The next day.
Early in the morning, bathed in the cool morning air, at the gates of Konoha.
Hagoromo stood there with her eyes closed, waiting, while Sasuke and Naruto beside her bickered with each other.
Good morning, everyone. I'm late.
Kenzaburo rushed over, not even bothering to wipe his sweat, and nodded to Hagoromo.
"It's alright, Professor. Should we call a carriage?"
Seeing Kenzaburo struggling to breathe, Hagoromo kindly offered a reminder.
In Konoha, there are special carriage companies that cater to ordinary clients like Kenzaburo.
Their service is absolutely superb. Once they arrive at the mission location, even if there's no return trip, they can simply leave the items there.
That's right, the price is also relatively high.
"No need, I'll be fine after a while." Kenzaburo waved his hand in refusal, despite being a scholar.
That doesn't mean he really has so much money he doesn't know what to do with it.
Moreover, frequent field investigations and research are the most expensive part.
Seeing this, Hagoromo said no more. After handing the exit permit to the two Konoha gatekeepers, she led Naruto and the others out of the Konoha Gate.
The group headed straight east along the main road, with Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata scattered around Kenzaburo.
Although this was their first time protecting a client on the road, their teamwork was excellent.
If anything goes wrong, they will form a swastika to protect Kenzaburo.
As the group continued their journey, the trees along the way began to thin out, and the air carried a slightly salty and fishy smell.
After two days of arduous travel, Naruto had already become quite familiar with Kenzaburo, and would occasionally ask him questions.
"Grandpa, you've been to many places, have you ever seen a fish bigger than a person?"
Kenzaburo wiped the sweat from his forehead, a wry smile playing on his lips. "This fish, bigger than a person, only appears in novels."
Even in areas rich in fish resources, there has never been a record of a fish larger than a person.
"Huh? Isn't there some kind of 'Tsuyu'?" Naruto scratched his head, remembering something he had heard about before.
"Jinyu? You mean whales, right? Actually, strictly speaking, whales aren't fish, they're mammals."
Kenzaburo adjusted his glasses, and it took him a while to understand what Naruto was talking about, before explaining.
Hagoromo glanced at Kenzaburo, wondering whether or not to say something to the professor in front of him.
He is indeed very knowledgeable and has been to a great many places. He can answer even some of Naruto's strange questions.
However, seeing Kenzaburo constantly wiping away his sweat, Hagoromo slowed down.
He reached out and tapped Naruto's forehead, saying, "Naruto, conserve your energy."
He knew about Naruto's regenerative abilities, but this professor was just an ordinary person.
I can't do what Naruto does, chatting with people while on the go.
"Yes, teacher!" Hearing Hagoromo's reprimand, Naruto quickly nodded obediently and remained quiet for the rest of the journey.
Sasuke, standing to the side, twitched the corner of his mouth. It was the first time he had realized that Naruto could be so talkative.
The group walked quietly along the road until they entered a dense forest.
Hagoromo raised her eyebrows and gestured for the group to stop.
Hinata, someone's there.
Hinata, at the back of the group, immediately understood and softly replied, "Yes, teacher!"
As Hagoromo activated his Byakugan, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Kenzaburo seemed to stiffen for a moment before pretending nothing was wrong.
"There are two people in the bushes at three o'clock, and two people behind the tree at eleven o'clock."
"The Chakra reaction is very weak, but they are all carrying weapons."
Naruto stretched, muttering, "I'm practically rusting away. Finally, someone's here."
Sasuke flipped over and a Kunai appeared in his hand. He said to Naruto beside him, "Dead Last, watch out."
"Ah! You too!" Naruto wiped his nose and nodded in response.
Seeing this, Hagoromo shook his head, stepped back to take Naruto and Sasuke's place, and spoke to Kenzaburo.
"Professor, then please stay by my side."
Kenzaburo opened his mouth as if to say something, but shut up after seeing Naruto and Sasuke rush out.
Sasuke and Naruto instantly vanished from their spot in a Body Flicker Technique.
In the next instant, Sasuke's figure had already arrived in the direction Hinata mentioned.
With a simple Shuriken finished off the opponent who was following closely behind.
With another sweeping leg kick, he knocked his opponent to the ground.
Naruto, utilizing the advantage of his Shadow Clone, caught those ambushed behind the trees completely off guard. A smoke bomb was then used to send a Shadow Clone into the fray, ending the battle.
Hinata stood by, using her Byakugan to monitor the situation the entire time, only stopping after Naruto and Sasuke had dealt with everyone.
Kenzaburo, standing behind Hagoromo, stared in disbelief. "Isn't that outrageous? They're so young..."
Naruto had just finished tying the person up and walked over, heard this and laughed loudly with his hands on his hips, "Hehe~ Isn't Naruto amazing?"
Sasuke, standing to the side, glanced at Naruto, his lips twitching, and said, "Dead Last, just a few ordinary people."
Hinata, on the other hand, looked at Naruto with a big smile on her face.
Hagoromo nodded and said, "Overall, it's very good; the teamwork is excellent."
Naruto and Sasuke smiled upon hearing this; praise from their teacher was a rare and precious thing.
Night.
The team camped directly next to a stream.
After Kenzaburo's tent lights went out, Hinata used her Byakugan to observe for a moment before getting up and going to Hagoromo's side to whisper something.
"Teacher, when I activated my Byakugan today, there was a Chakra fluctuation coming from the professor's briefcase."
Hagoromo nodded; he had sensed it too, especially when Naruto and Sasuke were dealing with the ambushes.
Whenever Kenzaburo's emotions fluctuate, the contents of his bag will also change.
Sasuke listened to Hagoromo and Hinata's conversation, then glanced at the tent before saying, "The bandits today had marks deliberately erased from their weapons."
"And you can tell to some extent that they're not ordinary bandits; at least their complexion suggests otherwise."
Naruto was flipping the grilled fish nearby, blinked and asked in confusion, "Huh? You can discover so much from such a simple contact?"
Sasuke rolled his eyes, snatched the grilled fish from Naruto's hand, and started eating.
Hagoromo Yi watched Naruto and Sasuke's struggle for the item with amusement, then waved her hand and said, "Just stay vigilant. The mission level is manually defined."
"And a ninja's life is always full of surprises."
During the nights before they set off, Hagoromo would chat with Naruto for a while after Kenzaburo fell asleep.
Let's talk about our observations during the day. The results were pretty good. Apart from Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke both made significant progress.
However, I estimate we'll reach our destination tomorrow, right?