Chapter 210: The Raikage Is Here
Sankawa Town lay in the western region of the Land of Rivers. As Mugetsu led his disciples there, he could clearly feel the change in the environment. The lush forests common in the Land of Fire had grown sparse, and the vegetation here was far thinner.
"The scenery here is pretty unusual," Obito said with interest.
After seeing endless greenery in the Land of Fire, this barren terrain felt refreshing.
"If we go a little farther west, we can even see the desert—but let's complete the mission first," Mugetsu said with a small smile.
He had no interest in living in a desert, but seeing one for the experience wasn't a bad idea.
"Perfect! We'll finish the mission and then go sightseeing!" Obito said, a spark of excitement in his voice.
"It'd be great if I had a camera," he added suddenly. "I could take pictures to show Rin."
Obito sighed inwardly. He wanted to do A-rank missions every day to earn more money, but his funds were limited. Cameras weren't cheap, and while he had earned some from missions, much of it had gone to the gift fund for Teacher Mugetsu and to his grandmother.
Upon arriving at Sankawa Town, Mugetsu and the others met the client to gather details about the mission.
The client was a middle-aged man in his forties. From his words, Mugetsu could tell this mission had been commissioned through collective funding from the townspeople and nearby villages.
"These bandits have been plundering our town and the area around Siya Mountain for months," the man said with a sigh. "But their movements are strange. The last time we hired samurai, they couldn't even find them and came back empty-handed."
"Don't worry, Uncle! We're ninja—much stronger than samurai. Dealing with bandits is easy!" Obito said confidently.
The man studied him closely, suppressing a sigh. The boy looked far too young—naïve and unreliable, like a child playing ninja. Among them, only the masked one who kept silent seemed dependable.
"We'll handle it quickly," Mugetsu assured with a calm smile.
To him, a group of bandits was nothing. No matter how well they hid, none could escape his Byakugan.
"Then I'll trouble you, ninja-sirs. Please take care of it quickly. We're safe here in town, but the villages near Siya Mountain live in constant fear," the man said, bowing deeply.
Following his directions, Mugetsu and his students made their way to Siya Mountain, not far from Sankawa Town.
The mountain was steeper than the one they'd climbed in Kawakita Town. To ordinary travelers, it would seem dangerous—but for ninja who could run along walls and ceilings using chakra, it was hardly an obstacle.
Upon reaching the area, they noticed faint traces of human activity but saw no one.
"Did the bandits go out to plunder again?" Guy asked, looking around in confusion.
"There are people here," Mugetsu said, shaking his head. "They're just hiding."
He could tell these bandits had received a warning in advance and had dispersed to avoid detection. Against ordinary ninja, that might have worked—but not against someone with Byakugan. Mugetsu had been quietly scanning the mountain from the start.
"Something's off," Kakashi muttered. "They hid too fast. There should've been signs of a hurried retreat."
"I've located some of them," Mugetsu said. "Let's catch a few and ask."
Under his lead, the team tracked down several hiding bandits. Some, seeing Obito and Kakashi's young faces, tried to take them hostage—but Guy's swift kicks knocked out their teeth before they could act. Others screamed as Obito scorched them with flames.
"Who's your leader? Where are the rest hiding?" Mugetsu asked coldly.
The captured men exchanged looks but stayed silent.
"If you don't talk, I'll roast you alive," Obito threatened, flames dancing in his palm.
"Let's split them up," Mugetsu said with a faint smile. "Someone's bound to talk."
He divided the captives into six groups—his three disciples each took one, and two of his shadow clones handled the rest.
"We'll never betray our brothers!" one bandit shouted stubbornly.
Just then, Mugetsu's clone approached and said, "The one I interrogated already talked. There's a secret passage in the cave where others are hiding, and—"
The bandit froze. He knew such a passage existed. Panic broke his resolve.
"I'll tell you! I'll tell you everything! Just don't kill me!" he cried. "There are four hiding in the cave's secret passage—and more in—"
He spoke rapidly, afraid that silence would make him useless.
Mugetsu's face remained calm. It had all been an act—his clone hadn't interrogated anyone. The location had been spotted earlier through Byakugan, but Mugetsu had held that information to use as bait.
"Others already told me that," Mugetsu said coldly, raising a kunai to the man's throat. "If that's all, you can die."
"Wait! Don't kill me!" the man screamed. "Some villagers have been helping us—passing messages so we know when to strike and when to avoid patrols!"
Mugetsu stopped. He wasn't surprised. In hard times, even entire villages might turn to crime.
Still, he didn't take the man's words at face value. Using the same method, he cross-examined the rest. The details matched perfectly. The first bandit had spoken the truth.
When all the bandits were caught, Mugetsu's interrogation strategy worked perfectly—pitting them against one another by offering leniency to whoever confessed the most. In the end, most were executed, and a few survivors led them to the collaborators in nearby villages. All were handed over to the client.
"That's the situation," Mugetsu said. "How you deal with them is up to you."
"Thank you so much!" the client said joyfully. He hadn't expected the matter to be resolved in a single day.
"These bandits are disgusting," Obito muttered as they left Sankawa Town. "They have hands and feet—why not work instead of robbing and hurting people?"
"Yeah! It's infuriating!" Guy said, his youthful passion burning bright.
Kakashi stayed silent. He'd completed missions like this before, but in the past, he'd simply killed the bandits and left. Watching Mugetsu's interrogation made the cruelty of it all feel heavier.
"If it angers you, then train harder," Mugetsu said, looking up at the sky. "To make the world better, you need strength."
Afterward, he led them west as promised, and soon the green hills turned to golden dunes.
Before them stretched an endless sea of sand, shimmering under the sun.
"Wow," Obito breathed. "So much sand… it's amazing."
The sight soothed his lingering frustration. He plunged a hand into the sand, then yanked it back with a yelp. "Hot!" He immediately pulled Guy and Kakashi over to test it too.
Mugetsu smiled faintly but then sensed something strange. In the distance, yellow mist was rising. Someone was moving fast—very fast.
He instantly activated his Byakugan. The figure came into focus, and his eyes widened slightly in surprise.
Obito's joke had come true. The Raikage really had come—though not the current one. It was the future Raikage.
<><><><><>
[Check Out My Patreon For +40 Advance Chapters On All My Fanfics!]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]
[Every 100 Power Stones = +1 Bonus Chapter]
[Join Our Discord Community For Updates & Events]
[https://discord.gg/MntqcdpRZ9]