Chapter 152: No Upper Limit

For ninja, unless it's a large-scale war, actually seeing them all move together like this in one big unit was pretty rare. Even rarer is a joint force formed by three different villages. Iwagakure especially had poor relations with the other two villages, and was even age-old enemies with Sunagakure. Given that situation, just staying out of each other's throats was already a miracle. Mizuki didn't really expect these groups to coordinate properly when the shit hit the fan.

However, Mizuki also had no intention of mediating. Konoha itself, being one of the original parties involved, had actually contributed the fewest members and possessed the weakest battle strength. Unless Mizuki started throwing around his weird and unpredictable jutsu, the strongest among them would be Baki, followed by Akatsuchi. Next came Sunagakure kunoichi Maki, Yura, Aoba Yamashiro, and Mizuki himself, whose abilities were about equal. These were the core fighters of the mission. As for others, their frontline fighting capabilities against powerful opponents couldn't really be counted on—but there were still many specialists with unique skills who could provide considerable assistance from supporting roles.

Therefore, with this haphazardly assembled team, the possibility of forming true unity was practically nil. Just like the earlier briefing session, where Mizuki represented Konoha to discuss mission details with Baki and Akatsuchi, talks ended in discontent, each side harboring their own private thoughts. The odds of sincere cooperation between the three factions were basically zero.

"It looks like I'll have to think carefully this time," Mizuki mused. "I can't let others lead me around by the nose. Also, there's that guy Yura..."

This Sunagakure ninja named Yura was an absolute spy embedded deep within Sunagakure through Red Sand of the Desert's secret technique [Stealth Brain Control Sand]. In other words, while Konoha and Iwagakure had originally prepared thoroughly for internal cleansing during this mission, Sunagakure had forcefully joined under ulterior motives, making them most likely to leak sensitive information and endanger the entire group. Still, nothing was set in stone yet. Whether or not Red Sand of the Desert would rescue his former partner Deidara—and whether he would activate Yura, a deeply entrenched mole—remained difficult to predict. Risking the loss of a key embedded agent within Sunagakure just for Deidara probably required careful evaluation by Red Sand of the Desert regarding whether it was worth it.

When Mizuki returned to camp, he saw Aoba Yamashiro tidying tents with two Genin. Since the team had split into three factions, naturally they didn't stay too close together, causing discomfort. As long as visual contact remained and timely support was possible, Mizuki didn't mind clearly separating distances. There were two dangerous sources within the camp—Gaara and Deidara—with whom Mizuki usually kept maximum distance. Deidara had seen Mizuki use [fake Rinnegan] before; he should avoid direct contact unless absolutely necessary. Fortunately, Deidara was tightly restricted, nearly cut off entirely from external perception due to sealing techniques.

Additionally, the three Sunagakure Genin had also witnessed the might of [Planetary Devastation]. Although they couldn't figure out exactly which jutsu it was or how Mizuki pulled it off, it left them wary of him regardless.

Ninja prone to flipping tables and throwing fits over the smallest thing—Sunagakure probably wouldn't hassle Mizuki, a Konoha jounin from an allied village, so long as their interests didn't clash directly.

"Mizuki, how did it go?" Aoba Yamashiro couldn't help but ask when he saw Mizuki returning with a clearly disgruntled expression.

"Not great," Mizuki said. "If I hadn't been here representing Konoha, they might've already started swinging at each other."

"Is it really that bad? It's a mission after all—if something goes wrong, that'd be a problem."

"Just saying making it through peacefully was good enough." Mizuki understood the underlying reasons well. Though Suna was also one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, significantly stronger than minor hidden villages, compared to the other four major ones, it fell short. The mentality of a small country with limited resources was obvious, especially now—recently hit by a major setback and without a Kazekage, the Suna ninja were on edge.

Iwagakure's centuries of tightly united and fanatical tradition were one of the pillars supporting its status in the ninja world. Naturally, ninja from these two villages would struggle to get along. As team leaders, Akatsuchi, Baki, and Mizuki naturally knew the full mission details, but those below them might not. If two groups who already disliked each other got into a tense standoff, no one would be surprised.

