The Land of Rivers Escort Mission

"Ah, what... this time, you want me to find a mouse that's been stealing vegetables? Grandpa Third, give me a break! I've already done 35 low-level missions like this. Isn't there a single normal mission? I'm a ninja, not an errand boy! And you know how strong I am. Even if I ran into a Jonin, I could escape..." Issui had finally had enough. He lay down on the floor and threw a tantrum...

"All... right. I'll give you a C-rank escort mission this time. Come in, Mr. Yamanaka." The Third shook his head helplessly. Issui was still a child, after all.

"Ah, is this the kid, Lord Hokage? We're transporting a very large shipment this time. If we run into bandits, we're done for. A kid this small probably couldn't even beat me, could he?" Yamanaka Okamura looked at the kid before him, who was probably eight or nine, and felt miserable. He had wanted a Konoha Ninja of at least Chunin rank to escort the goods, but he had gotten a kid instead. Wasn't Lord Hokage making fun of him? A child this age had probably only just been weaned.

"What? I'm a genius Genin of Konoha! Are you doubting my strength? Want me to show you what I can do?" Issui grew angry at the burly middle-aged man's words.

"Now, Mr. Yamanaka, please trust Konoha's ninja. Given the nature of a C-rank mission, the kid you speak of can indeed complete it. As long as you don't encounter a ninja whose strength exceeds that of a Genin, he can escort you back to the Land of Rivers as the mission requires," the Third said in a tone that brooked no argument.

"All right, I suppose this will have to do." Okamura nodded helplessly. He hoped their losses wouldn't be too great this time.

"Yeah! Then let's get going, Mr. Yamanaka. We'll meet at the village gate this afternoon. I need to pack," Issui said happily. He could finally take a normal mission. Just like Naruto and the others' first mission to the Land of Waves, it was an escort mission.

"Uncle, I'm off. You'd better get everything ready. We'll leave right after lunch this afternoon. The sooner we go, the sooner we'll be back." Issui left the Hokage's office, said goodbye to Okamura, and hurried home. He didn't know how long he would be gone this time, so he needed to prepare more supplies. On his way back, he would visit Heaven Village. Some important things were all there, and getting them would give his strength another considerable boost.

"Issui-kun?"

Who's calling me? He turned around and saw that it was Sakura. The girl was still worried about her broad forehead. Beautiful women with broad foreheads were actually quite pretty.

"Ah, Sakura, hello. Your broad forehead is actually very pretty. That's what I think, anyway," Issui said encouragingly.

"Ah... really... really?" Sakura asked, a little pleased. Oh, I've been worrying about my broad forehead, and I never expected Issui-kun to like it. But... but I heard Issui-kun and Hinata have already pledged themselves to each other for life. This is so troubling. I'd better go out with Sasuke-kun instead.

"Oh, right, I have a ribbon here. Let me give it to you as a memento." Issui remembered that he still had a ribbon left in his bag. He had bought two yesterday, and Hinata had only wanted the pink one, so the remaining red one had ended up in his pocket. He might as well give it to Sakura. After all, it was polite to give someone a gift when they met.

"Ah... I, I couldn't possibly accept that!" Sakura was a little flustered. No boy had ever given her anything before. Could Issui-kun like me? But how can someone like two people?

"It's all right. Think of it as a New Year's gift. The New Year is almost here, so happy New Year, Sakura. Although we were classmates for only two years, we're comrades for life. You, Sasuke, Naruto, Hinata, and everyone else in the class are all my comrades. One day, we'll be comrades fighting side by side for Konoha."

"Ah..." Sakura looked at Issui with admiration. She thought of how he was already an official Genin and had completed many ninja missions. Girls loved heroes most, and Issui had clearly become a hero in Sakura's eyes.

"I have a mission outside the village this afternoon, so I need to go home and pack. We might not see each other again until the New Year. Goodbye, Sakura." Issui smiled and waved goodbye to her.

"Issui-kun, I'll become an excellent ninja too..." Sakura watched the cheerful Issui's retreating figure and quietly encouraged herself.

Issui felt he had gone a little overboard today. Although Sakura liked Sasuke in the original story, Issui had dropped in out of nowhere, and with looks and strength that were no worse than Sasuke's, Sakura might fall for him. He had read plenty of transmigration harem wish-fulfillment stories in his previous life. Having a woman in each arm was every man's dream, but would a beautiful woman with a real personality share her man with others?

The love a person's heart could hold was limited. If there was one woman, she would occupy your entire heart. Two women would split it in half, and three would divide it into thirds. Once there were more than five, your heart was actually gone, and all that remained was *. A person whose head was full of * all day was truly pitiable. Without feelings, the person the women liked was really just a shell without a heart or soul. Even if many beautiful women came to you, they would only be looking to satisfy their own desires. Once someone better than you appeared, could you guarantee they wouldn't turn on you?

Issui liked beautiful women, but he felt he would find love with at most three or four women in this life. Loving even one was already difficult. Take Hinata, for example: if you weren't sincere with her, she wouldn't be sincere with you. Love was reciprocal; what you gave and what you received were equal.

