"This mission is a B-level escort mission."
In Kakashi's team, the leading jounin stood at the gate of Konoha Village and said seriously to the three team members.
"B-level escort mission? It's really rare."
A chuunin looked surprised after hearing what the leading jounin said.
Another chuunin in the team also nodded in agreement.
Generally, escort missions are mainly C-level, and B-level missions already involve battles between ninjas.
"Then who is the target to be escorted?"
Kakashi doesn't care about the mission level, he just wants to understand the content of the mission as quickly as possible and complete the mission as soon as possible.
After Kakashi finished speaking, the two chuunin in the team looked at him and took a step back slightly, obviously not wanting to stay with Kakashi.
The leading jonin sighed quietly in his heart when he saw this scene.
I knew it would be like this.
He had no choice but to put Kakashi into his team. On the one hand, it was the Hokage's request, and on the other hand, his team's combat effectiveness was indeed a bit insufficient.
Adding Kakashi to the team can just make up for the lack of combat power.
Unfortunately, Kakashi's problem is not lack of strength. It is too appalling to become a chuunin at this age.
This also proves that Kakashi is very strong, otherwise it would be impossible to pass the extremely difficult Chunin exam.
"Caravan from the Kingdom of Ghosts."
The leading Jonin said.
"The Kingdom of Ghosts? Is it that far?"
Not only Kakashi, but also the other two chuunin frowned.
The Kingdom of Oni is a rare neutral country in the ninja world. It borders the Kingdom of Snow and the Kingdom of Earth to the north, the Kingdom of You and the Kingdom of Bears to the south, and faces the Kingdom of Water and the Kingdom of Thunder across the sea to the west.
Although it borders many countries, it is not bordered by the Fire Country.
The Kingdom of Ghosts and the Kingdom of Fire are separated by several countries, and it takes a long journey to get there.
"Don't worry, this mission does not require us to go to the Kingdom of Ghosts. In fact, we just need to wait for the caravan in the Kingdom of Rain."
Seeing that the three people in the team were confused, the leader of the team explained: "Because the country of fire and the country of ghosts are far apart, the distance from the country of ghosts to the country of rain, the other party has hired Iwa ninja to come." Escort. As for the second half of the journey, we Konoha ninjas will escort us. The Hokage-sama has secretly discussed this matter with the Tsuchikage-sama, and there will be no diplomatic issues."
After listening to the explanation from the leading jounin, the three of them finally understood.
Indeed, in the early stages of the last Ninja World War, Iwa Ninja was also a participant in the war and fought several battles with Konoha in the Land of Rain. However, Iwa Ninja's main strength was to deal with Hanzo in the Rain Hidden Village, and the friction with Konoha was not deep.
However, Konoha and Iwagakure are not allies, and their relationship has always been lukewarm.
This kind of special task that requires two village ninjas to hand over and escort together does require the leaders of the two parties to discuss it in advance to avoid some diplomatic disputes.
"If there's no problem, let's set off now."
◎
In the great forest of the Land of Fire, Konoha's four-person team was running quickly inside.
"Speaking of which, Captain, why do the caravans from the Kingdom of Ghosts come to the Kingdom of Fire?"
A chuunin team member couldn't help but ask as he caught up with the leading jounin.
While on the road, it was actually very boring and I could only find some topics to talk about.
The leading Jonin replied: "That's not entirely true. The caravan we escorted this time is stationed in our Konoha Village."
Kakashi and the three of them were surprised.
"Aster Flower Pharmaceutical Technology Company, have you heard of it?"
"Yes, I've heard of it. Although it was only established recently, the drugs developed by this company are much better than those on the market. They have been sold well in several surrounding countries and have made a lot of money."
"Yes, the caravan escorted this time is the delegation of Shionhua Company. They plan to open a branch pharmacy in our Konoha, and this matter has been approved by the Daimyo and the Hokage."
"It's really amazing. It seems that this company has been established for less than half a year."
The chuunin said with emotion.
"This is a person's skill. If the medicine they develop is mediocre, it will not get the approval of the Daimyo and the Hokage."
Of course, the neutral status of the Ghost Country also provides a lot of conveniences.
