8:40 AM…
Seimei and his squad were required to meet with the client at the North Gate of Konoha by 9 AM. So, they set out early. Just when they were about 500 meters away from the gate, they relaxed their pace and walked unhurriedly.
Walking half a kilometer would take seven or eight minutes at most. Since they had time, they decided to chat a bit about their past mission experiences.
Seimei said, "We are going to the Land of Frost for the mission this time. It's my first time leaving the borders of the Land of Fire. Do any of you have experience doing missions outside of the Fire Country?" (Land of Fire = Fire Country)
Reina replied, "Not really. You know it, Seimei, even when participating in Academy missions or clan-guided missions, I have always stuck to the border of the Fire Country."
Reina turned her head to Seimei and asked, "I remember that you have actually almost crossed the border once on one of your missions."
Seimei smiled wryly and explained, "Don't mention it. It was a border town, and we had to face an entire horde of chakra beasts and several Sand spies lying low for an ambush."
"We had almost crossed the border and gone to the Land of Rivers."
Seimei looked at Natsumi and asked, "What about you?"
Reina also gazed at Natsumi with a flash of curiosity hidden in her eyes.
Hyuga Natsumi paused for a moment and blinked twice.
After a few seconds, she replied, "Well, I actually did participate in cross-border missions. I participated in such missions three times."
Hearing this, Seimei was even more curious. "You did?"
Natsumi nodded and said in an ethereal tone, "Indeed. All of them were simple reconnaissance missions, though."
"Twice to the Land of Hot Waters and once to the Land of Grass."
"They were all missions led by my clan elders. They were part of my Byakugan reconnaissance training."
Seimei and Reina both understood and nodded.
It was no secret that Byakugan had incredible farsight and X-ray capabilities, allowing the wielder to see through multiple obstacles and see far away, beyond the capabilities of normal human eyes.
However, due to this very reason, the Konoha higher-ups had banned the open activation of Byakugan within the village without authorization.
Everyone had secrets, especially ninjas who relied on information gathering for warfare.
Nobody would like it if someone openly peeped into their daily lives, private training sessions, and other secrets, whether personal or clan-related.
That was a blatant breach of privacy.
Facing such a situation, even the kindest person would be angry, let alone the ninjas, who would literally drive a kunai into the peeper's eyes.
To prevent riots, exposure of secrets, and destabilization of the village, Konoha higher-ups could only impose limitations on the Hyuga clan.
The Hyuga clan ninjas were, of course, not happy about that. But what could they do?
If they wanted to stay in Konoha, they had to accept it.
Sure, many sealing techniques could nullify the X-ray abilities of the Byakugan.
But except for a few noble, top-tier ninja clans, which clan had enough resources or sealing technique experts to protect their entire clan grounds from Byakugan's X-ray abilities?
Therefore, at least inside Konoha, the Hyuga clan ninjas could not activate their Byakugan openly without participating in training, a combat situation, a spar, or getting explicit authorization.
Of course, whether the Hyuga clan ninjas activated their Byakugan secretly to spy on someone was another matter entirely.
After all, as long as you didn't get caught breaking rules, you were a law-abiding citizen.
Seimei said, "Still, it's nice, isn't it? You can still activate Byakugan without restraint as long as you are not inside Konoha. Forget about the 360-degree vision and farsight; the fact that you can see through most obstacles and obscurities with your X-ray vision is amazing."
"Fortunately, you guys are too serious to use it for casual peeping."
Well, I have to say, for lechers, Byakugan is indeed an invaluable Kekkei Genkai.
If someone like Jiraiya got his hands on a power similar to Byakugan's X-ray vision, he would be so ecstatic that he might even laugh like an Uchiha. No wonder he coveted Hiruzen's Telescope Jutsu. If he had learned that, his 'material collection' speed would have skyrocketed, and the market would have been filled with who knew how many volumes of Icha-Icha series novels.
Ptoey Ptoey…what am I saying? No matter how unhinged a few certain Uchiha might be, I must not discriminate against the entire clan. After all, I also have Sharingan and kinda an ancestor of them.
As Seimei was sidetracked with his own strange ideas once more, he suddenly felt Reina's gaze upon him.
It was just that…why was she looking at him with a strange expression on her face?
He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and ask, "What?"
Hearing that, Reina's lips suddenly twitched a little.
Then, she shook her head and replied, "Nothing."
