The notice for Tōma’s second mission took longer than expected.
This ti, it wasn’t a task assigned directly from above. It was one Tenzo had personally selected.
Tōma understood imdiately.The delay wasn’t bureaucratic. It was concern.
Tenzo was worried he hadn’t fully recovered yet.
Tōma didn’t say anything about it, but he rembered the gesture.
"Captain," Tōma greeted as he arrived at the rendezvous point.
"Inkshadow. First again," Tenzo said, studying him closely. His eyes lit up a little. "You look better."
"I’m fine now."
That answer eased sothing in Tenzo’s chest. At least he hadn’t pushed a genius down the wrong road.
"...And yes," Tenzo added after a pause, "you really are fast."
That wasn’t flattery. At this point, Tōma’s raw movent speed was already edging past his own.
Hyena and Fox arrived soon after and looked over the mission briefing.
Compared to the previous assignnt, this one was far more reasonable.
The target was a rogue shinobi. A Konoha chūnin who had recently defected after killing a teammate and stealing a scroll. He was injured and unlikely to move quickly.
Clearly, this mission was still ant to ease Tōma along.
Neither Hyena nor Fox objected.
"Move out," Tenzo ordered.
The second mission began.
As they traveled, Tōma stayed quiet, following behind.
He understood Tenzo’s intentions. He appreciated them.But they didn’t align with his own goal.
He hadn’t joined ANBU to farm safe missions. He was here to sharpen himself. To gain real combat experience.
Gradually increasing difficulty made sense for most rookies.
For him, it was wasted ti.
The first mission had been unavoidable. He needed to cross that line. Even if the scale had been... excessive.
Before that night, every ti he thought about killing, his thoughts had stalled. Not fear. Uncertainty.Could I really do it?
Afterward, even he’d been unsettled by how decisively he’d acted.
But now?
He’d adjusted.
Which ant this mission was no longer necessary training.
If I don’t want to keep wasting ti... then I need to show it.
Tōma’s eyes narrowed slightly as he made his decision.
The target was confird soon after. Tenzo coordinated with other scouting units and led the team in pursuit.
As expected, the rogue shinobi hadn’t gone far. He’d prioritized treating his wounds first.
A terrible decision, Tōma thought. Running while injured is risky, but stopping completely? That’s asking to die.
Tenzo began explaining the engagent plan.
Just as predicted, Tōma would strike first, with Hyena supporting from the flank.
"Understood," Hyena replied.
"Understood," Tōma said as well.
He had no intention of contradicting his captain out loud.
Then—
Tenzo noticed sothing strange.
A kunai appeared in Tōma’s hand.Thin arcs of lightning crawled along his forearm.
"Inkshadow—?"
Too late.
The kunai left Tōma’s hand in a blur.
Hyena and Fox both stiffened in disbelief.
Why was he acting so rashly? Last mission he’d been flawless. Calm. Precise.Now he was charging in without waiting?
Was this impatience? Arrogance?
So that’s it...For a brief mont, disappointnt crept into all three of them.
And then—
Tōma vanished.
Not a burst of speed. Not a Body Flicker.
He was simply gone.
"What—?!"Tenzo’s eyes widened. He hadn’t sensed anything. No chakra displacent. No movent.
All three of them snapped their attention toward the rogue shinobi.
The defector was sprinting along the road, panic gnawing at him.
Killed one guy and stole a scroll and they found this fast?Damn it... I should’ve left imdiately.
A faint whistling sound cut through the air. Thunder followed.
"Already?!" he snarled, twisting aside.
Too slow.
The kunai grazed his cheek, tearing flesh and sending him tumbling across the ground.
But before he could even push himself up—
A shadow stood above him.
A masked shinobi. Sword already drawn.
When did he—?
The blade fell.
No seals. No hesitation.
The head rolled free.
Tōma stood still for a mont, eyes scanning the corpse.
No substitution. No last trick.
Confird.
Only then did he turn his gaze toward the direction where Tenzo’s team was hidden.
From their vantage point, they’d witnessed the entire exchange.
And none of them could process it.
Monts ago, Tōma had been standing beside them.
Now the rogue shinobi was dead.
Silence followed.
Any trace of disappointnt was long gone.
What remained was shock.
And a single, unspoken question echoing in all three minds:
What... exactly did we just see?
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