Kiyosuke didn't place too many demands on Kiba and the others. They would eventually grow into reliable adults—he simply needed to guide them at the right moments.
The group moved forward at a leisurely pace. Aside from running into a few groups of bandits along the way, nothing noteworthy happened. After escorting them to the Land of Iron, Kiyosuke and his team chose to return.
There wasn't much to see in the Land of Iron, so Kiyosuke had no intention of staying. Otherwise, he definitely would've let his subordinates relax for a bit.
After returning to Konoha, he dismissed the trio so they could head home and rest, and then went to the Hokage Building to report the mission.
Kiyosuke knocked on the door.
Tsunade's voice came from inside.
"Come in!"
"Sorry to disturb you. Here's the mission report."
He handed over the report.
Tsunade glanced at it, and seeing nothing particularly noteworthy, set it aside.
"You got back at just the right time. There's an A-rank mission—wondering if you're willing to take it."
"Hm? A-rank? Let's hear it."
Tsunade handed him a scroll.
"The mission is to protect a well-known actress: Fujikaze Yukie."
"Fujikaze Yukie… I know her. She starred in that hit movie Princess Gale, right? She's quite the beauty."
Kiyosuke recalled that during a break on the road, a client had given them some movie tickets, though he never had the chance to watch it due to the mission.
This world did have movies and TV shows—and the resolution was surprisingly good. The tech tree here was definitely a little crooked.
"That's right. The one footing the bill is her manager. It was originally just a simple escort job—not something worthy of being classified A-rank—but the payment they offered is far too generous."
Escort missions usually didn't warrant an A-rank classification, but if the pay was high enough, it could still be rated as such.
"Huh? Didn't Kakashi's team already take that mission?" Kiyosuke asked, looking at the listed recipients on the scroll.
"Yes. Since the destination is the Land of Snow, and Kakashi's been there before, he's practically a tour guide. The director said that if you could be brought on as well, that would be ideal. If not, they're willing to raise the budget."
Tsunade added, "So, if you take it on, you'll be joining Kakashi's team for the mission."
"Oh, sure. When do we depart?"
"Tomorrow afternoon."
"Got it. I'll take the mission."
If memory served, this Fujikaze Yukie was actually the exiled princess of the Land of Snow...
Still, his only responsibility was to complete the mission.
...
After accepting the mission, he went to inform Hinata and the others, telling them to be ready by the next morning and to dress warmly.
The Land of Snow lay close to the polar regions. Snowy and icy conditions persisted year-round, and warm days were rare. Bringing extra warm clothing was definitely a good idea.
But the three kids on his team were already dressed in thick layers...
The next morning, Kiyosuke met up with Kakashi. They had arranged for their subordinates to go watch a movie in advance to familiarize themselves with the person they'd be protecting.
But when they found them…
The five had teamed up—minus Naruto—and tied the clients up.
"You've gotta be kidding. They tied up the clients?"
Kiyosuke, a seasoned ninja of over ten years, had seen all kinds of situations.
But something like this—tying up the clients—was a first!
"Hey, stop laughing and untie them already!"
Kakashi leapt forward, untying the ropes in an instant. Kiyosuke followed right after, but his hands couldn't even keep up with Kakashi's speed.
So this was the hand speed of Konoha's top technician?
No way he could ever match that!
"Really sorry! These kids didn't realize you were filming!" Kakashi quickly apologized to a middle-aged man with a low ponytail and a bearded face.
The man, named Asama Sandayū, shook his head.
"It's alright. They didn't know and mistook us for bad guys—it's perfectly understandable."
Then he introduced the person beside him.
"This is our client."
Subdued so easily… truly worthy of being called ninja. Even the children had impressive combat ability.
"Where's Naruto?" Kiyosuke asked.
Sakura replied, "He went to protect Princess Gale."
"What? That brat—always running off on his own."
"Everyone, come with us to the set. Yukie will be back soon," said Asama Sandayū.
He gathered the guards—who were clad in armor and playing the role of villains—and led everyone back to the film crew.
There, they met the director—an old man puffing on a pipe. When he saw them, he couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
"As expected of Konoha's shinobi. You handled our hired guards like it was nothing."
"Sorry about that," Kakashi said with some embarrassment. That wasn't how a mission should be handled at all…
"But having the Copy Ninja Kakashi and the legendary one here—what a delightful surprise."
The director squinted at Kiyosuke, who was lounging idly on the side, and muttered quietly.
"It's nothing. The payment was high enough, so I took the job," Kiyosuke shrugged, making no effort to hide it.
"The filming location this time is in the Land of Snow. Kakashi-san, I heard you've been there before?"
"They say that in spring, the legendary Ice Wall shines with seven colors."
Kakashi replied, "It's just a rumor. In reality, the Land of Snow doesn't have a spring."
"No spring?"
"You mean… it's always winter?"
"More or less."
While chatting with the film crew, Kiyosuke and the others started to get to know the staff members.
As evening approached and the female lead, Fujikaze Yukie, still hadn't returned, her manager Asama Sandayū grew anxious. He had no choice but to ask Kiyosuke and the others to go out with him and search for her.
They arrived at a rundown little tavern. Asama Sandayū hurriedly pushed open the door and rushed inside.
"Miss Yukie, the ship to the Land of Snow is ready. It's about to set sail—if we don't hurry..."
He didn't get to finish.
A woman wearing a windbreaker, clearly drunk, cut him off.
"That's enough. Princess Gale is not boarding that pirate ship."
"What are you saying?"
"What are you even talking about!?" Asama Sandayū cried out, launching into an impassioned fatherly plea. He started saying things like, "Your acting career won't rise to the next level," and "Only you can truly bring Princess Gale to life."
Unfortunately, none of it swayed the woman who had clearly made up her mind not to return to the Land of Snow.
Now that the person they were meant to protect refused to go to the destination, things had gotten troublesome. Kiyosuke exchanged a look with Kakashi.
Kakashi walked over and pulled up his forehead protector.
"Well… no other choice then."
Fujikaze Yukie instinctively turned around—only to meet a scarlet eye.
Three tomoe spun around the pupil, and in an instant, Fujikaze Yukie fell into a genjutsu and lost consciousness.
Kakashi caught her before she could fall.
Kiyosuke glanced at the retreating figure at the door and let out a cold chuckle.
Now this was getting interesting...
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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