Naruto: Forbidden Arts and an Immortal Agenda

Chapter 84: Chapter 84: Rogue Ninja Ambush



Monday arrived with bright sunshine and crisp autumn winds—perfect weather for a journey.

The three supply convoys separated not long after leaving Konoha.

No matter the trade, breaking things down is always easier than building them up.

Since ninjas specialize in destruction, the three convoys had no choice but to separate—otherwise, the enemy could wipe them out in one fell swoop.

The Third Supply Convoy was a massive caravan.

The Third Supply Convoy was divided into three smaller teams of seven members each, guarding the front, middle, and rear of the convoy.

The front squad, led by Aozora, handled scouting and vigilance.

Shuichi was placed in charge of the middle squad, protecting the most crucial supplies such as food and iron armor.

The rear squad was commanded by Cangxi, an experienced chunin with solid credentials, tasked with securing the rear.

The caravan moved steadily forward. Aozora sat on a bumpy wagon reading through Itachi's assignment submission.

The handwriting on the small notebook was neat and elegant.

As neat as his handwriting, the owner of these notes clearly possessed a meticulous mind.

[Aozora-nii's two questions kept me awake all night. After returning home, I pondered deeply, even spacing out during class...

After much thought, I finally found my own answers.

Through these two questions, Aozora-nii wanted me to realize:

It's fine for me to pursue the Will of Fire, but I shouldn't impose it on others, especially under the banner of righteousness, asking others to sacrifice themselves for it.

Also, the Hokage and other Konoha elites are merely spokespeople chosen by the village—they aren't the village itself...]

Reading this, Aozora couldn't help but smile, his lips curling into a beautiful arc.

Itachi was indeed sharp—he fully understood what Aozora meant.

As he flipped to the next page, the smile on Aozora's face gradually faded.

"You truly never fail to impress me, Itachi."

Aozora wasn't sure how he felt at that moment.

Itachi grasped the meaning, yet instead of fighting for his clan's interests from within the clan's perspective,

He considered how to better integrate the Uchiha into Konoha.

He believed that the current distrust and distance between the Uchiha and Konoha's leaders wasn't all Konoha's fault—the Uchiha themselves shared some blame too.

Aozora's teaching dissuaded him from pursuing change only from the top down; this time, he no longer aimed to keep retreating and sacrificing clan interests.

Instead, he proposed that the Uchiha should set aside their pride and merge into Konoha.

Honestly, there was nothing wrong with Itachi's idea.

What harm could come from harmony between soldiers and civilians, like fish and water?

Yet would Konoha's leadership simply allow the Uchiha to gain the villagers' favor?

And—

Aozora looked at the clansmen who grew cold and distant whenever an outsider was present, then shook his head.

This generation of Uchiha had already been shaped by their upbringing; change wouldn't happen quickly.

Moreover, whether the Uchiha would exist at all in the distant future remained uncertain.

Aozora stepped out of the carriage and sat beside the driver.

The wagon jolted continuously while changing scenery outside passed by, scattering Aozora's deep thoughts.

"That kid Itachi truly possesses boundless compassion! How did Fugaku raise him?"

"What should I teach him next?"

"He needs to realize the clan could fall any day now—there's simply no time for gradual change."

"Besides, should I show him some of the darker sides of things?"

"..."

Suddenly, Aozora heard someone calling his name.

"Vice Captain."

Aozora shook off his daze and turned toward a familiar face.

"Shin'ya, you're already done with the reconnaissance?"

Shin'ya was the Chunin from the Police Force who had held him back yesterday. With today's squad assignments changed, Aozora had placed him in the front team.

Yesterday's incident had unsettled Aozora, so he arranged for rotating patrols right after leaving Konoha.

Shin'ya replied, "Finished recon. Right after leaving Konoha, there's not even a single displaced commoner around, let alone mountain bandits!"

"Don't get careless; treat this as practice," Aozora said. "Skills we haven't used for a while tend to get rusty. Our teacher taught us these techniques—use them more often!"

Shin'ya gave him an expression filled with grievance.

How could a Chunin from the Police Force possibly have rusty reconnaissance skills?

He felt like he had unintentionally offended his superior yesterday and now was being punished accordingly.

