"The mission this time is to deliver the classified scroll and exchange it with the Prajñā Group from the Land of Woods."
Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke calmly to Kiyosuke.
Standing behind him were two Konoha Chūnin and an old man carrying a pot on his back.
This old man wasn't someone to underestimate—he had served under the Second, Third, and Fourth Hokage. With incredible survival skills and an unwavering Will of Fire, he had devoted his entire life to Konoha.
Though he had remained a genin for decades, that was by his own choice.
Wracked with guilt over the death of his comrades, he refused promotion and made a vow before the Second Hokage. He would remain a genin forever. Even when the Third Hokage later tried to promote him to jōnin, he turned it down.
He had received guidance from both the Second and Third Hokage, and even the Fourth had paid close attention to him.
As a genin, he had taken on high-level missions for years and given everything for Konoha.
"I understand. But what if they back out—or it's a trap?"
Kiyosuke asked.
"It'll prove the Land of Woods has no intention of allying with the Land of Fire. As for what comes next, that's up to your judgment," said Sarutobi Hiruzen.
With Kiyosuke present, there was no concern about the safety of this mission, and little needed to be explained. Still, to be cautious, he sent two Anbu to follow.
"Got it."
Kiyosuke took the scroll and said,
"Alright everyone, the mission has begun. Let's go."
"Oh!"
"Ah, young people really are full of energy."
Kosuke chuckled and followed along with the group.
"I can't believe I get to go on a mission with Kiyosuke-sama. This is amazing."
"Yeah. With Kiyosuke-sama here, we don't have anything to be afraid of."
The two Chūnin looked at Kiyosuke with admiration, making him feel a little embarrassed.
He smiled and said,
"Uh, we still need to stay alert. After all, we don't know if the Land of Woods truly wants an alliance—or if they're trying to extract intel from the Land of Fire. Either way, completing the mission comes first."
"Yes, sir!"
Kosuke followed silently behind them. Kiyosuke didn't increase the pace. After all, the Land of Woods wasn't far from Konoha—half a day's travel at most.
By noon, Kosuke's pot had finally come in handy. He gathered some wild ingredients and, with a bit of simmering, had a delicious stew going. The old man's cooking skills were top-notch.
"Honestly, Kosuke-san, if you ever retire and open a restaurant, with food like this, you'd make a fortune!"
Kiyosuke said as he took a sip of the soup.
"Hot, hot, hot! Mmm... Kiyosuke-sama's right. It's delicious!"
"Kosuke-san, have you ever thought about it?"
"Hahaha, I've been a ninja all my life. Never really considered anything else. But... maybe someday."
Kosuke laughed and served himself a bowl as he sat down.
After finishing his first bowl, Kiyosuke asked,
"Kosuke-san, do you have any clean bowls left?"
"Oh, sure."
"Give me two."
"Alright."
Without asking why, Kosuke handed over two bowls.
"Thanks."
Kiyosuke took them, ladled in some soup, and leapt up into the trees.
"Here."
Up in the tree were two Anbu—one with white hair and one with black. The white hair was unmistakable—it was Kakashi. No one else in Konoha had that kind of edgy haircut. The one with the black braided hair was Itachi.
"Seriously? You spotted us, fine, but now you're making it obvious to the others that there's something more to this mission," Kakashi said helplessly.
The real purpose of the mission was to determine whether the Land of Woods was a threat. If they were, the Prajñā Group would be eliminated in the future. If not, then fine.
"Kosuke-san probably figured it out. He's been a ninja for a long time. The other two still need to grow. This soup's amazing—way better than those rations."
"You know the regulations."
"And what good are those to me?"
"..."
Kakashi sighed and took the soup, then said to Itachi,
"Eat up. No point wasting it. It really is better than ration pills."
"Yes."
The two of them removed their masks and drank the soup quickly, then handed the bowls back to Kiyosuke.
After jumping back down, Itachi asked,
"Captain, is Kiyosuke-sama always like this?"
"Yeah. To him, rules are meant to be broken. If something tries to bind a ninja, he'll ignore it. He doesn't even listen to Danzo-sama's orders," Kakashi replied.
"Because he's strong enough?"
"That's part of it," Kakashi said after thinking for a moment.
"But mostly, he just can't stand Danzo-sama. Ever since the day the Fourth died, his relationship with Danzo-sama has been like this. It's never changed. Honestly, he only listens to the Hokage—and even then, the Hokage usually has to go along with him."
"If Kiyosuke-sama wanted to become Hokage, he could do it instantly. But I heard he turned it down because he didn't want to sit in an office dealing with paperwork all day," Itachi said.
"Yeah, the guy's just lazy—or maybe he just hates thinking too much. So he gave up the Hokage seat."
Kakashi actually laughed while on a mission for once.
Turning down the Hokage position just to avoid paperwork—that was probably a first in Konoha history.
While the two of them chatted casually up in the trees, the four on the ground finished eating and set off again.
On the way, Kiyosuke altered his appearance to avoid being recognized.
Eventually, the group reached the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Woods—a mountain valley. This was the rendezvous point with the Prajñā Group.
Not long after arriving, a group of masked shinobi appeared. They all wore Hannya masks—this was the Prajñā Group from the Land of Woods, responsible for receiving the scroll.
Leading them was a masked woman in a black cloak.
Kiyosuke spoke.
"Prajñā Group?"
"That's right. Hand over the scroll."
Her tone was commanding, causing Kiyosuke to frown.
"Exchange," he said coolly.
"You hand it over first!"
"I said—exchange."
"Is the Land of Fire trying to provoke war with the Land of Woods?"
"I said exchange. I don't like repeating myself a third time."
"Hmph!"
The woman took out a scroll and passed it to Kiyosuke. He handed over his own in return.
Sensing something strange in the chakra within the scroll, Kiyosuke didn't open it. He simply tossed it aside.
BOOM!
"Captain!"
One of the Chūnin was stunned. Wasn't this just a simple scroll exchange mission? Why were there explosive tags involved?
Kiyosuke smirked.
"These bastards never planned to form an alliance with us. They're dead meat!"
The woman immediately jumped onto the cliffside, clutching the scroll, and shouted,
"Konoha has broken the agreement and launched an attack on us! We are retaliating!"
"Captain, what should we do?"
"You retreat!"
Two figures landed beside them.
Kakashi said,
"You guys go. Leave the rest to us."
"Hahahaha, attack!"
The woman on the cliff gave the order, and her subordinates—who had been hiding all around—sprang into action.
"Earth Release: Rock Collapse!!"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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