Naruto: The King Behind the Curtain

[Shanlan]!

Boom!

With a single punch, a huge crater smashed into the previously flat ground.

Looking at the tiny figure standing in the crater, the giant boar's eyes revealed a flicker of almost-human fear.

"Don't come here again, understand?"

Though Seiki's voice was gentle and soft, to the giant boar it sounded like a demon's whisper—terrifying beyond words.

Its hoof twitching, just as it prepared to flee back to its familiar, warm forest, it heard that terrifying sound from behind again.

"Before you leave, please be so kind as to level this place."

Oink! Oink!

The giant boar grunted a few times, then obediently began filling the crater.

Beside him, Asuma couldn't help but whistle. "I was wondering how to make it understand us… guess violence really is the best form of communication!"

Kurenai turned to look at him. "It kind of sounds like you're talking from experience..."

Asuma waved his hand dismissively. "Back in the day, I didn't know smoking was bad for my health until one time the old man caught me!"

Kurenai's lips twitched slightly. "Somehow, I feel like the 'health' you're talking about isn't quite the same as what most people mean by 'health.'"

Meanwhile, Seiki clapped his hands together. "Alright, our beast-banishing mission is done!"

Asuma said excitedly, "Then it's my turn to pick the next mission!"

For Seiki and his group, even C-ranked missions posed no real difficulty.

Over these past five months, they had completed a total of 97 C-ranked missions.

If it weren't for the occasional lengthy escort jobs or investigation details mixed in, that number would've been even higher.

They had even completed three B-ranked missions under the supervision of their Jonin mentor, Yamanaka.

As the group were discussing which B-ranked Ninjutsu technique they should exchange their accumulated Contribution Points for, a strange upside-down walker approached them.

"Senior Seiki, good morning! Would you like to join me in a Youthful Stroll™️?" Might Guy greeted energetically while doing a handstand, giving a thumbs-up with his other hand.

"No thanks, we still need to report our mission completion!" Seiki firmly declined—he might not care much about his public image, but he wasn't ready to risk destroying it entirely.

"You already finished *another* mission?!" Might Guy exclaimed, envy clearly evident in his tone, before quickly regaining his enthusiasm.

"I still have quite a long way to go indeed! Since I finally see how far behind I am, I'll reward myself with an extra two thousand push-ups this morning!"

Asuma's eyes went wide. "You really call that rewarding yourself?"

"Of course! That's the passion of youth!" Might Guy grinned brightly, then suddenly remembered something. "Oh right, Senior, Yamanaka Jonin seems to be looking for all of you!"

"Another mission? Seriously?" The three exchanged glances, excitement instantly blooming across their faces.

...

Inside the Hokage's office.

Inoichi Yamanaka and his team stood in line facing the Third Hokage, who smiled warmly.

"The reason I've called you all in today is because I have a rather difficult assignment I'd like to entrust to your team."

A high-difficulty mission... Asuma's eyes sparkled, and he nearly cheered aloud. "Old man… cough cough, Fire Shadow Lord, you're the best!"

"Don't get too excited. This mission isn't going to be easy to complete," said the Third, puffing on his pipe as he continued, "You need to escort a batch of critical supplies to the Grass Country. Under normal circumstances, this would be a B-rank mission."

The Hokage paused briefly, his expression suddenly turning serious. "However, if certain changes occur, this mission could very likely become an A-rank mission mid-way through!"

Upon hearing this, several people's breathing quickened.

An A-rank mission was normally only something jonin were qualified to undertake!

Even Yamanaka Sensei frowned. "Lord Hokage, although they're all gifted kids, undertaking such a dangerous mission at this point still seems premature!"

"I understand your concerns, which is why I specifically asked you all to come here today to consult with you first," the Third lifted the brim of his hat slightly. "You don't need to give me an immediate answer right away. Please hear me out before deciding."

"The Grass Country is our ally and also sits strategically on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth. It holds extremely important geographical significance!"

The four listened attentively. They all knew well what their so-called 'ally' really meant. It was just an official way to describe a satellite state firmly under Konoha's control.

"Recently though, there have been some subtle changes in requests coming from the Grass Country. Also, their arms orders placed with Konoha have significantly increased compared to usual!"

Yamanaka's gaze turned heavy. "Arms supplies?"

"Explosive Tags, Kunai, Shuriken, soldier pills, etc. According to their explanation, these are supposedly to deal with increasingly rampant bandits and rogue ninja inside the Grass Country!" The Third nodded slightly first, then displayed a worried expression. "If they really were fighting bandits and rogue ninja, that'd be fine. The real concern is where these supplies might eventually end up!"

Yamanaka asked gravely, "Are you suggesting that Iwagakure might be pulling strings behind the scenes?"

The Third sighed. "Should the Grass Country truly turn toward Iwagakure, Konoha would find itself at a severe disadvantage should war break out."

"There's no solid evidence proving this yet though, which brings us to your hidden objective this time — gather intelligence!"

Yamanaka frowned deeply. "If the Grass Country has indeed aligned with Iwagakure, then this mission would pose an extremely high level of danger!"

Shaking his head, the Third replied, "Of course there will be risks involved, but not as severe as you imagine. Onoki is a calculating and patient man by nature. Given his personality, he'd much rather stay in the shadows and reap quiet benefits, never daring to provoke a war head-on."

"I understand that," Yamanaka asked solemnly, "But then... why them?"

"Because they're all gifted kids, and Asuma is my own son, after all!" For once, the Third appeared unusually stern. "Only by sending them would Iwagakure harbor no suspicions!"

Yamanaka had no rebuttal since he knew deep down this decision made sense.

"Sensei Yamanaka, there's no need to worry!" Asuma himself remained remarkably confident. "It's just about gathering intelligence. Nothing bad is gonna happen!"

Yamanaka's temple twitched visibly. "That's exactly why I'm worried in the first place!"

Seiki spoke up from the side, "Actually, I bet Hokage-sama giving us this mission has got something to do with the Flying Thunder God Technique too!"

"Since the previous missions didn't require much effort, I haven't gotten to use my Flying Thunder God Technique on any official missions yet. Hardly anyone knows I've got this technique, so Iwagakure probably has no clue about it either."

"In other words, if things go south past the point of no return, we can still use the Flying Thunder God Technique to get out in a flash!"

The Third slowly nodded, narrowing his eyes as he asked, "Then tell me—will you accept this mission?"

Seeing all three staring back at him with determined eyes, Inoichi Yamanaka gave a resigned sigh and smiled bitterly, "We've accepted this mission!"

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