If the backstage of Shionhua Company is from the big countries such as the Kingdom of Earth and the Kingdom of Wind, the daimyo of the Kingdom of Fire, and their Hokage-sama, no matter what they say, they will not agree.
This is just like the Kingdom of Iron can open a ninja tool shop in Konoha. Neutral countries do not participate in the Ninja War. In addition, the reputation of the Kingdom of Iron has always been recognized by other countries, so Konoha will open the door of convenience.
Not only that, many ninja villages have weapons dealers from the Kingdom of Iron settling in, opening branches, and providing sophisticated weapons.
The current business method of Ziyuanhua Company is just the same as that of the Iron Kingdom.
Good reputation, neutral status, and strong drug research and development capabilities are the important reasons for getting permission to settle.
"I heard that the monthly turnover of this company is very scary. It must be a figure that ordinary ninjas like us can't even imagine."
"Then work hard to complete the task."
The leading Jonin said encouragingly.
"Captain, how much does it cost to do a mission?"
The chuunin complained.
Not to mention D-level and C-level missions, the rewards of several thousand or tens of thousands taels are accumulated, and after replenishing the ninja tools, there is not much money left.
"Then I have no choice. Maybe in normal times, you can find a place to work part-time."
"It's impossible to do it. You still have to practice in normal times. After all, ninjas need to exercise their strength before they can choose higher-level tasks. Then the rewards will be higher."
Kakashi said at this time.
"makes sense."
The leading Jonin nodded.
Vice versa, the lower the strength of the ninja, the lower the level of tasks that can be received, and the rewards and other things can barely make a living on their own.
If you think about it carefully, the profession of ninja really has no money.
Only when you become a jounin will you change your perspective.
For an A-level mission, the minimum cost is hundreds of thousands taels.
As for completing an S-level mission, you will be rewarded at least several hundred thousand taels.
"Okay, let's speed up. We have to get to the meeting point in the Kingdom of Rain as soon as possible. Be careful when you get to the Kingdom of Rain, the environment there will be very chaotic."
"yes."
After the leading jounin said this, Kakashi and the three of them were all in awe.
Although they have not yet gone deep into the Kingdom of Rain, they also know that the current domestic situation in the Kingdom of Rain is turbulent, bandits are rampant, and there are even rebel ninjas and wandering ninjas mixed in, including all three religions and nine schools.
◎
The Land of Rain, the northern border.
When the Konoha ninja team arrived here, it was already around three o'clock in the afternoon the next day.
At the entrance of a rainy town, I saw a caravan delegation from the Aster Flower Company from the Kingdom of Ghosts.
There were a total of twelve carriages used to transport medicines, and each carriage was filled with precious medicines.
After handing over the mission with the four-man Iwagakure team, Konoha's leading jonin signed the paperwork, and the Iwagakure jounin left with his three Iwanin teammates.
Then, the leading Jonin looked at the representative of the Shionhua Company caravan.
He is a short young man, about 23 or 24 years old. He wears round-framed black sunglasses on his face, a spotless black suit on his body, and an umbrella in his hand.
The young man's name is Kado.
The president of Ziyuanhua Pharmaceutical Technology Company, a big businessman with extremely powerful business methods.
In less than half a year, he went from an unknown person to a popular businessman in the world. No one in Konoha dared to look down on him, an ordinary person who was not a ninja.
As a rising star among businessmen, a reward of five million taels has been placed on his head on the underground black market.
For an ordinary person, this is already a very expensive reward price.
Presumably as Ziyuanhua Company's rolling capital grows, his head price will also rise, rising to more than tens of millions of taels.
Because of the sudden entry of Ziyuanhua Company, many small companies in the pharmaceutical industry were on the verge of bankruptcy and squeezed out the interests of others. It was natural for Cardo to be rewarded in the black market.
"Everyone in Konoha, let's rest in this town for one night. I have already booked a hotel. How about we leave early tomorrow morning?"
After Kado shook hands with the leading Jonin, he pushed the black sunglasses on his nose with his fingers and smiled calmly.
"That's fine. It's really not appropriate to walk at night at this time."
What's more, the carriage is full of precious medicines, and it would be bad if an accident happened.