There were eleven beautiful women in the world of Naruto who truly moved Issui's heart. Hinata ranked first because she was cute; Sakura ranked second because she had personality, treating others roughly but her boyfriend gently; Mitarashi Anko ranked third because she had a great figure; Mei Terumi and Kurenai Yuhi ranked fourth because they were sexy; Fuma Sasame, also called Fuma Shigure, ranked fifth. Although she was a minor character, if you took a few good looks at her, you would find her very cute. Xiao Nan ranked sixth because her name was the same as his previous life's girlfriend's nickname; he supposed that love for one extended to the other. Temari and Ino ranked seventh, with good figures and good looks. Shion ranked eighth, and Tsunade ranked ninth. The reason she was so far down the list was that she was a little too old.

As for why Haku wasn't included, it was because she was too confusing. He couldn't tell whether she was male or female, and Kishimoto hadn't made it clear either. He felt she should be female. The reason she said she was male in the anime was that the nature of a ninja's profession couldn't be judged by ordinary standards-truth and lies were all mixed together.

The rest, such as Karin, Shizune, and Tenten, were only easy on the eyes. Too many beautiful women weren't necessarily a good thing either; it was dazzling.

The above was only Issui's personal opinion. Everyone liked and disliked different things when ranking beautiful women. As for the girls Issui liked, cuteness came first, figure second, and sexiness third. Of course, the face mattered too. A woman's face was the most important thing men looked at; everything else only added to her beauty and charm.

When Issui got home, he found that Hinata wasn't there, so he had to pack by himself. There was a large pile of things: ninja tools, Ninjutsu scrolls, bandages, clothes, and the like. He had earned quite a lot of money from missions over the past few days and had a little nest egg of his own.

"Issui-kun, why are you home so early today?" When Hinata returned and saw Issui packing, she thought he was probably leaving the village on a mission, so she went over to help him.

"Ah, Hinata, you're back from training. By the way, I took a C-rank mission, and I'm leaving this afternoon. I'm escorting a caravan to the Land of Rivers. It might be quite a while before I get back, maybe not until the New Year. Could you make me some rice balls? Once I leave, I won't be able to eat the ones you make anymore. Sigh, what a bother." Issui felt reluctant to leave, but there was nothing he could do. It was common for ninja to go away on missions.

"Mm, take care of yourself out there. Be careful and don't get hurt. If you meet an opponent you can't beat, it's best to run, even if it's a little embarrassing..." Hinata said worriedly.

"Come on, it's only a C-rank mission. At worst, I'll run into some bandits. There's nothing to be afraid of," Issui said unconcernedly. Indeed, it was only a minor C-rank mission. Even if he encountered a special situation like the one Naruto and the others had faced on their Land of Waves mission, it would be fine. After all, given his current strength, unless he encountered a Kage Level ninja, he could escape even if he couldn't beat an elite Jonin.

"Mm, let's have lunch first." Hinata felt reassured. After all, Issui-kun's strength was there for all to see.

After eating lunch with Hinata, Issui picked up his backpack and left the house, waving to her again and again. How long would it be before they saw each other again?

When Issui reached the village gate, he saw two carriages loaded with goods and a nicely decorated passenger carriage. There had to be someone important inside the passenger carriage, since even Uncle Okamura was only standing outside.

"Hey, everyone's already here. Let's get going, then. Don't worry, Uncle Okamura, I'm very strong." Ignoring everyone's surprise, Issui jumped straight onto one of the cargo carriages.

"All right, let's go." Okamura's drivers and guards could only set aside their curiosity and drive the carriages toward their destination.

The scenery along the road was pleasant. The weather was very clear today, and the warm sunlight felt comfortable on their bodies. Small animals chased one another through the woods. After leaving the village, Issui felt completely free of restraints. But it was only a passing thought. He couldn't betray the village, or where he would go would be a problem, and once he defected, he and Hinata wouldn't be able to stay together either.

"Uncle Okamura, could you let that ninja come inside? I'm curious what these ninja are like." A clear child's voice came from the passenger carriage. It was impossible to tell whether the speaker was a boy or a girl, though it was probably a girl.

"Hey, kid, our young lady is calling for you. Could you come down and sit in the carriage?" Okamura had no choice but to speak to Issui irritably. If the young lady didn't want to talk to you, I wouldn't bother with you. Look at you, acting as if you're out sightseeing. Some escort you are. I'd say we're escorting you on a pleasure trip.

"Sure, no problem. The sun's almost down anyway." Issui had no choice but to flash over and stand on the passenger carriage.

Everyone was surprised. A girl who had just poked her head out of the carriage saw it too.

"Wow, that was amazing! Little brother, how did you do that?" The girl curiously pulled Issui into the carriage and asked him.

"It's just a matter of being fast enough. There's no need to be surprised. It's very simple; any ninja can do it," Issui said blandly. How ignorant. She's never even seen that before.

"Really? Can you teach me? I want to learn too. Please, as long as you teach me, I'll do anything," the girl asked excitedly.

"It's not something you can learn in a short time, and ordinary people can't endure that kind of hardship. You can't learn it just because you say you want to, and I can't teach it to others casually, either." Issui rolled his eyes at the girl. Have some common sense, will you? Training as a ninja isn't something you can just do on a whim, and no ninja would be bored enough to casually pass on their Ninjutsu knowledge.