But none of that was Mizuki's job to mediate. If Akatsuki didn't show up in the end, everything would be fine—everyone could just return to normal. Yet if a real powerful enemy did appear, under immense pressure, Mizuki estimated they wouldn't even have the heart to quarrel anymore.

After wrapping things up, Mizuki called over Aoba Yamashiro and the two genin and sat down with them before speaking, "This mission must've raised a lot of questions for all of you—it had plenty of irregularities. I'll explain everything shortly..."

"First off, let me confirm—what exactly did your mission description say?"

"A-ranked: Protect an important figure," Neji Hyuga answered first.

"Same here," Shino Aburame nodded in agreement.

"I got the same too," Aoba chimed in. "Though I know it wasn't that simple."

"Alright then, guess I owe you guys an apology for keeping you guessing the whole trip," Mizuki chuckled while rubbing his forehead. "Not sure what the Fifth was thinking, but probably to prevent information leaks."

Saying this, Mizuki briefly scanned the surroundings with his sensory abilities (the special ninja technique for sensing enemies) to make sure nothing unusual was present before continuing, "Yes, officially it's an A-rank mission, but this task itself is only part of a much larger operation plan. So everyone, please stay focused. As your mission leader, I must seriously inform you—this mission involves many uncertainties, and it's highly likely to get upgraded to S-rank on short notice..."

"S-rank?! How can such a mission involve genin?!" Both Neji Hyuga and Shino Aburame were visibly shocked. Although confident in their strength, they weren't arrogant enough to believe they could handle an S-rank assignment.

Aoba Yamashiro also chuckled bitterly, "That's just how it is. Although I had a hunch earlier, I never expected we'd land an S-ranked mission out of the blue."

For a ninja of Aoba's caliber—a Tokubetsu Jonin—taking on such high-level missions was already a rare occurrence. The last time he'd taken on such a mission was back in the Land of Waves. That one hadn't started off particularly dangerous, but their carelessness led to serious consequences. And this time around, the situation was clearly far more intense than before.

In fact, according to standard mission rankings, levels A, B, C, and D usually gave a rough idea of the difficulty involved. When assigned appropriately to ninja of corresponding ranks, success rates were generally quite high. Especially in Konoha, where strict mission filtering ensured that tasks rarely escalated in difficulty beyond expectations. That's why Konoha ninjas were known far and wide for their reliability.

But an S-class mission was a completely different beast. It wasn't simply one level above A—it meant the task's difficulty exceeded A-rank, yet its exact level couldn't be determined. In other words, if described accurately, the difficulty of an S-ranked mission should be called "unrated" at best—it could be anything.

Those three simple words hinted at something truly horrifying. Even Jonins approached S-ranked missions with caution, and still failures and fatalities occurred from time to time. It wasn't strange for Mizuki and Aoba Yamashiro to be here, but sending Neji Hyuga and Shino Aburame on an S-class mission seemed premature. Still...

"I know," the speaker continued, "but you must understand—the current state of the village means we can't spare many Jonins, or even find several available Chunins. So sometimes, it falls to you to step up. This is the time when we need your effort."

Such situations—sending underage Genins onto the battlefield—usually only happened during wartime. Like Kakashi Hatake—who became a legend by earning his fame through battlefield feats before he even grew up—they proved their worth early.

Although Konoha hadn't yet reached the point of needing Genins to charge into front-line combat, tensions were rising dangerously close to open warfare. Having suffered far greater losses than in the canon timeline, Konoha was mobilizing every resource to deter enemies who smelled weakness. At times like these, with few ninja available, deploying strong Genins for missions beyond their rank was only natural—because there truly were no other options left.

"Understood," said the young ninja. Even with Neji Hyuga's and Shino Aburame's talents and pride, facing an S-ranked mission still filled them with unease.

