Chapter 50 - The Rhythm of the Anbu
After Ishiro joined Team 18, his daily rhythm noticeably sped up. The frequency of Anbu missions was significantly higher than when he was in Team Five. The day after joining, Ishiro was assigned his first mission: patrolling the border between the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind.
In peaceful times, such patrol missions were relatively relaxed. Large countries like the Land of Earth already stationed regular ninja at their borders. Anbu patrols merely added another layer of security. Team 18 didn't follow fixed patrol routes; Captain Shiden would decide their path spontaneously upon arriving at the area.
Not having fixed routes made their movements more covert. Besides, now that the great nations had signed peace treaties, blatant incursions were rare.
There were typically two ways ninja entered other countries: officially sanctioned missions, such as escorting merchant caravans, which the host nation generally permitted due to peace agreements, or covert missions like spying or assassination. Those covert infiltrators never openly displayed ninja attire, preferring to disguise themselves as ordinary people or travelers.
Thus, Ishiro's team's primary duty wasn't just detecting hidden enemies, but rather identifying spies or foreign ninja disguised as commoners or wandering mercenaries.
Team 18 rarely took such reconnaissance missions in the past, as they specialized in direct combat or hunting rogue ninja. However, when Ishiro mentioned his proficiency in sensing ninjutsu during their introductions, his new teammates' eyes immediately lit up—this would save significant effort on patrols!
As they set off from the village, Ishiro, as the newest member, received considerate treatment. Initially, everyone matched their pace to his. When they noticed Ishiro practicing the Body Flicker Technique (Shunshin) along the way, Captain Shiden—an expert in agility—began giving him pointers. Unfortunately, as they were on a mission, Ishiro didn't dare consume chakra recklessly, only practicing the technique around ten times before stopping.
Upon reaching the border, Team 18 seemed to relax, casually observing occasional travelers passing through the region.
Whenever someone passed, Team 18 relied on Ishiro's sensing technique. At the same time, Little Stone taught Ishiro how to identify potential spies without using sensing ninjutsu.
Usually, these patrol assignments lasted a month. If no abnormalities were found, they'd return afterward. However, encountering an incident could lead to combat, and whether the mission continued after a fight depended on the team's condition.
After about twenty uneventful days, Ishiro's Body Flicker Technique had improved remarkably under Shiden's guidance.
In just over a month, Ishiro reduced the hand seals of this C-rank ninjutsu to just two, and chakra consumption dropped to about 1.5C. More importantly, under Shiden's tutelage, Ishiro could now perform two consecutive Shunshin with one set of hand seals—a significant breakthrough indicating he had truly grasped the basics of this technique.
Ishiro recalled clearly that Tana, his former teammate, had taken nearly a year and a half to achieve the same feat, and Tana had been ecstatic at the time.
"Could I actually be talented at the Body Flicker Technique?" Ishiro wondered, echoing his earlier surprise when he realized his talent in sensing ninjutsu.
Yet, after careful consideration, Ishiro dismissed the idea. It wasn't necessarily talent; rather, Ishiro now was vastly different from when he first learned ninjutsu. Back then, he could barely perform one transformation per day. Now, with increased chakra reserves, he could easily practice multiple times daily without worry.
Plus, he had the advantage of a skilled Jonin like Shiden providing guidance, allowing him to progress without hitting roadblocks.
Additionally, Ishiro's chakra control had greatly improved. Complex chakra manipulation now came effortlessly to him, and his prior experiences simplifying and developing jutsu had enhanced his learning capabilities.
Combining these factors enabled Ishiro to rapidly master the Body Flicker Technique in less than a month.
This realization prompted Ishiro to reconsider his combat style. Previously, limited chakra made him assume learning new ninjutsu was prohibitively slow. But now, given his improved chakra capacity and control, perhaps he should expand his repertoire.
His current techniques felt too limited for self-defense, after all.
Ishiro's rapid improvement surprised his teammates. Although they'd expected him to be skilled, they hadn't anticipated this level of rapid progress. Especially Little Stone, a sword specialist: mastering the Body Flicker Technique would significantly boost his combat power, yet his average talent in ninjutsu prevented him from achieving proficiency in actual battle.
White Cat also knew the Body Flicker, but her fighting style didn't match this technique well, so for her, it was primarily a tool for escape—similar to Ishiro's initial purpose.
Only Captain Shiden excelled at the Body Flicker Technique within Team 18. Ishiro had witnessed her mastery firsthand: she could activate Shunshin with just one seal, performing four consecutive rapid movements. Though inferior to legendary ninjas who used seal-less Body Flickers effortlessly, Shiden's proficiency was undoubtedly among the top ranks in the shinobi world.
Today, as usual, Ishiro sensed a merchant caravan passing the border, but something unusual appeared. Officially, the caravan hired a single ninja team for protection—four ninja in total, with the rest of the members being ordinary civilians. However, Ishiro clearly detected eight chakra signatures.
After carefully distinguishing them, Ishiro promptly reported, "Captain, something's wrong. There are eight ninja hidden in this caravan: one Jonin, four Chunin, and three Genin."
Upon hearing this, the previously relaxed team immediately became vigilant.
White Cat quickly analyzed, "Eight ninjas mean two squads. The visible squad is probably one Chunin leading three Genin. The hidden one has one Jonin leading three Chunin—likely an Anbu team similar to ours. This could be a tough fight."
Little Stone immediately interjected, "Wait, although we've discovered them, they haven't noticed us yet. That's a significant advantage. We don't have to engage right away; instead, let's first contact nearby teams and attack with overwhelming force."
White Cat nodded thoughtfully, glancing at Ishiro. "True. We're nearly a thousand meters away; it's unlikely they've sensed us."
Shiden agreed, instructing, "Let's not follow too closely and risk detection. I'll split off alone, Little Stone—you take White Cat and Rock. We'll separately contact the neighboring Anbu patrol teams, regroup here, and then track them together."
Everyone nodded, and after the caravan had traveled a safe distance away, Team 18 split into two groups. Ishiro's group quickly contacted a nearby patrol team, easily coordinating with them due to their frequent interactions and information exchanges.
The contacted team promptly joined Team 18's cause.
When Ishiro's group returned to the original position, Captain Shiden had already returned with another team. With all three teams together, Shiden assumed temporary command. She signaled to White Cat, who immediately sent Black Cat ahead to track. The twelve ninja quickly moved towards the caravan's location.
The caravan moved slowly, unaware they'd been discovered, so their hidden Anbu team remained with them.
Soon, Ishiro's group caught up and paused briefly while he reconfirmed the enemy's positions through sensing ninjutsu. "They're still there. The hidden Anbu team includes one Jonin with wind and fire affinities, one Chunin with water affinity, and two Chunin with fire affinity. The visible squad has one water-affinity Chunin and three Genin who haven't developed elemental transformations yet."
He quickly outlined their exact positions.
After everyone nodded in understanding, Shiden swiftly assigned roles:
Shiden's group—consisting of two Jonin and one Special Jonin—would handle the enemy Jonin. Ishiro's Team 18 and another team would deal with the remaining three enemy Chunin. The last team would eliminate the visible escort team.
Once roles were assigned, Shiden decisively ordered the attack. Without hesitation, the three teams charged towards the caravan simultaneously. As for civilian casualties—none of the Anbu cared.
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