Chapter 40: Rescue Mission with Rookie...6?
"Come on! Let's go join the others."
Shikamaru's words brought Daichi out of his thoughts. Choji, Naruto and Shikamaru quickly jumped and headed to the others with Daichi slowly following them. His mind was still on the failure part of the quest.
'Why is the failure part of the quest so severe? And why the hell is there a warning for this quest? What kind of a ripple effect will this quest completion have? Isn't that the case for all other quests? What's so special about this one?'
Daichi couldn't understand why this quest was different and had a warning unlike the ones he had so far. 'I thought Yota wasn't important but then why does rescuing him trigger such a warning?'
'Can I really complete this quest? Should I even accept this?' Doubt filled Daichi's mind as he landed near the group.
"Alright. Now that everyone's here, let's begin. If we're going to save Yota we need a plan." Shikamaru announced.
"Yeah." The other agreed.
"Ok. First we-..."
"Wait." As Shikamaru was about to begin, Daichi interrupted him.
"What is it, Daichi?" Kiba asked.
Daichi looked at everyone gathered. He took a breath before saying what was on his mind.
"Look. I want to save Yota too. But before we begin, are you sure about this? Have you guys thought this through?" Daichi asked them.
"What do you mean?" Choji asked.
"I mean we're about to go up against Anbu ninjas from our own village to save someone not from the Leaf. Once we do this, we'll be in big trouble." Daichi explained to them. He could see the faces of some get slightly angry after hearing him.
"Are you saying we should just let Yota be imprisoned? I thought you cared about him." Naruto exploded in anger.
[Reputation slightly decreases with Naruto.]
"I do care about him! I'm not saying we should just leave him to his fate and let the Anbu do whatever they want. But right now we need to consider things from their perspective too." Naruto got angrier as he listened and he was about to walk over and punch Daichi but Shikamaru held up his hand stopping him.
"What exactly are you saying Daichi?" The young Nara asked.
"The tensions between the Leaf and the Stone village are high. And this in-turn has increased tensions between the 5 great nations. I'm sure you've heard that a spy was captured some time ago during an incident"
"Yeah" Shikamaru slowly nodded.
"My grandpa told me that small border skirmishes have been happening around the fire country for a while and things have gotten somewhat intense. The Jonin and Anbu are on high alert for any spies or intruders trying to infiltrate the village. If we cause a commotion during a time like this, we would be in serious trouble." Daichi explained his thoughts.
"But Yota isn't a spy or a threat to the village. He's just a poor lost kid looking for some friends to play with." Ino said to Daichi.
"I know that! And you do too.! But the other people in the village don't If we do this, and we fail, Yota will still be captured and we could even lose our place in the academy. We might never be ninjas. Or maybe even worse" Daichi paused for a moment and looked at everyone.
"Look I'm just saying this so you guys know the risks of what we're about to do." Daichi said his piece. For the first time, he wasn't sure about taking a quest or not.
They listened to Daichi and understood where he was coming from. But they still couldn't accept it.
"Daichi!" Shikamaru stepped forward. "Do you believe Yota is a spy or a threat to the village?" He asked.
Daichi looked at Shikamaru. After a couple seconds of silence he answered. "No. I don't."
"I'm going to save him. Those of you who don't want to come with me can stay here." Shikamaru said in a resolute voice.
"I'm coming too! I don't care what happens to me. I'm gonna save him." Naruto joined him.
"Same. Yota is no spy."
"And he was fun to hang around with." "Arf."
Choji and the Kiba-Akamaru duo made their decision as well. The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))
"We're coming too." Ino and Sakura chimed in.
"Well looks like the 6 of us are ready. What about you Daichi? Coming or staying?" Shikamaru asked.
He didn't know why, but as Daichi looked at everyone's faces and saw their determination, a grin slowly widened on his face.
"Reckless fools! Guess nothing I say will change your mind We're gonna get in so much trouble for this." Daichi answered them with a wide grin.
[Reputation slightly increases with everyone here.]
"Yeah we probably are" Shikamaru smirked as well. "Alright. Here's the plan"
As Shikamaru was laying out his strategy, Daichi looked at the quest box. He accepted the quest hoping and praying that nothing would go wrong.
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All of them got ready to make their move. Shikamaru weaved the hand seals and his shadow extended, swiftly connecting with the shadows of the three Anbu.
"Shadow imitation jutsu successful!" He smirked as he got out of the vents and stood looking at the ninjas.
Daichi quickly stepped up behind him and several shuriken appeared in his hands. He aimed them at the light high above them and let them fly without wasting any time. All of them hit their marks and within seconds small glass debris was raining down on the ground.
"Nicely done you guys!" Ino cheered for them.
"Yota! Hey! We're here!" They called out to their friend. Yota saw them coming and became happy.
"You guys! You're here!" He smiled seeing his friends.
The academy students ran towards Yota and quickly reached him.
"You're amazing Shikamaru." "Arf."
"Yeah. You caught real ninjas with your technique."
Kiba and Ino praised him for his success.
"Oi! Oi! Don't go celebrating. We just got lucky. We caught these guys off guard."
Daichi was the one who said it. Unlike his friends who were looking at Yota, Daichi had his eyes firmly fixed on the 3 Anbu in the room in case they made any moves. He used 'Observe'.
[??] [Asashi Bokta]
???
[??] [Jiro Itsuki]
???
[??] [Riku Sota]
???
'Of course I can't read them! Their levels must be too high. Why did I even bother?'
"He's right. You greenhorns just got lucky." The cold tone in which the Anbu ninja said it, sent shivers down the student's spine. Even though he was a little scared, Shikamaru didn't let go of his jutsu.
"You're interfering with village security matters."
"We won't show mercy to anyone who acts against the interests of the village. Even if they happen to be kids."
"This boy could well be a spy sent here to infiltrate and learn about the village."
The three elite ninjas started releasing their killing intent. It was the first time Ino, Shikamaru and Kiba experienced killing intent. To them the presence of the three ninjas changed and they were terrified.
[You have sensed killing intent.]
[You have sensed killing intent.]
[You have sensed killing intent.]
[Skill Danger Sense's level has risen by one.]
Due to the Gamer's Mind being turned off, Daichi was experiencing emotions at a much higher level. So the killing intent he was feeling now was much greater than what he had experienced before. The words the masked ninjas said also frightened him.
'Is this what it means to be a ninja? To do whatever it takes for our own, no matter how cruel or vicious we have to be to others?'
At that moment a conversation he had with Kensei during their visit to his son's grave came to Daichi's mind. He remembered the words his grandfather had said.
"The leaf village isn't the center of the world."
"I saw teammates killing teammates to keep the secrets from spreading on the orders of the higher ups."
"There is no right or wrong. Only those with strength can make their own path!"
It was at that moment Daichi noticed his classmate's expression. They were terrified. Due to experiencing such killing intent Shikamaru couldn't keep up his technique and released it.
Even though Daichi knew he was living in a dangerous world where the people could be cruel and merciless, this was when he truly understood that fact. A new emotion bloomed in Daichi's heart. And seeing the scared, helpless faces of his friend's, that emotion only intensified.
Overwhelming Rage.
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Author's Note:
Hit me up with some power stone guys. Let's get this story up the rankings.