After looking at the two guards beside Cardo, wearing black trench coats with the symbol of aster flowers printed on the backs of the black trench coats, one knew that these people were not ordinary guards.
Not only that, beside the twelve carriages filled with items, there were nearly twenty guards, all wearing the same style of black trench coats with asters logos printed on the back.
It means that they come from the same force.
After thinking about it for a while, the leading jounin felt relieved.
Although Aster Flower Company has not been established in the Kingdom of Ghosts for a long time, it is probably only a matter of time before it becomes a giant company in the pharmaceutical industry.
There must be a special department that trains armed personnel to protect the safety of their goods.
However, with so many guards, it seems that the total value of this batch of medicines is so high that ordinary people cannot imagine that it requires so many guards to protect it.
In short, this is not something you have to consider.
The mission of his team is just to safely escort the Shionka Company's caravan delegation to Konoha.
The rest of the business cooperation is the Hokage's job.
◎
The next morning, Konoha's four-person ninja team, together with the guards from Shionka Company, escorted twelve carriages loaded with medicines and set off towards Konoha, the Land of Fire.
Because these valuable medicines had to be escorted, the convoy moved very slowly.
It wasn't until two o'clock in the afternoon that we slowly arrived at the junction of the Kingdom of Rain and the Kingdom of Fire.
"Mr. Cardo, go through the canyon ahead and walk a little further to the border of the Fire Country."
The leading jounin pointed to the huge canyon submerged in the rain ahead, pointing the direction to Kado.
"Let the people behind you move faster."
Cardo nodded and said something to the guard next to him.
The guard went down and conveyed Cardo's order.
"When you reach the border of Fire Country, you don't have to worry about bandits on the road. We have Konoha's border defense force at the border."
The leading Jonin said with a smile.
"The ability of Konoha ninjas has always been the best in the ninja world, which our company can trust. In fact, we come here with a win-win attitude this time."
Cardo responded with a smile.
While talking, the convoy had slowly entered the canyon.
When we got here, the rainfall began to decrease, but there was still a muddy road under our feet. Not only was it difficult to walk on foot, but the speed of the convoy also needed to be reduced to ensure the safety of the medicines in the carriage.
In this regard, the leading Jonin and Kado did not say anything. A country like the Country of Rain, which has been in chaos for many years, cannot even guarantee the safety and livelihood of its own people, let alone invest excess funds in road construction. .
"team leader……"
Kakashi and the other three chuunin came up at this time and whispered softly beside the leading jounin.
"Ah, I know."
Since entering the canyon, the leading jounin noticed that something was not right about the atmosphere here, and there was a cold smell mixed in the rain.
boom!
The explosion came too suddenly, but the guards escorting the convoy and the Konoha ninja were not too scared.
As the fire exploded on the rock wall, huge rocks fell from above.
Kakashi took the lead and pulled out the White Fang dagger from behind, and swung it hard against the falling rocks.
The rock was divided into two halves in the middle, and then he used the falling rock as a stepping stone to start his attack on the top of the rock wall.
Behind him, the Jonin captain and two Chuunin teammates also rushed forward.
What greeted them was a large number of kunai and shuriken thrown from the sky.
Cardo stood calmly in the team, and the two black windbreaker guards standing next to him also had unchanged expressions, like stone pillars standing in the rain.
As for the guards wearing black trench coats around them, half stayed to protect the vehicle, and the other half fought in cooperation with Konoha's four ninjas to annihilate the invading enemies.
"Really, I couldn't help but want to take action when I got here. It seems that I overestimated these people."
Cardo sat on the footboard of a carriage, unfazed by the sound of fighting that appeared in his ears.
Since he took over the company, he has been subject to several such assassination attacks every month, but the fact that he is still alive and well is proof of the strength of Ziyuanhua Company.
"There's nothing we can do about it. After all, the value of this batch of medicines is too tempting."
"It's worth watching as a sideshow. Let's solve it quickly."
"yes."
Developing the company and making it profitable is Cardo's mission.
And it is their job to destroy the enemy.
Kakashi, who was fighting the attackers, immediately understood the identities of these people through the fighting. They were samurai and knew some about the application of chakra. Some of them were wandering ninjas who knew some more practical low-level ninjutsu.
