"Is this really okay? Are you here to protect me, or are you taking these little brats on a field trip?"
The moment they left Konoha through its gates, Tazuna began grumbling nonstop. He had come here because of Konoha's ninja reputation, yet they had sent out a whole bunch of kids?
That loud, hyperactive blond kid in particular made Tazuna feel terribly unsafe. If Konoha had not at least assigned a Jonin to take over his protection mission, Tazuna probably would not have dared return to the Land of Waves with these people.
"Relax, relax! We're ninja—qualified ninja."
Kakashi was rather embarrassed as well. Ordinary people found it difficult to understand how powerful ninja were. Even kids who looked barely more than ten years old possessed strength far beyond that of ordinary adults.
Honestly, Kakashi felt pretty helpless. Although this had been his decision, he suddenly felt that it might not have been very reliable. Still, Kakashi held himself back from saying anything more. It was only a C-rank mission, anyway. Letting these kids see some blood would be enough.
"Noah, aren't you excited?" Naruto had argued with Tazuna for a while, but he quickly stopped paying attention to the old man. He kept looking around at everything until he noticed Noah's calm expression. "It's our first time leaving the village! Why do you look so calm?"
"Why? Should I jump around like a monkey like you?" Noah shrugged indifferently. "We're just leaving the village to carry out a mission. It's not like we won't have chances to come out again."
"Hey! I'm not a monkey! Damn it, if I could beat you—" Naruto immediately got worked up and rushed in front of Noah, shouting.
"Alright, alright, quiet down." Noah scratched his ear, then looked curiously at Naruto's hair.