After the barbecue meal, Asuma left and went to Hong's home to say a proper goodbye. The next morning, everyone came to the main gate to see him off.
Biwa and Shinnosuke were also there.
Biwa straightened her son's collar and admonished, "Take good care of yourself out there. Don't eat anything strange. Don't go to some odd places. Also, stay away from the three taboos of ninjas."
"Mom, you've said this several times at home. I know!"
Shinnosuke said, "Take good care of yourself. The Daimyo's mansion isn't that simple!"
"Okay, got it, big brother."
Asuma looked behind Shinnosuke, not seeing the figure he wanted to see. He snorted. Kiyosuke threw a package to him and said, "These are snacks from Konoha. Eat them sparingly on the way. If you want more, write a letter and I'll have someone bring them to you."
"Thanks."
Asuma took the package and opened it. He found that they were all the snacks Kiyosuke liked. With a dark face, he asked, "Why are they all your favorite snacks?"
"Nonsense. How would I know what you like? Of course, I bought what I like."
It was so reasonable!
Damn it! I clearly know what you like!
You don't even know what I like. Are you still my best friend?
Hong stepped forward and handed him a small bag, saying, "This is a first - aid kit I prepared. Take good care of yourself."
"Okay, I'll treasure it."
Asuma gave an awkward smile. Regarding last night's farewell, well, he felt extremely embarrassed throughout, as if he could dig out a three - bedroom, one - living - room apartment with his feet.
"Alright, it's time for me to go!"
He waved to his family and friends, then followed the other Konoha ninjas who were going to the Daimyo's mansion to protect the Daimyo.
"Be careful on the way. Write to us if you miss home!"
Biwa shouted loudly.
"Got it!" Asuma shouted back, his figure gradually disappearing.
...
In the Hokage's office
Hiruzen Sarutobi was staring out of the window, lost in thought. Kiyosuke pushed the door open and, seeing this scene, said, "Third Hokage, Asuma has been gone for almost half a year. You can't see him no matter how much you look."
"Ahem, no, I was just checking on the reconstruction work of Konoha," Hiruzen Sarutobi coughed to cover his embarrassment. He would never admit that he was worried about his son.
An old father who was not good at expressing his emotions, meeting a rebellious son, was bound to cause problems.
When Asuma's rebellious period passed, he believed the two would reconcile.
However, this would take time.
"The reason I called you here is about one thing." He took out a mission scroll and handed it to Kiyosuke. There was an "S" written on it, indicating it was an S - rank mission.
Kiyosuke's eyes lit up. It was quite rare for him to be assigned an S - rank mission.
Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "Go to the Land of Hot Water. Recently, the Hidden Hot Spring Village has been attacked by an unknown force. They've suffered heavy losses. Many people were killed by taijutsu, and some special marks were found at the scene. The Hidden Hot Spring Village had no choice but to ask Konoha for help."
The Hidden Hot Spring Village had declined, and they were no longer able to handle the situation on their own, so they had to turn to Konoha.
"I see. It seems they've really declined. They can't deal with this situation themselves. An S - rank mission? I'll take it."
Kiyosuke took the mission scroll and opened it. The requirement was to find out the people who had severely damaged the Hidden Hot Spring Village and eliminate them completely.
There were also photos of the scene attached.
"Hmm? What is this..."
He noticed that the dead ninjas in the photos were all lying on a circle drawn with blood.
There was also a complete mark. Under the circle, there was a triangle nested.
"Do you recognize it?"
"Yeah. It's the Cult of the Evil God in the Hidden Hot Spring Village. Rin and Hong were kidnapped by them before. I encountered them with Minato - sensei. I didn't expect they're still around. They're really dangerous." He shook his head and said, "Their abilities are special, so I'm probably the only one suitable for this mission."
"Then I'll leave it to you."
"Okay."
Kiyosuke put away the mission scroll, went home to pack some clothes, and then left Konoha.
"Well, come to think of it, I'll stay and play in the Hidden Hot Spring Village for a few days after completing the mission. Consider it a vacation."
Thinking this way, he quickly leaped from tree to tree.
After several days of travel, he finally arrived at the Land of Hot Water.
A ninja from the Hidden Hot Spring Village came to greet him and said, "The messenger from Konoha, thank you for coming."
"It's nothing. Just a mission assigned by the Hokage," Kiyosuke shook his head, maintaining a cool demeanor and keeping a distance from this Hidden Hot Spring ninja. Although this guy was extremely weak and couldn't cause him any trouble, it was always good to be cautious. There were numerous cases of genin poisoning and taking down jounin.
"Um, are you the only one?" the receiving Hidden Hot Spring ninja asked in confusion.
"One of me is enough."
Upon hearing this, the Hidden Hot Spring ninja felt that Konoha was looking down on their village. Even if they had declined, they were still a ninja village. How could this be?
Someone beside him quickly pulled him back and whispered, "This guy is a powerful weapon of Konoha, comparable to a tailed beast. If he hadn't refused, he would be the Fifth Hokage of Konoha by now. The fact that he's here shows that Konoha respects us a lot."
"What?! He's that powerful?!"
"Of course. You know the Third Mizukage, right? He died at this guy's hands. Because he single - handedly killed the Third Mizukage, it accelerated the end of the Third Great Ninja War. He's a hero on par with the Fourth Hokage."
Some people were popularizing Kiyosuke's deeds to the newbies, making them change from being indignant at first to being full of admiration and awe.
As long as one was strong enough, people would respect and fear you everywhere.
"Take me to their latest crime scene. I want to complete the mission as soon as possible."
And then, I can go on vacation!
The commission for this S - rank mission was very high, and he could get a large share of it.
"Okay, please follow us."
Several Hidden Hot Spring ninjas led the way and took Kiyosuke to a forest.
On the ground were dried bloodstains, and a special pattern of the Cult of the Evil God was drawn, clearly indicating it was a sacrificial site of the cult.
"Have you searched for their whereabouts?"
"We can't find them. They're hiding very well," the Hidden Hot Spring ninja shook his head. "And they kill without any pattern. It's not just the ninjas of the Hidden Hot Spring Village. Some civilians also die at their hands. We've sent many people to surround and eliminate them, but they never came back."
"Then it seems there are quite a few of them."
Even if the Hidden Hot Spring Village was declining, with a large number of people, it shouldn't be so easy to be defeated. This meant that the cult members of the Cult of the Evil God had grown in number over the years. These people had powerful taijutsu due to the power of the Evil God. Coupled with the decline of the Hidden Hot Spring Village, most of its ninjas were weak.
Among the jounin of the Hidden Hot Spring Village who came to pick him up, a relatively powerful chunin from Konoha could handle them. As for the chunin here, they were even weaker than the genin of Konoha.
The Hidden Hot Spring Village had forgotten about war, and its combat power was declining. No wonder they had to ask Konoha for help.
Well, he didn't need to worry about them. First, he had to find those cult members.