Not answering Watanabe's question, Shangguan Mo chose to change the subject. "So, what's the mission this time?"
"This mission is an escort mission. It's the most common type of mission we get during peacetime. For items that aren't particularly valuable, the merchants of the Land of Hot Water are quite willing to entrust the task to us," Tanokaze said, a hint of joy on his face, as if he were happy that the village was able to get commissions.
Watanabe Mousse was silent. Toneri's eyes darkened, lost in thought.
"An escort mission..." Shangguan Mo murmured. From what Tanokaze had said about "not very valuable items," he seemed to understand something. "In other words, for valuable items, even the merchants of our own country would never entrust the task to us... Yugakure... even its own people don't trust it..." He felt a little speechless, but he didn't say it out loud.
"Alright, we'll discuss the details of the mission on the way. Our client should have been waiting outside the village for a while. Let's not keep them waiting," Watanabe said, looking at his pocket watch.
"Yes, sir!" the three of them replied.
But Shangguan Mo couldn't help but complain in his heart. "I mean, we're ninja, right? It feels like we're not even respected in the eyes of these merchants. Don't they have any respect for 'ninja-sama'? It feels completely backward!" He suddenly had a bad premonition.
And when they reached the village gate, this premonition quickly became a reality.
From dozens of meters away, he could see several lavishly dressed figures. One of them, a middle-aged man with a potbelly, was pacing back and forth at the gate, his face dark with impatience. Seeing them emerge from the village, he quickly walked over and, without even stopping, began to berate them. "Why are you Yugakure ninja so slow this time! Don't you know my time is precious? If you're like this again next time, I won't be hiring you anymore!"
"Hmm?" Shangguan Mo took a deep breath, his eyes wide with disbelief as he looked at the foul-mouthed fat man. Because of what Watanabe had said, he had been mentally prepared, but the reality was still hard to accept. From just a sentence or two from this fat man, he could clearly feel how low the status of Yugakure ninja was in the eyes of the country's upper class. Just a nouveau riche, an ordinary merchant who still had to personally come to the village to post a commission, actually dared to reprimand them, who had mastered chakra and could easily decide their life and death!
"What the hell! Did I walk onto the wrong set? Maybe this isn't the ninja world, but a parallel world where merchants have a very high status? I'm a ninja! Do I really have no face in the eyes of an ordinary merchant? Is there no justice in this world? Huh! Is there no law?"
Shangguan Mo's face was full of disbelief. He could accept not having status in the great nations. After all, his village was indeed a small and insignificant one. It was normal for the great villages to look down on them. He himself even looked down on this village a little. He could have that disdain, but people from outside the village, he felt, could not!
Because on his forehead, he wore the Yugakure forehead protector! You motherf—, who do you think you are!
A cold glint flashed in his eyes. He raised his right hand, about to slap the rude fat man in the face, but suddenly found his right hand was being held tightly. He subconsciously tried to struggle free but found he couldn't move. Surprised, he quickly looked down. At this moment, Watanabe Mousse had stepped between him and the fat man, his hand behind his back, holding him tightly.
"Mr. Kawabe, long time no see. You're as impatient as ever!" Watanabe said with a smile, as if he hadn't minded the fat man's rude attitude at all.
The fat man was taken aback. Because Watanabe had been standing behind the others, he hadn't seen him at first. But when he stepped out, his previously unpleasant face immediately became overjoyed. "Lord Watanabe! Long time no see, really long time no see! I never thought I would get you, a Jonin, for just a B-rank escort mission. I've really hit the jackpot! Now I can rest assured! Hahahaha..."
"I'm just training some newcomers. Your time is precious, Mr. Kawabe. Let's set off now. Where is your cargo for this mission?" Watanabe said with a faint smile.
"My caravan is not far ahead, resting. Lord Watanabe, shall we go now?"
"Alright!"
Watanabe and the fat man walked away, chatting and laughing. Tanokaze and Toneri quickly followed. Only Shangguan Mo stood there, staring blankly at their retreating backs. White snowflakes fell from the sky, turning his black hair white. His face was calm, making it impossible to read his emotions. Only he knew that the white frost seemed to cling to his heart, making it as cold as ice.
Crunch...
Tanokaze suddenly noticed someone was missing. He quickly stopped and looked back at Shangguan Mo. "Shangguan Mo, what are you doing standing there? Aren't you coming?"
Beside him, Watanabe Toneri paused slightly and slowly turned his head. Seeing the motionless Shangguan Mo, he was taken aback for a moment, then understood, and a complex expression appeared on his face. He felt as if he were seeing his past self.
Tanokaze was a straightforward person. As a ninja of Yugakure, being looked down upon by ordinary people was a humiliation he had long since gotten used to. But Toneri knew how humble these damn merchants were when facing ninja from a great village like Konoha!
After a moment of silence, he pulled back Tanokaze, who was about to go back. "Let's go. Let him be alone for a while. He'll get over it..."
Tanokaze was taken aback and turned to look at him. "Get over? Get over what? A mission in the middle of winter?"
Ignoring him, Toneri muttered to himself, "Father has high hopes for you. He even personally came to lead you on a mission to familiarize you with the process when the village is so busy. The village leader even pulled you out of the academy, planning to promote you to Chunin after a few missions, and even put me and Tanokaze, the geniuses of the village's younger generation, on your team. Even our own squad members will all be handed over to you, a newly graduated Chunin captain!"
His eyes became a little deep. "Shangguan Mo, you're not going to be this petty, are you?"
-------
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