Konoha's Hextech Ninja

"I'm tired, carry me!" Kurenai Yuhi stretched out her hands to Yoruichi Yagami, her eyes filled with expectation.

Yagami Yoruichi was taken aback for a moment, then immediately came to his senses, turned around and squatted down: "Get on, I'll carry you back."

Kurenai Yuhi's face was slightly flushed as she nestled on Yoruichi Yagami's back.

She was very light, and for Yoruichi Yagami's stamina, it was almost no burden.

However, the feeling of their bodies pressed tightly together still made Yagami Yoruichi feel a strange sensation.

"We're all just kids, we're all just kids, we're all just kids..."

Yagami Yoruichi silently repeated the words several times in his mind before suppressing the strange feeling and carrying Yuhi Kurenai on his back, walking towards her house.

Kurenai lay on Yoruichi Yagami's back, swaying slightly all the way, but she didn't feel uncomfortable; instead, she felt a strange sense of security.

“Yoruichi-kun,” Kurenai Yuhi suddenly spoke.

"Hmm?" Yagami Yoruichi turned his head and asked, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"Will we always be together?" Kurenai Yuhi nestled her head against Yoruichi Yagami's shoulder, her breath tickling Yoruichi's ear.

Yagami Yoruichi was secretly pleased and said matter-of-factly, "Of course I would. Does Kurenai want to break up with me?"

"I don't want to," Kurenai Yuhi's voice was very soft.

But Yagami Yoruichi, with her keen senses, still heard her words clearly, and the corners of her mouth involuntarily curled up slightly, a smile appearing in her eyes.

It wasn't a long distance, but it felt like an eternity to Yagami Yoruichi, who even wished time could stand still at that moment.

Even as they reached Kurenai's house, Yoruichi Yagami was still somewhat reluctant to leave.

But there was still a mission tomorrow, so Yagami Yoruichi, with great willpower, woke up Yuhi Kurenai, who had fallen asleep sometime earlier.

"Hong, wake up, we're home."

Kurenai opened her eyes, a hint of confusion flashing across her gaze. Then, recalling what had happened before she fell asleep, a blush instantly spread across her cheeks.

"I...I'm home, thank you Yoruichi-kun!" Kurenai ran home as if fleeing, but didn't forget to call out to Yoruichi, "Yoruichi-kun, be careful during the mission, I'll be waiting for you to come back!"

As Yagami Yoruichi watched Kurenai Yuhi go home, he looked up and saw Kurenai Yuhi standing at the second-floor window, gazing at him.

"Goodbye, Uncle Shinku." Yagami Yoruichi waved to Yuhi Shinku and turned to leave.

"That brat! Even though he's figured it out, he's still really annoyed!"

Kurenai Yuhi's face darkened, and she muttered to herself, "If you dare to bully Kurenai, even if you're Tsunade-sama's student, I will never forgive you!"

Yoruichi Yagami was completely unaware of Kurenai Yuhi's feelings for him.

After delivering the goods to Ichiraku Ramen as usual, he had a late-night snack at the shop, told Ichiraku that he had something to do and needed to leave the village for a few days, and then returned home.

But for some reason, Yagami Yoruichi, who usually falls asleep the moment her head hits the pillow, is tossing and turning tonight, unable to sleep, with the image of a smiling girl constantly appearing in her mind.

It wasn't until late at night that Yagami Yoruichi finally fell into a deep sleep.

Chapter 73 Leaving the village!

The next morning, Yagami Yoruichi, Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Inahisa, and Maruboshi Kosuke met at the entrance of Konoha Village.

Take out the mission order and complete the registration for leaving the village.

"Senior Kosuke..."

Just as Yoruichi Yagami was about to speak, Kosuke Maruboshi spoke first: "Yoruichi, this time you are the captain, and you will decide on all the details of the arrangements, including the route and tactics. Lady Tsunade has ordered me to test you in this mission. If you do not perform well, you will not be allowed to carry out any missions before graduating from the Ninja Academy."

