"What is this rabble gathered here?" a man suddenly appeared, his voice cutting through the air.
Every gaze shifted toward him in an instant. Fast, I thought, scanning him.
His appearance was rugged in a good way—typical for a shinobi who spent more time on the front lines than at home. The standard green Konoha flak jacket hung slightly loose on him, and his forehead protector was tied like a bandana, covering his brow, while a thick black patch concealed his left eye.
"You're the ones they gave me for a B-rank mission?" he growled, eyeing us with his remaining orb. "Hilarious... Command is just mocking me. No time to recover, straight into an assignment, and with children to boot!"
He spat to the side and began adjusting the straps of his gear, muttering under his breath, seemingly indifferent to whether we heard him or not.
"Will you be joining our team?" I asked, striving to maintain a calm composure and ignore his less-than-friendly tone.
The man froze, shifted his gaze to me, and let out a heavy sigh.
"Chunin Iwana Akame. To your misfortune, I am leading this trek," he grunted. "Listen up: I'm not here to play teacher. My goal is the cargo. If any of you trip up or start whining, I'll leave you by the roadside. I have no use for dead weight."
Mizuki, standing nearby, immediately donned his trademark practiced smile and nodded, while Tsubaki merely gripped a fold of her clothing tighter. Guy and Genma simply watched him.
"What are you standing around for? Time is money. Move out!" Akame spun around abruptly and, without waiting for an answer, bolted toward the outpost.
The mission had begun. We moved at a punishing pace, leaping across the gargantuan branches of the Land of Fire's Great Trees. Akame set a speed that bordered on the limit of an average genin's capability.
Roughly four hours into the journey, just as Tsubaki's breathing grew labored, Akame suddenly signaled a halt. He landed on a broad branch and listened intently.
"Hey, runts," he said without turning around. "Do any of you feel something strange?"
I exchanged looks with the others. Tsubaki looked bewildered, and Mizuki was diligently scanning the forest with his eyes but clearly finding nothing.
"We don't have any sensors in the team," I replied, realizing that relying on intuition or hearing right now was a fool's errand.
"Neither do we," Tsubaki added quickly, confirming my words.
"Ugh, what use are you then?" Akame snapped irritably.
He began weaving a series of hand signs. His fingers moved with the fluid speed of a seasoned combatant:
Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram.
I could barely keep track of them, mentally recording the sequence. That's a combination similar to unsealing, flashed through my mind.
Poof!
A sharp pop echoed, and the air filled with a cloud of white smoke. When it cleared, a small family of rats appeared on the branch next to Akame. They weren't giant, perhaps ten to twenty centimeters long, but in their intelligent, bead-like eyes, one could read something more than mere animal instinct.
Summoning... I stared at the rodents, fascinated. This was the first time I had seen a summoning technique in this life. In the anime, it seemed like every passerby used it, but here in reality, I understood: this was an incredibly rare feat. Signing a contract with the world of summoned animals was a mark of status and a shinobi's connections. It literally placed Akame a level above ordinary Chunin.
Akame formed another seal, and I watched as his chakra began to flow into the group of rodents, enveloping them in a barely visible haze. A few seconds later, the rats silently dispersed in different directions, instantly vanishing into the forest floor.
"We're taking a break while they gather intel," he commanded, leaning his back against the tree trunk.
We settled among the roots of a giant tree. The silence of the forest now felt deceptive to me—somewhere out there, dozens of tiny eyes were checking every bush. Curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to ask:
"Why didn't you give them any verbal commands?"
Akame cracked open his single eye and looked at me as if I were an idiot. "You think all rats understand human speech? Only the advanced, ancient summons are capable of that," he said with a hint of disappointment in my intellect.
"Then how did you get them to scout? Chakra!" The answer slipped from my lips before I even had a chance to think it through. "Just like the Aburame do."
"I essentially transmit my intent through chakra... but that's not in the cards for you, even if you are a 'Chunin'," he smirked snidely, clearly relishing his superiority. "The gap between us is massive. To thread your will through lower animals so delicately requires control honed over decades."
I remained silent, but a spark of competitive fire ignited within me. Transmitting intent through chakra... If it worked with a summoning, then it was pure manipulation of will.
As we sat, I closed my eyes. My legs were still heavy with weights, and I tried to send a tiny pulse of chakra into the earth—not as a strike, but as a "desire" to feel what was happening beneath the roots.
Suddenly, one of Akame's rats returned. It didn't squeak; it simply froze before him, twitching its nose. Akame's face changed instantly. All his feigned relaxation vanished, replaced by a predatory focus.
"Get up, runts," he said softly, resting his hand on the hilt of his sword. "Information's in. Ahead, by the stream, an ambush. And they aren't just bandits. Judging by their formation... they're Iwa shinobi. They've pushed deep into the Land of Fire."
Guy and Genma, who had been moving with absolute silence to avoid the captain's ire, also became alert. The air grew thick with the distinct scent of a first real confrontation.
"What are we up against?" I asked, my eyes locked on Akame.
"Presumably three Chunin," he replied, casually checking his equipment. His lone eye remained calm, almost sleepy, which in this situation either spoke of vast experience or a total lack of concern.
"What's the plan?" Genma finally asked, adjusting the perpetual senbon-toothpick in his mouth.
"Well, I'll take one," Akame shrugged, as if discussing buying vegetables. "And you lot deal with the other two."
A heavy silence hung over the forest. I looked at Akame and felt a dull irritation boiling inside. Does he not know how to plan, or what? it flashed through my head. Akame was an experienced fighter, but this wouldn't do. He had effectively abdicated command at the very moment it was needed most.
"No, that won't work," I took the initiative, seeing Tsubaki begin to pale. "Akame-san, since you're taking the leader, I'll take the second. Tsubaki, you're on support with me—watch the distance and distract him with projectiles. Guy, Genma, and Mizuki—the three of you take the third. Your job is to overwhelm him with numbers and pace. Once you're done, come straight to assist us."
I didn't know Mizuki's full capabilities, so it was better to be safe. And Tsubaki, in theory, could cover me if things went south.
Genma quickly assessed the layout and nodded. "Alright, that works. It's logical."
"It is time to show the power of Youth!" Guy shouted, fired up, finally shaking off his somber mood from after the exam. His aura flared so brightly it felt as if even the leaves on the trees trembled.
Mizuki gave a short nod as well, though I noticed a shadow of resentment in his eyes because I was the one giving orders. But he didn't dare argue at a time like this.
I checked the tension of the bandages on my hands. The enemy's full strength remained unclear. One Chunin could be vastly different from another—it could be a fresh graduate or a veteran with dozens of lethal techniques. But leaving genin one-on-one with enemies of that caliber, as Akame suggested, would have been suicide.
"Moving out," Akame commanded, smirking at my audacity. "Let's see how your 'strategy' holds up against the earth-crawlers from Iwa."
We blurred from our positions. I moved at the head of my unit, suppressing my chakra.
Within minutes, we reached the stream. The Iwa shinobi weren't hiding; they sat upon the rocks as if waiting for us. Three men in grey armor.
"Konoha..." one of them, marked by a scar across his cheek, stood up slowly. "We've been waiting."