After Sakura finished speaking, Sasuke frowned slightly, his gaze serious as he nodded.
On the other hand, Naruto, completely confused, leaned in and asked, "What? What explosion?"
"What explosion are you talking about?"
Naruto had slept soundly the night before — not even the explosion had woken him up.
Sakura rolled her eyes at him before turning back toward Sasuke, her face full of expectation.
Although Sasuke usually kept his cool, he had indeed noticed the explosion last night.
And it was no ordinary explosion.
He had never seen anything so terrifying — for a moment, he even thought another village had invaded.
"I'm not sure," Sasuke said, "but even a jōnin couldn't have caused that explosion."
Sakura blinked in surprise. She only knew that the blast had been loud enough to shake the village, but she hadn't considered the implications.
"Not even a jōnin could do that? Not even Kakashi-sensei?" she asked, glancing at their teacher.
Naruto scratched his head beside them, dying to join the conversation but having no clue what they were talking about.
Sasuke also looked at Kakashi.
Kakashi, however, acted as though he hadn't noticed their questioning looks and said nothing.
"Kakashi-sensei, you must know about what happened last night, right? You couldn't do something like that either, could you?" Sakura pressed.
Under the trio's expectant gazes, Kakashi finally shook his head. "No, I couldn't. But last night's explosion was caused by one of the village's departments testing a new ninjutsu. You don't need to speculate."
Sasuke fell silent, thoughtful.
He could tell Kakashi wasn't being entirely truthful — but since it likely involved the higher-ups of the village, he decided not to pry.
Seeing Sasuke drop the subject, Sakura didn't pursue it either.
Naruto, meanwhile, still looked utterly lost. He had no idea what was going on.
The four of them soon arrived at the Hokage's office.
Seeing Team Kakashi enter, the Third Hokage glanced at Kakashi, who gave a subtle nod.
The two clearly understood each other without words.
As soon as Naruto stepped inside, he ran straight up to the Hokage and complained, "Old man Hokage! Stop giving us those boring, troublesome, low-level missions!"
The Third Hokage sighed. "Naruto, you've only just graduated from the Academy. You're still a rookie genin. You need to build up experience with lower-ranked missions."
"Besides, as genin, you can only take on D-rank missions for now."
Naruto shook his head stubbornly. "But those D-rank missions are so boring! I want to do something higher level!"
Even though the Hokage's words were reasonable, Naruto couldn't stand the thought of doing another menial errand — so he resorted to whining.
Though Sakura and Sasuke stayed silent, deep down they agreed with Naruto. They were tired of chasing cats and picking weeds, too.
Kakashi could only sigh inwardly. I knew he'd start complaining again.
Then his thoughts drifted — I wonder how Yoruha is doing. His chakra was completely drained yesterday, and he's only had one night of rest. I hope there aren't any side effects.
As Naruto continued his pleading, the Third Hokage finally gave in. "Alright, alright. I understand. I'll assign you a C-rank mission."
Naruto, who had been sitting cross-legged with his back turned, leapt up immediately.
"Really? What kind of mission?"
The Hokage chuckled at Naruto's excitement. "You'll be guarding someone."
Naruto's imagination ran wild. "Guarding someone? Who is it? A feudal lord? A princess?"
Kakashi looked at him speechlessly. Guarding a feudal lord as a C-rank mission? Really?
Sasuke and Sakura, though more composed, were just as curious. At least it was something new — not another boring errand.
Instead of answering, the Hokage called toward the door. "Please, come in."
The four genin turned their eyes toward the entrance.
Moments later, the door opened.
An old man carrying a bottle of sake stepped inside. Leaning against the doorframe, he looked the team over and took a swig before grumbling, "What the hell? Just a bunch of kids? Especially that short one — looks like an idiot. You're telling me he's a ninja?"
Naruto laughed awkwardly. "Hahaha, who are you calling short and dumb—?"
But before he could finish, Sakura and Sasuke quietly stepped behind him.
The height comparison made Naruto's smile freeze.
"You old geezer! Who are you calling stupid?! I'll kill you, damn it!" he shouted, baring his teeth as Kakashi restrained him by the collar.
"Are you seriously trying to kill the client we're supposed to protect? Idiot."
Ignoring Naruto's outburst, the old man continued, "The name's Tazuna — the famous bridge builder. You're supposed to protect me until my bridge is finished."
Naruto crossed his arms and turned away with a pout, clearly not fond of the man already.
Sakura and Sasuke, however, were intrigued. It was a guard mission — and one that would take them outside the village.
It would be their first real mission as shinobi.
Kakashi, however, frowned. "A mission outside the village?"
He wasn't worried about the dangers outside — he was worried about what might happen inside while he was gone.
If the Third Hokage didn't keep his promise from last night, Yoruha could be in danger.
If the Hokage used this mission to send Kakashi away just to get rid of Yoruha… who would protect him?
Could Kmoto Tōichi stop them? Obviously not.
Tōichi was also a jōnin from the Anbu, but his standing in the village couldn't compare to Kakashi's.
The Third valued Kakashi highly.
After all, at present, Kakashi was the strongest jōnin in the village.
With Tsunade and Jiraiya both away, and Might Guy in his normal (non-Eight Gates) state unable to match him, Kakashi was the only top-tier jōnin the Hokage could truly rely on.
With Kakashi around, the Third would keep his word and leave Yoruha alone.
But if Kakashi left the village… things might change.
Seeing the look in Kakashi's eyes, the Third Hokage understood exactly what he was thinking.
He said gently, "Kakashi, let Naruto and the others see the world beyond the village. It's part of their growth — and your duty as their teacher."
Kakashi frowned slightly.
It was a warning — the Hokage was reminding him of his current responsibility.
But the more the old man said, the more uneasy Kakashi felt.
Meanwhile, Naruto grinned ear to ear. "Hahaha! Don't worry, old man, I'll handle this mission perfectly! You'll see how amazing I am!"
Kakashi didn't respond.
Just as the group was about to leave, he couldn't hold it in any longer.
"Lord Hokage," Kakashi said, "since this mission takes us outside the village, I'd like to bring Kagefumi Yoruha along. Jōnin Kimoto asked me to take his student with us if I went on a mission."
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Currently at chapter 345 for advance chapters
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