Fugaku observed Shisui, who was kneeling in front of him, closely before he spoke. "How is your sight?"
Shisui flinched slightly before responding. "You do not have to worry about me, Lord Hokage. I am ready for whatever mission the village assigns me."
Fugaku shook his head. "I honestly want you to retire from active duty and just train the next generation. After all, your success with your first team is still talked about to this day as a perfect example of a competent mentor producing powerful shinobi who dominated the Chunin Exams."
Shisui shook his head modestly. "Lord Hokage, I just got lucky. The Third assigned me three extremely talented shinobi. Even if I did not train them, they were destined to reach greatness."
Fugaku leaned back in his chair as a tired sigh escaped him. "You are underestimating the value of your guidance. However, if you are certain you can take a mission, then I have one for you."
Shisui looked up with sharp interest as Fugaku continued.
"The Land of Waves has requested our help. They are suffering from a vicious gang war that is brutalizing their people and is about to drive them to starvation. The ANBU will handle the street-level gangs after you are done with your part of the mission. We cannot expose our presence too early and drive our main target into hiding."
Fugaku leaned forward, his expression hardening. "I want the head of their criminal syndicate, Gato, gone. Our intelligence suggests he has hired a very powerful missing-nin to retain control. Naturally, we expect this rogue ninja to be protecting him at all times. We do not have a confirmed identity yet, as this is just information we collected from second-hand sources."
He paused to let the weight of the assignment sink in. "This is a very delicate mission. If we fail even once, Gato will go completely underground. We won't be able to reach him, and he will continue causing all sorts of problems for our forces in the region."
"Understood, Lord Hokage," Shisui said firmly. "I will head towards the Land of Waves right away."
However, Fugaku stopped him before he could move. "Shisui. Do you have any news on Noa?"
A prominent tick mark appeared on Shisui's forehead. He shook his head with a frustrated sigh. "I visited him a couple of times, but he is always absentmindedly writing seals or doing some very complicated math. Even when I finally manage to grab his attention, he loses focus almost immediately, and his head goes right back to his task."
Fugaku pinched the bridge of his nose. "All seal masters are like that. What makes it worse is that the kid is also a brilliant frontline fighter. I cannot really lock him in the barrier team and just leave him there. We need his strength in the field."
Fugaku scratched his rough, newly grown stubble thoughtfully before making a decision. "Shisui, get him to join you on this mission. It should take his mind off those seals. Taking a break to relax his mind might even improve his work when he gets back to it."
Shisui bowed deeply. "As you wish, Lord Hokage. Is there anything else?"
Fugaku waved his hand with a warm smile. "That is all. Be careful out there."
Shisui returned the smile. "I will, Fugaku-sama."
In an instant, he flickered out of the office, leaving no trace behind.
Fugaku eyed the empty space where Shisui had been kneeling just a fraction of a second ago. "His speed is even faster than before," he muttered to himself. "It looks like he has been using the free time to further improve his own skills now that he does not need to train a team."
Fugaku chuckled softly in the quiet room. "Looks like he does not want his students to surpass him too fast."
---
Noa POV
A massive feast was laid out across the large training area behind my house. Naruto's eyes were shining with the light of a thousand stars.
"Noa, why is there so much food? I know you and big brother Genta eat a lot, but this is way too much even for both of you."
Genta nodded in agreement. "If we ate all of this, we would definitely die. Even if we brought all the elders in the compound to help, there would still be a mountain of food left over."
A single, dramatic tear dropped from my right eye. "It is part of the deal with my summon."
Naruto's eyes widened in sheer excitement. "Are we finally going to see it?"
Genta feigned disinterest, closing his eyes sagely to act wise in front of Naruto, but I could easily tell that he wanted to see my summon even more than the kid did.
I grinned. "Yeah. Get ready to be amazed."
I strode to the far side of the training ground and bit my thumb to draw blood. Gathering my chakra, I slammed my hand into the dirt. "Summoning Jutsu!"
The surrounding area actually darkened as my chakra was aggressively consumed. A massive chunk of my reserves vanished in an instant, followed by an explosive plume of white smoke. The temperature plummeted immediately, sending a harsh chill through the air that caused both Genta and Naruto to violently shiver.
As the smoke cleared, a monstrous figure slammed into the earth, causing the ground to quake and forcing Naruto to stumble backward. The kid quickly hid behind Genta's legs, fear showing on his face.
Looming before us was a gigantic polar bear, his massive form dwarfing everything on the training ground. His crimson eyes locked onto Naruto with intense focus. When he finally spoke, his deep, rumbling voice vibrated right down to the poor kid's bones.
"Hey, kid. I sense something unbelievably dangerous hidden away inside you. Can you bring it out? I want to fight it. Getting completely vaporized seems like a great way to die in a blaze of glory. Here, take my life savings."
Then, out of nowhere, a half-eaten dead fish was tossed through the air, landing flat on the ground right in front of Naruto. The blond boy just stared at the fish in utter bewilderment.
Genta was stunned into absolute silence. He was taking in the polar bear's towering build and ominous eyes, not to mention the tremendous, freezing chakra radiating from its massive body. It was a very good thing I had a strong barrier seal active around the house to prevent anyone else in the village from sensing this monster.
Genta was clearly terrified, but he forced himself to act brave in front of Naruto. He spread his arms slightly. "Naruto, stay behind me."
I shook my head and sighed. "He is not here to fight us, Genta. Would you relax? I know his presence is overwhelming, but he is actually my summon."
Genta's mouth fell wide open. "You got that... thing to agree to be your summon? How?"
The polar bear looked deeply offended. "Do not call me 'that thing' ever again," he growled, his tone dropping the temperature even further. "Or I will turn you into smashed tuna."
Genta swallowed hard before asking in a much more respectful voice. "What should I call you, then?"
Suddenly, the giant bear's entire demeanor changed. He tilted his head, looking genuinely confused. "Come to think of it, I have never actually needed a name."
He then whipped his massive head toward me so violently that a rush of cold air hit me. "You. Summoner. Give me a name."
My head dropped in defeat. "I am actually terrible with names. I usually rely on other people for that kind of stuff."
The giant polar bear somehow managed to click his tongue in disappointment.
Just then, Naruto finally peeked out from behind Genta's legs. A familiar, mischievous grin was slowly spreading across his face. "I am great at naming things!"
The bear perked up, looking noticeably excited. "Is that so? Then give me a name worthy of my mighty strength, kid."
Naruto stayed thoughtful for a moment before replying. "How about Boss Snowball?"
I recoiled in horror, and so did Genta, at the obvious joke name, fearing the bear would be offended and turn us into confetti. However, the bear misinterpreted our reaction entirely. He thought we were just shocked by how powerful and fearsome the name was.
He nodded his massive head approvingly. "I am the boss of my entire domain. Also, snowballs can cause an avalanche and kill many creatures in a second. I like it. Kid, you did great. From now on, my name is Boss Snowball."