But…
Just one combined ninjutsu is enough to train for a while.
However, as the Hokage Assistant, Akihara Kagura's work is quite busy, sometimes having to take shifts at the Task Gathering Place, occasionally encountering these recently graduated brats.
Some of them even pick and choose the tasks he provides.
To help these brats grow more, Akihara Kagura can only assign the most troublesome ones the toughest garbage collection tasks to train their chakra control.
"Handled pretty well!"
The Third Hokage, with a pipe in his mouth, came to inspect the work and mentioned something: "I've come to you because there's a troublesome task. The Hidden Mist Village has sent a message saying there's large-scale smuggling between the Land of Water and the Land of Fire..."
"There are even some nobles and ninjas from the Land of Water involved, causing a significant loss in taxes for the Daimyo of the Land of Water. The Hidden Mist Village hopes Konoha can investigate this issue and has issued an S-rank commission task to Konoha..."
This kind of thing is quite common.
The Hidden Mist Village could completely assist the Daimyo of the Land of Water in dealing with the smuggling, but since the matter involves many nobles' interests, they're worried about offending too many nobles. Even if they help the Daimyo, would the nobles speak ill of them in front of him someday?
The Hidden Mist Village entrusted this issue to Konoha to handle, as Konoha is their ally. But since it involves tasks between nations, it must be an S-rank mission.
Moreover…
This kind of issue severely damages the tax income of the Land of Water.
The Hidden Mist Village doesn't want to get involved and doesn't mind spending a small amount to handle a large task, as ultimately, the Daimyo of the Land of Water would cover that expenditure.
Sarutobi Hiruzen thought of handing this mission to the Root, not worrying about what trouble Akihara Kagura working with the Root might cause, hoping to use violent means to deal with those smugglers.
[System Notification]: [New Work Task (Sarutobi Hiruzen), go and deal with the smugglers traveling between the Land of Water and the Land of Fire, eliminate the smugglers' base.]
"I'll go myself! Staying here on duty is a bit boring…"
Akihara Kagura volunteered, planning to stretch his muscles and also hoped to take this opportunity to meet with Orochimaru and Shimura Danzo.
The Chunin Exams are approaching in the second half of the year, and Orochimaru hasn't sent over a new plan yet. Akihara Kagura plans to have a good talk with him.
"Alright."
Sarutobi Hiruzen agreed and took the opportunity to educate: "The Task Gathering Place concerns the lives of the ninjas in the village. We must be responsible for them..."
Just as Sarutobi Hiruzen was nagging away, an elderly man wearing glasses walked in, asking, "Excuse me, is the Konoha Gathering Place here?"
"Yes, it is."
Sarutobi Hiruzen had to stop.
"I'll be going now."
Akihara Kagura waved his hand and left the Task Gathering Place.
However, as Akihara Kagura was leaving, he heard the elderly man with glasses also nagging: "I am Dazna, a bridge-building expert. I wish to issue a C-rank protection mission here, to request Konoha's ninja to escort me to the Land of Waves to build a bridge..."
"Hmm?"
As Akihara Kagura stepped out of the door.
He finally felt a long-lost familiar sensation.
The Land of Waves.
That name sounded a bit familiar!
However, when Akihara Kagura returned to the Root Base and utilized the characteristics of the Dark Side of the Ninja World to investigate information about the smugglers between the Land of Water and the Land of Fire, he found out the smugglers' base was in the Land of Waves. He decided to set the meeting place directly in the Land of Waves.
"Karin, gather everyone, we're going on a mission."
Akihara Kagura called upon Karin and then instructed: "Oh yes, have someone tell Orochimaru I want to meet him in the Land of Waves."
Meanwhile.
Inside the Task Gathering Place.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, with a pipe in his mouth, watched Naruto Uzumaki making a ruckus inside, assigning the task of protecting bridge expert Dazna to the Land of Waves to Team Seven.
"..."
Kakashi Hatake glanced at Dazna, seemingly aware that this task issuer had some untruths in his mouth, but he didn't say much.
Anyway...
Kakashi Hatake believed he was capable of protecting the three brats.
Even though all these years, Kakashi hadn't mastered the Flying Thunder God Jutsu to the standard of his teacher Namikaze Minato, he could still swiftly utilize the Flying Thunder God Array to send the three brats to safety if danger arose.
Theoretically.
That's how it was.
If all went well, this mission would indeed proceed smoothly.
However, Shimura Danzo and Orochimaru, the two S-Class Traitorous Ninjas of Konoha, received Akihara Kagura's message swiftly and immediately headed to the Land of Waves to meet Akihara Kagura and discuss what plan he intended to use in the Chunin Exams.
Outside Konoha Village.
When Kakashi Hatake led Team Seven's three little ones out of the village, Akihara Kagura, with a group of Root Ninja, happened to be leaving as well.
"Kagura."
Naruto Uzumaki called out excitedly towards Akihara Kagura, proudly boasting, "We accepted a C-rank mission! A C-rank mission!"
After boasting, Naruto Uzumaki complained: "The Third Hokage is the best! Not like you, always giving us those garbage-collecting tasks!"
"..."
Akihara Kagura gave the little guy a peculiar glance.
Karin and a group of Uchiha from the Root standing behind Akihara Kagura looked at Naruto Uzumaki with pity, as if they were looking at a poor soul.
"Are you going on a mission?"
Kakashi Hatake greeted them but then shrugged it off and said to himself, "Forget it, Root Ninja aren't to be questioned..."
"It's okay."
Akihara Kagura shook his head, voluntarily disclosing confidential information: "We're going on an S-rank mission, might probably kill quite a few people this time. I wonder if their corpses could fill an entire river. If a river does get filled with corpses, I'll personally fund a task for you guys to clear it up later."
"..."
Kakashi Hatake thought he shouldn't have said anything.
The pink-haired girl Haruno Sakura shivered a little, almost trembling, and even Uchiha Sasuke beside her turned a bit pale.
"Hey, hey, hey! Kagura! Don't use public office for private gains!"
Naruto Uzumaki, still ignorantly, pointed at Akihara Kagura, "Or else, when I become Hokage, I'll definitely dismiss you as an unqualified Hokage Assistant!"
"Shut up and keep moving!"
Kakashi Hatake punched his student's forehead.
"Well, you better work hard…"
Akihara Kagura chuckled lightly and didn't care about Naruto Uzumaki's antics, leading a group of Root Ninja away, each one casting a more sympathetic glance at Naruto as they passed him.
"Naruto..."
Seeing Akihara Kagura and the group of Root Ninja leaving, Haruno Sakura immediately scolded her teammate loudly: "You guy, stop blabbering and offending him again!"
"Kagura isn't a petty person!"
Naruto Uzumaki adjusted his ninja headband, believing he knew Akihara Kagura well, "I've known him for many years!"
Kakashi Hatake glanced helplessly at Naruto Uzumaki: "Looks like you've lived these many years in vain, to still not recognize how petty that guy truly is..."
"Kakashi-sensei!"
Naruto Uzumaki immediately accused his teacher: "Kagura is our friend, how could you badmouth him behind his back!"
Uchiha Sasuke rolled his eyes, thinking Naruto really was stupid: "But you idiot, you were provoking him just now..."
"I just speak my mind!"
Naruto Uzumaki immediately wanted to quarrel with Uchiha Sasuke.
"It's time to move."
Kakashi Hatake adjusted his ninja headband, stopping the two subordinates' argument, secretly speculating on Akihara Kagura and the Root Ninja's destination.
In that direction...
Are Akihara Kagura and the Root heading to the Land of Water?
Could that group really be heading towards the Land of Waves?