Chapter 69 (Patreon)

At noon, inside the living room of the Nerona residence.

Nerona Mihawk sat on the sofa with a book in one hand, reading it attentively. His other hand rested on the small head lying across his thighs, his fingers gently combing through Hanabi’s long black hair, which carried a faint brownish tint beneath the light.

Hanabi was also holding a book as she lay on his lap. It was one of the textbooks used at the Ninja Academy.

Tick...

Rustle...

The only sounds in the living room were the steady ticking of the clock’s second hand and the occasional turning of a page.

“Mihawk!”

After an unknown amount of time, an anxious female voice came from outside. It rapidly drew closer before breaking the peaceful silence that had filled the living room.

Mihawk and Hanabi lowered their books at the same time.

Mihawk turned his gaze toward the entrance, while Hanabi sat upright. Her brows furrowed slightly, and a faint trace of displeasure appeared in her beautiful Byakugan eyes at having their quiet time interrupted.

A moment later, Shizune rushed into the room in her usual black-and-gray attire.

Seeing Mihawk seated on the sofa and looking at her questioningly, Shizune hurriedly said, “Mihawk, Lady Tsunade has summoned Team 8. Please report to the Hokage’s office immediately.”

Mihawk raised an eyebrow.

Tsunade had sent Shizune—her trusted aide and disciple—instead of having an ANBU operative deliver the message.

That alone made it clear that the matter was extremely urgent.

Mihawk nodded. “I’ll inform the others immediately.”

“There’s no need. I’ll notify Hinata and Shino myself,” Shizune replied, shaking her head. “As Team 8’s captain, you should gather your equipment and report ahead of them. Lady Tsunade will explain the arrangements personally.”

“All right.”

Mihawk lowered his head slightly, gently patted Hanabi’s hair, and reminded her, “Remember to lock the door when you leave.”

“Mm-hm.”

Knowing that Mihawk had an important matter to handle, Hanabi obediently nodded.

Mihawk entered the sword hall, retrieved his sword, and then headed toward the Hokage Residence.

Meanwhile, Shizune left to inform Hinata and Aburame Shino.

When Mihawk entered the Hokage’s office, he found Tsunade sitting behind her desk with a deep frown on her face.

“Mihawk, you came at the right time.”

The moment she saw him enter, the tension in Tsunade’s expression eased slightly. Without wasting any time, she went straight to the point.

“As the Fifth Hokage, I am assigning an S-rank mission to you and Team 8.”

Mihawk remained calm and quietly waited for her to continue.

Tsunade opened a drawer and took out a letter. Looking at Mihawk with a grave expression, she said, “This is a decoded emergency message from our ally, Sunagakure. They are requesting Konoha’s assistance.”

“A few days ago, Sunagakure’s Fifth Kazekage, Gaara—the jinchūriki of the One-Tail—was captured by members of the Akatsuki.”

Tsunade’s explanation was brief and direct.

“The Akatsuki is a dangerous criminal organization formed by several S-rank missing-nin. We can now confirm that their objective is to capture the tailed beasts. That means every jinchūriki is a potential target, including Naruto.”

Her fingers tightened slightly around the letter.

“Team 7 departed for Sunagakure yesterday, but I still can’t shake this uneasy feeling. I don’t feel comfortable leaving the mission entirely to them.”

Tsunade looked directly into Mihawk’s eyes.

“That is why I’m assigning Team 8 the same S-rank mission. As a jōnin, I want you to lead your team immediately and reinforce Team 7.”

“Understood.”

Mihawk nodded and accepted the mission without hesitation.

At the same time, a faint realization surfaced in his heart.

Were the events of Shippuden finally beginning?

Mihawk remained in the Hokage’s office and waited for Hinata and Shino to arrive.

It wasn’t long before the two of them entered together.

Tsunade briefly explained the mission to them, after which the three members of Team 8 left the Hokage’s office.

It was worth mentioning that Mihawk had already been promoted to jōnin.

Hinata and Aburame Shino had also been promoted to chūnin during the past two years.

Ordinarily, after becoming a jōnin, Mihawk would have left Team 8 and become a jōnin instructor responsible for leading a new squad of genin.

Unless Team 8 was assigned a particularly difficult mission, he would no longer have been expected to return to his former team.

However, Mihawk had refused to leave Team 8 after receiving his promotion.

At the same time, Kurenai Yūhi had gradually stopped accepting missions. Left with no better alternative, Tsunade made an exception and allowed Mihawk to continue serving as Team 8’s leader despite his new rank.

Mihawk was now both Team 8’s official captain and its jōnin commander.

In practice, however, he had already been fulfilling that role for the past two years. Tsunade’s promotion had merely formalized his position.

After leaving the Hokage Residence, Team 8 headed directly toward the village entrance.

“Shino, did you find it?” Mihawk asked.

“Yes.”

From behind his dark glasses, Shino stared at the black insects gathered on his raised index finger and calmly explained, “As long as the rain doesn’t wash away the trail, my insects will be able to follow their scent. Even the desert won’t be a problem.”

“Then you’ll lead the way for now. If the scent disappears, Hinata will take over.”

Mihawk glanced at the backpack Hinata was carrying and reminded her, “Did you bring the map?”

“Yes.”

Hinata nodded with a serious expression.

“Everything is ready.”

“Then let’s move.”

After leaving the village, the three members of Team 8 began their first S-rank mission together.

Their speed while using the Body Flicker Technique was extremely fast.

They had no client accompanying them to slow them down, and the team consisted of one jōnin and two chūnin. In only half a day, they had already crossed the border of the Land of Fire and were rapidly advancing toward the Land of Wind.

After resting for the night, Team 8 resumed their journey.

Before long, a forest appeared ahead of them.

Once they passed through that forest, they would enter the territory of the Land of Wind.

However, after travelling halfway through the forest, the members of Team 8 encountered Pakkun, one of Kakashi’s Eight Ninja Hounds.

From Pakkun, they learned that the Akatsuki members were hiding in the Land of Rivers.

That information stirred a vague memory buried deep within Mihawk’s mind.

As far as he remembered, Gaara had indeed been taken to a cave where the One-Tail would be extracted from his body.

So that cave had been located in the Land of Rivers.

Mihawk possessed extensive theoretical knowledge and was also familiar with the geography of the surrounding nations.

The Land of Rivers was situated between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind, directly south of the Land of Rain. From Team 8’s current position, it lay toward the east.

They only needed to alter their route, turn toward the right, and pass through the remaining forest to enter the Land of Rivers.

Thus, under Pakkun’s guidance, Team 8 changed direction and prepared to head toward the Land of Rivers.

“Huh? Wha—”

At that moment, Mihawk’s eyes suddenly narrowed.

He spun around without warning, his right hand drawing his sword in a single fluid motion.

He swung the blade toward a towering tree behind them.

A crescent-shaped Ranged Slash, measuring three to four metres in length, tore through the air.

“BOOM!”

The Ranged Slash carved through several enormous trees in succession, sending broken wood and debris flying as a thick cloud of dust erupted across the forest.