[Chapter Size: 2200 Words.]
Third Person POV
Konoha, Year 36.
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They quickly reached the city after their brief meeting, with the day announcing its end and the night beginning, Jiraiya led them to an inn without any other mission members being there, while stealthily perched on one of the windows.
"I'll get us some rooms, remember the mission has already started, so always keep your eyes peeled," he said, and the three nodded.
The city diversified its commerce in food, accessory shops, and even gambling or prostitution. But it seemed a bit affected by the war, because this place would usually be quite bustling, but it was a bit empty and even with many establishments closed.
"This isn't quite what I was expecting..." Hanabi commented, it being her first time out of Konoha.
There were no further comments from her companions, as Minato tried to find anything suspicious with his observation haki, but found nothing that would indicate someone with bad intentions enough to commit a terrorist attack within his range of reach.
A moment later, Jiraiya appeared with the room keys and they entered the inn, each getting a room. Everyone entered their room and Minato immediately went to his bed, placing a raijin symbol.
He didn't go to sleep, but started his investigation instead; he turned to his window and immediately jumped out of it. Rising in the air from that inn and trying to map the entire city with his observation haki and placing his seals in various strategic points for teleportation.
Jiraiya knew what Minato was doing and just smiled in his room, on the other side of the inn, Mai Hyuuga, the jonin leader of team 2 was also looking at the city with his Byakugan when he noticed a silhouette passing in front of the moon, which he immediately saw was Minato. "How can he walk in the sky?!" The man asked quite surprised and even admired by it, after all Minato was jumping in the air.
Minato continued investigating the entire city, until he searched the whole place with his observation haki investigating every inch of it, but in the end found nothing, then disappeared in the middle of the sky and fell on his bed, to sleep.
The next day, they had breakfast in the room due to the disguise, Jiraiya was going out towards the capital, but called Minato before to have one last talk before starting the mission.
"I'm leaving, you already know what to do." He said, handing him some scrolls. "Here are the details you need to know about how the other teams will act." He said, and Minato nodded, taking the scroll. "You went out yesterday, did you find anything?" He couldn't help asking the boy.
"No... the city is clean of any suspects." Minato admitted.
"Hm... still, stay here one more day, there's a large influx of people entering the city, mainly those saying they are fleeing the war." Jiraiya spoke and Minato nodded in agreement.
"The reinforcements haven't arrived yet, but they will probably come in the next few days, so look for the teams at that time for an information meeting." Jiraiya commented.
After that, he left the room, Jiraya went away and Minato met with Mikoto and Hanabi outside the inn, in civilian clothes, just like Minato to circulate the city, no longer wearing their headbands, Hanabi still had something on her forehead to hide her seal, yet she looked like a girl with a scarf on her head.
Minato, now officially the leader of this team, looked at Mikoto and Hanabi. "Let's split up and blend in among the residents. Look for any suspicious behavior or information that might indicate the presence of infiltrators. We'll meet here at dusk to share what we discover." His voice was more authoritative than usual.
"Someone's getting used to the role of leader?" Mikoto smiled at Minato.
"I'm just doing what I must," Minato shrugged. "Anyway, let's do it this way, we might not be like team 2, but we certainly have our own skills," he said and the girls nodded.
Mikoto nodded, his expression becoming serious at that moment. "I'll use my Sharingan at high points in the city," he said, and Minato nodded.
"My Byakugan can help detect any strange chakra. I'll focus on that on the city walls," Hanabi said.
"Alright, just stay discreet and don't let the enemy know we're looking for them," Minato said, and right after that, they left the hidden spot and began walking through the city in opposite directions.
Meanwhile, the Jonin teams, some followed Jiraiya to the capital while others started to scour the area outside the cities, team 2 headed to a neighboring city to the north.
Minato spent the day observing, listening, and gathering information that would be useful, while continuing to monitor anyone with suspicious intentions in their aura. He moved with agility and didn't attract attention, his young and harmless appearance without his clothes or headband allowing him to go unnoticed among the civilians and merchants.
Mikoto was on top of one of the city's highest structures looking attentively at the movement of the streets with his sharingan open, but nothing important caught his eye.
Hanabi was hidden inside a tree with her Byakugan activated, she was near the gate while trying to detect any anomalies there, but nothing stood out among the flow of people coming in and going out.
As the sun began to set, Minato decided to return to the meeting point near the inn, the three of them regrouped there, sharing their findings. Minato listened attentively to each report, but it was quite disappointing.
Minato, assessing the situation with a thoughtful look, decided that this city had nothing more for them. "We found nothing substantial here. I think our next step should be to move to the neighboring city to the east. Maybe we'll have more luck there," he suggested to his team members. Mikoto and Hanabi agreed, trusting Minato's decision.
They returned to the inn, as Jiraiya had paid for an extra night, and each went back to their bed, except for Minato, who went back to jumping through the sky, doing one last reconnaissance of the area, a habit he had developed to ensure nothing was left behind.
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He returned to his room and waited for dawn before meeting up with his team again. They left the inn and left the city, the journey was smooth, Mikoto and Hanabi looked quite serious and the only noise was marked by the sound of their synchronized steps and by the gentle wind blowing. Upon arriving, they were greeted by a landscape similar to the previous city in the early afternoon.
