Naruto: Forbidden Arts and an Immortal Agenda

The next day, Aozora and the others met at Konoha's village entrance.

After showing their permits to leave the village, the four swiftly departed.

Not long after they left, two ninja cloaked in black suddenly appeared on a tree outside the village.

An Anbu wearing a dog-faced mask asked, "Captain, should we follow them?"

Wolf stared in the direction where Aozora and his team had gone, then shook his head.

Earlier while secretly observing them, he noticed a glance from Aozora. He quickly looked away before being noticed. If they continued tracking, given the other side's keen perception, their presence would definitely be detected.

Wolf whispered, "No need. They're not Jonin!"

"But Uchiha Aozora is someone Lord Danzo especially values."

Upon hearing this, Wolf fell silent.

...

Only after sensing the surveillance presence vanish did Aozora snap back, asking about the mission status of the three.

Genya blurted out eagerly, "I checked with the Police Force yesterday afternoon. Zhengren specializes in Fire Release ninjutsu, while Yingtai excels at sword techniques and throwing ninja tools. The two rarely interacted and share no other similarities. If I must say something, both recently awakened Three Tomoe Sharingan."

Aozora asked, "What are the chances both of them ended up taking this mission? Was there any human interference?"

Genya replied, "Most likely not. This mission was posted by the Police Force. Everyone wants to take missions outside the village, but the department requires at least special-jonin level to qualify. If the director hadn't removed it, someone else might have taken it."

Aozora nodded. Missions outside the village from the Police Force were rare opportunities—real golden tickets for the Uchiha clan.

Then Aozora turned to Shuichi, asking, "Why was Tanaka Shoko transferred from Anbu?"

Shuichi shook his head. "Nothing was found. The Police Force has no records, and Anbu keeps it confidential."

Aozora didn't blame Shuichi. Given the current poor relationship between the Police Force and Anbu, it was normal not to find anything.

Aozora then asked Kagenbi, "Did you get the list of those who died on missions with Tanaka Shoko?"

Kagenbi answered, "Yes. There wasn't much in common among the victims. Notably, nearly all were chunin teams, and each usually had one member belonging to a ninja clan."

While many ninja clans existed in Konoha, compared to the whole village, members of ninja clans were still relatively few—most ninja were commoners anyway.

Aozora hummed thoughtfully as he ran forward, analyzing silently.

Tanaka Shoko was highly suspicious. It wasn't strange for the Police Force to suspect him. According to Genya's findings, Zhengren and Yingtai weren't likely set up—they were simply coincidentally drawn into it.

What puzzled him was how Tanaka Shoko's usual targets were chunin teams, yet somehow managed to kill jonin?

Many people secretly coveted the Uchiha Kekkei Genkai. While Aozora had some suspicions, he dared not draw conclusions rashly.

Therefore, he asked, "What do you think?"

Genya spoke up enthusiastically, "Captain, what are we thinking about? We've wasted a whole day already! If we don't speed up, that guy will escape without a trace..."

"Silence!"

Kagenbi interrupted him mid-sentence and apologized, "My brother doesn't have a brain in his head. Please don't take offense, Captain."

Genya was about to protest but shrank back after a glare from Kagenbi.

Aozora said, "It's fine, Kagenbi. Share your thoughts."

Kagenbi replied, "This Tanaka Shoko is merely a Tokubetsu Jonin. How could he possibly kill Zhengren and Yingtai? There must be something suspicious going on here."

Yet Kagenbi himself couldn't explain exactly what was amiss.

Aozora shifted his hopeful gaze toward Shuichi, though soon felt disappointed.

Shuichi said, "Once we find the person, we'll naturally reach a conclusion!"

Aozora shook his head—he had expected too much.

They were Uchiha, not Nara. With just these limited clues, what profound analysis could they really make?

After failing to reach any conclusions, Aozora focused back on traveling.

Hearing autumn winds and stepping on fallen leaves, the four of them galloped like tireless horses heading north.

