Ikki: "Let's go."
They left the office.
Sandaime: "Youth."
After 1 hour, after accepting the mission, "Orca" met at the west gate.
Chikako: "Why did you tell us to prepare for 1 month?"
Ikki laughed and showed them 4 files.
Hinari laughed. "Nice."
Even Hayate was shocked.
After 1 hour, an administrative guy came into Sandaime's office.
Administrative Guy: "Sandaime-sama, where are the files of C-Rank missions? We need them in the mission hall."
Sandaime pointed at the pile, and the administrative guy started counting them.
Administrative Guy: "Sandaime-sama, how many missions have you handed out?"
Sandaime looked confused.
Sandaime: "One, why?"
Administrative Guy: "Yesterday, I gave you 20 files of C-Rank missions. But there are only 15 here. If you handed out 1 and 15 are here, then where are the other 4 files?"
Sandaime stood up and started counting the files himself. Indeed, there were only 15 files. Kakashi came out from the shadows.
Kakashi: "Sandaime-sama, Ikki took those 4 files."
Sandaime: "You saw him, right?" Kakashi nodded. "Then stop him."
Kakashi: "But it was interesting."
This continued with half an hour of lecturing from Sandaime.
---
It's been 3 days since Ikki and his group started their journey toward the "Town of Windfall." For a normal Genin group, it might have taken around 5 to 6 days, but it took this group only 3 days. After reaching near the town, they asked people around for the location of the head of the town. After meeting the head of the village, they learned the general location where people had been killed by the monster. They had only seen shadows of the monster, so it was hard to identify the species. They needed to explore that area and find out more about this monster.
After meeting the Village Head, they proceeded to the location.
Hayate: "How did you steal the files?"
Ikki: "I have a ring that works like a storage scroll. When I was helping Sandaime, I stole those files."
Hayate listened but wasn't fully convinced. However, he let it go, knowing that this team had their own secrets.
They were reaching the area where the deaths happened.
Ikki: "Hinari."
After receiving the signal, Hinari activated her Byakugan and surveyed the area.
Hinari: "There are blood traces at 2 o'clock."
The team started heading in that direction. Hinari continued looking for other traces but found nothing. At this moment, Ikki sensed a hateful intent from all directions around them.
Ikki: "Ohh, so this is how it goes. Chikako, prepare for 'Shadow Imitation Field Jutsu.' Hinari, Sensei, there are many monsters here. The mission is upgraded to B-Rank. Let's ignore the enemy for now and let them come closer. Then we'll strike. Chikako will be our visible bait. You know what to do, right, Chikako?"
Chikako: "Bastard. Yes."
Ikki, Hinari, and Hayate chose positions and hid. Ikki took out 'Tsubame' from his ring. Hinari scanned the surroundings with her Byakugan. Orca still didn't know what kind of monster they were dealing with, but they didn't have to wait long. Soon, monsters appeared. Ikki slapped his own forehead.
Ikki: "Of all monsters, it had to be them."
A group of monsters came near, and now everyone could see them.
Chikako: "Spiders. Of all possibilities, it had to be them."
The spiders reached Chikako's location. Although everyone was hiding, spiders have heightened senses, so they detected them. But as Chikako was in a vulnerable position, they decided to attack him.
Ikki's thought: *Normally, with this many, they would attack all of us, but they're focusing only on Chikako. This means they're being controlled by someone. And if my guess is right, it must be their mother. This many spiders can't come through spatial gates—it must be their mother who came first and birthed them here. This is troublesome. I should tell them, but let's wait for now.*
When the spiders were within a meter of Chikako, he used 'Shadow Imitation Field Jutsu.' All the spiders stopped in their tracks. Orca expected this, so as soon as the spiders froze, they began their attack. Hayate and Hinari started attacking the spiders within the range of 'Shadow Imitation Field Jutsu' from a distance. Ikki entered the battlefield directly with 'Tsubame,' dealing with the spiders outside the range of 'Shadow Imitation Field Jutsu.'
But he held back, not using full strength; killing them with his usual power would be like using a sword to kill a mosquito. These spiders were just cannon fodder, and he wanted the mother spider to believe he wasn't a threat so she would come out in the open.
Hayate looked at Ikki. He wanted to help but noticed Ikki signaling him not to interfere.
Hayate's thought: [He's not taking this seriously. But why?]
As soon as Hayate thought this, a large spider appeared and started to attack Ikki.