Konoha's Hextech Ninja

A nighttime raid would be exponentially riskier for Yoruichi Yagami's squad, who were unfamiliar with the terrain.

Anyway, those thieves have been stationed here for a long time and they won't run away, so waiting another day is actually better.

"Ten kilometers. If the mission data is correct, those bandits shouldn't be able to spot us from that distance."

Yagami Yoru nodded and said, "Let's spend the night around here. There seems to be a nice place by the little river we just passed."

It was inevitable for ninjas to spend the night in the wild, and the choice of a place to stay was also important. Generally, it needed to be easy to keep watch, easy to set traps, and easy to counterattack or retreat in case of a surprise attack. Only when all three conditions were met could it be considered a qualified campsite.

As for comfort and other factors, they are generally not considered.

A place I passed by before met this standard in Yagami Yoruichi's memory.

Kosuke Maruboshi did not express an opinion, but Kakashi Hatake and Inaha Uchiha remembered the location that Yoruichi Yagami had mentioned, and after a little thought, they both agreed.

The group returned some distance, walking several hundred meters, until they arrived at a small river.

"Kakashi, you're in charge of setting up the warning traps. They don't need to be too powerful; just enough to serve as a warning. I'll set up the tents. Kosuke-senpai, Inahisa, could you please get some food? We've been traveling all day and have only eaten soldier rations, so my stomach is a little upset."

Yagami Yoruichi quickly assigned tasks to everyone, while taking out tent parts from her backpack and starting to assemble them.

“Then leave it to me.” Maruhoshi Kosuke smiled and untied the large iron pot, placing it on the ground. He said to Yagami Yoruichi, “Please start a fire while you’re at it. I promise I’ll find the most suitable ingredients.”

“Shouldn’t we try to avoid making fires in the wild?” Uchiha Inahashi objected: “We learned in class that when we go out on a mission and we can’t be sure of our safety, we should try to replenish our strength with soldier’s rations. Unless absolutely necessary, we should not look for food in the wild.”

"That applies to ordinary genin. Genin don't have enough ability to tell if wild food is safe, so they need to be careful. Uncle Kosuke wouldn't make such a basic mistake. Besides, with our strength, at least within the Land of Fire, we don't need to worry too much about enemy ambushes. Maintaining good condition is more important."

Yoruichi Yagami explained her reasoning: "Eating only soldier pills can guarantee stamina and chakra, but the feeling of hunger will always be there. Over time, my condition will inevitably decline, which will be even more disadvantageous."

"I see." Uchiha Inahashi nodded, not arguing further, and said, "Then I'll go chop wood and start a fire. Identifying ingredients is not my forte, so I'll have to trouble you, Kosuke-senpai."

He had received guidance from his clan and knew of Maruboshi Kosuke's special status, so he didn't dare to be presumptuous in front of Maruboshi Kosuke and behaved very politely.

"No problem, no problem." Maruhoshi Kosuke slowly walked into the jungle to look for ingredients.

By the time Yagami Yoruichi had set up everyone's tents, the rest of the people had already returned.

"I've set up simple warning traps in all four directions, all triple traps. Ordinary ninjas shouldn't be able to get close without alerting us," Kakashi Hatake explained the location and arrangement of the traps to prevent 'our own people' from accidentally triggering them.

Maruhoshi Kosuke scooped up a plump fish from the river, skillfully scraped off the scales and removed the internal organs, chopped it into small pieces with his ninja sword, washed and chopped the mushrooms, bamboo shoots and other ingredients he had picked, and threw them into the boiling pot along with the fish bones to cook.

"Wait a little while, and it'll be ready to eat. You need to cook the mushrooms and fish bones to bring out their flavor first, then add the fish. Otherwise, if you cook it for too long, the fish will become tough."

While stirring the fish soup, Kosuke Maruhoshi explained, "This mushroom fish soup is perfect for this season. Only in early spring can you find such fresh ingredients; it's not easy to come across them at other times."

At this moment, Maruboshi Kosuke didn't seem like a veteran powerhouse, but rather like a nearly extinct 'cooking ninja,' focusing all his attention on the large pot of soup in front of him.