For him, who had learned White Fang's sword skills, these people were not strong enough to pose a threat.
But it might be a little troublesome for those two chuunin companions.
Seeing the two of them fighting hard, they were almost hit by the enemy's attacks several times, but Kakashi just glanced at him and made sure that his leading jounin was not far away, and the lives of the two of them would not be in danger.
Therefore, Kakashi simply ignored the tough battle those two faced.
Rather than thinking about this kind of thing, destroying the enemy as quickly as possible and completing the mission as soon as possible is what he wants to do.
As the enemies fell one after another, Kakashi shuttled through the rain. The blood on the White Fang dagger in his hand was washed away by the rain, turning red and white, white and red again, and changed repeatedly.
The battle ended after ten minutes.
At the cost of a few minor injuries, all these people were defeated. Some people saw that the situation was not good and ran away without anyone pursuing them.
"Mr. Cardo, we can continue on our way."
The leading jounin wiped the blood from his shoulders and clothes. The pungent smell of blood was very weak in the rain.
When Kado pushed up his sunglasses on the bridge of his nose and ordered the convoy to move on, there seemed to be a dispute on Kakashi's side:
"Hey, Kakashi, what's wrong with you? Didn't you see that we were sending you a support signal just now?"
After the battle, the two chunin who cooperated with Kakashi for the first time were very dissatisfied with Kakashi's indifferent attitude just now.
Because there were so many enemies besieging the two of them, they suffered a lot.
"With the strength of the two of you, I think you will be fine even without my assistance."
Kakashi told the truth.
The strength of these two people is also there, and in that situation of being surrounded, they are enough to defeat the besieging enemies.
Being able to eliminate as many enemies as possible, considering the situation at the time, Kakashi thought this was the best choice.
The sooner the enemy is eliminated, the sooner the safety of this batch of medicines will be out of danger.
"What did you say? Do you have the guts to say it again? Aren't we partners in the same team?"
The chuunin grabbed Kakashi's collar.
"I said, I judge that when your two lives are not in danger, destroying the enemy as quickly as possible is the top priority at that time. The longer the time is delayed, the more dangerous the convoy will be. Compared with you, The safety of this batch of drugs is even more important."
The two chuunin's faces were ashen and they looked completely ugly.
"Okay, you three, don't end up like this the first time we cooperate. I was watching at the time and I won't let anything happen to you three."
The leading jounin smiled apologetically at Kado, then walked helplessly to the three of them, trying to dissuade the relationship between them from deteriorating further.
"Tch. I can't get along with this kind of person at all."
The two chunin then gave up and began to treat their wounds.
"I just want to minimize the risk of mission failure."
Kakashi also tilted his head to one side, apparently still believing that his choice was the right one.
The Jonin captain scratched his head, feeling a headache.
He knew that this was the case, Kakashi was more difficult to deal with than he thought.
He probably won't be able to stay in his team for much longer.
I really hope that some jounin can educate this genius brat well and then let him out to carry out missions.
Otherwise, if this continues, a team will not be able to form a good collaborative relationship at all.
"It's funny, Mr. Cardo, let you see such a shameful side of our Konoha."
"It seems like it's not easy to be a jounin either."
Cardo said with a smile.
The Jonin captain smiled helplessly.
He's really not that easy to be a Jonin.
But he could also understand why Kakashi became like this.
But he found that Kakashi's psychological problem was more serious than he thought, so he gave up the idea of correcting him.
◎
Two days passed, and the Jonin captain successfully arrived in Konoha with the mission escort target.
After leaving Kakashi and the other two behind, the Jonin captain went to the Hokage Building to report on his work.
"Thanks for your hard work."
Hiruzen smiled at the jounin.
"It's nothing. Although there was a little accident on the road, it's not a big problem."
"I probably already understand the matter."
Hiruzen looked at the work report presented by the Jonin captain, and his expression became serious.
"Hokage-sama, do you have anything to add?"
"Kakashi, is there really no way to correct his problem?"
Hiruzen asked the question that concerned him most.
