He snapped into alert mode.
"Let me go! Let me go! If you've got guts, let me go and see how you handle getting your ass kicked!" Obito Uchiha shouted from the ground, but Ye Liang had no intention of letting him off easy.
"Mr. Ye, that's enough. After all, he's still a child," Hiruzen Sarutobi persuaded.
Ye Liang, seeing that the Hokage himself had spoken, naturally showed some respect.
He loosened his grip.
"Hmph! This time my condition wasn't good. Next time it won't be this simple!" Obito muttered angrily, clearly not accepting defeat.
At this moment, Kakashi suddenly glanced at Ye Liang with somewhat deep eyes.
"Third Hokage, may I ask if we could have Mr. Ye take over Sensei's role and guide our class?"
"What!"
"What!"
The Third was stunned!
Equally surprised was Ye Liang himself!
He never imagined that Kakashi Hatake, who had always been quiet and reserved, would actually make such an unusual request!
You've got to be kidding me!
"I came to the Naruto world to enjoy myself; taking charge of a class? That's simply impossible!"
Without even thinking, he planned to refuse immediately.
But right now, the ever-complaining Obito Uchiha immediately jumped out.
"Kakashi! Have you lost your mind! Our teacher just left, and you want to let a total outsider lead our class! And this guy looks shady from head to toe—clearly not trustworthy. Having someone like this lead our class would be nothing but a joke!"
Obito, being the straightforward guy he was, just blurted out whatever was on his mind without holding back.
Ye Liang instantly got angry!
"You say I'm not qualified? Then I'm definitely taking over your class!
"Hokage-sama! I beg you, allow me to take charge of Minato's class! Don't doubt me—I have extraordinary talent as a teacher!
"In three years or less, I will certainly help these students continue the wisdom of ancient sages and bring peace that lasts ten thousand generations!"
"What!"
The Third nearly fell off his swivel chair from shock!
"What an amazing aspiration—'bring peace that lasts ten thousand generations!'"
He was from another dimension—a real-life Japanese guy. How often had he ever heard such grand and magnificent words before!
For some unknown reason, an invisible sense of favor arose in his heart. When he looked at Ye Liang again, his gaze had completely changed!
How suddenly noble and dignified this young man seemed!
His aura no longer appeared sleazy; even his appearance seemed more handsome than before!
Even the previously agitated Obito Uchiha felt moved.
Although his IQ made understanding the full meaning of that sentence impossible, instinctively—it sounded freaking awesome!
This line was just so damn cool! Even without knowing its meaning, it was still extremely cool!
Obito instantly felt convinced.
Beside him, Rin Nohara's eyes sparkled with hearts.
"How handsome! How can Mr. Ye speak such impressive words? He truly is a ninja among ninjas! The ultimate idol among idols!"
All previous geniuses like Kakashi and Shisui Uchiha—who were originally brilliant and dazzling idols—suddenly paled in comparison.
Kakashi's expression also changed.
Actually, his initial suggestion merely stemmed from the lack of their teacher's protection; many missions couldn't be taken anymore, which undoubtedly hit his wallet hard.
So, after realizing that Ye Liang was actually an expert, he had casually suggested making Ye Liang his team leader. But he never expected this teacher could actually say something so full of himself. Instantly, Kakashi became a huge fan of Ye Liang!
From that point onward, on the road to arrogance, Kakashi submitted completely to Ye Liang as his god!
A blush crept onto Kakashi's face unconsciously.
"Cough cough! Since you're willing to be Team 7's sensei, then it's settled. During Minato's absence, you'll temporarily lead Team 7."
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt relieved. How could someone who spoke such bold words possibly be suspicious?
"Hn."
Ye Liang gave a small nod of acknowledgment.
Though he had accepted out of spite, thinking about it now, by accepting Team 7, he would also gain access to Konoha's bounty missions. It might be a bit busy, but at least he wouldn't starve...
Great! My happy days finally start with not starving to death — way to go, Ye Liang!
...
Three days later, outside the village.
The Konoha forces had gathered at the village entrance.
"This mission is to defend the Grass Shadow Village. According to our intelligence, the Earth Country has sent approximately a thousand ninja for this invasion. Our objective is to infiltrate secretly and attack their rear flank, disrupting their formation, giving the Grass Shadow a winning opportunity."
"So we're doing an infiltration job?"
Kakashi rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Even though Kakashi was only twelve years old at this time, he had already become a Jonin of Konoha. He'd developed some personal insights regarding battle strategies. Therefore, Ye Liang planned to follow his suggestions, calling it "training his tactical skills!"
But in reality...
Ye Liang didn't understand tactics worth a damn!
"Wait, did they say a thousand people? This is actually an S-rank mission! The reward's tempting, but we're talking about a thousand enemies!"
Ye Liang mentally shouted in alarm!
Who knew that for his very first time leading a team, Hiruzen would assign him such an important mission. He didn't know whether he should feel grateful or just yell "Oh hell no!"
"Sensei, I think we should start with Kannabi Bridge. This is a crucial route where the Earth Country transports supplies. If we cut off this bridge, we can definitely delay their offensive speed, which makes perfect strategic sense."
"Hn, what you said is correct. That's exactly what I was thinking too."
Ye Liang nodded along without even batting an eye.
He just vaguely remembered the marked location called Kannabi Bridge on the map, but couldn't quite place it.
"Maybe it was an insignificant spot in the Naruto series back in my past life." Ye Liang considered himself a super Naruto fan. Though this place looked familiar, since he couldn't recall it now, it must have been unimportant anyway.
He didn't dwell on it further.
After finalizing their plan, the group immediately headed toward Kannabi.
Over these few days, Team 7 practically didn't sleep, traveling day and night toward their destination.
"It's such a shame there's no train around here," Ye Liang lamented inwardly.
The Naruto world was still surprisingly underdeveloped in terms of technology. Although communication facilities existed, transportation methods were still stuck in styles reminiscent of Japan's Edo period.
They mostly relied on horse carriages, stone boats, etc. These vehicles were even slower than a Genin's sprinting speed!
So, most ninja chose to travel on foot when carrying out missions!
Ye Liang pushed forward at an even greater speed. His upgraded Shifting Body Technique could cover ten to twenty meters per second. In one hour, he could travel about seventy kilometers — far surpassing the speed of ordinary cars from his previous life!
Though his endurance only lasted about two hours...
Ye Liang still slowed down so he could wait for those kids.
"The Kannabi Bridge lies just ahead. It doesn't seem like there are any enemies lying in ambush. How about we go ahead and destroy the bridge first while Teacher Ye checks the surroundings for intel?" Kakashi made the judgment.
Destroying the bridge was a simple task. For a wooden structure like this from the current era, a single Earth Release technique was all it took to bring it down instantly. Therefore, Kakashi didn't ask Ye Liang to accompany him.
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