"Thank you for your help, Uncle Kosuke." Yagami Yoruichi said with a smile, sat down around the large iron pot, and said, "Let's split the night watch into two shifts tonight. Uncle Kosuke and Kakashi will be in charge of the first half of the night, and Inahisa and I will be in charge of the second half."

In the wild, poor sleep is almost inevitable.

However, given a ninja's physical condition, they only need a short rest to get back to their best.

Half a night's sleep is enough.

Of course, doing this for a long time will definitely have an impact on the body.

However, during a mission, a short-term reduction in sleep is not a problem.

With two shifts on night watch, the rest time is sufficient, and the security is also greatly improved.

Maruhoshi Kosuke still didn't offer any suggestions and silently continued simmering the fish soup.

When the soup was almost ready, he took out a sealing scroll, conjured a pile of bowls and chopsticks, ladled out the soup, and distributed it to everyone: "Try it, how's my unique cooking?"

Yagami Yoruichi picked up the bowl and took a sip. The fresh flavors of mushrooms and bamboo shoots, mixed with the richness of the fish soup, made him feel much more energetic after just one sip.

"It's delicious!" Yagami Yoichi's eyes lit up as he gulped down the fish soup in his bowl and said to Maruhoshi Kosuke, "Uncle Kosuke, another bowl, this time with extra toppings!"

Seeing Yagami Yoruichi's posture, Maruhoshi Kosuke smiled and said, "Don't worry, there's plenty!"

"I also want."

"Senior Kosuke, could you please have another bowl?"

Kakashi Hatake and Inahi Uchiha were both won over by Kosuke Maruboshi's culinary skills.

"Yes, yes, don't worry, there's plenty more, definitely enough." Maruhoshi Kosuke chuckled as he served soup to everyone, creating a warm and harmonious atmosphere.

The group didn't seem to be on a dangerous ninja mission; rather, they seemed to be on a picnic.

Chapter 75 Embezzling Remuneration?

Nothing happened that night.

At this time, the ninja world was not particularly safe.

However, the Second Shinobi World War was nearing its end, and Konoha had long since strengthened its control over the borders of the Land of Fire.

Within the core territory of the Land of Fire, the probability of encountering enemy ninjas is so low as to be negligible.

Even in the immediate aftermath of a war, the level of security within the territory is higher than during peacetime because the ninja villages are more vigilant towards each other.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Yagami Yoruichi and Uchiha Inahime, who were responsible for keeping watch for the rest of the night, woke up Maruboshi Kosuke and Hatake Kakashi.

Despite sleeping for less than five hours that night, all four of them maintained a good mental state.

"Are we officially starting the bandit suppression mission today?" Kakashi Hatake asked Yoruichi Yagami while dismantling the tent. "Should we just charge straight in, or do we gather intelligence first?"

"I've already investigated the intelligence." Yagami Yoruichi took out a scroll containing information she had gathered while on night watch, during which she had taken the opportunity to investigate the village.

There wasn't much valuable information inside; all that was known was the location of the bandits' hideout, which was on a desolate mountain not far from 'Hejian Village'.

As for how many bandits there were, their strength, and whether any ninjas were mixed in, even the villagers of Hejian Village didn't know.

However, Yagami Yoruichi did not take the bandit suppression mission too seriously.

In this team, both I and Kosuke Maruboshi are Jonin-level, while Kakashi Hatake and Inagi Uchiha are close to Special Jonin in strength.

Let alone ordinary bandits, even if they encountered a ninja squad from a rival ninja village, most of the ninja squads would not pose much of a threat to the four of them.

The minor flaw of insufficient intelligence is completely insignificant.

"According to intelligence, the location of the bandits' stronghold is easy to defend and difficult to attack, but such terrain obstacles are not a problem for ninjas."

Yagami Yoruichi drew a simple topographical map and said, "The bandits' lair is a dead end behind them, with only one passage in front. Kakashi, you are skilled in Earth Release ninjutsu, so use ninjutsu to seal off the passage and trap them like turtles in a jar."

"Instead of infiltrating and assassinating? We'll just launch a direct attack?" Uchiha Inahime understood the unspoken meaning in Yagami Yoruichi's words.

Ninjas are best known for their stealthy assassinations.

If it's a direct confrontation, the threat level is reduced.

Even Jonin are no exception.

