The tenth day had arrived.
Takeshi and the others had reached the edge of the national border—undoubtedly the most dangerous part of the mission.
This location was extremely prone to ambushes by shinobi from Kumogakure and Kirigakure. Coincidentally, Konoha hadn't signed peace treaties with either of those villages.
"The traps have mostly been triggered. To fully restore them would probably take three days."
After inspecting the traps left along the border, Tokikan shook his head bitterly.
During these three days, if they encountered an attack, he wasn't sure if their team—one jōnin and three genin—could win, but he definitely knew whether or not he would survive.
Hearing Tokikan's words, Takeshi looked over at Hyūga Tokuma.
Hyūga Tokuma instantly understood Takeshi's meaning and activated his Byakugan to scan the surroundings.
After a while, he deactivated the Byakugan and shook his head at Takeshi.
Having the Byakugan was convenient—it saved him from climbing up and down trying to search with his naked eye.
"No enemies for now. Let's recover as best we can."
With that, Takeshi assigned Hyūga Tokuma to keep watch, Tokikan to work on resetting the traps, and followed Maruboshi Kosuke to review the tracking techniques their academy teachers had once taught.
Though he said "review," it was essentially learning it all over again.
Having poured all his energy into ninjutsu, Takeshi had never really paid attention to these "trivial side skills."
The war days were simpler and more brutal—see an enemy, throw a jutsu; don't see one, throw it in the general direction anyway.
Takeshi grumbled internally.
Isobu: Isn't this just being a dumbass?
Takeshi: Shut up, Isobu!
"Man, once this mission ends, I'm signing up for the Chūnin Exams. Say, Captain Takeshi, could you write me a recommendation letter?"
As night fell, Tokikan plopped down on the ground after a long day's work, grumbling while picking up his chopsticks.
"No way. Register yourself."
Takeshi rejected him flatly without hesitation.
At this time, the Chūnin Exams still followed the pre-war format—internal competitive selection.
As long as a genin completed enough missions, they could register on their own even without a jōnin's recommendation.
Only genin who hadn't completed enough missions required a jōnin's letter.
"Ugh, so strict."
Despite what he said, Tokikan didn't look surprised. It was as if he'd expected Takeshi's response, and his expression didn't change.
"But seriously, Kosuke-san, did you never pass a single Chūnin Exam?"
Turning his gaze to Maruboshi Kosuke, Tokikan seemed genuinely worried about ending up like him—a forever-genin.
"Me? Hahaha, I never registered for the Chūnin Exams for... various reasons."
A flash of sorrow crossed Maruboshi Kosuke's narrowed eyes, as memories of teammates lost due to his recklessness resurfaced in his mind.
Since then, he had vowed to remain a genin for life.
"Anyway, it's all in the past. No need to bring it up."
"Huh? Come on, tell us more—was it because the Chūnin Exams were too hard?"
"Hard? In my day, there wasn't even such a thing as the Chūnin Exams..." Maruboshi Kosuke shook his head helplessly.
Swallowing the last bite of rice in his bowl, Hyūga Tokuma ignored the others and stood up to resume watch duty.
"I'm full."
"Mm, thanks for your work. I'll relieve you soon."
Takeshi nodded, gazing at the nearby border line, calculating when he should make a trip to Kirigakure.
He had promised Isobu he'd take it to see some cute little boys. Besides, his plan to abduct underage Kirigakure shinobi had been in motion for years—he certainly wasn't going to give up now.
He knew that Haku and Kimimaro were about two to three years older than Naruto. He'd need to prepare everything within the next two years.
Of course, he'd need teammates—but not anyone from Konoha.
Should he choose Kakuzu or Pakura?
Pakura was out. That woman harbored a massive grudge against Kirigakure. Taking her would be a disaster.
If she flew into a rage and tried to kill the Mizukage, would he step in or not?
Kakuzu, on the other hand, had a much more stable temperament. As long as there weren't any financial disputes, everything would be fine. Plus, the guy had been active on the frontlines since the First Hokage's time—he probably knew a lot of classified information that Takeshi didn't.
That would be useful for future operations.
Oh, and he needed to inform his old man ahead of time—he didn't want to be dragged out in the middle of the night again for Wind Style sparring.
He also had to give a heads-up to Sakumo. Disappearing without saying goodbye and being branded a rogue ninja by Konoha would be bad.
Come to think of it, it really was quiet. No enemy encounters.
If it stayed this peaceful until the end of the mission, that would be great.
Thinking that, Takeshi finished eating and got up to take over watch duty from Tokuma.
...
The next day.
Just as Tokikan was pestering Maruboshi Kosuke to tell more stories about the Chūnin Exams, a flock of birds suddenly burst out of the forest nearby, drawing everyone's attention.
"Tokuma!"
Takeshi immediately turned to alert Tokuma, who activated his Byakugan the moment he received the signal.
"Enemy attack—approximately thirty people!"
Despite hearing the alarming number, Takeshi stayed calm. He ordered Kosuke to stay back with the two genin and guard their position while he advanced toward the enemy.
"Thirty people? That's not harassment—that's war!"
Tokikan panicked and rushed to check his traps, hoping they could slow the enemy down.
"Who are you people?!"
Takeshi quickly confronted the enemy's vanguard, flinging a Flying Thunder God kunai to block their advance.
The enemy wore no forehead protectors, and their gear was clearly disguised. Styles varied, and some even wore Konoha vests.
"A kid? Just kill him!"
One ninja—likely the leader—spoke, and the others immediately threw their kunai.
"Flying Thunder Kidney Strike!"
Seeing that they had no intention of communicating and instead launched a direct attack, Takeshi activated the Flying Thunder God Technique and began moving rapidly through the crowd, teleporting to the kunai he had thrown earlier.
Several enemy shinobi standing near the kunai let out howls of pain, clutching their waists as they fell.
"That teleportation is so fast!"
The enemy leader's tone grew panicked at the sight of his men collapsing in the blink of an eye. He drew his ninja blade.
"All at once!"
Clearly, they hoped to use sheer numbers to defeat Takeshi.
"Water Style: Water Swamp!"
One ninja spewed a large amount of water from his mouth, flooding the small area in front of them—waiting for Takeshi to step on it.
Seeing the water spread to his feet, even Takeshi—with all his flaws—could tell something was off.
He instantly threw another Flying Thunder God kunai toward the enemy's position.