"Fire Release: Impatiens Fire Jutsu!"
Mokgetsu quickly formed hand seals and used Fire Release Ninjutsu on Troy's corpse.
Boom!!
A barrage of small fireballs struck Troy's corpse, instantly blowing it apart and charring it black.
Mokgetsu wasn't being overly cautious; he just wanted to prevent anyone from recognizing the corpse.
Mokgetsu couldn't believe someone of Troy's caliber in Hidden Cloud could be a nobody. Defeating Oka Hime would merely show Sarutobi Hiruzen his actual combat level.
But if he defeated a ninja of Troy's level, it would be a different matter, as the strength he'd shown so far in Konoha Village wasn't enough for that.
After the sea of flames dissipated, Kakashi and Obito arrived at Mokgetsu's location to check the situation.
Seeing that Mokgetsu was handling two Jonin on his own, Kakashi joined Might Guy to assault the Hidden Cloud Ninja who was fighting Obito. Together, the three of them quickly resolved that opponent.
Worried something might go wrong with Mokgetsu, one of them stayed to guard the client, and the remaining two pursued Mokgetsu's direction.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, are you okay?" Obito asked hurriedly upon seeing Mokgetsu.
Kakashi noticed the charred corpse beside Mokgetsu and realized he had already taken down two Jonin. He reported:
"Teacher Mokgetsu, we have eliminated the Hidden Rock over there, but I have a feeling they weren't Hidden Rock Ninjas."
Despite the enemy dressing and wearing forehead protectors like the Hidden Rock, Kakashi noticed they all used Lightning Release instead of Earth Release, which seemed off to him.
The two Jonin used Lightning Release, and the Chunin also used Lightning Release. They seemed more like Hidden Cloud Ninjas than Hidden Rock Ninjas.
"Not only were those ninjas skilled in Lightning Release, but their skin turned even blacker after death. I suspect they used Transformation Jutsu to disguise themselves as Hidden Rock Ninjas," Kakashi concluded.
Mokgetsu smiled and answered Obito:
"The enemies have been dealt with, so I'm fine."
Then Mokgetsu nodded to Kakashi and said:
"Those Hidden Rock Ninjas were indeed unusual. Considering that both Hidden Rock and Hidden Cloud are at war with us, the Hidden Cloud Ninjas might be trying to escalate our conflict with the Hidden Rock."
"What, they're not Hidden Rock Ninjas? How treacherous of Hidden Cloud," Obito said, astonished.
He had been thinking of teaching the Hidden Rock Ninjas a lesson someday, but now it turned out the enemies were from the Hidden Cloud Village.
"Every ninja village has different Ninjutsu traditions. Hidden Rock mainly uses Earth Release Ninjutsu, while Hidden Cloud specializes in Lightning Release Ninjutsu," Mokgetsu explained, educating Obito on some ninja world facts.
"The Hidden Sand Village mainly uses Wind Release and Puppetry, while The Hidden Mist Village uses Water Release and Assassination Jutsu."
"And what about Konoha?" Obito realized Mokgetsu had left one out.
Slap!
Mokgetsu gave Obito a light flick on the forehead and said:
"Aren't you a Konoha Ninja yourself? Don't you know your own village?"
"Hehe, I'm still an intern, not a ninja yet," Obito chuckled, scratching his head. "I haven't met many ninjas, and everyone seems different."
"Konoha is quite varied; we use all kinds of Escape Techniques. However, you can identify them by their Ninja Clan, like the Uchiha, who generally use Fire Release," Mokgetsu explained, noting that Konoha's situation was different from other ninja villages.
Then Mokgetsu sealed the Hidden Cloud Ninjas into a Scroll to take back to Konoha.
For unexpected situations in missions, Konoha has policies in place. If the client withholds information, claiming no ninja threats when there are, the ninja can terminate the mission immediately.
If there was no client misinformation and they unexpectedly encountered hostile ninjas, the village could raise the mission rank and reward based on the number and strength of enemies during wartime. This funding comes from the village.
