◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read 60 chapter ahead on P@treon of which 10 are free Chapters. if you're interested: patreon.com/Heroicverse
Hokage's Office.
Minato Namikaze pushed open the office door and walked in.
"Lord Third Hokage!"
"Minato, you're here."
Looking up at Minato, the Third Hokage (Hiruzen Sarutobi) paused his paperwork.
"We have an S-rank mission that requires you to lead a team to complete." He picked up a scroll from the desk and tossed it over.
Snap!
Catching the scroll firmly, Minato Namikaze froze in place.
An S-rank mission?
Are you serious, Lord Third?
Can the novice Team Minato possibly complete an S-rank mission?
Forget S-rank, a C-rank mission would be a struggle right now. Moreover, his team is currently running D-rank tasks.
Even if Minato himself leads the team, he will inevitably face the same impossible choice as Sakumo Hatake (the White Fang):
Complete the mission VS Save your comrades!
So, what exactly was the Third Hokage planning?
Noticing Minato Namikaze's look of alarm, the Third Hokage tapped his pipe.
"What? Is the task too difficult?"
"Yes!"
Minato Namikaze answered truthfully.
"I don't believe Team Minato is capable of completing a mission of this magnitude."
"Team Minato?"
The Third Hokage chuckled, dumbfounded.
"Who said you were taking Team Minato?"
Hearing this, Minato Namikaze breathed a sigh of relief.
It turned out I misunderstood.
Unrolling the scroll, Minato's expression changed to one of confusion.
"Loulan?"
"That's right! This is a mission request from the Queen of Loulan!" the Third Hokage confirmed.
"But Loulan is located deep within the Wind Country; shouldn't they have contacted Sunagakure (Hidden Sand Village)? Why did they send the request to Konoha?" Minato was puzzled.
Facing Minato's question, the Third Hokage's face became serious, and his voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper.
"Because the Third Kazekage is missing! Sunagakure is currently embroiled in a power struggle."
"Remember, this information must not be spread."
As the Third Hokage's voice fell, Minato couldn't hide his shock.
The Third Kazekage, missing?
I see.
From his perspective, the village elders had likely known this news for a while, which explained why they had relaxed the graduation standards at the Academy—to prepare for the coming war.
What a pity.
If Lord Sakumo were still alive, his presence alone would be enough to greatly deter Sunagakure.
The thought caused Minato Namikaze's already low opinion of the Third Hokage's administration to plummet further.
Are political motives truly more important than a human life?
Konoha's Forest.
After selecting an area with clearly visible wild boar tracks, Akira Tsubaki gave the order, and the three genin began to dig.
As for why only three people were digging?
That was because Akira Tsubaki had only bothered to borrow three shovels.
He was the supervisor.
Kakashi, Obito, and Rin were in charge of the actual digging.
A perfectly reasonable division of labor.
"Akira Tsubaki, I think you should come down and dig for a while and let Rin rest up," Obito complained, looking up from the pit.
How could Rin, a girl, handle this kind of hard labor? Akira Tsubaki really didn't know how to treat a lady.
"Oh? But I need to oversee the entire operation!" Akira Tsubaki replied flatly, crouching by the pit.
As he spoke, he took a crisp bite of his apple.
Mmm, so sweet!
"No, I can manage it," Rin wiped the dirt from her face and squeezed out a smile.
"See? Rin didn't even say she was tired, so what are you complaining about? Hurry up and dig!" Akira Tsubaki snapped.
This made Obito angry and exhausted.
But he glanced at Kakashi, who was digging furiously, and ultimately decided not to argue further.
In half an hour, the trap was set.
Of course, it wasn't just a simple pit; it was lined with more than a dozen sharpened bamboo stakes and covered carefully with weeds and foliage.
After commanding the three genin to meticulously clean up all surrounding traces, Akira Tsubaki nodded with satisfaction.
"How do you determine that the wild boar will definitely walk past here?" Kakashi asked suddenly.
"Yeah! We dug for ages, what if the wild boar comes from a different route?" Obito came to his senses, feeling like he'd been conned.
"In that case, our trap would have been for nothing," Rin echoed softly.
"Hehe!"
Akira Tsubaki smiled and explained further.
"The wild boar's habits dictate that it will take the safest route!"
"What is the safest route? Naturally, it's the route it took last time."
With that, he walked away with a casual, confident strut.
The next day.
The old woman went to the Hokage's office and gave her heartfelt thanks to the Third Hokage.
"Lord Hokage, thank you so much! That boar was enormous! Not only did my wife avoid losing money, but we even made a profit!"
"Oh? That's wonderful!"
After the old woman left, the Third Hokage checked the mission records.
"Huh? This task was completed by Team Minato? Minato's squad?"
"Ah, there's a Kakashi in that team. No wonder."
Waking up early in the morning, Akira Tsubaki embraced the sun!
The first thing he did upon waking was check his stats panel.
After all, check my status every day, then slack off all day.
Name:Akira Tsubaki
Age:12 years old
Strength:13
Physique:36-Chūnin Level
Agility:44 (22*2)Chūnin Level
Spirit:20
Chakra Amount:113
Skills:None
Ninjutsu:None
Comprehensive Strength:Trainee Genin
"Huh? My speed is at the Chūnin Level too?"
Feeling immensely pleased, Akira Tsubaki closed the panel.
Stepping out into the yard, he decided to test his speed.
Whoosh!
Sprinting with all his might, he moved with the blur of a rushing wind.
This is a metaphor, of course.
"My current speed shouldn't be much slower than Kakashi's," Akira Tsubaki judged, recalling the speed Kakashi used when trying to snatch the bell.
Of course, Kakashi's display involved not just raw speed, but skill.
And Akira? He only had the speed.
After breakfast, Akira Tsubaki happily headed to the training ground.
But what he didn't expect was that the leading sensei today had changed!
"Kushina-Senpai?"
Seeing Kushina, Akira Tsubaki rubbed his eyes, realizing he was right.
What is this?
A part-time job exchange between lovers?
On Training Ground Nine, Kushina was wearing her battle gear, her fiery red hair flowing down to her waist, radiating a unique kind of beauty.
"Obito, what's going on?" Akira Tsubaki whispered to his good buddy beside him.
Obito: ∩▂∩ (Clearly mesmerized)
Feeling no response, Akira Tsubaki turned to look.
He found Obito staring at Kushina with bright, unblinking eyes.
Good grief!
Rin is right here, and you're gaping at Sensei's girlfriend?
Without hesitation, Akira Tsubaki poked Rin.
"Hey, your guy is cheating!"
"Huh?" Rin was taken aback.
Then.
She followed Akira Tsubaki's gaze straight to Obito.