Hey, I'm back once again!
Sorry for the delay, but well I've been busy and I'm doing my best to keep updating this story. But anyways, what's important is that chapter 35 is finally here! Hope you enjoy it.
And remember:
I DO NOT OWN DBZ OR NARUTO, ALL THE CREDIT GOES TO TORIYAMA AND KISHIMOTO RESPECTIVELY :)
In front of the gates of the walls of the Leaf village, a jounin with a green jumpsuit and the representative green vest stood along his three students, waiting patiently for the arrival of the ones that would join them in their next mission. Neji was sitting on the floor, meditating, while Lee stretched constantly as the doctor had recommended him to do so to avoid worse injuries. Tenten limited herself to watching the birds flying out or into the trees on the other side of the walls, she didn't have much to do anyways.
On the distance, the kunoichi of the sleeveless pink blouse was the first to notice Team 10 finally arriving. She turned to the jounin and beckoned him to look in front of him. Might Guy waved at Asuma, who did the same while a wide smile formed in his face.
"Ugh, it's that weirdo." Neji said with clear annoyance in his tone once he recognized the saiyan's face.
Tenten glanced back at his teammate as she also noticed the presence of Gohan. "Why are we even here if he's doing the mission? Didn't he take on a tailed beast by himself?"
Lee heard the comments from his teammates, but decided to ignore them as he stood up. He was the first to approach the saiyan, who was seemingly happy to see him recovered. He bowed.
Gohan scratched his nape as he laughed nervously. "Nothing to worry about, no need to thank me."
"I'd also like to ask you something, Gohan-san." Lee said as he stood straight up again. The saiyan nodded in response, wanting to know what the genin of the green jumpsuit would ask him. "Let me fight you." He said with an overly dramatic tone, bowing once again.
Tenten facepalmed at the petition of her teammate, while Neji could only shake his head.
"Maybe some other day..." The saiyan laughed nervously. Why would he want to fight someone he knows he can't beat? What was the point?
Rock Lee thanked Gohan for his answer and then went on to greet the rest of the members of team 10 with a bow.
Asuma cleared his throat after Guy nodded at him. "I think it's time to explain what the mission is about, as you've probably wondered what it is about-"
Before Sarutobi could continue, the yell of a kid could be heard from the distance. And as everyone turned back, they recognized Konohamaru's blue scarf and green goggles. Gohan cringed as he remembered he hadn't told the kid anything about his mission, and they were supposed to start his training today.
Ino stared at the saiyan, knowing that it had to do with him. Shikamaru sighed as he looked away from the situation, he was starting to regret getting out of bed.
"Gohan! Where are you going?!" Konohamaru asked as he finally rested from what seemed to have been a really tiring distance to run through. "You told me my training would start today!"
"Yeah, about that..." He laughed nervously, already being aware of Ino's stare. "I think I forgot to tell you that I was going on a mission for a week or so."
Konohamaru was disappointed at the news, but he understood the situation anyways. "Okay, but promise you'll train me when you come back!" And as the saiyan nodded, the kid waved off, running back to his group of friends, who had just arrived as they were apparently unable to reach him.
"So, as I was saying," said Asuma, ignoring Ino's punch against Gohan, "this mission is B-ranked, which means you'll have to face a greater risk, but also receive a greater reward." The jounin noticed that Ino raised her hand, but he beckoned her to wait. "Now, getting into more specific details, this mission is about espionage. As you may know, the Leaf used to be allied with the Sand prior to the invasion, so the elders have ordered an espionage mission on the Land of Wind."
"What's the goal?" Neji asked while standing up.
"Good question. The objective is to gather information related to the current political state of the Sand." The grandson of the Third explained, his eyes focused on the genin, who nodded once his explanation ended.
"Any other question?" Guy asked as his arms continued to be crossed. He was certainly excited about the mission his and Asuma's students were about to go through, this meaning one of their most important and higher-ranked missions since they graduated.
The six young shinobi shook their heads in response, to which the jounin of the green jumpsuit answered by nodding. Sarutobi then beckoned them to go outside the village. The mission had just started.
"You know? You've taken all this recovery thing better than I expected. Congrats." The silver-haired, masked jounin said as he pushed his student, who was sitting in a wheelchair, through the hallway of the hospital.
Sasuke remained silent and with his sight on his hospital clothing. Once they crossed a plant by the end of the hallway, they'd reached the door they were looking for. Uchiha thought about how he could've avoided all of this, but then he remembered Gohan and his fist clenched. Who did he think he was to give orders to a member of the strongest clan in all of Konoha?
"Is anything bothering you?" Kakashi asked before opening the door of the room they were going to. "I noticed you clenched your fist."
"No."
Kakashi shook his head and finally opened the door, then moving behind Sasuke's wheelchair to push him into the room. Once he entered, he closed the door behind him.