However, she secretly thought: This guy…he didn't secretly peep on other people like a lecher, did he?
If Seimei knew what Reina was thinking, he would immediately fight back for his innocence against such an unjust slander.
He had probably peeped a little. Okay, fine…he had indeed peeped a lot.
But he never peeped at a bathing woman, at least not intentionally.
Therefore, he would never accept being accused of such unjust slander.
At that moment, Hyuga Natsumi chuckled and chimed in, "Hehe…can't help it. From a very young age, most of our time was spent on extensive training and etiquette lessons."
"Not to mention us, the members of the main family; even the branch family members are required to go through them from a very young age."
In short, the Hyuga clan ninjas were trained to maintain their composure, stay serious most of the time, and watch their behavior.
They were much more restrained and cautious than the members of other great Shinobi families like Senju, Uchiha, and Uzumaki.
In simpler terms, expecting these refined ninjas from the Hyuga clan to act like a hooligan was as unlikely as finding a sane Uchiha with Mangekyo Sharingan…oh no…she meant an extraverted Aburame clan ninja with heightened presence.
Natsumi gave Seimei a sideways glance before concluding, "So, don't worry, we don't peep."
Hearing this, Seimei laughed awkwardly, "Hahaha…"
Reina rolled her eyes at Seimei.
Meanwhile, Natsumi continued, "Besides, even if I had permission to keep my Byakugan active all the time, I wouldn't do that. No Hyuga clan ninja would."
"Although keeping Byakugan activated usually consumes only a negligible amount of chakra, the chakra consumption increases drastically when you push your perception to the limit."
"For example, using Byakugan to see faraway locations, see through objects (X-ray ability), and participate in combat, for example, peering at the chakra pathway network, costs a lot of chakra."
There were many other things she didn't mention. For example, sensory data overload due to the constant use of 360-degree perception capability across a large area. Such things not only cause mental fatigue but also accelerate chakra consumption.
…Or the constant consumption of Byakugan's ocular power.
The combination of all those factors meant that prolonged or excessive activation of the Byakugan could easily lead to temporary yet severe eye strain.
In that state, the wielder of Byakugan might be unable to perceive their enemies or surroundings properly. The user would need to rest and sleep to alleviate the mental fatigue and eye strain.
"Because of these reasons, we don't usually keep our Byakugan active all the time, except in combat situations."
"Besides, with enough training, we can automatically and instinctively activate our Byakugan as long as we sense danger."
Natsumi concluded as she kept walking alongside Seimei and Reina.
Soon, they arrived at the northern gate.
At that moment, they saw a well-dressed middle-aged man standing with a Konoha Chunin. Both of them were talking about something.
Seimei turned toward Reina and whispered, "Hmm…isn't that middle-aged guy over there our client?"
Reina and Natsumi both scrutinized the middle-aged man and recalled information about their client for the B-rank mission.
The middle-aged man before them seemed to be in his mid-forties. He had brown eyes, slightly dry skin, and black hair with several streaks of white around his temples. His face already had signs of wrinkles.
His dress was clean and well-crafted with fine linen.
He was clearly a rich guy.
As they compared his facial features with the intel in their possession, they immediately identified the man.
Natsumi nodded.
And Reina added, "Indeed, that's our client, Shiraishi Genzo."
Since the trio had already walked closer to the gate, Shiraishi Genzo and the Konoha Chunin beside him also noticed their arrival.
The trio immediately approached Genzo. Seimei had also noticed a special tag of the Missions Department employee on the Konoha Chunin talking to Genzo.
It looked like the Missions Department had assigned him to ensure the client found the right team assigned to him.
Reina, as the team leader, immediately got straight to the business and said, "Hello, Mr. Genzo, right?"
Shiraishi Genzo scrutinized the three 12-year-old kids before him.
He nodded and replied nonchalantly, "I am." He paused for a moment and asked, "Do you have any business with me?"
Reina stated with a calm demeanor, "Yes. We are Squad 13. And we will be responsible for escorting you safely to the Land of Frost and protecting you and your caravans of goods on your way back here."
Hearing this, Shiraishi Genzo's expression tightened.
He looked at the Mission Department Chunin and demanded, "I posted a B-ranked job with the highest compensation for a job of this rank to hire a squad of powerful ninjas to protect my caravans…"
He turned his head back, looked at the trio in disbelief, and asked, "...And Konoha sent me kids?"
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