Night Watch? Of Course, Let the Nine-Tails Guard

Nawaki had just returned from a mission. Exhausted, he threw himself onto the couch.

He felt like he did not even have the strength to take a bath. All he wanted was a good night's sleep.

"Sis, did you cook? I'm starving."

"Cook my ass. Since when did your sister know how to cook? Get your ass in the bath."

Grabbing Nawaki and tossing him toward the bathroom, Tsunade folded her arms and harrumphed.

"After your bath, hurry up and buy food. I'm hungry."

"..."

Other families had older sisters taking care of their younger brothers. Why was it the other way around in mine?

My sister was so fierce.

Nawaki rubbed the spot that hurt from the impact, on the verge of tears.

At that moment, all his exhaustion had vanished. He no longer wanted to sleep; he just wanted to wash up and go buy food as soon as possible.

Otherwise, with Tsunade's personality, he would definitely get beaten again later.

His life was hard, yet he had nowhere to complain, because everyone he could complain to was too afraid to offend Tsunade.

The assignment of newly graduated shinobi was finally over. Under the guidance of their instructors, the various teams began taking on missions.

Some caught cats, some picked up trash, and some pulled weeds or helped plant crops.

The entire Mission Department was thrown into chaos.

"Are there no suitable missions?"

Mikoto watched as Chiyue stared at the mission scrolls. Not only had he failed to choose one after a long time, but his brow had furrowed deeper the more he looked.

"All the good missions have been taken."

Chiyue was speechless. As soon as the newly graduated shinobi appeared, most of the suitable D-Rank Missions were gone.

Mikoto leaned over to take a look, her face immediately turning reluctant.

She did not want to do any of the leftover miscellaneous missions, especially ones like scrubbing toilets.

Neither did Chiyue.

So he turned his attention to C-Rank Missions. Generally speaking, Mikoto and he could accept ordinary C-Rank Missions.

"Can we take this mission?"

Chiyue pointed at a mission scroll.

The Mission Department staff member looked it over before replying.

"Your team can accept it, but the client is in a hurry and hopes you can reach the Land of Fire's Daimyo Residence before noon tomorrow."

"Then we'll take this mission."

Since there were no suitable D-Rank Missions, Chiyue chose a C-Rank escort mission.

They were to escort a merchant to the Land of Fire's Daimyo Residence.

The reward was at the bottom end among C-Rank Missions.

Chiyue did not care how much the reward was. What he cared about was the mission itself.

Escorting someone to the Land of Fire's Daimyo Residence was still better than scrubbing toilets or babysitting.

After handing over their shinobi IDs and accepting the mission, Chiyue and Mikoto went to wait for the client at the village entrance.

Someone would notify the client.

Before long, the client hurried over after receiving the notice.

Although Chiyue and Mikoto looked young, the client did not dare question them.

This was Konoha, the strongest of the Five Great Shinobi Villages and the village that received the most mission commissions.

One more C-Rank Mission made no difference, and one less did not matter either. But if someone questioned Konoha's shinobi strength or caused trouble in Konoha, Konoha had the right to cancel the commission.

If things went badly, the Police Force might even drag you to the Police Force for questioning to see whether you were a spy.

After completing the registration, the three left Konoha and headed for the Land of Fire's Daimyo Residence.

The client was not much of a talker. He traveled in silence, seeming rather anxious to return to the Land of Fire's Daimyo Residence.

"Be careful. There may be a fight on the road."

Taking the opportunity while scouting ahead with Mikoto, Chiyue quietly reminded her.

Something about this escort mission was clearly off.

The reward was low, they were pressed for time, and the client's demeanor was rather strange.

Someone had probably set their sights on him. The other party might be ordinary people, or they might be shinobi.

"Mm." After Chiyue's reminder, Mikoto's expression immediately turned serious.

She vigilantly observed their surroundings, wary of enemies lying in ambush.

If it had only been Chiyue and Mikoto, they could have reached the Land of Fire's Daimyo Residence in a single day. Unfortunately, the client was merely an ordinary person, so the journey would take much longer.

"You go rest. I'll keep watch tonight."

That night, the three stopped to rest by the roadside, and Chiyue said he would take the night watch.

Mikoto said worriedly,

"How about I take the first half of the night?"

It would surely be hard on Chiyue if he kept watch alone, especially since they still had to travel tomorrow.

"It's fine."

Seizing the chance, Chiyue pinched Mikoto's little cheeks and tugged twice, stretching her face into a huge pancake.

Slap!

"Psssh—"

This girl really hit hard!

A woman's face really was not something one could touch casually. Even if she was just a girl.

Chiyue shook his slightly reddened hand.

After his little stunt, Mikoto stopped objecting and obediently leaped onto a nearby tree, leaning against the trunk to rest.

"What a handsome young man and a beautiful young lady. I'm really envious, little brother. I didn't have such a pretty girlfriend when I was young."

The client, sitting beside the campfire to warm himself, teased Chiyue while reminiscing about his youth.

"She isn't my girlfriend yet."

Chiyue smiled and tossed several pieces of firewood into the flames.

"Uncle, you should get some rest too. We have to continue traveling early tomorrow morning."

"You asked to reach the Land of Fire's Daimyo Residence by noon. We're a little short on time."

"Alright."

The client had wanted to chat with Chiyue for a while longer, but seeing that Chiyue did not wish to say much, he could only nod with a wry smile and lean against a nearby rock, closing his eyes.

After adding some firewood, Chiyue jumped into a nearby tree a short distance from the camp.

Then he released Little White.

"Little White, the night watch is up to you. Alert me if anyone comes close, whether they mean us harm or not."

"But if they do mean harm, kill them immediately."

Chiyue certainly was not going to stay awake all night.

So Little White would handle the night watch. Little White rarely got to roam around anyway, so this was a perfect chance for it to take a couple of laps around the area.

After receiving Chiyue's instructions, Little White slipped into the forest and vanished from sight. Only then did Chiyue close his eyes in peace.

Honestly, resting in the wilderness was truly uncomfortable. Leaning against the tree trunk, Chiyue shifted around for a long time before finally falling asleep.

The night passed peacefully.

Nothing unexpected happened. During peacetime, Fire Country was relatively peaceful, especially in the area near Konoha.

Early the next morning, after the team ate something simple, they continued on their way.

"Looks like trouble's coming."

Chiyue had not expected the previous night to pass without incident, only for trouble to arrive shortly after they set out the next day.