Mokgetsu estimated it would be challenging to identify the Jonin corpses as Jonin.
Both Jonin were killed horribly—one was unrecognizable from the flames, and the other was directly obliterated by Mokgetsu's Impatiens Fire follow-up attack.
But this was exactly the effect Mokgetsu wanted. What two Jonin? Clearly, it was one Jonin leading seven Chunin, though with so many Chunin, having a Jonin leader seemed reasonable.
"Everything is alright now, please go back to sleep," Mokgetsu called out to the tent where the client was.
"Thank you," Numata Yoshikane said, finally able to relax, although he didn't dare sleep too deeply, worried that trouble might arise again given the recent commotion and proximity.
Then Mokgetsu and his three students took turns keeping watch, getting through the uneasy night.
The following morning, Numata Yoshikane woke up according to his biological clock. Due to not sleeping well the previous night, he felt a bit dizzy and groggy.
Carefully, he avoided disturbing his wife and daughter, who were still sleeping, and quietly exited the tent. But he was stunned by the sight outside.
North of the tent was a lush and thriving forest, while south was a charred wasteland.
The fire had consumed all the greenery, leaving no trees with leaves, just blackened and bare branches scattered with ash and blackened wood—a post-apocalyptic scene.
"Is this the power of ninjas?" Numata Yoshikane swallowed hard as his worldview was drastically challenged.
He knew ninjas were strong, or he wouldn't have specifically gone to a ninja village to hire protection.
He thought their strength meant they could break trees with a punch or shatter rocks with Jutsu, not that his surroundings could transform from a forest into a furnace overnight.
Numata Yoshikane suddenly felt an inexplicable emotion: Are these ninjas, with such destructive power, truly of the same species as us?
"Good morning, Uncle!" Obito greeted Numata Yoshikane with a smile.
"Hmm, good morning," Numata Yoshikane replied, smiling in return.
After all, these were the ninjas protecting him; he could now stop worrying about safely reaching home.
On the journey ahead, they encountered no more ninjas, just some sword-wielding bandits, and they smoothly reached the Capital of the Land of Rice Fields.
"If I ever get the chance again, I'll definitely request you guys. You're so reliable," Numata Yoshikane said with a smile after returning home.
In Konoha, it's possible to request specific ninjas for a mission, provided those ninjas are available.
Mokgetsu smiled modestly and led his disciples away.
"Goodbye, big brothers!" the little girl waved goodbye to Mokgetsu and the others.
"Goodbye," Obito waved back excitedly.
"This mission was thrilling! I wish every mission was like this," Obito exclaimed eagerly on the way back, still exhilarated from the battle, particularly by Mokgetsu's combined Ninjutsu.
"What are you dreaming about? This was an exception upon an exception. Normally, this level of mission would be classified at least as A-Class," Kakashi shook his head.
Since he hadn't fought the two Jonin, Kakashi spoke conservatively, not sure of their exact strength.
"So what if it was A-Class? We still won," Obito declared triumphantly.
Kakashi sighed and said, "We won because Teacher Mokgetsu is exceptionally strong. Why are you so proud?"
In Kakashi's mind, the battle was quite dangerous. If their teacher weren't Mokgetsu but an ordinary Jonin, none of them might have survived.
"Why can't I be proud? Teacher Mokgetsu is my teacher, isn't his strength something to be proud of?" Obito tilted his head slightly and retorted.
"And when it comes to roles, I probably contributed more than you did. At least I held off one enemy. Without Teacher Mokgetsu constantly protecting you, you would've been finished."
Kakashi's eyes flickered, recalling that night's memories. Obito wasn't wrong; in that battle, he'd been a burden to Mokgetsu, who shielded him from many attacks.
"Would I protect my teammates like that if it were me?" Kakashi thought to himself.
If facing an unknown enemy's strength, with a teammate caught by an unknown Jutsu, he'd likely prioritize defeating the enemy and completing the mission over protecting his teammates.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, is your philosophy to protect your comrades?" Kakashi remembered what Mokgetsu had told him when they first met: a true ninja upholds their beliefs.