Aozora ignored Shin'ya's obvious displeasure.

"Stay vigilant! The front team of six will work in pairs, rotating every two hours for alternating reconnaissance!"

In the end, Aozora's caution proved unnecessary.

The area surrounding Konoha had been thoroughly patrolled by the village's ninja repeatedly; no one could have possibly slipped through unnoticed.

Two days passed without any attacks on the supply convoy, nor did they encounter so much as a single mountain bandit.

As time went by, the team gradually relaxed, decreasing the intensity of their surveillance.

On this day, the convoy was about to pass through a dense forest.

Suddenly, Aozora commanded, "Halt!"

At his cold shout, the entire convoy quickly came to a stop.

Shuichi instantly appeared on top of the central wagon, scanning the surroundings vigilantly.

Shin'ya and the other five Chunin from the front team quickly surrounded Aozora.

Shuichi Body Flickered to Aozora's side, a questioning look in his eyes.

"There's something wrong with the woods ahead," Aozora stated.

Upon hearing this, all six immediately activated their Sharingan, staring into the forest.

Before them lay only silent woodland, nothing appearing out of place.

But how unnaturally quiet was this thick forest?

Their faces turned red with humiliation.

Earlier, they had briefly scouted the area but found nothing unusual.

"I'll take care of it!"

"We're sorry, Vice Captain!"

"..."

An avalanche of apologies and offers poured out toward Aozora.

Seeing this, Shuichi didn't interfere, allowing Aozora full authority.

"Silence!" Aozora barked. "Safety first, caution paramount! Looks like my lessons just flew straight out the window."

"The enemy hides in the shadows, and we don't know their strength yet. Yet you all can't wait to throw your lives away like that?"

Aozora glanced at Shin'ya, who had remained silent the whole time, and asked, "What do you think should be done?"

Shin'ya looked toward Shuichi, then lowered his head again.

Frowning, Shuichi urged, "Speak if you have an idea!"

Finally, Shin'ya raised his head. "Burn the forest down!"

Though curious about the relationship between Shuichi and Shin'ya, Aozora nodded approvingly. At least someone finally grasped something.

"Shin'ya!"

"At your command!"

"I'm entrusting command of the front team to you. Handle those rogue ninja hiding in that forest!"

"Yes, sir!"

Receiving orders, Shin'ya led his teammates toward the dense forest.

No sooner had they left than Shuichi asked, "There are many ninja hiding in the woods—are we really going to leave it entirely to them?"

"They can't expect us to do everything, can they?" Aozora replied.

[The sharpest blade is forged through fire; true strength blooms only after hardship.]

He was genuinely vigilant throughout the journey, but it was also part of the test — a way to push Shin'ya and the others to grow.

Though the Chunin of the Police Force were strong, they'd grown up sheltered within Konoha — like greenhouse flowers never tested by the wild. Now that they were out in the real world, he naturally wanted them to face some trials.

There might have been over a dozen rogue ninja hiding in the forest, but Uchiha ninja were born to stand against overwhelming odds.

Of course, should things go south, he and Shuichi were always nearby, ready to step in if needed.

Glancing at the cold-eyed Shuichi, Aozora asked, "What's your relationship with Shin'ya?"

Shuichi replied, "He's my older brother."

Aozora studied Shuichi for a moment, then looked toward Shin'ya's retreating figure before gently shaking his head.

Those two brothers were something else — the younger one acted like the real boss.

Hmm, maybe I should take a page from Shuichi's book.

In the forest,

Over a dozen rogue ninja crouched silently behind tree trunks.

Unlike ordinary rogues, these ones looked well-fed and carried top-notch gear.

They were a band of Rogue Ninja — some hailed from ruined villages, while others had defected.

After being crushed repeatedly while fighting alone, they banded together into this small squad of wandering ninjas.

With razor-sharp agility and unmatched mobility, they pulled off heist after heist, living rather comfortably.

Under normal circumstances, a crew like this wouldn't dare step into any of the Five Great Nations.

But with Hidden Cloud and Konoha locked in battle, border patrols had gone lax — perfect timing for them.

They decided it was time to take the risk.

After all, where there's danger, there's profit!

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