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The next morning, dew still clung to the grass blades of Training Ground 7, catching the first rays of sunrise that painted the trees along the edge in soft gold.
Taiichi, Yohei, Saori, and Kazema arrived exactly on time.
"Same drill—warm-up first," Taiichi said, rolling his shoulders through a quick set of stretches. "Today's all about syncing, especially you, Kazema. You need to lock into our rhythm faster, learn everyone's habits and favorite jutsu cold."
Kazema gave a firm nod. "Understood, Captain!" He knew this session was basically built for him. The other three had been fighting together for years—they read each other like open books. He was the only rookie here.
After warm-ups, they paired off for sparring: Taiichi versus Kazema, then Yohei versus Kazema, then Saori versus Kazema. The point was simple—make sure Kazema could read every teammate's style inside out.
The field turned into a storm of wind blades, roaring fireballs, and crackling lightning. The racket drew a crowd of nearby ninjas who leaned against the fence to watch.
"That's Taiichi and Yohei, right? Their squad picked up a new guy?"
"Yeah, heard Captain Yamaguchi got pulled for solo ops, so they needed a replacement."
"Breaking in the rookie, huh? Taiichi's a medic—guy's actually kind."
The chatter outside didn't touch the fight inside. As the minutes ticked by, Kazema slowly started flowing with the team's tempo.
When Taiichi finally called a break, the four of them stood in the middle of the torn-up field, chests heaving.
"How's it feeling, Kazema?" Taiichi wiped sweat from his brow.
Kazema panted but grinned wide. "Captain, I think… I'm starting to catch it! I can read most of everyone's attack patterns now."
Yohei laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. "Hell yeah! That's what I'm talking about. Next mission you won't be stuck on the sidelines staring."
Saori smiled and passed him a canteen. "Nice work, Kazema."
Taiichi nodded, satisfied. "Good. Burn that feeling in. Review the details tonight. Tomorrow we grab a real mission and test it live."
The squad answered with eager energy, already hyped for the next day.
They were still riding that good-team vibe when a figure blurred in at top speed and body-flickered right in front of Taiichi.
If Taiichi's eyes hadn't caught the ANBU mask first, he would've drawn his blade and stabbed on pure reflex.
"Matsushita Taiichi, Uchiha Yohei, Furukawa Saori, Kazema—emergency mission. Thirty minutes to prep."
The ANBU didn't wait for questions. He slapped a mission scroll into Taiichi's hand.
Taiichi took it with a frown. Priority missions weren't new, but one urgent enough for direct ANBU delivery? First time.
He cracked the scroll, verified every code, then read the contents.
The Leaf's border defense map facing the Land of Lightning had been stolen by a Hidden Cloud spy that very morning. Orders: Team Taiichi, in coordination with Namikaze Minato and Hyuga Hiashi, pursue immediately and recover the map at all costs.
Taiichi stared at the scroll, then at the masked operative, pure disbelief on his face. This shit happened inside the village? If the map had been hit on the road, sure. But stolen from inside Konoha? He was speechless.
The ANBU caught his expression and added, "The map is sealed. Ordinary methods can't open it. The spy has to reach the Hidden Cloud to break the seal. That's our window."
Taiichi understood—they were being told to haul ass. He briefed the squad fast, then barked the order. "Dismissed. Gear up at home. Village gate in thirty minutes."
The four shot off like arrows. Mission urgency erased everything else; their eyes held only cold focus and killing intent.
Taiichi raced home at full sprint, vaulted the fence without touching the gate, and tore into his supply room like a whirlwind.
Soldier pills, special meds, kunai, shuriken, med kit, sealing scrolls, explosive tags, spare short sword, fresh clothes—everything got packed or sealed in seconds. His mind raced through possible terrain and enemy types, double-checking for gaps.
Only after he was done did he remember his Ice Release fusion training had finally started clicking. Guess that was on hold again. No big deal—his core arsenal was still kenjutsu and Fire Style. Everything else was backup.
He locked the house, leaped onto the roof, and streaked toward the gate.
Four figures arrived almost simultaneously at the village entrance. One quick glance was all they needed—everyone was ready.
Taiichi checked the time. Only minutes left. The second he looked up—
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two more figures dropped in front of the squad.
Golden hair, serious face—Namikaze Minato.
Long straight black hair, pure white eyes—Hyuga Hiashi.
"Everyone set?" Minato's voice was calm but grave. His gaze swept the team, lingering on Taiichi and Hiashi with a small nod.
"Yes, Captain!" they answered together.
"Good. This is critical. That defense map cannot fall into enemy hands." Minato spoke fast and clear. "Objective: Catch the spy at maximum speed before he links up with any support and retrieve the map."
"Questions?"
No one had any.
