Chapter 44 - 44: Escorting Nobles

"Kazuki, you're really amazing! Those ninjas just now were no match for you at all, you killed them in a flash." Arriving in the small town, Tsunade took them to eat delicious food, and Kushina exclaimed while eating. "Ultimately, they were just Amegakure ninjas, and compared to Konoha's ninjas, they were still a bit lacking." "Actually, you two aren't bad either. You held back five ninjas, and there was more than one Chunin among them." Kazuki happily ate a piece of fatty beef, praising Kushina and Rinka. As if thinking of something, he pulled out a storage scroll from his waist and tossed it to Rinka across the table. "There are still quite a few Explosive Tags in here, they should be useful later." Speaking of which, Rinka is genuinely rich. Kazuki had previously thought he was already very wealthy and extravagant, but in front of Rinka, he felt he had been too careless. Inside hee storage scroll, there were at least five hundred Explosive Tags. Which Genin going out on a mission would carry more than five hundred Explosive Tags? Kazuki certainly didn't. Not to mention Kazuki, even if Fugaku went out on a mission, he wouldn't carry so many Explosive Tags. It's not that the Hyuga clan is stronger than the Uchiha clan, or that they are richer than the Uchiha clan. In reality, two Hyuga clans combined still couldn't compare to one Uchiha clan. Rather, the Uchiha clan does not exploit its members like the Hyuga clan does. If the Uchiha clan head or elders exploited their clan members like the Hyuga clan, they would probably be overthrown by the ordinary Uchiha. The Uchiha do not have the Caged Bird Curse Seal, so their control over their clan members is nothing like the Hyuga. In fact, apart from the Hyuga, no other clan exercises absolute control over its members like them. Even the Ōtsutsuki clan on the moon couldn't do it, otherwise they wouldn't have been destroyed in the future. "Mm." Rinka put away the storage scroll. She didn't ask Kazuki how many Explosive Tags he had used, how many were left, nor did she worry about how many Explosive Tags he might have pocketed. It seemed that in this regard, Rinka had confidence in Kazuki, or perhaps she simply didn't care about this matter at all. After all, it was just a few Explosive Tags, how much money could that be? Perhaps it was only money that an ordinary Genin might not even earn in a year of missions. "Tsunade-sensei, how long do we need to stay in this town?" Rinka put away the storage scroll and looked at Tsunade meaningfully as she asked. Tsunade's lips curved into a smile. It seemed Rinka also understood something. If nothing unexpected happened, Kazuki probably had some suspicions when he left Konoha. Following that, Tsunade looked at Kushina, who was eating heartily beside her. This one probably hadn't discovered anything. She was too naturally naive, just like Nawaki. It was a good thing Kazuki was by her side, otherwise she would worry that Kushina would be deceived later on. But then again, Kazuki was the most dangerous one. Kushina had no defenses against Kazuki. If Kazuki sold Kushina one day, Kushina would even help Kazuki count the money. Forget it, Kushina's matters are no longer her concern. Mito has highly approved of Kazuki, treating him no worse than Nawaki, and has turned a blind eye to Kazuki and Kushina's relationship. It seems she doesn't object to them being together. It's just that Kazuki has an ambiguous relationship with Mikoto. Such a philandering man is truly exasperating. It seems that if Kazuki chose one, the other would be very pitiful. Fortunately, there is no monogamy system in the Ninja World, it's just that everyone implicitly adheres to it. The Daimyo had countless women, more than Tsunade could count. "Rest for a day, then leave tomorrow. Prepare for the second mission." Tsunade pulled out a mission scroll from her embrace. "Since we've left the village, we might as well do a few more missions." "Kazuki, Rinka, you two have completed quite a few missions, and your strength is sufficient. When you return, you should be able to advance to Chunin. At that time, I will recommend you to participate in the Chunin Exams." "Eh? Why can Kazuki and Rinka take the Chunin Exams, but not me?" Kushina immediately became upset, glaring at Tsunade in dissatisfaction. "The prerequisite for becoming a Chunin is that you must be a ninja. Although you are currently on missions with me, nominally, you are still a Ninja Academy student, you aren't even a Genin. How can you become a Chunin?" Tsunade rolled her eyes at Kushina in exasperation. This ungrateful little girl was simply taking her kindness for granted. Once the war begins, Kushina will be the safest. If possible, she even hoped that Nawaki, Kazuki, and the others could always study at the Academy and never become ninja. "Uh…" Kushina instantly became dumbfounded. Oh, right, she hadn't graduated yet. Thinking about it, if Kazuki and the others became Chunin while she wasn't even a Genin, wouldn't that be embarrassing? "What's the next mission?" Kazuki wasn't interested in the Chunin Exams. Even if he became a Chunin, he wouldn't be the youngest Chunin in Konoha. In fact, he had been somewhat held back. Six months ago, even if he had applied for the Chunin Exams, Tsunade and the others wouldn't have allowed it. This was a disguised form of protection for Kazuki, at least they gave him six months of healthy growth time. As long as he wasn't unlucky enough to encounter a particularly powerful enemy, Kazuki could face it calmly. "We need to escort three nobles to the Land of Fire's capital in the Land of Rivers." Tsunade paused, then continued to explain, "During this period, the situation between the Daimyo is not very friendly, and war could begin at any time. Smaller countries are likely to become battlefields, and even nobles could be affected by the Great Ninja war." "Some Daimyos who favor Konoha and are close to the Land of Fire naturally choose to go to the Land of Fire's capital to avoid this." "Is that so?" Kazuki nodded thoughtfully. Such a mission wasn't difficult for them. However, entering the territory of another country, is that really okay? Kazuki looked at Tsunade, utterly speechless. This woman was having them act as bait, and she wasn't even pretending anymore. Moreover, it wasn't just them who could draw hatred. Tsunade, as the granddaughter of Senju Hashirama and Konoha's top medical ninja, also attracted negative attention. *** 40 Advanced Chapters on patreon.com/alex_1000