"With my personal ability, I cannot correct his problem. I don't know how long I can keep him in the team, but with Kakashi like this... I estimate that he will need to find another company within a month at most."
The Jonin captain answered truthfully.
It was understandable that Kakashi would be like this, but he didn't want such a member in his team who would destroy team relations.
After all, he had to act in the best interests of the team as a whole, not just to accommodate Kakashi alone.
"I know, I will think about it carefully. You go down first."
"Please forgive me, Hokage-sama."
The Jonin captain bowed to Hiruzen and walked out of the office.
After the Jonin captain walked out of the room, Hiruzen pondered.
"Are we really going to arrange him into the ANBU?"
Too young.
Experience is not enough either.
Not up to the passing level of ANBU.
Moreover, Kakashi entering the ANBU in this state only worried Hiruzen even more.
The answer to the question of which one is more important, the mission or the companions...
Hiruzen sighed in his heart, he really didn't have the nerve to tell Kakashi the answer to this question.
Because telling Kakashi one answer would necessarily deny the other.
How to explain Sakumo's death?
This is an extremely contradictory question.
In other words, he doesn't have a standard answer in his own mind.
"Hokage-sama, Mr. Cardo, the head of Shionhua Company, wants to see you."
An ANBU walked in from outside and reported to Hiruzen.
"I know, let him in."
Hiruzen straightened his scowl and ordered the ANBU.
Now Shionka Company has cooperated with Iwagakure and Sunagakure, and has successfully opened branch pharmacies in the two shinobi villages. It is said that the problem of insufficient medicines in the two villages has been greatly alleviated, and the results are impressive.
Therefore, this business cooperation is also very important to Konoha.
Next, he couldn't be rude in front of the guests.
◎
Evening, Konoha Cemetery.
Kakashi was the only one standing here, standing in front of his father Sakumo Hatake's grave, staring blankly at the black and white photos placed there.
The man looked at himself with a gentle smile, and his eyes contained love for the world.
But this kind of loving gaze gave Kakashi the urge to run away.
He was neatly dressed at the moment, but the overall impression he gave was that of a wolf, like a stray dog with nowhere to settle.
"Father, tell me... why..."
Kakashi had a confused look in his eyes.
He couldn't understand.
I completely cannot understand what I should do and how to do it now.
The father who abandoned his mission to save his companions was insulted and slandered, and chose to commit suicide.
Then he chose to put his mission first and his companions second, so why was he still being ostracized?
Kakashi couldn't understand how to answer this question.
As the youngest person to graduate from a ninja school with honors, Kakashi was confused about a question to this extent for the first time.
The Will of Fire he has learned should be based on the idea that everyone in the village is a family.
Everyone in the village is their companion, a family member, and something that must be protected at all costs.
But...his father committed suicide.
Because of his behavior of saving his companions, the mission failed.
Therefore, ninjas should prioritize tasks and are just tools to perform tasks. And tools do not need to be too kind, so when necessary, the lives of companions can be discarded casually.
Then what's the use of the Will of Fire I learned in school? Kakashi was shocked by his rebellious thoughts.
As a result, the words "companion" and "mission" kept jumping in my mind, and I began to engage in the most intense and cruel struggle.
At this moment, Kakashi suddenly covered his head and his face became distorted.
No more.
Can't hold on any longer.
My head hurt to the point of bursting.
This is the only thing Kakashi can feel now - pain.
Which one is the correct answer?
Why haven't they accepted me since I chose the mission?
If I am wrong, then what my father did is right. Why should my father commit suicide?
Should I choose companions or tasks?
What exactly is the Will of Fire?
Kakashi, who was tortured by these two thoughts to the point where his will almost collapsed, finally couldn't hold on any longer and knelt in front of the tomb with his hands on the ground, cold sweat dripping from his face.
"Ha...ha...my head hurts...it hurts..."
In the woods next to the cemetery, a figure was leaning against a tree, with only half of his face exposed, while the other half was shrouded in darkness.
This is the face of a young male.
It was Shiraishi.
He just leaned against the tree, put his hands in his pockets, and listened quietly to Kakashi's faint groan of pain.
After stopping there for a moment, he disappeared from behind the trees, leaving no trace.