From the distance, the silhouettes of wooden buildings started to appear. Asuma smirked at the sight of their first stop, while Guy glanced at his partner to confirm that they'd arrived where they had to.
"Huh, already a village?" Ino asked out loud, her eyebrow raising while she made the question.
"Yeah, that's our first stop, the town of Noen." Sarutobi turned back to the younger shinobi and then pointed back at the city.
"First stop?" Asked Shikamaru, who made sure his annoyance was clear in his tone.
As they approached the entrance of the small town, Asuma nodded at his student, adding a smirk as well, which made Nara roll his eyes. Tenten was bugged at his mindset, she couldn't tolerate lazy people. Seeing this made her be a little more grateful of having Lee as her teammate.
No security? Guy thought as he crossed the entrance with no guards on sight and without any complications. He turned back and beckoned Sarutobi to see it. And as he shrugged, the jounin of the green jumpsuit looked worried.
"Did Yuichi send the order?" Asuma asked as he played with his beard.
"As far as I'm aware, yes, but maybe it hasn't arrived." Might Guy answered, but as his jounin partner raised an eyebrow, he nodded. "But this is one of the villages closest to the Leaf."
"So could the order have been intercepted?" Tenten asked, trying to participate in the conversation.
"That or we're already dealing with infiltrates." The son of the Third replied. He looked further into the town from afar, but was confused at the sight of people walking normally through the streets.
"Judging by that, maybe the order was intercepted, but that would imply spies are already here." Guy concluded, seemingly taking a decision as he moved his hand away from his chin. "We have to make sure everyone is fine here and get rid of any possible spy, so I think it's better if we split."
Asuma nodded in response, and turned to the younger shinobi to split them in groups. "How about Gohan and Lee, Neji and Ino, and Shikamaru, Chouji and Tenten?"
Might Guy gave a thumbs up to the idea, and then a reassuring smile to their students. "Good luck, remember you all have the power of youth!"
After the group was divided in smaller groups, each one was assigned an specific area in the town. In the case of the saiyan and the genin of the green jumpsuit, they were assigned to check on the opposite side of it.
And of course, their investigation required to knock some doors, at least in the houses that were still inhabited. The second house they visited wasn't, so they were able to check without much complications.
Once inside the abandoned house, it was immediately clear to the saiyan that it was empty—thanks to his ability of sensing energy. However, it wasn't as clear for his partner and he didn't really take it on count, he still didn't get used to him being the only user of it.
"So, let me know if I'm wrong, but you think we might find something in this bathroom?" asked Gohan, who was standing in front of an old wooden door, which clearly hadn't been used for a while.
Lee nodded reassuringly, his face denoting certainty on what he thought could be a big possibility. He was faster than the saiyan's words, as he kicked the door—taking it down—before Gohan could tell him he was unable to sense any energies from there. However, once the door was open, the two were able to see the trap they'd just fell into.
The saiyan reacted as quickly as he could, grabbing his partner by the abdomen and got him out of the building just when sealed papers exploded, bringing down most of the old house.
"That was close," said Lee as he gave the now destroyed house a look, "but apparently there was something or someone there, if not there wouldn't be a reason for such a trap."
"Maybe a distraction." Gohan nodded before replying. "If there was really something there, why would they just blow up the entirety of the house?"
The genin of the green jumpsuit nodded in agreement as he admitted his partner's assumption made more sense. However, as he was about to add something to the conversation, Neji and Ino arrived at the scene, as they noticed the smoke from afar.
"Did you find one of them?" asked Yamanaka, her eyes focusing on checking her teammate's body for any possible bruises, though she sighed once she noticed there weren't any.
Lee shook his head, followed by the saiyan. "However, we did find a trap apparently."
"Where was it, in the basement?" Neji asked as he glanced at the now partially destroyed building for any sign of activity. However, he failed to perceive any movement.
Gohan shook his head again, though this time the genin of the green jumpsuit didn't. "Couldn't sense any energies on there, so it was empty."
"So that trap could've perfectly been old, it's not really a sign of anyone being here." Hyuga scratched his forehead under his forehead protector as he gave the situation more thought.
"Then I guess we should continue looking on other buildings." Ino finally proposed, as a silence has started to conquer the place of the road they were standing on.
Both the member of the Hyuga clan and Gohan's blonde teammate went back to the street they'd come from, leaving the saiyan alone with the genin of the green jumpsuit.
The next time, Gohan would try to communicate his partner when he didn't feel any energies nearby. However, as he turned back to where Lee was, he was shocked to find the latter fighting against two sound nin. And then it hit him. Could shinobi hide their energy signals?!
And that was the chapter, what did you think? If you have any feedback to give, feel free to do so through the reviews. If you liked it, then feel free to support it with a follow or support!
Anyways, I'll try to post the next one as soon as I can, but I won't make any promises tho :(. See you soon!