“When we were gathering intelligence yesterday, although the villagers didn’t know the exact number of bandits, they were certain there were at least several dozen. If we were to use assassination, even though we are all quite strong, it would be almost impossible to wipe them out without alerting any of the bandits.”

Yoruichi Yagami shook her head and explained, "On the contrary, this kind of terrain makes it easier to wipe out all the bandits by using ninjutsu to cover them up and launch a strong attack."

After a pause, Yoruichi Yagami continued, "Of course, this is just a preliminary plan. Whether it will be implemented depends on whether the terrain matches what I understand."

"Then let's scout out the terrain first," Kakashi Hatake said.

The group quickly packed their bags, cleared away the traces and traps left from the previous night's camping, and ran swiftly through the jungle towards the bandits' lair.

Several tens of minutes later, on the mountaintop, the four men looked down at the bandits' lair below.

This is a flat area shaped like the Chinese character "甲" that has been carved out halfway up the mountain. Rows of simple wooden houses stand on the flat area, and no one is out and about; they all seem to be asleep.

Even on the guard tower at the entrance, several bandits who should have been on guard duty were fast asleep in chairs.

The entire campsite is nestled against a near-vertical cliff, with no path leading to the summit.

There is only one narrow path leading down the mountain from the outside.

With this kind of terrain, as long as some archers are positioned on high ground, even if an army attacks from below, it will be difficult for them to break through.

However, if one encounters a ninja, who possesses extraordinary power, it becomes a prison that traps them.

"Didn't these bandits consider that someone would issue a commission to hire ninjas to wipe them out when they built their stronghold?" Kakashi Hatake couldn't help but complain.

"Judging from the size of this camp, this band of bandits has at least sixty people, and they are fully armed. According to Konoha's standards, this is enough to be classified as a B-rank mission, and the reward should be more than 300,000 taels."

Maruhoshi Kosuke explained, "This amount of money is not something an ordinary village can come up with. As for nobles, they wouldn't care about such a remote place."

"Three hundred thousand taels?" Yagami Yoruichi exclaimed in surprise.

All three of them couldn't help but look at Yagami Yoruichi with puzzled expressions.

Yagami Yoruichi gritted her teeth, took out the mission warrant, and said in a slightly trembling voice, "The mission my teacher gave me, the reward is 50,000 taels!"

That's a difference of a full 250,000 taels!

Even if the four of them split it equally, each person would still get about 60,000 taels more!

Sixty thousand taels of silver—that's enough to buy so many ninja tools and explosive tags!

Kakashi Hatake and Inahi Uchiha were both surprised, but Kosuke Maruboshi just smiled.

Given Tsunade's character, she really is capable of doing something like this.

After all, her reputation as the biggest fat sheep in the ninja world was widespread, and no amount of money could cover her gambling debts.

"Well, maybe no one even issued this mission. Your teacher might have paid for it out of his own pocket. It's understandable that the reward is lower. After all, you're not official ninjas, so you shouldn't be qualified to take on missions. Besides, this mission is mainly to train your abilities."

Maruboshi Kosuke tried to find excuses for Tsunade, but in his heart he had almost already accepted that Tsunade had embezzled most of the mission reward.

"I've had bad luck with people."

Yagami Yoruichi sighed inwardly, but said nothing more.

It's still necessary to maintain a teacher's image in front of outsiders.

As for embezzling the reward, consider it tuition paid for Tsunade's education.

“This terrain is perfect for covering with large-scale ninjutsu.” Yagami Yoruichi pointed down to the exit leading down the mountain and asked Hatake Kakashi, “Kakashi, can you block that path with Earth Release: Earth Wall?”

“This path is only three meters wide, and even with the gentle slope on the outside, it’s only a dozen meters or so, no problem.” Kakashi Hatake nodded, then looked at Yoruichi Yagami and asked hesitantly, “But this platform is quite large. Can your ninjutsu cover such a large area?”

The platform is roughly square, with a length and width both exceeding 100 meters, and a total area of ​​over 10,000 square meters.

Yoruichi Yagami's ninjutsu is usually quite powerful.

But it can't reach that scale.

"It should be... not a big problem. Even if I can't do it by myself, it should be enough with Kosuke-senpai's help."