Starting with the Uchiha clan, they began cultivating demonic arts.

Chapter 29 Encounter with Sand Ninja

"A B-rank mission, doesn't seem that interesting! Those few ninjas from Kusagakure just ran away as soon as they saw us, aren't they too cowardly?"

Hyuga Hizashi and three others accepted an escort mission. However, during the escort, although they encountered ninjas from the Grass Village, the ninjas wisely backed down and left.

Therefore, Asuma no longer had the excitement he had when he first received the mission. Instead, he seemed a little bored and, while following the carriage, spoke to Red.

"What do you think? So-called B-rank missions are missions that might involve fighting ninjas, but ninjas aren't stupid. Generally, if they see that the opponent is too strong, they'll just abandon the mission!"

Standing next to Asuma, Uchiha Tou rolled his eyes and spoke.

"That's right. Generally speaking, even when ninjas are carrying out opposing missions, they rarely escalate to a life-or-death struggle. Instead, they will first assess the combat strength of both sides before deciding whether to continue the mission."

"Starting from B-rank missions, ninjas often find themselves in hostile situations. If every B-rank mission requires a life-or-death struggle, even if the number of ninjas from the five great ninja villages were several times greater, they would still be wiped out during the missions."

Hyuga Hizashi spoke calmly, explaining that this was, in fact, the norm for most ninjas when carrying out missions.

If it were any other ninja team, the Grass Village ninjas might have tested them. However, after seeing Hyuga Hizashi's Byakugan, facing the Hyuga, a famous ninja clan in Konoha, the small Grass Village didn't even bother to test them and simply abandoned the mission.

While the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan is far inferior to the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan in terms of pure combat power, it completely surpasses the Uchiha clan in terms of the rate at which it can be awakened. Basically, all Hyuga clan ninjas can directly awaken the Byakugan.

Although they cannot match the Uchiha clan in terms of their potential, the Hyuga clan's minimum standard is the highest among all ninja clans—adult Hyuga ninjas are at least elite Chunin, an achievement that no other ninja clan in the entire ninja world can reach.

Hyuga Hizashi had encountered similar situations where opponents fled at the mere sight of him countless times during his missions, so he was naturally not as surprised as his students.

Having completed the escort mission safely, the return to Konoha Village was much faster. Without the burden of ordinary people, the journey that would normally take nearly three days was reduced to just two hours of running for the ninjas.

In the days that followed, the group resumed their B-level missions.

Most B-rank missions are escort missions within the Land of Fire. The war has only just begun, the Land of Fire is relatively safe, and with Hyuga Hizashi's Byakugan clearly visible in front of them, the other side has chosen to back down on the vast majority of B-rank missions.

However, with more missions, unexpected events will eventually occur—or rather, although most B-level missions do not ultimately develop into battles, about 20% of B-level missions still end in a major battle between the two sides.

Clearly, Class One has finally met its match and will have to fight a major battle.

"This is already the sixth Rank B mission. Hopefully, the opponents won't be as polite and yielding as last time."

Asuma had a straw dangling from his mouth, his face radiating youthful energy and boundless vitality, as if he couldn't wait for an enemy Jonin to leap out of the bushes and engage him in battle.

"Be careful, Asuma, this time is different."

Red looked around warily and said:

"This time, we're on a battlefield mission. The chances of encountering an enemy are much lower than in previous missions, but if we do, they'll definitely not back down!"

Yes, the three-man squad is now on a battlefield mission, escorting a portion of the rolls to the front-line battlefield hospital.

The battlefield hospital was a bit far from the front lines, but it was hardly a safe place. In addition, ninjas were best at infiltration and guerrilla warfare, so it was normal to encounter ninjas who had infiltrated the rear at any time.

Of course, the first squad was not the only one sent to the battlefield hospital. In fact, Konoha would distribute medical supplies to seven or eight squads to carry out missions at the same time, and allow for a loss rate of about two squads. This was a leeway calculated from the beginning.

The advantage of doing this is that, unless the luck is so bad that it incurs the wrath of heaven and man, the front line can at least receive medical supplies for five or six squads, and the logistics will not be interrupted.

In other words, the probability of these squads encountering the enemy is about 1 in 5 or 1 in 6, depending on who is unlucky.

"Stop! There's trouble ahead! A small squad of ninjas is lying in ambush."

Every now and then, he would glance at Hyuga Hizashi around with his Byakugan, then suddenly stop and wave his hand to stop his three subordinates behind him.

"Have you spotted the enemy? Which ninja village are they from?"

Asuma and Kurenai, who had just been chatting, stopped in their tracks, their faces showing a mixture of excitement and nervousness, and drew their fist blades and kunai from their ninja tool pouches.

However, the one who reacted the fastest was not either of them, but Uchiha Hiyu, who had been standing beside them. He put down the scroll on his back, his body crackling with lightning, and rushed out in an instant.

"It must be a Sand Ninja... wait a minute... wow, that guy's speed has improved again!"

Uchiha Hiyu's speed was too fast; Hyuga Hizashi couldn't stop him in time and could only let out a gasp of surprise.

Sakumo Hatake's soul had already possessed him. After half a year of training, Touma Uchiha's foundation had greatly increased. Now, Sakumo Hatake could unleash 70-80% of his peak strength, making him a true near-Kage level powerhouse.

The terms "quasi-Kage level" or even "Kage level" are not standard definitions. The standard for a Kage-level ninja is the Kage of the five great ninja villages or a ninja with the strength to compete for the Kage position. A quasi-Kage level ninja is one who can fight against a Kage-level ninja for a period of time.

In theory, most ninjas who have made a name for themselves in the ninja world can be called near-Kage level ninjas. With this kind of strength, they can easily crush ordinary Jonin, if not cut melons and vegetables.

Unless the Sand Ninja on the other side is the Fourth Kazekage Rasa, or the puppeteer Chiyo herself, Uchiha Tou doesn't feel he has anything to fear.

It's obvious that the Fourth Kazekage and Elder Chiyo wouldn't condescend to come on such a small mission. The opposing ninja is at most an elite Jonin with a few Chunin. How could they possibly be a match for us?

The Sand Ninja squad, hidden ahead, did not initially detect the Konoha ninjas; they were simply lying in ambush on several of the Konoha's most likely routes.

However, when Uchiha Touyu charged straight at them, crackling with electricity, the group immediately realized what was happening.

(End of this chapter)