"Let's split up again," Minato instructed, "but this time, let's try something different. Mikoto, try to focus on the people. Hanabi, use your Byakugan to map the distribution of chakra through the city. This might give us clues about any suspects.
Following Minato's instructions, the team dispersed once again, each member going their own way in the new city. As the afternoon progressed, they collected new information, observed patterns and behaviors of everyone they saw, but nothing significant.
As the evening approached, the city seemed to have a festival happening at this time and the streets began to be decorated with flags and candles everywhere, while the inhabitants themselves seemed to appear dressed in Japanese robes.
From a high place, team 7 regrouped, "Nothing..." Minato commented seeing that so far, they hadn't found anything suspicious.
"At least the city seems better than us..." Mikoto commented looking at the streets filling with people.
"Doing this in the middle of a war... is quite surprising..." Hanabi couldn't help but comment.
"Our mission hasn't borne any fruit yet, let's stay another day in this city, looking for any suspects..." Minato decided before they left the place, he also planted his seals in this city, so he could come back at any moment.
"Shall we choose an inn to stay then?" Hanabi asked Minato.
"Yes, but I was thinking, how about we go to the festival too... We have nothing to lose here." Minato proposed, maybe some moment of fun would be good to ease the failure.
"I didn't bring appropriate clothes..." Hanabi commented looking at the people and their outfits.
"Well, I would like that, I didn't either, but that doesn't mean we can't buy..." Mikoto said. "I would like that." She said with a small smile.
"I... also then," Hanabi said in the end with some blush in her eyes. With that decided, they quickly left that place, choosing an inn close to the city center.
Minato had an outfit in his scroll, while the girls quickly went to a store and bought a dress suitable for the occasion. After getting ready, Minato met them with a big smile. "You look beautiful," he said without holding back his compliments, making the girls a bit embarrassed and happy with that comment in their hearts.
Hanabi wore her traditional white dress with her hair in a bun, while Mikoto had a red outfit with a dragon design and her hair down. Minato wore a black outfit, always maintaining a neutral shade, which he liked.
"Let's go!" They left the inn, it was a bit difficult for Minato to get a room being a child, but that changed when he showed his headband, which made the man quickly nod and give them the rooms.
They left the inn and blended in with the people on the street, now all decorated as they illuminated the city with people laughing and chatting among themselves and the sound of music with the claps of the spectators as there was a parade on the main street.
"Let's watch the parade first," Minato suggested and led the way to the main street, easily making their way in, as it's easy when you're a child.
"This looks really cool!" Mikoto commented on the side, despite her reserved stance, she couldn't help but be enchanted as she shared the same feeling of the crowd watching the people perform while walking down the main street.
For Hanabi, this was a completely new world, an explosion of colors and sounds she never imagined existed outside the walls of Konoha. She allowed herself to laugh a little at it, like Mikoto putting aside her Hyuuga temperament.
Minato watched with a small smile everything, there were no festivals like this in Konoha, so it was a unique experience for him and his companions. The screams of joy and laughter of children running through the open spaces mixed with the distinct sound of traditional music, creating a unique atmosphere of celebration.
One of the highlights of the festival were the performances with oriental dragons, mounted by artists who made them dance and weave through the streets. The audience followed with admiration, laughing and clapping with their faces illuminated by the beauty of the spectacle. Mikoto and Hanabi couldn't contain fascinated smiles, completely immersed in the magic of the moment.
They watched various attractions passing by on the street until Minato decided to leave there, "How about we check out the stalls? We might find something interesting." With an enthusiastic nod from the two, they ventured through the numerous stalls lining the streets with vendors hoping to make some profit that night.
They started eating everything they could of the local cuisine. "This is so good!" Hanabi said, eating a skewer with a local dish.
"It's good, but I'm sure Minato could do better if he knew the recipe," Mikoto suggested.
Minato didn't respond, instead, he went to a popsicle stall, the classic from Naruto, seeing one for the first time, he quickly grabbed one not with 2 sticks, but 3 sticks.
"Give me one of those!" Minato said to the vendor.
"3?! I knew I could sell one of these tonight, you're really a lucky man, kid!" The man said, taking Minato's money, while he was confused by that.
After he took it while the girls looked at him bewildered, he turned to them with an innocent smile. "Here, I hope you like it," he said, handing them after breaking them to share.
The reactions were instantaneous; both were visibly shocked by the gesture, their faces tinged red with a mix of surprise and shyness. "Minato, this... isn't it kinda inappropriate...?" Mikoto commented.
"Hm?!" Minato was confused by that, while Hanabi was so shy she couldn't even speak, she just pointed to the stall where Minato had bought the popsicles.
"Love... Stall... Treat your love with our popsicles!" He read the sign shocked, after all, he hadn't seen that, paying attention only to the popsicles he had seen from the anime.
"This..." Minato was beginning to scratch his head not knowing what to say, but at that moment he felt something.
A few streets away, entering his observation haki space, he felt a dark enough aura to alert him of an enemy, "Finally found one!" Minato couldn't help commenting while the girls were a bit confused after all this confusion.
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