"But even though the story was bad, Lord Sandayuki looked so handsome playing the villain~"
"..."
Naruto really couldn't stand Sakura fangirling like this.
He felt he needed to talk to Tsunade about leading missions on his own.
And preferably replace this lovestruck Sakura while he was at it…
Da da da—
Just then, the sound of horse hooves came from inside the theater.
A heroic-looking woman suddenly leapt out on horseback!
Naruto and the others stared as she rode off into the distance. A moment later, the wooden doors swung open, and over a dozen armored warriors on black horses charged out, chasing after the woman.
"That woman just now… wasn't she Princess Snowstorm?" Sakura muttered in shock. "Did the movie… just come to life?"
"Maybe they're filming a movie," Naruto guessed.
"Filming a movie?"
Hearing that, Sakura's eyes lit up. "Then I'm going to see if Lord Sandayu is there!"
Naruto quickly grabbed her before she could run off. "Kakashi told us to wait here. That means it's a mission. Don't go running around."
"Fine~"
Sakura pouted, glancing back into the theater, clearly hoping the actor Sandayuki might suddenly appear.
But sadly, no one came out.
Not long after, Kakashi finally appeared in front of them.
"Yo, looks like you've been waiting a while~"
"No kidding!!"
Ignoring Sakura's temper, Kakashi suddenly grew serious. "Did you see those people who just passed by?"
"We saw them. Weren't they filming a movie?" Sakura asked.
"No," Kakashi shook his head. "They were chasing someone."
"Chasing someone? Like in the movie plot? The Demon King and his minions fighting Princess Snowstorm?" Sakura asked in surprise.
"Not exactly…"
Kakashi's lips twitched. "They're after Yuki—the actress who plays Princess Snowstorm. They want to drag her back to the Land of Snow to perform!"
"Dragging people to work? Isn't that way too inhuman? And… since when did ninjas turn into gangsters, doing this kind of low-level stuff?"
Naruto couldn't help but joke, "Didn't someone once tell me that ninjas should have their own ninja way or something like that?"
Kakashi: "..."
"This time is different."
"How's it different?"
"This time it's an A-rank mission. The reward is a full million ryo!"
"Well, that really is different!!"
Sakura: "..."
Sasuke: "..."
Noticing Sakura and Sasuke's disdainful looks, Naruto coughed twice and said, "But I still look down on this kind of thing. Forcing people to go to work is too despicable!"
"Alright, let's get moving. The ship to the Land of Fire leaves tonight. We have to get Yuki onto that ship before then!"
After saying that, Kakashi added, "Remember, we're not trafficking people. We're doing an escort mission!"
"..."
The three looked at Kakashi's back as he walked away, all a bit speechless.
When it came to convincing himself, Kakashi was still the best!
"Naruto, what do we do now?" Sakura turned to him.
"That so-called Princess Gale is drinking at a small tavern on Wangchuan Street in the northwest. You two go find her and bring her back." Naruto said after locking onto the target with his sensing ability.
"We'll go first. What about you?" Sakura asked, confused.
"I'll stop by home and then come right away." Naruto didn't bother explaining further. With a flash, he disappeared.
Sakura and Sasuke could only follow his words and went off to find the runaway Yuki.
After splitting from his teammates, Naruto went straight home.
Karin wasn't inside, but her clothes were hanging out on the balcony to dry, so she'd probably be back soon.
He glanced around the place and noticed it was a lot cleaner than before, clearly tidied up.
Hiring someone to help with cleaning wasn't a bad idea. Too bad Karin couldn't cook.
If she could cook too, he wouldn't mind giving her a proper job. But for now… he could only let her stay temporarily.
Once she was able to support herself, he'd have her move out.
Leaving behind a note and a thousand ryo, Naruto disappeared again in a flash.
Not long after, he regrouped with Kakashi and the others, who had managed to capture Yuki.
"Where did you go?" Kakashi looked at Naruto in confusion.
This was the first time he'd seen Naruto leave in the middle of a mission.
"Had something to do."
Naruto didn't explain further. He glanced at the unconscious Yuki and asked, "Are we leaving now?"
"Yeah." Kakashi nodded. "Just follow behind them, the film crew has everything else ready!"
They kidnapped people, while the film crew hired the ship!
Clear division of labor!
With this kind of setup, calling Konoha's ninjas gangsters wouldn't be wrong.
Following the film crew, they left Konoha, headed to the port, and boarded the ship.
Set sail!!
This was Naruto's second time going out to sea.
The first time was to the Land of Waves!
But back then it was just a small boat, now it was a big ship!
Late at night, Naruto stood alone on the deck, leaning against the railing as he gazed out at the pitch-black sea.
As someone from the inland, who rarely saw the sea, Naruto wasn't very familiar with it. But… he wasn't all that curious either.
To him, the sea was just a bigger river—still just a place where water gathers.
If there was any difference, it was probably that the sea had more water, bigger fish, and more species… something like that.
"Naruto!"
Sakura suddenly came to his side. "Tell me, why would protecting an actress be an A-rank mission? Could it be that jonin might try to assassinate that 'Princess Snow'?"
"They might, but jonin aren't really that strong, right? No need to worry." Naruto looked straight into the darkness ahead without turning his head.
"Heh… is that so…" Sakura gave an awkward smile, not knowing what to say.
Not strong? jonin not strong?
For their team, maybe that was true.
But for her… they were opponents she could hardly stand against!
Forget jonin— even fighting genin took her a lot of effort, and she still might not win.
Even though she was already a genin with plenty of mission experience.
"I really am holding everyone back!" Sakura suddenly sighed.
Naruto pointed to a spot on the deck. "Instead of sighing about being weak, why not spend that time getting stronger, like him!"
Sakura followed his finger and saw Sasuke, still training with his massive blade late at night!
By now he was drenched in sweat, who knows how many hours he had been training!
"While you're daydreaming about love or thinking about dressing up and shopping, someone else is always training. Not wanting to drag us down isn't something you can just say, Sakura."
"You have to take action!"
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