CH_5.1 (144): ARC-05!!!

CH_5.1 (144): ARC-05!!!

A big group of shinobi sat around in the thick bushes deep within the lush green forest that spanned hundreds of kilometers. They sat in silence, tending to their weapons, checking their ghillie suit, and applying face paint and insect repellent in preparation for the task that had made them travel so far from the Hidden Leaf village.

Nenro glanced at the three shinobi teams, including his, participating in the current mission. Until two months ago, he didn't believe he would be traveling outside the Hidden Leaf into a deep forest away from most civilization for a mission— usually, shinobi worked near towns and cities where their clients resided, but for the current mission, they had been hired to go deep into the forest.

The client?

Nenro looked to his front, where his friend Takuma sat on the ground with his legs crossed, observing a rough map of the area that they had drafted in the jungle itself in the past three days. Eight months back, Takuma had told them that he had been given the command of a small team in the Police Force, but if Nenro had been told that eight months later, Takuma would be recruiting him for a mission on behalf of the Police Force, he would not have believed it. After all, Takuma was an outsider in the Police Force, a genin at that; even if he was placed in a great position, there was a limit to the freedom he would have in the Uchiha home ground.

"Do you understand this, Masaaki?" Takuma said.

Nenro glanced to the right where Masaaki, his hometown friend, and roommate, was squatting and squinting down at the map.

"No," Masaaki replied.

Takuma didn't look bothered; instead, he asked Masaaki what he didn't understand and explained that part of the plan of action once more.

Nenro wasn't the only one, Takuma had contracted Masaaki as well to participate in the mission.

Technically speaking, the Leaf Military Police Force's jurisdiction encompassed all the Hidden Leaf shinobi— current and, in some cases, even retired— meaning no matter where the shinobi were, they could have a run-in with the Police Force if in suspicion of violation of the law. But, in reality, the Police Force only operated in the Hidden Leaf and some areas around it. They couldn't stretch their hands more than that as they didn't have any of the manpower to do it. The Uchiha was but one clan, and even with their allied clans, they only had enough people to cover ground inside the Hidden Leaf, which had the highest density of shinobi of any place in the world.

However, situations arose when the Police Force needed to operate outside the Hidden Leaf. In those cases, the Police Force would recruit shinobi to assist them, as generally, they couldn't spare officers for excursions outside the village.

This was one of those situations. Nenro and Masaaki and their respective teams had been recruited to aid the Police Force for a mission outside the Hidden Leaf.

"What do you think, sirs? Any suggestions that you would like to add?" said Takuma.

Nenro wasn't surprised that Takuma had recruited two teams, as there was plenty of precedent for it. The point of surprise was the composition of the two teams.

In the circle sat the chunin team leaders of Nenro and Masaaki's team. They observed the map as well and worked for the past three days to draft it and construct the strategy based on it, along with Takuma and all three teams.

It all started when Takuma came to Nenro and Masaaki with the proposition of a mission outside Hidden Leaf's borders. He told both of them that he needed two teams and had come to them because they were his friends. Takuma didn't just want them, he wanted one of the chunin Nenro worked under, and he wanted to exploit the Akimichi connection through Masaaki. He explicitly told them he needed a chunin leading their teams and wanted them to bring a chunin who wasn't arrogant jerks and would be willing to work together without their egos getting hurt.

Takuma hadn't told them any details about the mission; he wanted to meet the chunin before revealing anything. That wasn't common, but it wasn't strange— it was the Police Force, and they might want to keep details confidential until a few things were finalized.

He and Masaaki went to the chunin they liked working with and presented them with the possible opportunity for a mission collaboration with the Police Force. It wasn't difficult to get the chunin interested when the Police Force was involved, and it only took a few days to set up a meeting. They thought Takuma would be bringing a Police Force chunin to the meeting, but when they arrived, Takuma was the only one there.

Takuma looked up from the map and lightly shook his head. "Not my first B-rank mission, sir."

Everyone was surprised. Even Nenro and Masaaki.

Takuma continued, "I was involved in the Land of Frost incident. The investigation closed last year... they categorized it as a B-rank." Takuma chuckled, which sounded hollow to Nenro. "This will be my second... and I sincerely hope everything goes fine this time."

Nenro looked at Masaaki, who shook his head. Takuma hadn't told them that the investigation had closed.

Currently, the Land of Hot Waters and the Land of Frost were at war against each other; the latter being the aggressor. But the truth of the matter was much bigger— The Hidden Leaf was supporting the Hidden Steam while the Hidden Frost was being backed up by the Hidden Cloud. The Hidden Leaf and the Hidden Cloud were engaged in a proxy war against each other on lands foreign to both. The two great shinobi villages weren't officially at war against each other, but people understood that the two superpowers were currently going through a simmering conflict under the guise of supporting their smaller allies.

Nenro wondered if the Land of Frost incident factored into Hidden Leaf's current stance.

He would have to ask Takuma about the details later.

The sound of chimes sang, and immediately everyone stiffened up and took out their weapons. They had laid wire traps that pulled on bells to alert them in case someone approached vicinity. They could hear the sound of footsteps and the rustle of bushes, and the tension rose until they heard a sharp whistle that calmed everyone down.

A moment later, three genin appeared into view. One each from Nenro, Takuma, and Masaaki's team. They were the scouts.

"How was it?" Takuma asked his teammate, Minoru, a sensory-nin—a valuable asset to the team. Nenro was surprised when Takuma told Minoru he worked for him as part of his team. He realized he didn't know much about what Takuma did in the Police Force.

A valuable asset, thought Nenro as he looked around.

A B-rank mission was a huge thing for a genin, so when Takuma told the chunin he needed three genin each on their teams, it was clear that the chunin would try to sell the precious chance to have a B-rank mission on their resume to the highest bidder. It was an open secret, something Nenro was sure Takuma had anticipated.

Masaaki's chunin had brought along an Akimichi and a Yamanaka, while Nenro's chunin had brought along an Inuzuka and a Yuhi. On Takuma's side, other than Minoru, who was a civilian-born shinobi, he had purchased a Fuma and an Uchiha along with them.

Nenro was sure that if not for Takuma insisting that Nenro and Masaaki be on the teams, they wouldn't have been able to be part of something like this. For that, he was extremely grateful.

"It's time... the chunin is on the farm," Takuma announced as he stood up after taking in the information from scouts.

Nenro took in a deep breath before he stood.

He had been given an opportunity, he was going to make the most out of it.

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