Chapter 53: Enemy Elimination Mission
Hyuga Mirai's squad had only been on patrol for two days when they received a new mission.
They were to coordinate with other squads to find and eliminate all Sand Ninja reconnaissance teams outside; after completing the mission to clear out the enemies, they were to proceed to a designated location to ambush and kill any Sand Ninja fleeing towards them.
After Jonin Byakugan explained the mission in detail, he appointed Sarutobi Hisashi as the captain for this mission.
Sarutobi Hisashi is a Special Jonin from the Sarutobi Clan, skilled in Corpse Body Technique and swordsmanship, possessing the lethality of an Elite Jonin in close-quarters combat, but he has some shortcomings in Ninjutsu and Genjutsu.
Special Jonin are like that; they are outstanding in a particular ability, even reaching the Jonin standard, but their weaknesses are also very obvious, making them easy targets for enemies.
However, Special Jonin are still rare combatants in Konoha. Official Jonin already have the right to participate in the Konoha Great Council, Special Jonin are a bit less, but their status is higher than Chunin, and they can become Jonin at any time after making up for their shortcomings.
This time, Sarutobi Hisashi was leading three Genin subordinates, Hyuga Mirai's squad, and another Chunin squad to execute the mission together.
In the ten-person team, there was only one Special Jonin, Sarutobi Hisashi, four Chunin, and the remaining five were Genin; however, these five Genin were not recent graduates from the Ninja School, but Genin who had been on missions for two or three years and had good teamwork.
These Genin, after several years of missions, could all use one or two C-rank Ninjutsu, and combined with Shuriken and Kunai, they could unleash quite impressive power.
After mutual introductions, Sarutobi Hisashi warned before departure:
"Everyone, although this is a temporary mission, everyone must obey my orders during the mission. If there is any disobedience or arrogance that leads to not following orders, then the failure of this mission will fall upon that person."
Before the mission even began, Sarutobi Hisashi hinted at a warning, and as for who he was referring to, it was clear from the obvious displeasure on Hyuga Kiyomi's face.
The other team was just an ordinary Chunin squad, three civilian Ninja without background, who usually completed mostly C-rank missions.
And Hyuga Mirai's team consisted entirely of eleven-year-old Chunin: a genius from the Hyuga Main Family, a famous Medical Ninja from the branch family, and a girl exceptionally skilled in Genjutsu.
Graduating at six, becoming Chunin in just a few years, and being able to perfectly execute B-rank missions even after their Jonin team leader left, they even excellently completed an A-rank reconnaissance mission a few days ago.
Hyuga Mirai's squad was already quite famous in Konoha, and unlike Kakashi's unsociable nature, Hyuga Mirai's three-person squad, in a sense, could already be compared to a typical Jonin squad, it's just that Sarutobi Hisashi didn't know them very well.
In Sarutobi Hisashi's eyes, having such geniuses under his command was not a good thing. The more talented they were, the harder they were to get along with. Such geniuses had very strong ideas of their own. He had a good friend who had been Kakashi's teammate, and the result of their interactions was naturally hard to describe.
Hyuga Mirai stepped forward, blocking Hyuga Kiyomi, and said with a smile, "Captain Sarutobi is right. During a mission, we naturally must obey the captain's orders, with everything focused on the mission."
"That would be for the best."
Sarutobi Hisashi gave Hyuga Mirai a faint look. He suddenly felt that this young man was unusually steady, without the arrogant spirit typically found in other young geniuses.
"Let's discuss the mission now. We have two long-range reconnaissance Ninja, and the target location is this, so..."
Sarutobi Hisashi quickly pulled out a map and slowly explained his intentions based on the mission.
A ten-person squad, one Special Jonin and four Chunin, with a complete set of Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Medical Ninja. When encountering an ordinary Sand Ninja reconnaissance squad, they could completely wipe out the opponent.
After arranging the actions, Sarutobi Hisashi looked up at Hyuga Mirai and the other squad leader, signaling to ask for their opinions.
Although he was the captain of this operation, it was best to discuss mission actions with the other two teams.
"I have no objections, Captain Sarutobi's plan is fine," Hyuga Mirai said after some thought. Sarutobi Hisashi's action plan could be described as cautious; although it might be a bit slower, it was unlikely to lead to errors during execution.
"I have no objections either," said the Chunin captain of the other squad. They had completed many C-rank missions, but this was their first war-related mission.
"Since that's the case, let's proceed in a bird formation. Depart!"
At Sarutobi Hisashi's command, the three squads immediately dispersed. Hyuga Mirai's trio acted as the vanguard, responsible for both reconnaissance and engaging the enemy.
Subsequently, Hyuga Mirai's trio proceeded directly along the pre-arranged route, leading the way.
...
"Hmph, Ninja from the Sarutobi Clan are really annoying!"
During their advance, Hyuga Kiyomi couldn't help but speak.
The targeting just now was too obvious, and the two sides had no prior contact. That guy just put a label on them, so it was no wonder Hyuga Kiyomi was annoyed.
Hyuga Mirai comforted her while on the move: "It's nothing, after all, Kakashi's unsociable reputation has almost spread throughout Konoha's mission squads recently. As graduates from the same year as him, we must have been implicated."
Someone ahead!
Hyuga Mirai's Byakugan immediately detected three Sand Ninja, eight kilometers away, directly on their path.
However, Hyuga Mirai remained calm, waiting until they were within three kilometers, when Hyuga Kiyomi would naturally alert them.
After advancing a bit further, once the Sand Ninja entered the range of Hyuga Kiyomi's Byakugan, she immediately alerted: "Enemies ahead, southwest forty-five degrees, 3.3 kilometers, three Sand Ninja."
"Kurenai, signal!"
Kurenai Yuhi nodded at the words: "Understood." She then took out a long-range walkie-talkie, opened the communication channel, and immediately transmitted the intelligence.
With the news of encountering enemies transmitted, Hyuga Mirai stopped advancing and waited in place for the other two squads to approach.
When Sarutobi Hisashi and the other team arrived at Hyuga Mirai's location and heard the intelligence about the Sand Ninja ahead, Sarutobi Hisashi immediately devised a kill plan, making slight adjustments to the ten-person team to ensure that the Sand Ninja could not break through from any direction after being surrounded from three sides.
After all, the other team was weaker. If the Sand Ninja made them a breakthrough point, it was very possible for one of them to escape in desperation.
After the plan was set, Hyuga Mirai's group split into three teams, surrounding the Sand Ninja from three directions.
Sarutobi Hisashi acted as the main attacker and the one attracting the Sand Ninja's attention. The true killers were Hyuga Kiyomi, skilled in Taijutsu, and Kurenai Yuhi, skilled in Genjutsu, while the others used Ninjutsu and Kunai with Exploding Tag as distractions.
The fight must be resolved within two minutes.
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