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Close protection indeed refers to close protection.
Not only did Akira Tsubaki stick close to his employer, but he even slept with his arm wrapped around her all night.
"So, your 'personal protection' is that close?"
Kakashi's tone was heavy with accusation.
"Akira, do you realize this action alone could end your ninja career?"
"Huh? Ninja career is over?"
Akira's eyes lit up, his heart flooding with unexpected joy.
My ninja career is over?
This is fantastic!
"Then I'll be heading back to the village first."
Leaving that statement behind, Akira turned and walked away without looking back, giving the others no chance to stop him or plead his case.
Clatter~~
Unfortunately, he had only taken a few steps before the rain began to fall.
It was all due to Kakashi's Crow's Mouth (inauspicious prediction) weather forecast the previous night.
Inside a simple wooden shelter.
The five people sat together, the atmosphere unusually quiet.
Only the drumming of raindrops outside the shelter could be clearly heard.
Kakashi sat with his arms crossed, staring up at the ceiling.
He felt that even if Akira apologized, he was still unworthy of the title of Jōnin.
Obito was conflicted. He wanted to urge Akira to admit his mistake, but he didn't want to give Kakashi the satisfaction of a victory.
Rin felt the same way. Legally, she knew Kakashi was right. But emotionally, she didn't want Akira to leave.
Finally, to the surprise of everyone in Team Minato, Minako broke the silence.
"He did that solely to get me to talk."
With the client's explanation, Akira's negative image instantly vanished.
At this moment.
Kakashi felt his face flush hot, as if he had been exposed as a fool.
"It turns out he was doing it for the mission, to collect information," Kakashi realized.
"Is it really reasonable to sleep with a beautiful woman in your arms? I could do that too!" Obito yelled internally, looking at Akira with eyes full of envy and jealousy.
Akira, meanwhile, didn't care about his teammates' reactions.
What he cared about was that the system would double his Strength attribute today.
Strength:26 (13*2)-Genin Level
"My Strength attribute was at the very bottom; even doubled, it's still only Genin level."
He had no major emotional fluctuations; he simply accepted the random doubling.
The rain stopped soon after.
Akira stood up.
But Kakashi stood in front of him, looking as though he wanted to apologize but couldn't open his mouth.
Then, Obito and Rin each grabbed one of his arms.
Their meaning was clear:
You want to leave?
No chance.
Truly, their method of retaining a comrade was unique.
Team Minato was on the road again.
As soon as they set off, Kakashi approached Akira.
"Any new information?"
"Um?"
Akira looked at Kakashi in disbelief. Had this guy been body-swapped?
He was ready to fight me just moments ago, and now he's back to asking for information?
Where is your pride!
However, as a teammate, Akira still generously shared one of his doubts.
After all, if I can't figure it out, it's reasonable to throw the problem to Kakashi.
"Why didn't Minako issue an A-rank mission instead of a C-rank?" Akira repeated his question.
"That is normal."
Kakashi surprisingly knew the reason.
"Oh? You call this normal?" Akira still didn't understand.
"It's because of the Five Kage Agreement."
Organizing his thoughts, Kakashi continued.
"There is an agreement between the Five Great Ninja Villages. The content stipulates that the Jōnin of any major ninja village cannot enter neutral countries."
"What if they enter?" Akira challenged.
"That means breaking the agreement, which gives the other ninja villages the justification to send their own Jōnin into the neutral country as well."
After listening to Kakashi's explanation, Akira stroked his chin.
This was the first time he had heard of such an agreement.
Thinking it over, he immediately found several major loopholes in the pact.
For example: How does the agreement prevent a Jōnin from infiltrating a neutral country via disguise?
Infiltration is not difficult for a Jōnin.
Just imagine: if a Jōnin from Kumogakure (Hidden Cloud Village) infiltrated the Land of Hot Water, secretly subverted its regime, and then covertly deployed ninja forces to the border between the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Fire.
Meanwhile, Konoha Village would be adhering to the agreement like a fool.
If Kumogakure launched a surprise attack, they could break through to the gates of Konoha Village very quickly.
So, who made such an agreement?
Isn't this an agreement specifically designed for sneak attacking other ninja villages?
His thoughts raced.
Akira couldn't help but ask about the origin of this agreement.
Kakashi thought for a moment and answered honestly.
"This agreement was drafted by Lord Third Hokage, perfected with the assistance of Danzo, and finally agreed upon by the other ninja villages."
Akira: "???"
No wonder.
No wonder Konoha is always getting caught off guard by other ninja villages.
After communicating with Kakashi, a sense of urgency began to well up in Akira's heart.
The reason was the Five Kage Agreement.
Akira was a pessimist.
When judging any matter, he always prepared for the worst-case scenario.
So now, Akira's judgment was: What if the political situation in the Land of Hot Water has already collapsed?
In that case, wouldn't his entire team be equivalent to four little sheep plunging headlong into a lion's den?
Border between the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Fire.
Shinichi Akutagawa stood on the east side of the river, gazing over the landscape of the Land of Fire.
This river served as the border separating the two countries. East of the river belonged to the Land of Hot Water; the west was the Land of Fire.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The quiet atmosphere was broken as a subordinate ran up.
"Lord Shin, the border troops have assembled."
"Oh? How many people?" Akutagawa Shinichi said calmly, without turning around.
"A total of fifty-six Chūnin."
"Only fifty-six people?"
Muttering to himself, Akutagawa Shinichi frowned.
The rebel army had taken control of the Land of Hot Water and carried out the necessary purging of the original forces.
But after the purge, the number of ninjas had plummeted.
These fifty-six Chūnin represented the entire strength of the ninja troops on the border.
"Deploy all these ninjas here!"
"Remember, the moment any Konoha Shinobi enter the Land of Hot Water from this path, they are to be killed."
Akutagawa Shinichi gave the order with a serious tone.
This was the main road leading to the Daimyō's Manor in the Land of Hot Water.
Under the constraints of the Five Kage Agreement, if Konoha's Genin and Chūnin entered the country from this location, they would undoubtedly be walking to their deaths.
This was not an order from Rebel Leader Kawashiro, but a secret order from Kumogakure (Hidden Cloud Village).