Is this a test of being the team leader?

Yagami Yoruichi understood Tsunade and Maruboshi Kosuke's intentions after only a moment's thought.

As a ninja, combat strength is very important.

But many decisions made outside of combat are equally important.

After all, this is a profession centered around infiltration and assassination.

Even the choice of route and formation when traveling can determine the life or death of the entire squad.

A qualified ninja is never just someone with enough fighting power.

Of course, if it's strong enough to ignore all traps and sneak attacks, that's another matter.

But even the Kage of the Five Great Ninja Villages couldn't achieve that level of skill.

"Then let's discuss the route."

Yagami Yoruichi pulled out a map, unfolded it, and pointed to the mission's target location, saying, "The target is 'Kawakami Village,' which is right here. There are three routes to choose from starting from Konoha. Kosuke-senpai, do you have any information about these three routes?"

“I won’t go into the information marked on the map.” Maruhoshi Kosuke glanced at the map, drew a line, and said, “This route will pass through Tanzaku Town, which is a famous commercial town in the Land of Fire and also the territory of a great nobleman.”

“The territory of a great nobleman would be very troublesome if something unexpected happened.” Yagami Yoruichi abandoned the shortest route without hesitation and pointed to another route, saying, “Let’s take this route.”

"Why did you choose the longest route? Even if you want to avoid the Tanabata Street route, there's another route that's closer, isn't there?" Maruhoshi Kosuke asked.

It was less of an inquiry and more of a test.

“That road is shorter, but it’s closer to the border post. It’s not safe enough, and we could get caught up in trouble. Our mission is just to suppress bandits, so it’s best to avoid any unforeseen complications.”

Yagami Yoruichi explained her reasoning and looked at Maruboshi Kosuke.

Maruhoshi Kosuke neither agreed nor disagreed, but simply nodded and said, "You're the captain, so we'll do as you say."

Yagami Yoruichi looked at the four of them and said, "Uncle Kosuke has the most experience, so he'll lead the way. Kakashi and Inahisa, you two will be in charge of the flanks, and I'll cover the rear."

All four are 'ninjutsu-type' ninjas, and their greatest skill is ninjutsu.

As a ninja squad, its configuration was actually flawed.

However, while being skilled in ninjutsu, all four are also relatively versatile, with no obvious weaknesses in taijutsu, ninja tools, or other aspects.

Even though Yagami Yoruichi is the least skilled in genjutsu, she is at least not too weak in resisting genjutsu, and she also has a barely passable medical ninjutsu.

Since they are all versatile, when assigning formations, only their individual strengths need to be considered, without having to consider the issue of 'team positioning'.

Maruboshi Kosuke is the strongest and most experienced among the four, and he is also the only ninja among them with sensory abilities, making him the best candidate to scout ahead.

Of the remaining three, Yoruichi Yagami is the strongest and is responsible for holding the line to ensure she can support the others at any time.

Kakashi Hatake and Inagi Uchiha are roughly equal in strength, so it would be the best arrangement for them to each take charge of one side of the flank.

"Rhombus formation, let's go with this arrangement, is that alright?" Yagami Yoruichi looked at the three of them.

Maruhoshi Kosuke was determined to simply follow instructions and do his job without offering any opinions.

Kakashi Hatake and Inahi Uchiha did not object.

They were geniuses, but like Yoruichi Yagami, they had zero experience in carrying out ninja missions.

Tsunade appointed Yoruichi Yagami as the captain, and Yoruichi's strength impressed them.

Unless Yoruichi Yagami's arrangement is clearly unreasonable, they will not raise any questions.

“Kakashi, you're skilled with a sword, and your coverage area is wider on the right, so you're in charge of the right side. Inahisa, the left side is yours.” Yagami Yoruichi arranged the two's positions, put away the map, and said, “With our stamina and speed, we need to reach the vicinity of the target location tonight and find a campsite. After resting for the night, we'll carry out the mission tomorrow during the day. Of course, this is based on everything going smoothly; if we encounter any unexpected events along the way, we'll improvise.”