"You're making it sound too scary, Mizuki. Gonna scare 'em half to death," Aoba Yamashiro joked. "Don't worry. Nothing will happen to you while we're still standing."

"Then that's settled. No need to get too worked up about it either. Since Sand and Stone villages are helping, we should manage this mission well enough. Besides, we ain't even the main target..."

"Mizuki, how can you say that? How do you know the enemy isn't after us? The village has been attacked multiple times recently!"

"Since we don't have any prisoners or tailed beasts here, how could they possibly target us? There's nothing worth their attention," Mizuki suddenly remembered something but quickly added without showing his concern. "With just a few guys like this attacking us, even if they pulled it off, they'd gain absolutely nothing. So you all rest easy. I'll go check outside first and come back later."

Mizuki got up and walked off to set up some barriers and traps around the campsite.

...

The moon loomed high, past midnight—it was getting late. Mizuki had finished setting up the barriers a while ago, but still hadn't come back. Instead, he was going through his usual routine of sensing natural energy—and thinking.

"So we're not the enemy's main objective, huh? Guess I really was too confident."

Actually, when questioned earlier about why they wouldn't be the primary target for the enemies, Mizuki had realized—he might've underestimated the difficulty of this mission.

"Maybe I should've asked Tsunade to send someone else. Just having Aoba of Yamashiro around doesn't exactly make me feel safe..."

Originally, Mizuki believed that the One-Tail Jinchuriki and Deidara were who the enemies would primarily target. But when asked that question, he realized he himself might become the third priority for the enemy.

"A Rinnegan user... even one with a temporary version. It's impossible not to want something like that..."

Among those who might come looking for trouble, the first was Red Sand of the Desert—Sasori. He'd personally witnessed and been severely defeated by the Rinnegan. Naturally, he'd desire such power. Another dangerous threat Mizuki dreaded encountering was none other than Obito Uchiha and Zetsu. Right now, Pain probably hadn't fully adapted to eyes—the Rinnegan—that originally didn't belong to him. The chance of him showing up was slim. Also, Mizuki overlooked internal conflicts within Akatsuki: Sasori's selfishness meant Pain knew absolutely nothing about the existence of this second pair of Rinnegan.

Next in line were undoubtedly Obito Uchiha and Zetsu. The Rinnegan was essential to their plans—if things went wrong on Pain's end, they'd definitely need a replacement. These eyes once belonged to Madara Uchiha. Everyone knows how rare the Rinnegan is. Now that a possible Rinnegan has surfaced, someone will definitely come to test it out. Still, no one can say exactly who. Compared to those top experts, though, they probably wouldn't even consider Mizuki—a newly promoted Jonin with only a few days' experience—as a real threat at all. So maybe he wasn't completely helpless after all.

"Sage Mode… Hope it actually works if things go south."

I've been counting on Sage Mode so much. Practiced every day. Tried using it again and again recently. But somehow, the results are still underwhelming. The biggest problem is Sage Mode doesn't activate instantly—it needs a bit of time to prepare. It isn't too long, but still needs focus.

This world's like a terrible video game—no cool-down grace period at all, just straight into the fight. Experienced fighters would spot your exaggerated movements trying to activate Sage Mode, sense the enormous and terrifying chakra surging through your body—and naturally try to eliminate you before you stabilize yourself completely.

Even so, success didn't guarantee everything would go perfectly. With no prior experience in Sage Arts, Mizuki had to wing it by referencing how they were used in the original storyline, trying to piece together something similar. In the end, he did come up with a few ways to boost his Ninjutsu using Sage Chakra and Natural Energy, but he wasn't too sure about them himself. But testing them was impossible—once he entered Sage Mode, there was no one he could spar with. Just one [Great Fireball Jutsu] could torch an entire little forest, and trying to spar with someone too weak might end up burning them alive.

So all of this would have to be tested in real battle.

<><><><><><><><>

Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!

~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!

<><><><><><><><>

~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!

~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!

patreon.com/Tansnovel

<><><><><><><><>