Running—of course there was no way to escape.
As a genin whose mission success rate reached 99.99%, Nara Shikaku took great interest in the matter and extended an invitation to the three of them.
"Let's go! I've never been to the Land of Whirlpools! I failed to go last time—this time I'm definitely going!"
"Yoshi! Baixing, this time we'll wash away our past humiliation! Let those ninjas from the Land of Water see just how formidable Konoha's ninjas are!!"
Baixing: "..."
"Are you sure it's really just delivering intelligence?"
"Of course." Shikaku nodded. "When we carried out the previous mission, nothing unexpected happened, but we did discover quite a few Kirigakure ninjas lying in ambush at sea."
"They were most likely reconnaissance units."
"Then why not capture one and interrogate them?" Baixing blurted out, then immediately felt he'd said something stupid. But it didn't matter—his goal was to make them think he was dumb so they wouldn't take him along.
Sure enough, Shikaku and Shikamaru's father-and-son duo looked at Baixing with the same gaze one reserved for an idiot, and said in unison—
Shikaku spoke bluntly, "Who knows if there'd be a trap?"
Shikamaru explained more tactfully, "When it's something unrelated to our mission and the intelligence isn't clear, it's better not to act rashly."
Nawaki suddenly realized, "So that's how it is!"
Baixing: "..." There really is an idiot here.
Right after that, Shikaku stated that this mission would grant Team One a one-third share of the total mission reward. At the same time, they would be protected throughout, ensuring they could complete a B-rank mission and have it officially recorded in their files.
Instantly, Nawaki and Might Dai were thrilled. Meanwhile, Baixing asked offhandedly how much the total reward was.
"One hundred and fifty thousand ryō."
"I see."
"Then at sixty percent sharing… that's only ninety thousand. One third of that would be…"
"Ahem." Hearing Baixing muttering to himself, Shikaku immediately understood—this kid was a money grubber. "Genin Baixing, this is a special-category B-rank mission. The split can go as high as seventy-five percent."
Baixing's eyes lit up. He counted on his fingers again, but in the end his bright gaze turned into that of a dead fish. He looked up at Shikaku.
"Thirty-seven thousand five hundred ryō."
"So little~~~"
"Well… with more people involved, that's just how it is. This mission is mainly to give you experience—participation is what matters." Shikaku added that at this price, jōnin wouldn't normally even glance at such a mission. Those three veteran jōnin definitely wouldn't come again, and besides, the village didn't have enough resident jōnin—they had to stay behind.
As for himself, since he occupied the position of Hokage's aide, he had no choice but to obey the Hokage's orders. Once he gritted his teeth and finished this mission, he could at least take some leave and rest at home for a while.
"Speaking of which, then I won't go. One jōnin should be enough, right?" Yamanaka Kazuya suddenly complained. Back when he and Shikaku were on the same team, he had already carried out a courier mission to Uzushiogakure in the Land of Whirlpools.
After all, the B-rank mission he'd just completed involved transporting supplies to the battlefield, where he'd nearly been left there by Sunagakure's ninjas. Fortunately, Shikaku's son was quick-witted and resourceful, successfully stalling long enough for Konoha's reinforcements to arrive.
"Actually…"
"This mission also counts as a rest-level assignment."
"The Whirlpool Capital of the Land of Whirlpools has plenty of delicious food~ and lots of fresh things you've never seen before…"
"Sorry, I've been there before. You should still remember that, right?" Yamanaka Kazuya tugged at the corner of his mouth.
At that, Shikaku's expression seemed to turn into a vengeful specter. He stretched out both hands, as if to grab Kazuya by the neck.
"You've been there… so just because you've been there, you don't have to go…?"
"Accompany me…"
"Come over and accompany me already…"
The farce between the two middle-aged men made the six younger ones cover their mouths and laugh. Meanwhile, another middle-aged man—who had just been reprimanded by the Hokage and returned from the Hokage Tower, leaning on a cane—was seething with rage.