This was Aozora's first time leading a mission, and he felt somewhat unaccustomed to it.

In past missions, there had always been Aya making noise nearby. The whole process had generally been cheerful and lively.

But now, Shuichi and Kagenbi remained completely silent throughout the journey. Genya stayed quiet out of fear of Kagenbi. And Aozora himself, trying to make others forget his youthfulness, chose to act as a cold and aloof team leader. Multiple factors combined made this trip feel rather oppressive.

Approaching noon, Aozora spotted a dense forest ahead and signaled everyone to stop.

After entering the woods and confirming its safety, the four sat beneath the shade to rest.

Leaning against trees, Shuichi and the others took out rations and water, preparing for a simple meal.

Aozora released some pre-prepared food from a sealing scroll.

Seeing various pastries and dishes appear before him, Genya and the others suddenly found their dry rations hard to swallow.

"Let's eat together! I can't finish all this alone anyway."

Saying this, Aozora grabbed a chicken leg and started chewing.

With a stern face, Shuichi said, "Endure what others cannot—that is what makes a true ninja!"

Kagenbi also added, "An easy life softens our spirit and weakens our alertness. Ninja Regulation Thirteen: During missions, use only self-carried rations. Never let delicious food soften your warrior's resolve."

Nodding in agreement, Genya's eyes never left Aozora's chicken leg.

"So then?"

Finding the cold chicken less tasty, Aozora manipulated a small amount of fire-natured chakra to roast the chicken leg further.

The aroma of grilled chicken blended with rich sauce drifted through the air...

While Kagenbi and Shuichi hesitated to indulge themselves, Genya simply reached out and grabbed one.

Watching Aozora and Genya devouring their food heartily, Shuichi and Kagenbi eventually abandoned their rigid ninja regulation and bit into their own hard biscuits.

After finishing their meals with great satisfaction, Kagenbi patted his bulging stomach and exclaimed, "That tasted amazing!"

Picking his teeth, Genya teased, "Bro, you were just quoting ninja regulations earlier, yet you ate even more than me."

Meanwhile, Shuichi silently caressed his long sword.

After cleaning up the leftovers, Aozora remarked, "The ninja regulations haven't been updated for many years. They've become outdated and rotten. If a ninja truly followed every single rule, he wouldn't be human anymore—he'd become nothing more than a knife, a sword, a weapon without emotions."

After hearing Aozora's words, Shuichi and the others couldn't help bowing their heads in deep thought.

After a short rest, they set off once again.

After eating the lunch Aozora made, the three grew noticeably friendlier toward him.

Especially Genya, who started firing questions at Aozora nonstop.

When he found out Aozora was Shisui's younger brother, he was completely blown away. He then turned to Kagenbi and said, "You see? Birds of a feather. It's all your fault my future got ruined."

Genya's wild theories even made Shuichi keep shooting him side glances.

Kagenbi helplessly explained, "My brother went brain-dead from training taijutsu."

Thinking back on Might Guy from the village—who'd gone mad practicing taijutsu—Aozora and Shuichi both nodded in understanding.

Genya didn't just love asking questions; he loved talking too. Before long, he let all their secrets slip.

Aozora therefore laid out a basic formation for the team and assigned each of them specific combat roles.

Besides his outstanding taijutsu, Genya was also skilled in [Earth Release], making him the perfect tank.

Kagenbi had mastered [Genjutsu] and possessed basic first aid knowledge, serving as the team's controller.

Shuichi's [Sword Technique] packed immense burst damage; he could act as an offensive striker or even an assassin capable of eliminating powerful foes.

As for Aozora, possessing [Omnipotence] across ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu, he naturally became the team's absolute C-position.

If this were a *League of Legends* squad, Aozora would be the dual-core—both the AP Carry and the AD Carry.

Once the roles were decided, Aozora specially took Shuichi and the others for a bit of practice and tested their teamwork by clearing out two bandit camps.

Of course, Aozora wasn't doing it just for Golden Droplets—he mainly wanted to sharpen the team's coordination.

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