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Chapter 143: Heading to the Land of Waves
"What the hell?"
The drunk Tazuna rudely swept his critical gaze over Naruto, Satsuki, and Sakura, his face showing obvious disdain. "Why are they sending a bunch of wet-behind-the-ears brats?"
"Hey, are you sure just these few can keep me safe? They don't look reliable at all!"
Naruto kept his hands in his pockets, too lazy to deal with this old man who was pretending to be drunk and deliberately picking fights. But Satsuki and Sakura beside him instantly felt they were being severely underestimated. Satsuki's gaze suddenly turned icy cold, while Sakura glared with puffed-up cheeks.
"Tazuna-san, I can't pretend I didn't hear those words."
Just as the atmosphere grew tense, Kakashi stepped forward at the right moment. Though he maintained his lazy posture, his exposed right eye carried undeniable seriousness.
"What you commissioned from us in Konoha is indeed just a C-rank escort mission. According to protocol, this type of mission theoretically won't involve combat with enemy ninja. And the Team 7 I lead is, without exaggeration, absolutely the most outstanding among all rookie teams in Konoha this year."
His gaze swept over his three subordinates as he continued. "Each of my three students is among the top graduates from this year's Ninja Academy. Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Satsuki have combat abilities far exceeding their peers, even capable of handling many experienced Chunin."
Then he looked at Sakura. "And Haruno Sakura, though currently lacking in combat experience, has theoretical knowledge recognized as the best in school, with exceptional potential and learning ability. The team formed by these three is completely capable of handling your C-rank escort commission."
"Oh? Really?" Hearing Kakashi's emphatic introduction, Tazuna seemed to sober up somewhat, beginning to feel uncertain.
He looked skeptically toward the Third Hokage behind the office desk, seemingly seeking final confirmation.
"Yes, Tazuna-san, Kakashi speaks the truth."
The Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly nodded. "Naruto, Satsuki, and Sakura are all outstanding ninja far exceeding ordinary Genin level. Though they just graduated, their strength and potential give them the power to fight even experienced enemies."
The Third Hokage's assessment was actually quite conservative. He knew very clearly that Naruto not only had exceptional talent but could already preliminarily guide and control the massive power of the Nine-Tails within him.
From a certain perspective, Team 7's strongest combat power might not be the supervising Jonin Hatake Kakashi, but Uzumaki Naruto.
Seeing the undisguised pride and confidence in his subordinates' abilities in the Third Hokage's eyes, Tazuna finally realized he might have gotten an incredible bargain with C-rank mission payment.
The drunkenness and disdain on his face immediately subsided considerably as he switched attitudes, slapping his thigh quite readily.
"Alright! Since the Hokage says so, I'll entrust these old bones to you young folks! The mission is settled!"
Perhaps because the Naruto before him appeared unexpectedly composed without being rash, the old man didn't deliberately provoke or target him like in the original story.
But Naruto himself had no interest in those "getting face-slapped then counter-face-slapping" routines anyway. Since the Land of Waves trip contained many important characters and resources that could be "harvested," this journey was very necessary.
"Alright, you three." Kakashi addressed his students. "The mission is accepted. We'll depart immediately for the Land of Waves to execute this escort mission. This requires extended time away from the village, so go pack necessary luggage and ninja tools right now. Meet at the village gate in half an hour for prompt departure."
---
In the Uchiha clan head's residence, in Satsuki's room.
Satsuki stood beside her bed, her face full of hesitation and difficulty, staring intently at the life-sized custom Naruto body pillow she treasured on the bed. This pillow was essential comfort for her nightly sleep, carrying countless secret joys and peaceful dreams... But this time she would be going on a long mission with Naruto himself...
What if... what if Naruto himself accidentally saw this during the trip...
Just thinking of that possibility made Satsuki's cheeks instantly burn. The mixture of extreme shame and social death premonition almost made her want to immediately hide this pillow in the deepest closet and lock it away.
But on the other hand, she really couldn't bear the thought of so many nights without its company.
Should she... bring it or not?
At the entrance to the clan head's residence, Uchiha Fugaku stood with arms crossed, silently leaning against the doorframe. His complex gaze fell on his daughter's bulging travel backpack that was almost as tall as herself.
As a father, he could see clearly. Besides Satsuki's own necessary clothes and ninja tools, that backpack was stuffed with supplies far exceeding what a Genin would need for a short-term mission, dried food and water, complete medical supplies and military ration pills, even carefully prepared snacks and sweets.
Moreover, all these supplies were obviously double portions.
Fugaku could tell who that extra portion was prepared for.
...But why was there only one tent prepared?
His gaze swept over the carefully packed, obviously double-capacity tent, and he felt slightly dizzy with an indescribable heartache surging up.
"Um... Dad, I'm ready."
His daughter's slightly shy voice came from behind. Fugaku turned to see the slightly blushing Satsuki struggling to place a particularly conspicuous large bundle beside the already mountain-high pile of luggage.
Ever since being accidentally discovered by her parents, Satsuki understood this little "hobby" of hers couldn't be hidden, so she no longer deliberately concealed it.
"Satsuki..."
Fugaku looked at that particularly eye-catching bundle, his mouth twitching slightly before finally asking, "Are you... sure you need to bring that on the mission too?"
After all, she couldn't exactly sleep hugging the real Naruto...
Faced with her father's helpless and somewhat confused question, though Satsuki felt a bit down thinking about it, she still firmly nodded and stubbornly hummed a quiet "mm."
"But how can you carry so much stuff by yourself?"
Fugaku tried one last effort, bringing up basic ninja principles. "When ninja execute missions, carrying excessive unnecessary supplies severely affects movement speed and stealth."
However, Satsuki gave her father a strange look without directly answering, instead carefully taking out another scroll from her ninja pouch.
"Dad, did you forget about this?" Satsuki said softly, her fingertips gently stroking the scroll's surface. This was a gift Naruto had personally made and given her, another treasure Satsuki cherished immensely.
A specially made storage scroll that could be conveniently used by simply injecting chakra.
As Satsuki skillfully formed seals and injected chakra into the scroll, the mountain of luggage on the ground, including that particularly conspicuous pillow bundle, was instantly sealed entirely into the small scroll.
After packing everything, Satsuki carefully put away the scroll and prepared to head to the meeting point. Then her mother Uchiha Mikoto came to see her off, gently fixing her daughter's bangs with eyes full of concern.
"Dad, Mom, I'm going on a mission." Satsuki straightened up, trying to look more reliable. "Don't worry about me."
"Mm, be very careful on the road and stay safe." Mikoto gently instructed, her gaze full of trust in her daughter.
"Oh... um..." Satsuki seemed to suddenly remember something, her voice becoming as tiny and soft as a mosquito while her cheeks reddened further. "Mom... in my desk drawer... that thing I deliberately locked... please, please don't open it to look..."
Seeming afraid her mother would misunderstand, she quickly looked up and added with slight urgency, "But there's definitely nothing suspicious inside! I promise!"
What was treasured in that drawer were countless moments belonging to Naruto that she had secretly captured with that small camera... though Naruto himself was completely unaware. These frozen fragments of time were her most secret treasure.
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