Chapter 102: Trial Mission!
"One tonkotsu ramen with egg is 65 ryo, vegetable ramen is 65 ryo, a bowl of rice is 15 ryo, and... twenty-nine large bowls of Miso Chashu Ramen."
The owner of Ichiraku Ramen, Teuchi, wiped the sweat from his forehead and quickly calculated the total price in his head. "That will be 2465 ryo."
This amount... Nara Keisuke frowned and asked, "Boss, do you have any items that cost 35 ryo?"
"One moment, customer."
Teuchi went to the drink cabinet at the side and returned with four bottles of soda. "Four bottles of Ramune. Including the previous items, rounding it up, the total is 2500 ryo."
"Thanks, boss." Keisuke's brow relaxed, and he paid the bill readily.
The four members of the squad each took a bottle of Ramune and walked out of the ramen shop.
"Captain." Uchiha Shisui looked down at the Ramune in his hand, his round dango nose reflected on the semi-transparent glass bottle. "Are we just going to the Hokage's Office like this?"
"Hm?" Keisuke, holding his own bottle, looked at him with some confusion. "Do you have something else you need to take care of? We can actually rest for a bit before going. Or we can go tomorrow."
"No, no." Shisui waved his hand and pointed to the soda in his hand. "What I mean is... will it be a bad look if we bring soda to the Hokage's Office?"
Hearing this, Hyūga Retsu and Shizune looked at Shisui in unison. This guy... his obsessive-compulsiveness is even more twisted than the captain's.
"What's so bad about it," Keisuke said, also feeling a bit speechless. "If you really think it's a bad look, you can go to the bookstore next door and buy a copy of The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi to give to the Hokage. But I'd suggest waiting until Jiraiya's next book comes out before buying a new one. After all, generally speaking, new works are more attractive."
Amidst their idle chat, the four-person squad arrived at the Hokage's Office. Keisuke casually stuck the bottle of Ramune in his pocket and led the way to the top-floor office.
In the Hokage's Office.
The unchanging scene was that of Sarutobi Hiruzen handling official business. Seeing Keisuke and the others arrive, Hiruzen temporarily put aside the matters at hand. "Nara, how are you getting along with your squad members?"
"Very well. Every squad member is very strong in terms of skill level and overall quality." Keisuke did not skimp on his praise, then got straight to the point. "Lord Hokage, we are here to accept a mission."
"Accept a mission..." Hiruzen pondered for a moment. As the Hokage, he naturally had a rough idea of this four-person squad's skill level.
There was no need to say much about the leader, Nara Keisuke. Uchiha Shisui was a descendant of Kagami, having perfectly inherited Kagami's personality and strength, and had awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan at a young age; Hyūga Retsu came from the Hyūga main family and was the most outstanding Hyūga scion of this generation, extremely proficient in both the Byakugan and the Gentle Fist; as for Shizune, her medical ninjutsu level was also among the best of her peers, and at the very least, she wouldn't drag the team down.
For a team composition of almost "two Jonin, two Chunin," A-rank or even S-rank missions were where they could truly display their strength. If one were to include the flight and containment abilities Keisuke had demonstrated during the previous Battle for Kikyo Castle, this highly mobile and comprehensively skilled squad could become a scalpel team that roamed the front lines, just like the White Fang of the past, or Minato of today. This was also Hiruzen's original intention in forming this team.
It was just that Hiruzen also knew that this team was, after all, newly established. The coordination and tacit understanding between the members still needed to be cultivated, and their age was also an issue...
After much thought, Hiruzen decided to give the choice to Keisuke. "Nara, is your squad planning to accept a high-level mission, or a low-level one?"
This was a question the four of them had already discussed in detail on their way to the Hokage's Office. Keisuke replied, "To be on the safe side, we plan to take on some low-level missions first."
"Good." Hiruzen did not hesitate and quickly selected a suitable low-level mission from the mission list scroll. "This is a mission request from the Iburi clan, who live in the northeast of the village. Find a missing child, D-rank difficulty. However, considering the recent surprise attacks from Iwa and Suna, this mission's difficulty could increase at any time. You can start with this one."
A D-rank mission? Well, a D-rank is a D-rank, anyway... this is just a trial.
Nara Keisuke stepped forward and took the mission scroll from Hiruzen.
[D-rank Ninja Commissioned Mission Detected!]
[D-rank Mission: Find the Child]
[Mission Content: Find the two missing children of the Iburi clan and escort them back to the clan.]
[Mission Reward: One D-rank Shinobi Secret Scroll]
The squad left the Hokage's Office together. After a brief rest and resupply in the village, they set off towards the northeast.
"Regarding the Iburi clan," Keisuke said on the way, passing the mission scroll to Shisui and the others to read. "Do you have any relevant intelligence?"
