Naruto: The King Behind the Curtain

Three days later, early morning.

At the entrance of the Hokage Office.

Inoichi Yamanaka reminded them seriously, "Check everything. Make sure you all have the necessary supplies?"

Seiki obediently checked his tool pouch, "Explosive tags, flash bombs, shuriken, blood increasing pills, military rations pills..."

Asuma stood nearby, looking puzzled, "Seiki, why are you carrying so much stuff? And, you're a medical ninja—why would you need blood increasing pills?"

Seiki shook his head slightly, "Better safe than sorry. Who can guarantee we won't need these things during battle? Also, even though I'm a medical ninja, my chakra might run out or I may not have time to form hand seals!"

"That does sound reasonable!" Asuma clapped his hands, "Wait for me just a moment! I'll go buy some right away!"

"No need," Seiki stopped him, taking out a small bottle and handing it over, "I deliberately brought extra."

"Haha! You really understand me!" Asuma showed no hint of embarrassment as he casually accepted it.

Seiki gave a helpless smile, then turned toward his companion, "What about you, Kurenai?"

Kurenai had her hands behind her back, "Hmph, unlike Asuma, I'm not that careless!"

Still, Seiki handed her the small bottle, "This one's homemade—it works a bit better than the usual ones."

"Well then, I'll accept it!" Kurenai happily took it, then produced a small cloth bag and handed it to Seiki, "Seiki, these are my handmade military rations!"

"Thank you. It seems I will enjoy good meals during this mission!"

Seeing that Seiki had accepted her lovingly-prepared rations, Kurenai felt over the moon. Then she saw an open palm extended toward her.

"Eh? What's wrong?"

"Your military rations!"

Kurenai scoffed, "Why on earth do you think you deserve some too?"

Asuma groaned dramatically, "Seiki made two portions for us—how could you only make one?"

Kurenai shot him a glare, "What about you? Did *you* personally make anything for us?"

Asuma froze, hesitantly asking, "Would my homemade cigarettes work?"

"Hmph! [Golden Binding Jutsu!]"

"Ahhh! Save me, Seiki!"

Watching his students fool around, Inoichi Yamanaka couldn't help but smile faintly, "Ah, youth is truly wonderful."

At that moment, a rather plump merchant came running toward them.

"You are the ninja sent to escort us back to the Grass Country? I'm terribly sorry for keeping you waiting!"

"We actually just arrived ourselves."

"Oh good, good." The rotund merchant nodded repeatedly, looking extremely friendly, "My name is Bei Chongzhi. For the next few days, thank you for your hard work, honorable ninja."

Inoichi replied, "You flatter us. It's our duty."

"Our caravan has already gathered at the village gate. I'll go ahead and make preparations. The honored ninja may set off whenever they're ready." With that, he ran back the way he had come.

After he left, Asuma mumbled quietly, "This client sure is easygoing. It almost feels like he's afraid of us..."

Inoichi Yamanaka chuckled. "He certainly has reason to be polite, considering that there have been cases where ninja turned on their clients."

"Let's go; don't keep our employer waiting!"

...

Including the caravan's own guards, there were more than fifty people altogether.

A number like that would discourage many bandits from even attempting an attack. At least within the Land of Fire, the caravan had traveled without any incidents.

However, on the third day after entering the Grass Country,

within just a few kilometers of travel, they encountered three separate groups of bandits.

The third group, in particular, even included ninja.

Watching the battle unfold before him, Bei Chongzhi trembled slightly and carefully chose his words. "Jonin Inoichi Yamanaka, it seems this gang of bandits includes actual ninja. Is it appropriate to let those young ninja handle them alone?"

Inoichi patted him reassuringly on the shoulder. "Lord Bei, you might not fully understand the strength of Konoha Genin. Don't worry—just sit back and watch."

On the battlefield, Seiki and his companions were mowing enemies down like grass!

Although among the enemies were ninja, including some warrior-types who used chakra similar to those in the Land of Iron, ninja from the Five Great Countries were in a completely different category compared to smaller nations. Even among the great countries' ninja, Seiki and his team were considered absolute prodigies!

Within moments, the enemies perished amid despairing screams.

"These bandits are too weak! I only used one Grand Fireball Jutsu and they were already terrified!" Asuma grumbled under his breath, dissatisfied.

"That's right. It felt like throwing just a few shuriken would've made them run away!" Kurenai nodded in agreement.

Seiki shook his head helplessly. "They're already dead; let's at least leave them some dignity."

Among the caravan, Bei Chongzhi and others stared with wide eyes.

"Amazing! Is this really the power of Konoha Genin?"

"It feels like even Chunin-level ninja from our Grass Village might not be as strong as these few kids!"

"Our Chunin escort was injured along the way and died shortly after arriving in the Land of Fire."

The previous two gangs hadn't been much, so nothing could really be judged.

But just now, the enemy had been a notorious major gang within the Grass Country. Yet despite that, they'd still been cut down as easily as vegetables by these three kids.

As a caravan traveling back and forth across regions, they weren't strangers to ninja before. But the ninja lords in their memories clearly didn't possess such formidable strength!

Thinking thus, the crowd became increasingly enthusiastic.

After setting off again, the tense atmosphere previously present within the caravan disappeared, replaced by relaxation and ease.

Beside them, Asuma muttered unhappily, "There are way too many robbers and bandits in the Grass Country! Now I'm starting to doubt whether old man's judgment was correct."

Inoichi laughed, saying, "If what they're buying is truly for fighting bandits, then we don't need to worry anymore."

True enough. Keeping the village safe is what matters most!" Putting aside thoughts of a mission upgrade, Asuma grinned and added, "Still, it would be nice if we ran into some gangs with Chunin-level participation!"

"That kind of large-scale bandits aren't that easy to encounter..."

As Inoichi Yamanaka was smirking while explaining, Seiki suddenly said, "Bandits are coming again, and there's even more this time!"

Asuma said excitedly, "So there really are some!"

Inoichi wore an odd expression, "Have I somehow awakened some strange attribute?"

At this point, everyone could finally see the situation ahead clearly.

A huge group of ferocious bandits was chasing after a fresh-faced young boy.

From the forehead protector on his head, it looked like he happened to be a ninja from the Hidden Grass Village.

The young boy also noticed their presence. He immediately changed direction and shouted frantically, "You all run quickly! Don't worry about me!"

However, that gang of bandits temporarily stopped their pursuit.

"Hahaha, this brat seems to have found us a flock of fat sheep!"

"Let's feast first—revenge can wait till next time!"

In the trembling caravan, Seiki and the others exchanged uneasy glances.

"This feels like one of those cliché things again—didn't you talk about something like this before, Seiki?"

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