—Hiruzen, you've changed! You actually don't trust me anymore!! You even secretly dispatched a jōnin team to investigate the Land of Whirlpools!!!
Whoosh—
On a deserted street at the edge of the village, a Root ninja landed in a hurry.
Danzō stopped calmly. The Root operative knelt on one knee and bowed.
"Lord Danzō!"
"Mm. Has the team been assembled?"
"They are fully assembled and ready to depart for the Land of Whirlpools at any time."
Danzō nodded, his gaze sharp as a hawk's.
"Hiruzen has truly grown old."
"To think he wants to win back the Uzumaki clan's ninjas through peaceful means—utterly disgraceful for a Hokage!"
The Root ninja hesitated slightly. "Lord Danzō, do we really not need to discuss this with the Hokage?"
Danzō frowned. "No need. Our objective is simply to capture a few members of the Uzumaki clan. It won't conflict with the Hokage's mission."
"Yes, sir!"
At exactly noon the next day, Nara Shikaku and Nara Shikamaru's father-and-son duo arrived at the village gates and met up with the rest of the team.
This B-rank intelligence delivery mission involved no fewer than two jōnin, three chūnin, and three genin—a truly luxurious lineup.
That same night, Sarutobi Hiruzen summoned Nara Shikaku once more, asking about the currently young and talented members of the Uzumaki clan. Shikaku then mentioned the granddaughter of Uzumaki Terumasa and the daughter of Uzumaki Ryōta—Uzumaki Kushina.
On the surface, Shikaku's mission appeared to be B-rank, but in reality it concealed another objective: escorting Uzumaki clan ninjas and important supplies safely to Konoha.
This was a super A-rank mission, on the condition that the leader of Uzushiogakure agreed.
As for Uzumaki Kushina, she was the emotional card Hiruzen intended to play. Even if the other party refused that condition, Konoha would still send support forces to help—but one young Uzumaki clansman had to be retained.
After all, Mito's life did not have much time left.
The Konoha team arrived in the Land of Whirlpools four days later.
At that moment, Uzushiogakure was in the midst of an incident involving missing personnel.
"Search! Keep searching! If my daughter isn't found, none of you are to come back!"
"Lord Ryōta, it's not that we don't want to search—it's that we truly can't find them!"
In front of the Uzushiogakure leader's building, Uzumaki Ryōta's vision went dark. He felt he had failed Kushina's late mother, allowing Kushina to disappear in the Whirlpool Capital.
Soon after, the Uzumaki clan ninjas in the investigation team began arguing among themselves.
"Could it have been Konoha's ninjas?"
"Bullshit! They just sent people over for friendly exchanges—how could they abduct anyone?!"
"But the number of missing people isn't just Kushina. There are also two playmates and one jōnin bodyguard."
A young man with red hair and an Uzushiogakure forehead protector spoke solemnly.
"To be able to silently deal with a jōnin-level ninja without leaving behind a body or even bloodstains…"
"Other than Konoha's ninjas, I really can't think of anyone else who could pull that off."
Now fully shaken out of his earlier despondency, Uzumaki Ryōta's gaze darkened. "Couldn't it have been Kirigakure ninjas from the Land of Water?"
The young jōnin frowned. "Ryōta, if it were Kirigakure ninjas, there would at least be some traces of battle on the ground."
"But in fact, there's nothing at all."
"This kind of handling…"
"I'm afraid only ANBU could accomplish something like this."
"And Kirigakure's ANBU are known for decisive killing. They only care about completing the mission—eliminating witnesses and taking their heads. As for cleaning up the scene, they generally don't bother."
"So—"
"Konoha is highly suspicious!"
After hearing this, suspicion flickered in Uzumaki Ryōta's eyes.
Just then, a young Uzumaki ninja rushed in with news that instantly erased Ryōta's doubts.
"Konoha's second exchange team has arrived at the gates of the Whirlpool Capital."
"Do we allow them entry?"
"Allow them in!"
"Yes, sir!"
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