Inside Konoha's mission hall.
Naruto was complaining, "Come on! This is obviously a C-rank mission! With how strong I am now, a B-rank mission would be way more suitable for me!"
Minato Namikaze explained, "Naruto, you're still a Genin. You can't accept missions above C-rank. Besides, Sasuke and Sakura have already become Chunin. Without you holding them back, they wouldn't have taken this kind of mission—it's basically a waste of resources."
Sasuke let out an arrogant 'hmph' and remarked, "What a burden you are, huh~"
Naruto immediately became unhappy, "Then Dad, hurry up and promote me already! I definitely have more than enough ability to become a Chunin now!"
Minato spoke seriously, "How can we just promote you whenever you want? Promotion requires exams, and there aren't any Chunin exams happening soon. There's simply no way around it—you'll have to wait."
Naruto grumbled under his breath and sulked.
At that moment, Shindai entered the mission hall with Hinata, "Hey hey, someone here as a Genin seems pretty unwilling... Hinata, how about giving you a B-rank mission this time around?"
Naruto glared at Shindai with clenched teeth—the guy had always been really good at poking fun at him.
Just then, a ninja ran into the mission hall.
"Hokage-sama, something terrible has happened!"
Minato asked, "What's going on?"
"An urgent message just arrived from Sunagakure. Here's the decoded content!"
The ninja handed Minato a piece of paper after decoding.
After reading the note, Minato's expression instantly turned serious, "What?!"
Naruto curiously asked, "Dad, what happened?"
Minato gravely said, "Gaara, the jinchuriki of Sunagakure, has been captured by the Akatsuki!"
Everyone present changed expression immediately.
Images of Gaara flashed through Naruto's mind. Toward Gaara, Naruto felt no hatred—rather, he thought Gaara was quite pitiful.
During his travels, Naruto had learned what kind of miserable lives other villages' jinchuriki endured. Compared to them, he himself had already lived a very fortunate life as the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki.
Minato's voice turned solemn, "The Akatsuki has invaded Konoha twice, and there's naturally conflict between us because they're trying to capture jinchuriki. Now Sunagakure is also our ally. We've gathered even more intelligence reports on the Akatsuki, so Sunagakure has officially sent us a request for help.
This is an urgent situation. Most of Konoha's ninja are currently away on missions, so there's no time to carefully choose personnel anymore... Kakashi's squad!"
Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all realized they were about to take on this mission. A wide grin already spread across Naruto's face.
Minato Namikaze spoke firmly, "Kakashi's squad has new mission orders. Hinata will be joining Kakashi's squad on this operation. Head immediately to Sunagakure, gather intelligence, report it back to Konoha, and then follow Sunagakure's instructions for support!"
Kakashi's squad, along with Shindai and Hinata, responded in unison, "Yes, sir!"
Suddenly, Minato said, "Wait, Shindai, you're not going."
Shindai looked stunned. "Huh? Why not?"
Kakashi shot Shindai a side glance, his brow twitching. As if he even needed to ask why.
The people of Sunagakure already hated Shindai, and sending him there would almost certainly cause trouble. The feud between Shindai and Sunagakure was practically common knowledge.
Minato had no desire to argue with Shindai and simply stated, "This is an order."
...
Outside Konoha Village.
Kakashi's squad and Hinata were already prepared and waiting to depart.
Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru were also at Konoha's entrance, ready to investigate Akatsuki's hideout in Amegakure.
Upon learning that Minato intended to send Naruto directly against Akatsuki, Jiraiya frowned as he approached Minato, who had come to see them off, and whispered, "Hey, Minato, are you sure this is okay?"
Minato explained, "Naruto will have to face them eventually. There were two attackers on Sunagakure altogether—one being Sasori, the other Deidara. Through Shindai's intelligence report, Kakashi already knows their weaknesses, so we'll take this opportunity to train them."
Sighing deeply, Jiraiya gestured toward Naruto. "Naruto, come here for a second."
Naruto followed Jiraiya aside.
Jiraiya warned him seriously, "Naruto, don't force yourself when fighting Akatsuki."
Naruto clenched his fist. "Since I'm their target anyway, I'll just go kill them!"
Jiraiya replied sternly, "It's true you've become stronger, but charging in recklessly would be like digging your own grave. Letting your emotions get the best of you—that's always been your weakness, Naruto. Remember this: don't use that power unless absolutely necessary. You still can't control it well enough yet, and it might end up hurting those around you.
"Also, that jutsu of yours—the one you're still perfecting—takes a serious toll on your body, so try not to use it unless absolutely necessary."
Naruto lowered his head slightly. "I understand."
Jiraiya turned to Kakashi and asked, "Have you got everything ready?"
Kakashi understood exactly what Jiraiya meant—the helmet and sealing tags developed by Orochimaru to suppress the Nine-Tails' chakra within Naruto.
Kakashi nodded. "We have them ready."
"Then Naruto is in your hands, Kakashi. Keep a close eye on him and stop him from doing anything reckless. After all, intelligence is only intelligence. Even knowing their weaknesses, don't let your guard down for a moment."
Jiraiya patted Kakashi's shoulder before leaving with Orochimaru and Tsunade.
As Orochimaru followed Jiraiya and Tsunade away, he glanced toward Hinata.
After the three of them left, Minato instructed, "This mission is about support. Your safety comes first. Move out."
"Yes!"
Kakashi led Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Hinata toward the Sand Village.
Watching Kakashi and the others walk away, Minato muttered, "Of course it's impossible to keep him sitting still in Konoha. I hope everything goes smoothly and everyone stays safe."
After traveling for a while, Kakashi suddenly stopped and gave Hinata an exasperated look. "Alright, we're already out here. Are you tired?"
Hinata stared at Kakashi blankly. "Huh? Kakashi-sensei, what did I do?"
Kakashi shook his head. "Not you."
As soon as Kakashi finished speaking, a puff of *Iron Sand Body* drifted off Hinata, gathering together to form Shindai.
"Eh? Shindai-sensei?"
Naruto and Hinata were both shocked. How did Shindai show up out of nowhere?
Shindai chuckled, "This looks fun…—cough—I mean, during moments when friends need help, how could I possibly miss out? I'm always happy to lend a hand!"
Kakashi rolled his eyes upon hearing that. Shindai definitely came along just to cause trouble. What a pain. He'd have to keep a close eye on Shindai from now on.
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