After making a series of arrangements, Yagami Yoruichi was about to give the order when she suddenly remembered something from her theory class. Her words immediately changed: "Now, let me report on the ninja tool reserves. I have a standard set of kunai and shuriken, plus five explosive tags and two smoke bombs."

"I brought ten kunai, twenty shuriken, and five explosive tags..."

Uchiha Inahisa and Hatake Kakashi also took out their ninja tool pouches, revealing the ninja tools they had prepared.

Seeing this, a hint of admiration flashed in Kosuke Maruhoshi's eyes.

Find out about your teammates' equipment; this detail may seem insignificant.

However, it is an extremely important part of long-distance combat missions.

A ninja's fighting ability will be greatly reduced if they run out of ninja tools.

"These are the ninja tools I brought." Maruboshi Kosuke opened his ninja tool bag, showing the three of them the tools inside. He then tapped the large iron pot on his back and said with a smile, "And this pot, if you get hungry on the road, I can cook you a delicious meal."

Upon hearing Maruboshi Kosuke's words, both Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Inahi couldn't help but twitch at the corners of their mouths.

This behavior is not like that of a qualified ninja!

Yoruichi Yagami, however, did not pay any attention.

With Maruboshi Kosuke's strength, carrying out such a small mission is a complete game of cat and mouse, so it's normal for him to be a little casual.

Even ordinary S-rank missions rarely put much pressure on Kosuke Maruhoshi.

Unless the opponent is a renowned and powerful figure such as the 'Seven Ninja Swordsmen' or a 'Jinchūriki', he won't get completely serious.

"One last check of the equipment," Yagami Yoruichi instructed, watching as the group completed their final checks. Once everything was confirmed to be in order, she gave the order: "Move out according to the planned formation!"

Swoosh~ Swoosh~ Swoosh~ Swoosh~!

With a whooshing sound, the four of them instantly transformed into afterimages, rushing into the distance and disappearing into the dense forest.

This isn't a teleportation technique; it's just an illusion caused by excessive speed.

"As long as this task is completed, there will be tens of thousands of taels of silver in income. Even if it is divided among four people, each person can get more than 10,000 taels of silver, which is enough to alleviate my financial situation a lot."

"Furthermore, this is also a good opportunity to confirm the system's reward mechanism. If there are gold coin rewards for killing enemies, then my growth rate can be accelerated even further!"

Yagami Yoruichi stared straight ahead, fully focused and alert, a hint of anticipation in his heart.

Chapter 74 "Cooking Ninja"

In the dense forest, four figures maintained a fixed distance as they leaped through the treetops.

To avoid leaving too many traces, ninjas usually try to avoid main roads with dense crowds when traveling, and instead walk in the jungle, sometimes even deliberately erasing their tracks.

Yoruichi Yagami also received this knowledge in the theoretical classes at the Ninja Academy.

During her departure from Konoha, by observing Kosuke Maruboshi's actions, Yoruichi Yagami quickly integrated theoretical knowledge and transformed it into physical instinct.

In just one day, Yagami Yoruichi had already learned how to leap forward at high speed through the treetops while conserving energy and chakra to the maximum extent, without leaving obvious footprints or other traces.

Suddenly, Kosuke Maruhoshi, who was walking at the front, raised his hand and made a 'stop' gesture.

The four of them slowed down instantly and came to a stop on the canopy of a large tree.

"Something's up?" Yagami Yoruichi gestured for help, but Maruhoshi Kosuke shook his head and pointed to a small village halfway up the mountain ahead, saying, "According to the map, we're about ten kilometers from our target location."

Before setting off, Yagami Yoruichi said that she needed to find a place to stay overnight before reaching the target location, and then complete the mission the next day.