The next day.
Early in the morning, Tsunade sent someone to inform Shinju and Naruto to come to the Hokage's office to receive their mission.
"After three years of training, I wonder what kind of mission Granny Tsunade's gonna give us this time!" Naruto said excitedly on the way.
Kakashi glanced at him and sighed.
"Calm down first. Let's make this clear—if Tsunade-sama gives us a low-difficulty mission, you are not allowed to throw a fit in her office."
Naruto patted his chest and promised, "Don't worry, Kakashi-sensei!"
"After three years of training, I've grown a lot. How could I possibly get upset over a simple, low-level mission?"
Shinju: (||๐_๐)
Yeah… Shinju didn't buy a single word of that.
After spending three years together, he knew Naruto way too well!
Just as the group reached the base of the Hokage building, a dark shadow suddenly flashed across the sky.
Shinju looked up and spotted a brown-feathered messenger hawk.
Kakashi followed his gaze and recognized it instantly.
"Hm? That looks like a hawk from Sunagakure."
"Judging by how fast it's flying, it must be one of their top-speed messenger hawks."
"That probably means something urgent happened over there."
After Kakashi's quick analysis, Naruto tilted his head. "Could it be their Kazekage's in trouble again?"
Kakashi frowned. "Naruto, don't talk nonsense. Konoha and Sunagakure are allies now. ←_←"
"Besides, you know the current Kazekage. It's Gaara—the guy who came to Konoha years ago for the Chūnin Exams."
Naruto, Shinju: (´°Δ°`)
"Wait, what?! That guy's the same age as us! How the hell is he already Kazekage?!" Naruto shouted in disbelief.
Becoming Hokage had always been his dream, and he'd constantly measured himself against his peers.
Even though Shinju was always ahead of him, Naruto prided himself on surpassing most people his age.
And yet… before he even had the chance to be nominated for Hokage, Gaara had already become Kazekage!
Kakashi-sensei explained calmly,
"After the assassination of the Fourth Kazekage, Sunagakure was left without leadership for a while."
"But over the past three years, Gaara and his siblings rose rapidly, becoming the backbone of the entire village."
"Gaara himself is incredibly strong, and with Shukaku sealed inside him, there's no one in Sunagakure more suitable to be Kazekage."
Naruto nodded vaguely, though his expression was sour.
"I get what you're saying, Kakashi-sensei… but I still can't stand it."
...
Konoha Village
Information Transmission Department
As soon as Sunagakure's messenger hawk arrived, the head of the Information Department tensed up.
"This is Sunagakure's fastest messenger hawk!"
He quickly removed the letter tied to its leg.
All inter-village communications were encrypted to prevent interception, so the contents couldn't be read directly.
But the moment the department head saw the red mark at the top of the scroll, his pupils shrank sharply. He immediately shouted for assistance.
"Quick! Call someone from the Code Deciphering Unit! This is a first-class emergency document from Sunagakure!"
...
Hokage's Office
Tsunade handed Shinju's team their very first mission after returning from three years of training.
"Ah, it's just a B-rank escort mission? That's way too easy!" Naruto complained the moment he read the mission scroll.
Kakashi and Sai both exchanged helpless looks.
Yup, Naruto hadn't changed a bit.
"You should be grateful your team even gets a B-rank mission. Don't forget, Naruto, you're still technically a genin," Tsunade said, glaring at him.
Just then, the office doors burst open.
The head of the Code Deciphering Unit rushed in, clutching a decoded message, and placed it on Tsunade's desk.
"This is an urgent document from Sunagakure, Hokage-sama!"
Tsunade glanced at the panting messenger, then slowly unrolled the scroll.
But the moment she read the contents, her expression froze.
∑(°Д°)
Naruto and Shinju immediately craned their necks, desperate to see what could possibly shock Tsunade that much.
Noticing their curiosity, Tsunade flipped the scroll around and laid it flat in front of them. "See for yourselves."
Shinju leaned closer and saw the text clearly:
[First-Class Emergency Document from Sunagakure to Konoha]
[The Kazekage has been captured. The suspect is believed to be Deidara, an Iwagakure rogue ninja from the Akatsuki organization. Sunagakure requests immediate assistance…]
After reading the message, Shinju shook his head. "No, something's off."
Tsunade raised a brow. "What's off?"
Shinju explained, "The numbers don't add up. During our travels with Jiraiya-sensei, we gathered plenty of intel on Akatsuki. We know their members always operate in pairs."
"Just like when Uchiha Itachi and Kisame came to Konoha."
Tsunade nodded slowly.
"I see… I was originally going to send Might Guy's team, but if there are likely two enemies, then your team will go along as well."
"Naruto, didn't you just complain a B-rank mission was too easy? Well, this one's saving the Kazekage—S-rank difficulty. Satisfied?"
Naruto and Shinju lit up instantly.
"Hell yeah! ୧⍢⃝୨"
Tsunade waved her hand.
"Then don't waste time. Move out!"
...
Half an hour later.
Shinju's four-man squad met up with Guy's team at Konoha's main gate.
Just as they were about to depart, Iruka-sensei arrived.
Seeing how much Shinju and Naruto had grown into young men, Iruka held two brand-new forehead protectors in his hands, his eyes glimmering softly.
He called them over, walking up with a smile. "I wanted to visit you both last night, but I figured you needed some rest after returning."
"I didn't expect you'd be heading out on a mission already."
"Shinju, Naruto, these are your new forehead protectors. (＾ワ＾)"
"After three years away, your old ones are too worn out to use…"
He carefully tied the new protectors onto their foreheads, then patted both of their shoulders with pride.
"Alright, off you go. Remember, I'll always be proud of you two."
"Thank you, Iruka-sensei," Shinju said sincerely, touching his freshly tied forehead protector.
Having a teacher like Iruka was something both he and Naruto would be grateful for their entire lives.
Iruka was the light that shone into their lonely childhoods.
A few minutes later, Iruka stood at the gate, watching his two star pupils disappear into the distance.
...
"If I ever get married, I'm definitely inviting Iruka-sensei to sit in my father's seat at the ceremony," Naruto said seriously, taking off his forehead protector and staring at the Konoha emblem.
Shinju chuckled. "Oh? So, do you already have someone in mind?"
Naruto froze, looking troubled.
He hadn't really thought about it before.
After a moment, he mumbled, "Feels like… Hinata would make a pretty good wife."
Shinju's whole team reacted instantly: ૧(●´৺`●)૭,ꉂ(ˊᗜˋ*)
Finally! This guy was starting to get it!!!
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
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