Chapter 98: Truth and Deception

"Bring me the mission scroll," Hiruzen Sarutobi said gravely.

After a while, a document was placed on his desk.

Class C Mission: Medicine Shortage.

Escort six carts of medicinal herbs to the village of Galestride in the Country of Frost.

Client: Mr. Feng Zhane...

Accompanying Ninja: Hiroki Hyuga (Chunin), [REDACTED] (Genin), [REDACTED] (Genin)

"This again..." muttered Sarutobi.

He had reviewed all the mission records of Hiroki Hyuga after becoming a Chunin.

Almost every time he left the village, he teamed up temporarily with Genin from previous batches.

He never tried to stand out, yet there were no casualties or failed missions. Add in his Kekkei Genkai, and even lone-wolf Genin were eager to be paired with him.

"He never sticks with the same team—just how much does that reveal about his dislike for true teamwork?"

Sarutobi pondered further.

Not wanting to partner long-term with others—did it mean he didn't want people getting close to him?

Because he carried too many secrets, thus avoiding extensive interaction?

Holding this duplicate mission scroll, Sarutobi fell into thought.

Truth and trickery, illusion and reality.

If he truly was who he seemed, then as Jiraiya had mentioned, he might display power surpassing that of a Kage.

But if he were fake...

Outside Konoha Village, White Zetsu Hyuga waited with two teammates for client Mr. Feng Zhane and his merchant caravan.

After polite greetings, the group immediately set off toward the Country of Frost.

Upon reaching the Country of Frost, their traveling pace began slowing down.

At night, a male and female Genin sat beside the campfire chatting casually.

White Zetsu Hyuga remained silent, not joining in.

His attention focused on a certain direction.

Since leaving the village, he had sensed three presences tailing them continuously.

Earlier, he might have considered it coincidence, but now several days later, those presences still lingered—it definitely wasn't accidental.

Internally scoffing, White Zetsu Hyuga mused, When it comes to hiding one's presence, I'm a legend among legends.

Standing up, he told the two Genin, "I'll scout ahead for traps."

"Captain, you're actually taking initiative for once," teased a teenage Genin, about fifteen years old.

"You should know we're entering the territory of the Country of Frost. Many ninja from various villages are here. If any ninja harbors ill intent, we'll all be in danger."

Hearing this explanation, the other two ninja dropped their teasing manner and grew serious. "Captain, we'll keep watch here."

Leaving the merchants' resting area, White Zetsu Hyuga entered a dense forest.

Seeing him seemingly waiting for something, nothing new happening for quite some time, the three following silently exchanged signals.

Could we have been noticed?

At that moment, one of them suddenly felt intense danger, internal alarms blaring, instantly using [Substitution Jutsu].

[Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm]!

Unfortunately, the strike missed.

White Zetsu Hyuga stared at the masked ninja who appeared out of nowhere. "Is that a Konoha ANBU?"

The Anbu ninja who had been forced into exposure remained silent and immediately began forming hand seals.

Their orders from the Third Hokage were to capture him alive. If that proved impossible, they were to kill him and bring back his body.

All three were elite Anbu ninjas, their strength rivaling that of Jonin. Though they didn't think a mere chunin was much of a threat, professional pride kept them from taking things lightly.

Anbu needed no strong personality, nor did they need to understand the ins and outs. Their only duty was to complete missions perfectly.

[Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.]

At the same time, one of the other two Anbu had also finished forming seals.

[Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique.]

Wind and fire intertwined—one rapidly spreading, the other surging fiercely toward Hiroki Hyuga.

[Heavenly Spin.]

After the flames' force finally dissipated, the Heavenly Spin ceased as well.

Just then, the Anbu who hadn't acted yet hurled three kunai tied with explosive tags.

Sparks flew. Explosions thundered, partially blocking sightlines.

When the smoke cleared, the three Anbu stared in shock—White Zetsu Hyuga had already vanished.

"Dead? Or escaped?"

"Did we miss?"

They exchanged wary glances and whispered among themselves.

Hidden deep underground, White Zetsu Hyuga muttered a curse under his breath. These guys clearly came here to kill.

Part of his body had already started turning white. If not treated promptly, he would revert completely.

After passing on the critical intel elsewhere, he tore his robes in an attempt to cover areas that clearly weren't human skin. Then, he returned to where the two genin guards waited.

"Captain, what happened?" Seeing how ragged his clothing had become, the two genins blinked in bewilderment.

"There really were hostile ninjas nearby. Fortunately—or unfortunately—they were just three chunin, and their target was me," said White Zetsu Hyuga.

"This…" The two genins looked at each other, speechless.

"Moving forward, no matter who appears, no matter what disguise they wear—you mustn't believe anyone."

"Understood." The two younger shinobi's hearts sank in unison.

"Prepare your weapons and explosive tags. Once they appear, attack immediately."

Nodding again, the two genin took deep breaths, straightened themselves, raised their alertness, and awaited the signal for attack from White Zetsu, the team's scout.

Approximately two minutes later, the trio of Anbu returned to this area.

Before they could even reveal themselves, a voice reached their ears.

"That location."

Then, dozens of shuriken, kunai, and other projectiles rained down upon them.

Dodging instinctively, they counterattacked out of reflex.

[Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique.]

[Fire Release: Flame Bullet.]

Countless razor-sharp blades made of wind sliced through the air toward the origin point of those projectiles.

The flesh and bones of the two genin were instantly torn apart. Pain barely registered before searing flames engulfed them, drawing out agonized screams.

Beyond saving, both perished in the fire. When the flames finally faded away, only charred corpses remained.

White Zetsu Hyuga appeared before the three Anbu, smirking, "A Konoha ninja just killed one of our own Konoha Genin."

Seeing the two fallen Genin, the three Anbu were momentarily taken aback.

One of them glared at him coldly. "Isn't it more despicable to exploit your comrades?"

"Comrades?" White Zetsu Hyuga scoffed. "Do bloodthirsty Anbu even have the right to talk about camaraderie?"

Meanwhile, at the Merchant Caravan's campsite.

Mr. Feng Zhane, the client, and two other men were awoken by the sounds of battle.

Pulling open the tent flap and stepping out, he asked, "What's going on?"

The boy with the Byakugan stepped forward calmly. "Mr. Feng, please don't worry. We've run into a few thugs. My team is handling them right now."

Mr. Feng still looked worried.

Hiroki Hyuga continued, "Mr. Feng, to stay safe, I recommend leaving right away. If we hurry, we'll reach Galestride in about half an hour—it's a lot safer there."

[Honestly, I've been using Wildfruit Reading to read novels and keep up with updates. It supports multiple sources, offers a variety of reading voices, and .yeguoyuedu works on both Android and iOS devices.]

The client agreed and immediately woke up the others to begin their journey.

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