Chapter 60: Kusanagimaaru

Chapter 60: Chapter 60: Kusanagimaaru

Shisui didn’t think much of it. He immediately gave Hyuga Kagami a detailed explanation and demonstration of the hand seal sequence for the Shadow Clone Technique, as well as how chakra needed to circulate through the body while performing it.

After trying it only a few times, Kagami had more or less grasped the Shadow Clone Technique.

After all, with the amount of chakra he currently possessed, mastering a B-rank ninjutsu posed no difficulty whatsoever. More importantly, with the Tenseigan, he could clearly observe the path Shisui’s chakra followed through his body while demonstrating the Shadow Clone Technique.

Even someone with little talent could simply copy what they saw step by step and easily learn the technique.

This was one of the great advantages dojutsu kekkei genkai shinobi possessed when learning ninjutsu.

In the future, Kakashi would earn titles such as the "Number One Technician of Konoha" and the "Copy Ninja," and much of that would be thanks to the Sharingan Obito had given him.

The Third Hokage had given Team Eleven only three hours to prepare, so after mastering the Shadow Clone Technique, Kagami and Shisui each returned home to make preparations for the secret mission.

Considering that this operation would involve an intense conflict bordering on outright war—and that their opponent was Kumogakure, whose strength was already no weaker than Konoha’s—Kagami didn’t dare take the slightest chance.

He packed twice his usual supply of throwing weapons, including shuriken, kunai, and senbon. Whatever he couldn’t fit on his person, he sealed inside storage scrolls.

He also prepared a full five hundred explosive tags.

That was every last one he had managed to stockpile since being promoted to Special Jonin.

One bottle of paralysis poison, two bottles of antidote, three rolls of medical bandages, and one bottle of Military Ration Pills.

By the time Kagami was ready to leave, the several ninja tool pouches around his waist were stuffed to the brim.

At the door, he ran into Rei, who had hurried over in a rush.

Kagami smiled gently. "Why are you in such a panic?"

Seeing Kagami fully equipped as though he were heading straight onto a battlefield, Rei bit her lip.

"You... you have to be careful!"

There were a thousand things Rei wanted to say, but when the words reached her lips, all that remained was a simple warning to be careful.

Kagami reached out and gently rubbed Rei’s head, the corner of his mouth curling upward.

"I’m a Jonin now, you know. I’m not the one who needs to be careful—it’s those Kumogakure shinobi who should be worried."

Feeling the confidence in Kagami’s words, Rei relaxed slightly.

She then took out an exquisitely crafted short sword and handed it to him.

"The Clan Head asked me to give this to you."

Shing...

Kagami drew the short sword from its sheath, and a crisp metallic ring immediately echoed from the blade.

Even the warmth of the sunlight could not dispel the chilling aura lingering around the weapon. With just a single glance, its razor-sharp edge was enough to send a faint chill down one’s spine.

The words escaped Kagami’s mouth instinctively.

"What a fine blade!"

Rei continued, "The Clan Head said this short sword is called ’Kusanagimaru.’ It’s a chakra blade. Once it wounds an enemy, it has the special ability to prevent their wounds from healing."

"Kusanagimaru!?"

Kagami was slightly taken aback and thought to himself, "Could this also be one of the many Kusanagi swords?"

Kagami was somewhat surprised that Hyuga Hiashi had suddenly gifted him such a valuable sword, but he wasn’t shocked.

His status was completely different from what it had once been.

As a member of the ANBU directly under the Hokage, he could meet with the Hokage whenever necessary and now had the ability to participate in and influence certain affairs within the village.

On top of that, he had recently defeated Uchiha Shinichi and Uchiha Hiiragi in succession, causing his reputation to soar. Among the younger generation of the Hyuga Clan, he was already unquestionably one of its most outstanding members.

If Hyuga Hiashi, as Clan Head, still made no effort to win Kagami over, then he would truly be failing at his role as Clan Head.

In truth, the decline of the Hyuga Clan had already become quite apparent.

Although the clan still had quite a few Jonin, those who could truly be considered elite Jonin could be counted on one hand. Among the younger generation, aside from Hyuga Kagami, who had suddenly risen to prominence, there was no one else particularly noteworthy.

Therefore, the Hyuga Clan’s low-profile behavior wasn’t solely due to its traditional way of conducting itself. It was also closely related to the severe decline in the clan’s overall strength.

What surprised Kagami was simply that the Clan Head had been willing to give him such a precious treasure.

He couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

"A prestigious shinobi clan with a thousand years of history really does have some impressive treasures tucked away."

After bidding farewell to Rei, Kagami hurried to Team Eleven’s designated assembly point.

Shisui and Guy had already arrived. Kakashi was the only one nowhere to be seen.

After they had waited for quite some time, Kakashi finally showed up.

Guy asked curiously, "What took you so long?"

Kakashi replied apologetically, "I stopped by the Memorial Stone just now. Sorry for keeping everyone waiting."

Hearing this, Kagami’s brows furrowed.

Kakashi had actually gone to the Memorial Stone right before setting out on a secret mission.

That gave Kagami a faint sense of foreboding.

It seemed the secret mission assigned by the Third Hokage was anything but ordinary.

It was almost time to depart, so they didn’t waste any more time talking and immediately set out.

Along the way, Kagami probed, "What exactly is Team Eleven’s mission?"

Hearing the question, Shisui and Guy also turned their gazes toward Kakashi, who was leading the way at the front.

The mission scroll issued by the Third Hokage was kept by the team captain, so at present, Kakashi was the only member of Team Eleven who knew the specific details of their secret mission.

Kakashi shook his head.

"I can’t tell you yet."

To prevent intelligence leaks, it was common for a team captain to withhold the details of a mission until the squad was close to its destination.

But the more secretive Kakashi was, the more Kagami felt that this mission was probably far from simple.

Perhaps it had nothing to do with intercepting the invading Kumogakure forces at all.

After all, if their mission were merely to stop an invading enemy, there would be no need for this level of secrecy.

Over the following week, Team Eleven took a long, circuitous route, avoiding the Kumogakure forces that had invaded the Land of Fire as they gradually approached the border of the Land of Hot Water.

By this point, everyone in Team Eleven had already guessed that their secret mission would most likely be carried out deep within enemy territory.

Captain Kakashi no longer kept them in the dark. He spread a map out on the ground, pointed to a red mark on it, and said, "Here. This is our target."

The red mark on the map was located near the border between the Land of Lightning and the Land of the Moon. Judging from the terrain shown on the map, it appeared to lie within a valley surrounded by extremely complicated terrain.

Kakashi continued, "This is one of Kumogakure’s secret supply depots. It stores a large quantity of ninja tools and food. Once we destroy it, Kumogakure’s offensive inside the Land of Fire will be forced to slow down."

Shisui immediately asked, "What about the enemy’s defenses?"

Kakashi silently shook his head.

Only after a long pause did he answer, "The Intelligence Division only managed to locate the depot. They weren’t able to determine its defenses, so we need to prepare for the worst."

For an important supply depot like this, it wouldn’t be surprising even if Kumogakure had stationed a hundred shinobi there to guard it.

Team Eleven, meanwhile, had only four members.

Although none of them were weak, they would be operating deep inside enemy territory while heavily outnumbered.

No matter how one looked at it, the odds of successfully completing this secret mission weren’t particularly high.

Kagami couldn’t help but grumble inwardly.

"No wonder the Third suddenly became so generous..."