Retsu and Shizune both shook their heads.
"I know a little," Shisui spoke up. "They are a Kekkei Genkai family with a rather unstable ability."
"An unstable Kekkei Genkai?" Keisuke's interest was piqued. The other two at his side also perked up their ears. "Tell me more."
"The Iburi clan's Kekkei Genkai is somewhat like a physical constitution type, and also somewhat like an elemental release type," Shisui said with some hesitation. "I'm not sure about the more specific details. But the ninja of their clan rarely go out, because their physical condition is very unstable, and they can easily suffer an accidental death."
"Easily suffer an accidental death..." Keisuke put aside his other thoughts and looked at the mission scroll in his hand. "Then our mission won't fail by accident, will it?"
Before they realized this problem, everyone had been quite relaxed. A Jonin and three Chunin completing a D-rank mission, wasn't that a piece of cake? But after hearing Shisui's words, everyone finally realized that while their side might not have a problem, the client's side might...
Thinking of this, Keisuke decided to stop. "Wait, let's take a faster way there."
The several team members stopped at almost the same time, looking at their captain strangely. Faster? Are we going to travel with the Body Flicker Technique? That's too extrav— extrav—
In the eyes of Shisui, Retsu, and Shizune, a lacquer-black eagle suddenly emerged from the shadow at Keisuke's feet, carrying him as it flew into the air.
"Everyone, get on."
Keisuke's voice came from the sky. The three of them looked at each other, then in an orderly fashion, they flickered and jumped onto the back of the shadow eagle.
"C-Captain," Shizune said, looking at the ever-shrinking scenery of Konoha below and couldn't help but swallow. "How can you fly?"
"It's not that I can fly, it's that the Nara clan can fly," Keisuke said, sitting at the front of the eagle without turning his head. "The Nara clan has recently researched a special technique that can manipulate and transform shadows. I imagine you'll be able to meet other Nara clan ninja riding eagles like me in the future."
In the previous Battle for Kikyo Castle, Nara Shikano had already publicly used the [Shadow Beast Scroll] in front of everyone. Therefore, Keisuke had no intention of continuing to hide it. Although his was the S-rank [Shadow Transformation Technique] and the family's was the B-rank [Shadow Beast Scroll]... in terms of external form, they were more or less the same. Others wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
"So amazing..." Shisui said with emotion. Hyūga Retsu at his side also couldn't help but nod silently.
In the eyes of super-clans like the Uchiha and Hyūga, the Nara clan was of the "not as good as the best, but better than the rest" type. If one were to also consider the innate nature of the Nara clan's ninja... their comprehensive status could be even lower. But now that the Nara clan had developed this flying shadow secret technique, the importance and strategic significance of flight ability was self-evident. The Nara clan was about to soar to the heavens...
Shizune hadn't thought as deeply as her two companions. The only thought in her mind right now was "the captain is amazing."
With the help of the shadow eagle, Keisuke and the others flew out of Konoha Village at high speed and arrived in the northeast. Following the location recorded in the mission scroll, Keisuke controlled the eagle and came to a low-lying cave. The surroundings were so quiet that not even a whisper of wind could be heard.
The four of them jumped down from the eagle's back in an orderly manner and landed on the ground.
"It seems the Iburi clan's living environment is even worse than I imagined," Shisui said, looking at the desolate and primitive cave and couldn't help but speak. "To think they actually live in a cave like this..."
Keisuke glanced at the red-eyed Uchiha. He was inexplicably reminded of Chino and her Chinoike clan. This Iburi clan, like the Chinoike clan before, was an existence he had never heard of. But at the very least, the Iburi clan's living environment was much better than the Chinoike clan's. And the tragic situation of the Chinoike clan was not unrelated to the Uchiha...
Uchiha Shisui was oblivious to Keisuke's gaze. He was about to say something when a voice came from the cave. "Konoha ninja?"
A middle-aged man in coarse brown clothes, with a thin build, walked out from the shadows of the cave, looking at Keisuke and the others with a wary gaze. It wasn't until he saw the Konoha forehead protectors on them that he barely let down his guard. "Were you sent by Lord Orochimaru?"
'Orochimaru?'
Keisuke's brow rose. He took two steps forward and handed over the mission scroll. "We received a mission order from the Third Hokage to assist the Iburi clan in finding their missing children."
"So it's an order from Lord Orochimaru's teacher."
The middle-aged man took the scroll, and after confirming it was genuine, he completely let down his guard and invited everyone into the cave. "I am the leader of the Iburi clan, Iburi Gota."
(End of Chapter)
☆☆☆
-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE
-> FOR EVERY 200 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER
☆☆☆
-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you