blogombal Chapter 163 Tazna's First A-Rank Mission
Chapter 163 Tazna's First A-Rank Mission
"What? Why are there only brat ninjas?" Tazuna said bluntly as he opened the door, scanning the room.
These words immediately darkened the faces of everyone, including Ishikawa.
Before Naruto could shout, Ishikawa instantly appeared in front of Tazuna, startling him so much that he stumbled backward and nearly fell. "Old drunkard, I must kindly remind you of something: any mission has the possibility of failure. And for us, failure at worst means no reward, but you, the client..."
In the end, Ishikawa gave Tazuna a knowing look; you can interpret it yourself.
In an instant, the fear of death made Tazuna, who had already lied about the mission, break out in a cold sweat. He staggered to his feet, stammered, and looked at Ishikawa, no longer shouting!
"Hehehe! Senior Ishikawa is really impressive. I've long since..." Naruto's snickering voice rang out almost simultaneously as he whispered to Sasuke and Sakura, sharing his good mood.
This prompted the two to nod secretly, but on the surface they pretended to be serious.
"Ahem, Ishikawa, don't scare the client. With Kakashi around, there's practically no chance of the mission failing." The Third Hokage quickly stepped in to smooth things over and give the client an explanation, preventing any damage to Konoha's reputation.
“Of course, Kakashi-sensei is the best Jonin in Konoha.” Ishikawa feigned pride in his agreement, leaving Tazuna both surprised and delighted.
The best Jonin from Konoha? Doesn't that mean he really hit the jackpot by concealing the mission's rank?! This is an elite ninja he couldn't hire even with a B-rank mission fee…
"Ahem, then this task is ours! Mr. Tazuna, we'll meet at the Konoha gates in ten minutes. Now, everyone go back and prepare." Kakashi glanced at Ishikawa speechlessly, then took the commission form without further entreaty and told Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura to leave.
Ishikawa neither stopped nor exposed the attempt to steal the mission.
Ishikawa doesn't value Zabuza the Demon and Haku the Ice Releaser right now; let them continue to be experience packs for Naruto and Sasuke's transformation!
I just don't know if Zabuza will still have that chance against Kakashi's Kamui.
"I'm sorry, Ishikawa. You might not have time to rest this time! There's an A-rank mission here, and currently only your team in the village can complete it successfully."
"What? An A-rank mission! Lord Hokage, isn't it too risky to send Ishikawa and the others on a mission of this rank so soon?"
Before Ishikawa could even speak, Iruka, who was standing next to the Third Hokage, slammed his hand on the table and hurriedly tried to stop him.
Although he knew about the excellent performance of Ishikawa's team, there was only one Chunin among the four of them; the other three were Genin.
Karin is a recent graduate...
“Iruka, it seems you still don’t quite understand their strength. The Ishikawa squad is an elite ninja whose overall strength is no less than that of the Genma squad. They are no longer the students you know, but Konoha ninjas who have surpassed you.” The Third Hokage seemed to have expected this, directly stating it and shocking Iruka on the spot.
"Iruka-sensei, thank you for your kindness. However, as the Hokage said, we are now beings who have surpassed you!" Ishikawa reluctantly echoed, then turned his gaze to the Third Hokage who was waiting for his mission.
As expected, his decision to delay the mission was correct. As long as they returned, another mission awaited them.
The nature of cattle and horses is vividly demonstrated even across the world!
"So, he's already surpassed me..." Iruka said, feeling both disappointed and relieved. He then stood up, respectfully gestured to the Third Hokage, and left with his companions.
The third generation has already clearly stated that they will be assigned an A-level mission, so if they continue to stay, it would truly be a lack of foresight.
"In about two months, it will be the joint Chunin Exams held by Konoha. We have no excuse to enter the other villages normally, but because of our previous cooperation, Kirigakure shouldn't refuse us outright. So your task is to send an invitation to Kirigakure to participate in the exams." After seeing everyone leave, the Third Hokage briefly explained and then solemnly took out an invitation and handed it to Ishikawa.
"I believe you already knew the true purpose of the Joint Chunin Exams during the last exam. It was to gather intelligence, probe the potential of various countries, and prepare for a possible war."
"In conclusion, if Kirigakure refuses to participate in this joint Chunin Exams, your mission will immediately change to secretly gathering intelligence on Kirigakure's new generation. With your and Karin's abilities, you shouldn't be exposed."
"The Hidden Mist Village's performance last time was too overwhelming, and I'm worried they might pose a threat to Konoha! However, this mission is to be carried out under the absolute condition of ensuring our own safety. Your safety is more important than this intelligence."
"Understood, Team Ishikawa thanks the Hokage for his concern." Ishikawa immediately nodded emphatically with a grateful expression.
He secretly sighed, realizing that the real ninja world was indeed full of deceit and treachery. These hidden sordid aspects were rarely depicted in the original story, but he was about to experience them in real life.
"Then let's set off now! Kakashi and the others are also heading to the Land of Waves on a mission and will probably stay there for more than a month. If anything unexpected happens, you can ask Kakashi for help." The Third Hokage gave his final instructions. The Land of Waves and the Land of Water are separated by the sea and the straight-line distance is less than 100 kilometers. If anything happens, Kakashi will have plenty of time to provide assistance.
"Yes, Hokage-sama." Ishikawa nodded and left with Karin and the other two.
After leaving the Hokage Building, Ishikawa didn't rush to catch up with Kakashi and the others. Instead, he told the three of them to go home and change their clothes, and then go prepare some ninja tools before setting off again.
More than an hour later, when Ishikawa's squad regrouped, the new Class 7 had already escorted Tazuna away.
"Let's go, let's catch up with Kakashi-sensei and the others first." Thinking that Kakashi-sensei's birthday was only half a month away, Ishikawa sighed and took the lead to catch up quickly.
Originally, he planned to find a B-level mission after returning to the village to slack off on the surface, while secretly going to the Third World War timeline to prepare for changing the Battle of Kannabi Bridge. But now he can only change his strategy and complete the mission first before going there.
The task assigned by the third generation was not something he could refuse without a suitable reason. Fortunately, although time was tight, it wasn't a matter of having to choose one or the other.
Meanwhile, far away from Konoha, on the other side, the new Team 7...
"puff……"
Suddenly, two figures wearing headbands of mist-concealment emerged from the calm puddle, and steel chains shot out in an instant, binding Kakashi to the left and right.
The two men's clean and efficient methods and fierce killing intent made Naruto's pupils shrink, and he froze on the spot, trembling all over! This kind of life-or-death feeling was completely different from what the previous bandit leader could give him.
Then one of them swung his serrated hand and charged straight at Naruto, while another swung his fanged chain at the client, Tazuna. Sakura rushed forward to stop them.
"Bang...bang bang..." At the critical moment, Sasuke swung his shuriken to block the chains, and in an instant, he unleashed chakra from his feet, kicking the two away with both hands.
The two, not to be outdone, launched another attack, but were caught halfway by Kakashi, who appeared in a flash and slammed their heads together, knocking them unconscious!
"Good job taking him down, Sasuke." Kakashi praised him generously, then turned to Naruto with a cold gaze. "Naruto, I really didn't expect you to be so scared you couldn't move. To be honest, you performed even worse than Sakura..."
"Yes, he's also the worst student I've ever taught."