"First, destroy this place. This mission's details must not leak. Once we return, I'll personally report everything to Lord Hokage!"Minato Namikaze gave his orders.
From the look on his face, it was clear he already understood how deep the water ran behind this mission.Smuggling ninja tools and collusion with Kirigakure — if handled poorly, the consequences could be severe.
During the earlier battle, Minato had learned more of the truth from the enemy's own mouth.
'So, when it involves the village, all they can think about is covering it up, huh?'Akira Sato felt a wave of disappointment in his heart.
He didn't believe for a second that Minato couldn't see the corruption behind all this.By sealing everyone's lips and reporting only to the Hokage in private, it was clear — they were going to cover this up.
"Yes, Minato-sensei!"Though disappointed, Akira Sato outwardly obeyed without hesitation.
Soon, they set the valley ablaze.
It was only now that Akira discovered something the anime had never shown:spoils of war.
No wonder the mission payout was so small, yet plenty of people still wanted to take these kinds of missions.
The confiscated loot? It was divided among the ninja who carried out the mission — the village didn't intervene.
Of course, this was an unspoken rule.
If it was something truly important, the village had the right to claim it back; after all, they controlled how things were explained.
This time, they'd captured hundreds of thousands of ryo worth of loot.Each of the three team members got tens of thousands of ryo as their share.
And the large stash of ninja tools?Naturally, Minato sealed them up using a sealing scroll to bring back to the village.
A single kunai started at 10,000 ryo.A box held over a hundred kunai — and there were dozens of boxes. The value was staggering.
But of course, this was Minato Namikaze, someone raised under the Will of Fire doctrine since childhood.
If it had been Akira Sato, a penniless modern-day transmigrant, there's no way he would have obediently handed it all back to the village.
Still, there was some good news: turning in these spoils would earn them contribution points.
Contribution points!
Inside the village, they were incredibly useful.Whether you wanted to exchange them for materials or jutsu, contribution points could open doors.
Of course, the prerequisite was that you had to actually get an audience with the Hokage — otherwise, you might as well just forget it.
For ordinary villagers, exchanging contribution points was almost impossible; it was a total scam.That's why even some Chūnin-level ninja couldn't perform basic C-rank jutsu.
But as Minato Namikaze was the "grandstudent" of Hiruzen Sarutobi, getting those contributions counted and exchanged would be no problem — an invisible perk for Team Three.
As the valley turned to ash, Minato prepared to lead Team Three back home.
During this trip, Akira Sato had gathered plenty of valuable finds.
A ton of materials unavailable within Konoha had been collected into his hands.
Before, his activities had been limited to the village, and he couldn't openly gather what he wanted.But now, outside the village, it was like a mouse leaping into a rice bin.
Plants, animals — everything was fair game.
And as for explaining his actions?No need.
As their team leader, Minato certainly knew about Akira's role in creating medical potions.For a researcher, gathering materials was perfectly normal, right?
"Akira, if you don't mind, here — use this sealing scroll!"Minato, seeing Akira struggling with a backpack larger than himself, casually tossed him a scroll.
A sealing scroll!
An absolutely rare and precious item.
Even a single scroll like this started at 100,000 ryo — and that was market price.And good luck even finding one for sale.
"Thank you, Minato-sensei!"Akira caught the scroll, thrilled.
He knew exactly why Minato could offer such a rare item.
Kushina Uzumaki.
His girlfriend was a descendant of the Uzumaki Clan — the strongest sealing arts clan in the world.
With a girlfriend like that, no wonder he could casually pull out sealing scrolls.
After checking the scroll, Akira realized it had roughly a three-cubic-meter storage space but would collapse after limited use.
Still, with this, Akira could definitely bring back a massive haul of materials.
A few days later!
Team Three returned once again to Konoha.
"…!"Koji Yamanaka stared blankly at the village.
"Don't block the road!"Akira reminded him with a nudge.
It was bustling now; people and carts were constantly entering the village. Standing in the middle of the road was definitely in the way.
Before entering, they had to go through one more step:registration.
After Minato completed the registration, he announced:"Team dismissed!"
And in a flash, he was gone.
Because this mission had involved the smuggling of ninja tools, he needed to report to the Hokage immediately — no time to escort the team.
"I'm heading off!"Koji hurried away.
Kakashi silently headed toward the training grounds.
The Hatake Clan had been reduced to just him — he had nowhere else to go.Training was the only thing that let him forget time.
Thinking about it, it was no surprise that future Kakashi would rise to become a Jōnin at just 12 years old, setting an unprecedented record — his near-machine-like training explained a lot.
As for Akira Sato?Naturally, he rushed back to his lab to sort through all the materials.
The haul from this mission would keep him busy for quite a while.If luck was on his side, he might even produce some exceptional results.
Most importantly, he had acquired some special materials.
Lizards!
But not ordinary lizards.
These were a type with astonishing regenerative abilities.
Thinking of lizards, Akira couldn't help but recall the mysterious "Shōzaki Lizard" from the anime.
Unfortunately, after asking around, he'd discovered that there was no Shōzaki Castle.Frustrating!
If he could find it, he'd strike gold.
The Shōzaki Lizard's combat power was at least on par with Manda or Gamabunta, and at its peak, could rival even a tailed beast.
Still, no matter.With enough research, he might uncover leads.
And with the unique lizards he'd collected, Akira was confident he could develop even stronger healing potions.
Of course, he wasn't doing this research for others — it was for himself.
As a ninja, injury and disability were everyday risks.He had no desire to become one of the casualties, so preparation was key.
At the same time, he had started planning how to obtain the two kinds of ninjutsu he desired most.
One was medical ninjutsu!
For him, it was incredibly tempting.
While medical ninjutsu didn't offer much in raw combat power — even Tsunade, its creator, wasn't known for overwhelming strength — in terms of biological research, it was nothing short of a divine skill.
Of course, the other type of jutsu Akira coveted was even more special:
Sealing techniques!
A truly exceptional class of jutsu.
The range between their floor and ceiling was enormous.
At the low end, they were almost useless.At the high end, they could seal away even Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, practically defying the heavens.
Both types of jutsu were incredibly potent.
But they weren't something just anyone could learn.
Restricted knowledge.
These two branches of jutsu were tightly guarded by the Hokage faction.
Just knowing this, you'd realize how strict the control was — neither the Hyūga nor Uchiha clans knew these arts, despite their power.
Of course, if a clan developed its own sealing arts, that was a different matter.
For example, the Hyūga's Caged Bird Seal or the Uchiha's Four Crimson Ray Formation were specialized sealing techniques unique to their bloodlines.
But the sealing arts Akira wanted to learn weren't these isolated techniques.
He wanted a systematic body of knowledge about sealing and medical ninjutsu.
And that kind of knowledge?The academy library didn't have it.
Now, though, with Minato Namikaze as his team leader, it was a whole new ballgame.
Through him, Akira could access knowledge he'd never have reached otherwise.
(End of Chapter)