They Already Made Him Captain—What More Could He Want?

A few days after passing the Chunin Exam, the three members of the squad received a notice from the Anbu and headed to the Hokage's Office Building together.

The village had a mission assigned to them.

"I told you, once we became a Chunin squad, there was no way the village would leave us idle.

Minato, don't get so excited. From now on, you're our squad captain."

"Huh?"

"Why?"

Minato, who had been wondering what mission the Hokage would assign them, was instantly dumbfounded. He raised a finger and pointed at himself.

He thought he had misheard.

Chiyue was actually making him the squad captain?

"Because I can tell from your exceptional bones that you're a martial arts prodigy. Such an important position as squad captain can only be yours."

"Pfft~~~"

Watching Chiyue spout nonsense with a perfectly serious face, Uchiha Mikoto burst out laughing.

Minato's face darkened as he stared at him speechlessly. Did he really think Minato would believe that?

Who was he trying to fool?

"Ahem!"

Chiyue coughed and said,

"Anyway, you'll be the captain from now on. Any dealings with outsiders will be left to you too."

Minato: "..."

I knew Yagami Chiyue was up to no good.

So he was too lazy to negotiate with people, which was why he had dumped the captain's position on Minato. What a vicious heart!

What if I don't want to go either?

Minato looked hopefully toward Uchiha Mikoto.

Only when he turned around did he realize that Uchiha Mikoto had already gone to Chiyue's side and taken out the bento box she had brought.

An enticing aroma wafted from the bento box.

Fried pork ribs!

Minato's eyes lit up, and he instinctively swallowed.

Since Chiyue had no interest in foods like rice balls and sushi, Uchiha Mikoto, who enjoyed cooking, often sought his advice and made new dishes according to the methods he taught her.

Chiyue got to feast every time, while Minato could only tag along and mooch a meal.

"Go on. If you do well, I'll save you half the ribs later. If you don't, the bones are all you'll get."

"Wait for me!"

The moment Minato heard that, he sprinted toward the Hokage's Office Building with all his strength. In the blink of an eye, he vanished from their sight.

Following Chiyue to sit on a bench by the roadside, Uchiha Mikoto tilted her head and asked,

"Chiyue, isn't it a little mean to trick Minato like this?"

"What's so mean about it? We made him captain already. What more could he want? At most, we'll leave him some ribs."

As Chiyue ate the delicious ribs, he praised her,

"Sister Mikoto's cooking is getting better and better."

"I'm glad you like it."

Uchiha Mikoto was delighted to receive praise from someone she valued. "I'll keep working hard."

"But is it really okay to let Minato go to the Hokage's Office Building alone?"

The Anbu had informed their squad to go to the Hokage's Office, not Minato alone.

"I believe Minato can handle it."

Gnawing on a rib, Chiyue had no interest in facing the Third Hokage's old face.

Nor did he have any interest in hearing the Third Hokage ramble on about the village's difficulties and the principles of the Will of Fire.

"Lord Hokage."

After knocking and receiving permission, Minato entered the Hokage's Office with a cheerful smile.

The Third Hokage, who had been reading documents, looked up and froze. "Your squad..."

I remember telling the Anbu to notify Chiyue Squad to gather at the Hokage's Office. Why has only Minato come?

"Ahaha..."

Minato laughed awkwardly, scratching his head as he hurried to explain,

"Lord Hokage, they're busy with something, so I came on behalf of the squad. If there are any suitable missions, please assign them to our squad."

"I see."

The Third Hokage did not press the matter. He picked up a scroll from his desk and handed it to Minato.

"Because of the war, a great number of commissions and missions have piled up in the village. This mission is urgent, so Chiyue Squad is needed to complete it."

"Chiyue Squad will not disappoint you, Lord Hokage."

Minato clenched the mission scroll tightly.

"I believe in you. You can do it, child." The Third Hokage revealed a gratified smile. "Jiraiya is at the front lines. You've had it hard during this time."

"It's not that bad."

Minato felt a little embarrassed and instinctively wanted to raise a hand to scratch his head again.

But when he suddenly remembered how many times Chiyue had mocked that habit, he forcibly lowered his raised hand.

"Then I'll take my leave, Lord Hokage."

Minato gave the Third Hokage a deep bow.

The Third Hokage smiled.

"Go, child. You will all become Konoha's future pillars and lead Konoha forward."

"Lord Hokage is as easygoing as ever."

After leaving the Hokage's Office, Minato muttered softly.

Every time he met the Third Hokage, he was left with a sense of closeness. He always felt that the man was an elder and a powerful shinobi worthy of respect.

"Lord Hokage, Yagami Chiyue and Uchiha Mikoto are eating on the street."

As soon as Minato left, an Anbu reported this information to the Third Hokage.

"Eating?"

They had let Minato come alone to accept the mission?

The Third Hokage did not know whether to laugh or cry. "Those two children... Forget it. Let them be."

The two children were merely busy eating. Besides, there was no rule stating that every squad member had to be present to accept a mission.

It was a trivial matter, and the Third Hokage did not read anything else into it.

He merely sighed inwardly, wondering whether he had gotten old. Were children these days really progressing their relationships so quickly?

Wait... that wasn't right.

Chiyue and Uchiha Mikoto were getting close, yet Kushina also had vague feelings for Chiyue. What was this supposed to mean?

That child was really popular.

The Third Hokage could not help recalling his own childhood, and the expression on his face became somewhat unnatural.

"Chiyue, you're terrible! You were secretly eating!!"

Minato hurried over with the mission scroll and discovered Chiyue savoring the ribs. He immediately exploded.

He casually tossed the scroll over, then decisively snatched the bento box away while Chiyue caught it.

"..."

Was that really necessary?

After catching the mission scroll, Chiyue looked down and found that the bento box was gone.

Minato had already leaped onto a nearby rooftop and was eating away.

Opening the mission scroll, Chiyue read its contents and could not help frowning.

"Is the mission troublesome?"

Uchiha Mikoto leaned closer.

"The mission itself isn't troublesome. The troublesome part is that the Land of Rivers isn't peaceful at this time."

Those damned officials. Can't they just stay quietly at the Land of Fire's Daimyo Residence when they have nothing to do?

They had to travel all over the place, and during wartime, they went to the Land of Rivers to soak in hot springs. Their way of thinking really is unique.

It seemed that during Konoha's war with the Land of Rain, Sunagakure had sent people to launch a surprise attack on the Land of Fire. Scorpion's parents had invaded the Land of Fire at that time.