal smuggling of weapons, minerals, and even jutsu scrolls have been spotted. Your mission this time is to locate and assassinate the leader of the organization and retrieve everything back. Keep in mind the involvement of Kumogakure Ninjas during the mission. Now, are there any questions?"

"Hokage-sama, there would likely be involvement of Jounin Level ninjas in such a mission. Isn't the rating of this mission too low." I questioned the specifics of the mission.

"You don't have to worry about that. The gathered information is accurate and had been verified by a reliable source. So, the assessment for this mission is indeed B- rank."

"It would be too presumptuous of me but may I ask the source of the information. After all, I need to make sure about the safety of my team during the mission."

"Well. You don't need to worry too much. The information is completely reliable as it is provided by one of the elders of the village who is also a close friend of mine."

'Fuck Danzo! Everywhere that pineapple head is involved, it reeks of trouble. I can safely assume that this mission will be A-rank or possibly S-rank. It is a suicide mission with no chance to return alive. Should I refuse the mission, but the village has a shortage of Ninjas courtesy of Danzo. Anyway, let's take this mission. I can easily face a Jounin on my own.'

"Ok! Hokage-sama we will accept this mission."

"Very well, here are the rest of the details of the mission and this is the information of our spy whom you can contact for further information. Keep this file a secret and don't leak any information about the spy to anyone."

"Yes, Hokage-sama." All four of us reply in unison as we flicker out of his office.

"Meet me at the village entrance in an hour. Prepare your stuff, tools and we will depart for the mission."

After an hour all of us departed for the Land of Hot Water as I start to further brief them up on the details of the mission.

"Our target this time is the leader of an underground organization called 'Claw'. His name is Wakano and he is a middle-aged man with a scar over his right cheek right up to his neck. He is a fat-bellied man."

I show them the picture of Wakano as I continue,

"His base of operation is in Takeshi Village which borders Land of Frost. His right hand and left-hand man names are Kobe and Benjiro respectively. They are your general hoodlums and nothing to be wary of. But the real trouble is the ninjas from Kumogakure. I suspect that many jounins are involved in this mission. So, this mission is likely an A-rank mission at the least."

"Yes, I have a similar gut feeling. Izuna nii-san." Shisui chimes in.

"We should take every step cautiously during the mission as any small mishap can cost you your life. I assume all of you have brought the antidote of poisons with you, just in case the enemy uses them."

"Yes, we are all ready Izuna nii-san." All of them speak in unison.

We continued our journey towards the Takeshi village. It took us three days to arrive at the village. At the entrance of the village, all of us changed our appearance to match that of merchants with a simple transformation jutsu. We don't want anyone to get suspicious of us and warn Kumo Ninjas and Wakano's man. I even cloaked us in an illusion technique to appear more realistic.

"Now, it is time for us to gather information about the underground gang. After we confirm the information, we will meet with the spy to ask for further information. Shisui and Mami, both of you will move together on one side of the village. Me and Kazuko will move towards the other side of the Village. Right after three hours, gather at the same spot."

We enter the streets of Takeshi village to gather information.

"Izuna nii-san, where do you want to go first to gather information?" Kazuko questioned me.

"Let's go to a tavern or bar for information. These hoodlums are typically fond of alcohols and they will occasionally visit such a place to drown themselves in alcohol. We can also hear most of the rumors circulating the village. Maybe, some of the news might provide us some clues about the whereabouts of the 'Claw'."

Kazuko nods to me as we move towards a nearby tavern. I activate my Sharingan and cover it with another illusion as we walk towards the tavern. We enter the tavern, as I order some food for both of us to eat.

The owner of the tavern is a fat guy with a large mustache and a thug look. He has a centipede-like across running horizontal across his head. I scan his body with my Sharingan to check for any transformation or other clues.

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