And just like that, Kirito joined the mission team as part of the transport crew, acting as an assistant to the caravan.
For most of the day, the journey had been uneventful. Which made sense, this stretch of road was still close to Konoha, and any bandit or thief stupid enough to try something here would basically be begging to die.
"Heave-ho! Heave-ho!"
Bored during the long trip, Rock Lee resorted to his usual routine, walking on his hands, frog-jumping, and other forms of physical training. With diligence like that, it was no wonder that someone with no special talents had managed to forge such impressive taijutsu skills.
Tenten, also feeling bored, strolled over to Kirito and nudged him in the shoulder with her elbow.
"Y'know, Kirito-kun, maybe you should take a cue from Lee. If ninjutsu and genjutsu aren't your thing, you could always focus on taijutsu instead."
Kirito just smiled at the suggestion without answering.
His casual attitude made Tenten puff out her cheeks in frustration.
"You… you're seriously okay never becoming a ninja? You're wasting all that amazing weapon talent of yours!"
Kirito scratched his head, a bit overwhelmed by her nagging, but his expression suddenly relaxed, his gaze shifting.
"We've got company, Tenten."
"Oh-ho? Finally some action!" Tenten's eyes lit up.
A group of armed thugs emerged from the forest, their expressions fierce and murderous, bandits, clearly.
But rather than panic, Lee was visibly thrilled, clenching his fists in excitement.
Neji gave the approaching enemies a brief glance and instantly lost interest.
Tenten jabbed Kirito in the shoulder, scolding him. "This? This isn't even worth worrying about. Let Lee handle it. Don't think you're getting off the hook that easily. I'm not letting you change the subject, we're still talking about you!"
"Right!"
With a shout, Lee charged into the fray.
His agile movements and fluid taijutsu turned the outnumbered situation on its head, as he plowed through the enemy ranks. The bandits had no chance to retaliate and were quickly being overwhelmed.
But Kirito, observing from the side, started to feel something was… off.
His eyes narrowed as he scanned the bandits' faces.
Each of them wore the same stiff expression, their eyes dull, hollow, and empty. It was as if their bodies were moving without their own will.
Kirito placed a firm hand on Tenten's shoulder, his voice low. "Focus, Tenten. Look at their faces. Something's wrong."
"Huh? What now…? Lee hasn't finished yet?" Tenten sighed, but followed Kirito's gaze. As she studied the enemies more closely, she too noticed the oddities in their movements and expressions.
Neji, ever observant, had already caught on. A vein bulged on his forehead as his silver-white pupils transformed into a pure translucent glow.
"Byakugan!"
"…There's an unusual flow of chakra inside them. It's subtle, but definitely not natural. It's genjutsu!"
Neji's vision, enhanced by his dōjutsu, confirmed the truth: the bandits were under a genjutsu control technique.
Upon realizing this, Neji immediately expanded his visual range, but strangely, there was no sign of the caster within a kilometer radius.
That shouldn't be possible. Genjutsu required a certain distance between the caster and the target.
"They're underground!"
Neji's expression changed. In a flash, he leapt into the air, just as a hand burst from the earth, narrowly missing the spot where he had just been standing.
At the same time, Tenten and Lee reacted swiftly, jumping back before any hidden hands could grab them from below.
With all three ambushes thwarted, three figures emerged from underground.
"Tch. A Byakugan user. What a miscalculation."
Now visible, the attackers wore tight grey bodysuits and scratched headbands bearing the symbol of the Hidden Waterfall Village, marked with slashes to indicate their status as missing-nin.
"Judging by their chakra levels, these guys are mid-tier Chūnin. Perfect," Neji's eyes gleamed with battle intent. "If they're Chūnin, this'll be a good warm-up."
"Oh-ho! What luck! A C-rank mission with real ninja combat!" Lee beamed with joy, showing not a hint of fear.
Tenten, calm and focused, reached into her pouch and pulled out a summoning scroll. "Been a while since I stretched properly."
Without hesitation, the three Genin launched into combat, each charging toward their chosen opponent.
Their coordinated reaction, precise movements, and complete lack of hesitation showed clearly that this wasn't their first rodeo. Since graduating from the Academy, the team had tackled countless missions. Their skills had grown, and so had their confidence.
Now, with battle-tested experience under their belts, they met these Chūnin-level enemies head-on, with no intention of backing down.
"Tch. Cocky brats."
The three rogue ninja weren't intimidated. As far as they were concerned, these were just a few uppity kids.
But they were about to learn that in Konoha… even kids could be terrifying.