Shisui didn't think much of it and immediately began to teach Hyuga Kagami the hand seal sequence and chakra control method for the Shadow Clone Jutsu in detail.
After just a brief attempt, Hyuga Kagami had already grasped the basics of the jutsu. With his current chakra reserves, learning a B-rank jutsu wasn't difficult at all. Moreover, with his Tenseigan, he could clearly observe the chakra flow inside Shisui during the demonstration. Even someone slow-witted could easily copy it if they had such an advantage.
This was one of the major advantages that dojutsu users had when learning new jutsu.
In the future, Kakashi would earn the titles of "Konoha's Number One Technician" and "Copy Ninja" precisely because of the Sharingan gifted to him by Obito.
The Third Hokage only gave Team 11 three hours to prepare, so after mastering the Shadow Clone Jutsu, Hyuga Kagami and Shisui returned to their homes to get ready for the secret mission.
Knowing this mission would be close to a wartime engagement—and that the opponent was Kumogakure, whose power rivaled that of Konoha—Hyuga Kagami didn't dare to be careless.
He packed two sets of throwing weapons: shuriken, kunai, senbon, and sealed the overflow into storage scrolls.
He prepared 500 explosive tags—his entire stockpile since becoming a Special Jonin.
He also packed: 1 vial of paralyzing poison, 2 antidote vials, 3 rolls of medical bandages, and 1 jar of soldier pills.
By the time he was ready to leave, the pouches on his belt were completely stuffed.
At the door, he ran into Rin, who was rushing over.
Hyuga Kagami smiled warmly. "Why are you in such a hurry?"
Seeing him geared up for battle, Rin bit her lip. "Just... please be careful!"
She had a thousand things she wanted to say, but in the end, all that came out was, "Be careful."
Hyuga Kagami gently patted her head, a confident smirk on his lips. "I'm a Jonin now, you know. The ones who need to be careful are those Cloud ninja."
Rin felt a bit more at ease seeing his confidence. Then she pulled out a beautifully crafted short sword and handed it to him. "The clan leader asked me to give this to you."
*Shing...*
As Hyuga Kagami unsheathed the short sword, a sharp metallic ring echoed. Even the warm sunlight couldn't dispel the cold aura surrounding the blade. Just a glance at its edge made one's skin crawl.
"What a fine sword," he said instinctively.
Rin added, "The clan leader said this is 'Kusanagi-maru,' a chakra blade with a special ability to prevent wounds from healing."
"Kusanagi-maru!?" Hyuga Kagami's eyes widened slightly. "Could this be one of the many legendary Kusanagi swords?"
He was only mildly surprised that Hiashi had gifted him such a treasure—not shocked. His status had changed greatly.
As a member of the Hokage's personal ANBU, he could meet the Hokage anytime and had real influence over village matters. He had recently defeated both Uchiha Shinichi and Uchiha Hiura in challenges, greatly boosting his prestige. Among the younger Hyuga, he was already unmatched.
If clan leader Hiashi didn't try to win him over now, he wouldn't be doing his job.
In truth, the Hyuga Clan's decline was evident. While they still had many Jonin, true elite Jonin were rare. Among the younger generation, aside from the meteoric rise of Hyuga Kagami, there were no standouts.
The clan's reserved nature wasn't just about their demeanor—it reflected their weakened strength.
What did surprise Hyuga Kagami was that Hiashi would gift him such a valuable weapon. It reminded him that a noble clan with a thousand years of history still had its deep reserves.
After bidding Rin farewell, Hyuga Kagami headed to Team 11's rendezvous point.
Shisui and Guy were already there, but Kakashi was nowhere to be seen.
They waited for a while before Kakashi finally arrived, unhurried.
Guy asked, curious, "What took you so long?"
Kakashi apologized. "I stopped by the Memorial Stone. Sorry to keep you waiting."
Hyuga Kagami frowned at that. The fact Kakashi visited the memorial before a secret mission made him uneasy. It hinted that the mission assigned by the Third Hokage might be far from ordinary.
Departure time was near, so the team didn't linger and quickly set off.
On the way, Hyuga Kagami asked cautiously, "What exactly is our mission?"
Shisui and Guy also turned to look at Kakashi, who was leading the way.
The mission scroll had been given to the squad leader, so only Kakashi knew the specifics.
Kakashi shook his head. "Can't say yet."
To prevent information leaks, it's common for team leaders to withhold mission details until they're near the target location.
But that only made Hyuga Kagami more certain—this was no ordinary mission. If they were just intercepting enemy forces, it wouldn't need such secrecy.
Over the next week, Team 11 moved in a wide arc, avoiding Cloud units that had invaded the Land of Fire and approaching the border of the Land of Hot Water.
By then, the whole team realized that their mission might involve operating deep inside enemy territory.
Kakashi finally laid out a map and pointed to a red dot. "This is it. This is our target."
The red mark was located at the border between the Land of Lightning and the Land of the Moon, deep within a valley surrounded by complex terrain.
Kakashi continued, "This is a secret Kumogakure supply depot. It holds a large cache of ninja tools and provisions. If we destroy it, it'll force Cloud to slow their invasion into the Land of Fire."
Shisui asked, "What about enemy forces?"
Kakashi shook his head silently. After a long pause, he said, "The Intelligence Division only found the location. We don't know the guard detail, so we have to prepare for the worst."
For a depot that important, it wouldn't be surprising if Cloud stationed a hundred shinobi to guard it.
And Team 11 only had four people. Despite their individual strength, they'd be outnumbered, deep behind enemy lines. No matter how you looked at it, the odds weren't great.
Hyuga Kagami couldn't help but mutter internally, "No wonder the Third Hokage suddenly became so generous..."
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