"A mere B-rank mission is a piece of cake for me!"
Tsunade was visibly pleased with Nara Shikadan's "good behavior and understanding." She looked back at the old man and said bluntly,
"Even if there are a few more B-rank missions, it's no problem!"
A few more B-rank missions?
In other words, a few more B-rank secret ninja scrolls?
Shikadan quickly ran the numbers in his head. His eyes suddenly brightened as he looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen expectantly.
After completing the tasks of [Arresting Spies] and [Handling the Police Force], Shikadan had a solid grasp of his strength and was confident he could handle Konoha's B-rank missions.
After all, the toughest enemies in B-rank missions were usually Chūnin level at most.
Even if things unexpectedly escalated to Jōnin level...
Tsunade would still be there to back him up.
Shikadan glanced at the big, fat sheep next to him and made up his mind: This time, he'd be a diligent shepherd! He'd never let the sheep run off!
"You two really are something..." Sarutobi Hiruzen chuckled quietly, shaking his head.
Who says Tsunade isn't doing her job? Who says all Nara are lazy? Paper records can't tell the whole story.
Hiruzen stroked his gray-and-white goatee thoughtfully.
For an elite ninja like Tsunade, B-rank missions were easy. A- and S-rank missions were where she could truly shine.
But Hiruzen knew the reality of this unusual duo: Tsunade and Nara Shikadan. B-rank missions were basically their current ceiling. Anything harder would risk serious battles—especially with war looming.
Tsunade hadn't been on high-level missions for some time.
It might be wise to have her regain her ninja edge on simpler B-rank tasks first.
With that in mind, Hiruzen opened a desk drawer and pulled out a scroll.
"Here's a list of most B-rank commissions currently active in the village." He handed it to Tsunade, who accepted it without hesitation.
"If you're interested, pick a few more to complete."
Tsunade wasn't picky. She flipped through the scroll and randomly selected one mission name that caught her eye.
"This one!"
"Clean up the bounty hunters?" Hiruzen took the scroll and nodded slightly, well-acquainted with most high-level tasks.
"Recently, many bounty hunters have been active in the Land of Fire, disrupting caravans heading to Konoha."
"This B-rank mission was jointly initiated by several small caravan groups, and the reward is at the B-rank upper limit—150,000 taels."
"Well, looks like I've got good eyes!" Tsunade said cheerfully. "I just randomly picked the mission with the largest payout!"
Her clear brown eyes flicked a few times, as if pondering...
Maybe... today's my lucky day...
The legendary big fat sheep was contemplating whether to hit the gambling den.
Meanwhile, Shikadan stared, stunned by the mission details flashing on his panel:
[B-rank mission triggered]
[B-rank mission: Bounty Hunter]
[Task: Clear bounty hunters on the official road from Konoha to the Fire Country capital]
[Reward: B-rank Secret Ninja Scroll]
A mission outside the village?
For a half-native Konoha resident like Shikadan, the farthest he'd been was the forest near Kikyo Castle.
He was curious about the outside world.
If times were peaceful, Shikadan might have handed Hiruzen a resignation letter saying, "The world's so big—I want to see it."
But with war approaching, and "traveling" very different from "carrying out missions," the thought of running back and forth along the official roads with his own two feet made him shudder.
Is this ninja work—or beast work?
Just as Shikadan hesitated whether to bring Big Horn along, a sudden loud ribbit rang out in the Hokage's office.
"Toad?"
Hiruzen and Tsunade exchanged glances, their eyes lighting up.
"Jiraiya's back?"
A dark green toad had leapt onto the window sill and suddenly opened its mouth, extending a rough, broad human hand.
From Myōboku Mountain, the Toad Sage himself appeared: Jiraiya!
"Hey, teacher! Tsunade!"
Jiraiya greeted his old master and goddess with a bright smile—and didn't forget the other kid.
"Hello, little sister."
Hiruzen and Tsunade gave strange looks.
A blue vein popped on Shikadan's forehead.
"I'm not a little sister..."
Jiraiya blinked, sizing Shikadan up.
The ninja world had all sorts of oddities—petite adults, the legendary "old toad couple" from Myōboku who'd practiced for 800+ years, and so on.
"Okay, how old are you?"
"12."
"This Toad Sage is already 35," Jiraiya said proudly. "Is it okay to call you little sister?"
Shikadan sighed. No point arguing with a fool.
"I'm a boy."
"What?!"
Jiraiya's eyes widened.
"Boy sister?"
Bang!
Tsunade, having held back for years, finally delivered a "friendship punch" to her stupid teammate.
Jiraiya twisted uncontrollably, flipping 720 degrees and somersaulting three and a half times before crashing into the Hokage office wall in a bizarre pose.
Perhaps Tsunade was merciful. Perhaps the wall was reinforced by ninjutsu.
Either way, Jiraiya was stuck, a human-shaped painting ruining his mysterious entrance.
"How could it be..."
Jiraiya sighed, sliding down the wall.
"How could someone so cute be a boy..."
Tsunade recoiled in disgust, pulling Shikadan along.
Hiruzen sighed deeply.
What kind of eyesight did he have to choose Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade—these three strange people—as his disciples?
"Old man, if nothing else, I'll be going!"
Tsunade gripped the fresh B-rank mission scroll, waved at Hiruzen, and ignored Jiraiya.
"Still got missions to do."
"Go..."
Hiruzen waved her off but dared not look at Shikadan.
Everyone knew the three were his disciples. And he'd taught a "world-shaking genius" like Jiraiya... only to watch him make such a fool of himself in front of a kid.
As a man, Hiruzen felt embarrassed.
"Wait, Tsunade! You can't leave yet. There's something urgent!"
Jiraiya, finally ignored no more, stepped forward.
"I've got urgent news from the Sand Village."
"About a week ago, the Third Kazekage disappeared!"
"Don't talk nonsense, Jiraiya!"
Tsunade had been taking him seriously... until hearing this "news."
She sneered.
"The Third Kazekage controls a magnetic escape bloodline. He's known as the strongest Kazekage ever. How could he suddenly vanish?"
This "urgent info" sounded more ridiculous than White Fang's suicide three years ago.
"Stop fooling around, Jiraiya!"
Hiruzen frowned, knocking on the desk.
"The Third Kazekage is young and strong. How could he..."
Creak!
At that moment, the Hokage office door swung open.
Shimura Danzō, Root's leader, stepped inside, his gaze briefly sweeping Shikadan.
"The info Jiraiya gave is correct."
"The same reports come from Iwagakure. My subordinates have confirmed it."
"The Third Kazekage is truly missing!"
Shikadan looked at Tsunade, who met his eyes.
"Come with me outside!"
Tsunade grabbed Shikadan's arm and quickly led him out.
The others paid no attention.
The Third Kazekage's disappearance demanded urgent response from Konoha's leadership.
Shikadan, a Genin, wasn't even allowed to listen in—let alone stand guard outside the office.
"Sorry, Nara."
Outside, Tsunade forced a smile.
"I was planning to take you on more B-rank missions, but... seems that's off now."
Shikadan quietly accepted the bounty hunter mission he had just triggered, earning a small C-rank guarantee again.
"I was going to give you this later,"
Tsunade pulled a black scroll from somewhere and pressed it into Shikadan's hand.
"Now..."
"You're already a mature ninja. It's time to learn how to study ninjutsu by yourself."