Minato waved them forward and took point out of the gate. "ANBU intel says the spy's heading straight for the Land of Lightning on the shortest route. We follow that line. Hiashi, Byakugan on long-range scan. Taiichi, sensory jutsu on ground traces—make sure we don't get fooled."
Six figures became colored streaks racing north, faster than any normal ninja could sustain.
"Eight kilometers ahead—clear. No enemy signatures," Hiashi reported, Byakugan sweeping the distance.
This was a pure test of skill, stamina, and patience. The spy had a massive head start. Even with good intel, closing the gap wouldn't be simple.
"Definite sprint traces this direction—fresh tracks from today. We're on the right path," Taiichi confirmed, chakra sensory wide open, reading every broken twig and footprint like a book.
Hiashi's long-range vision and Taiichi's close-range tracking worked perfectly together, shaving hours off scouting time.
Two hours of hard running later, the pace dropped noticeably. Minato raised an eyebrow but stayed quiet. Taiichi glanced at Kazema.
Tapping out this early wasn't Chunin stamina—even for a wartime promotion. Too weak.
"I… pushed too hard in morning training. Stamina's shot," Kazema admitted, embarrassed. The whole squad had trained together that morning; the others had burned just as much, if not more.
Taiichi sighed, pulled a small bottle from his pouch, shook out pills, and passed them around.
"Special soldier pills—fast stamina and chakra recovery, zero side effects. Hard to make, so don't waste them." He joked to cut the tension, then shoved the whole bottle at Kazema. "Take one. Swallow it whole."
Everyone except Kazema made the same "oh god" face.
Kazema, trusting Taiichi, tipped out the dragon-eye-sized black pill and gulped it down—completely missing the others' "watch this" grins.
Sure enough—"Blegh!" Right as he tried to spit it out, Yohei blurred behind him and slapped his back hard.
Gulp.
Laughter exploded.
"Taiichi, your meds are still legendary," Minato chuckled.
Taiichi just handed Kazema a water skin.
"Haha, Kazema, you'll get used to it. Taiichi's stuff works miracles, but the taste…" Yohei grinned. "Feel that? Stamina coming back?"
Kazema was rinsing his mouth when the surge hit. In seconds his energy rebounded. His gut felt like a warm furnace feeding constant power into his body.
"Pills down. Back on the move," Taiichi said, voice serious again.
The squad picked up speed. Thanks to the pills, they kept the blistering pace all the way into evening. Only then did Minato call a rest.
"From the tracks, we've cut the gap from three hours to one." Taiichi pointed at a snapped branch. "Stepped on about an hour ago."
Yohei dashed over, grabbed the branch, and passed it around.
Minato and Hiashi took one look at the break and nodded—Taiichi was spot on.
"Mostly thanks to Taiichi's special pills," Minato said, "or we couldn't have closed it this fast." His face, however, made the compliment hard to enjoy.
"Hey, what's with the faces? That how you thank someone?" Taiichi shot back. Everyone looked like they'd bitten rotten eggs.
Laughter erupted again. Rare sight—Taiichi getting roasted.
After the brief levity, Minato shut it down. Mission first. Rest while you can.
Past midnight they were moving again. Rotating watches let everyone grab three solid hours of sleep—way better than the lone spy got.
The pitch-black night didn't slow Taiichi or Hiashi; neither relied on eyesight for tracking.
The only real danger was not face-planting off a branch in the dark.
Sure enough—crack!—someone slipped and crashed through the canopy in a loud tumble, flushing a flock of sleeping birds.
All eyes turned. Kazema sheepishly climbed out of the bushes.
Taiichi could feel Minato and Hiashi's silent amusement: That's your guy.
His own face burned. Good thing it was night—no one could see the blush.
Yohei dropped down, yanked Kazema out, and grumbled, "You're not usually this clumsy. What gives?"
Kazema apologized nonstop, but there was no time to waste. At Minato's signal they were off again.
They chased until seven or eight the next morning. Taiichi suddenly raised a fist and the squad stopped cold.
"Taiichi? New find?" Minato asked.
"The spy used clones to split attention." Taiichi pointed to three directions. "Fresh tracks on all three paths."
"Then we split up!" Kazema suggested.
Taiichi gave him a flat look. Split now? And if the enemy pulls the same trick again?
Minato stayed quiet, waiting for Taiichi's call.
Taiichi stepped forward, formed a quick seal, and his eyes flared—collapsing into glowing ruby orbs.
"Holy shit, Taiichi—what kind of jutsu is that? Never seen it before," Yohei blurted, eyes wide.
Minato and Hiashi glanced over curiously but didn't ask. Ninja techniques were private.
Taiichi didn't explain. These were his Fire Body eyes, just used on their own. Thermal vision made it obvious—clones had no body heat. Plus the tracks were only half an hour old, so the real trail glowed bright red.
"This way," Taiichi pointed. The branches on that path still carried faint, unmistakable red heat signatures. Clear as day.