Minato: I'm Grown Up Now, No One Can Trick Me

Unfortunately, they had terrible luck and ran into a ruthless man like Hatake Sakumo, losing their lives for nothing.

It also planted the seeds of hatred for Scorpion's eventual descent into darkness and betrayal.

Why did Scorpion target the Third Kazekage?

Aside from the Third Kazekage being suitable for turning into a puppet, it was also because he had started the war.

And it was during this time that Scorpion's parents had been sent to the Land of Fire.

Every debt had its debtor. With Hatake Sakumo having committed suicide, Scorpion could only settle the score with the Third Kazekage.

Looking across the five great nations, the Kazekage of the Land of Wind always had it the worst and died in the most miserable ways.

The First Hokage and Second Hokage had it somewhat better. The Third was killed by shinobi from his own village.

The Fourth was killed by Orochimaru.

The Fifth died miserably after having his tailed beast extracted.

Fortunately, Chiyo traded her life for Gaara's and brought him back.

When it came to misery, even the Mizukage of the Land of Water would not dare complain in front of the Kazekage.

The shinobi army of the Land of Wind could invade the Land of Fire at any time, yet at this moment, the Third Hokage assigned them a mission to escort some officials from the Land of Fire's Daimyo Residence on a trip to the Land of Rivers.

What the hell was this if not screwing them over?

Uchiha Mikoto thought for a moment and said, "It seems the Land of Rivers hasn't been dragged into the war."

Not yet, anyway. Who could say what would happen later?

Once Konoha and the Land of Wind went to war, a small nation like the Land of Rivers would only become a battlefield.

Chiyue really did not know when Sunagakure had launched its surprise attack on Konoha.

After all, the records of the First and Second Shinobi Wars in Naruto materials were limited.

The Second Shinobi War began when Konoha and Amegakure went to war. Then Sunagakure launched a surprise attack on the Land of Fire, forcing Konoha to retaliate.

Konoha and Amegakure reached a truce, ending their war. Amegakure then declared war on Sunagakure and Iwagakure, while Konoha's army shifted battlefields and invaded the Land of Wind.

Kumogakure launched a surprise attack on the Land of Earth.

Every side fought fiercely. That was how the Second Shinobi War unfolded, though Chiyue did not know the exact timeline.

The war between Konoha and Amegakure had not lasted all that long. Perhaps it was not yet time for Sunagakure to launch its surprise attack on the Land of Fire.

"Maybe I'm overthinking it. Let's get ready. Those big shots are leaving tomorrow."

Chiyue put away the scroll and called to Minato, who was sitting on the roof. "Minato, wash your lunchbox after you finish eating. Meet at the village gate at seven tomorrow morning."

No problem.

Making an OK sign, Minato jumped down from the roof.

The three parted ways and went to prepare what they would need for the journey.

Chiyue specifically bought two brand-new mission scrolls and stored plenty of seasonings and other supplies inside.

"Other transmigrators all get standard storage spaces. Why don't I have one?"

"Looks like my cheat isn't powerful enough."

Chiyue felt rather regretful that the game's inventory had not come with him.

The night passed without incident.

The next day, when an enormous convoy appeared before them, Minato's eyes went wide, and even Uchiha Mikoto was stunned.

Even Chiyue, who had been mentally prepared, could not help blurting out, "Holy shit!"

He had thought they were merely bringing their families along for a trip. Who knew the convoy would be this bloated?

If a battle broke out on the road, their squad simply could not look after so many people.

"Chiyue, what do we do? Should we apply to have other squads join the escort?"

Minato was a little dazed.

Their squad had carried out plenty of escort missions, but this was the first time they had encountered one on such a scale.

Was this really a sightseeing trip?

Even moving with one's entire family was not this outrageous.

"No need."

The corner of Chiyue's mouth twitched as he said helplessly, "When the time comes, we just need to protect a few important people. We don't need to worry about the accompanying guards and retainers."

Watching the convoy busily load all kinds of goods onto the carriages, Minato broke into a sweat.

"Let's hope the journey goes smoothly."

Such an unwieldy convoy was bound to move slowly.

If anything happened, who knew how chaotic things would become? This was not something a three-man squad could stabilize.

But the mission had been assigned by the Third Hokage, so they could not refuse even if they wanted to.

They had gathered at seven in the morning, but the convoy dawdled until nearly noon before finally leaving Konoha for the Land of Rivers.

"Honored sirs, my master has prepared a carriage for the three of you. The journey to the Land of Rivers is long, so traveling by carriage would be more comfortable."

As they set off, the accompanying butler came to find them.

Minato instinctively refused. "Sorry, but we do not need a carriage. If we get tired, we can rest in one of the carts carrying goods. There's no need for a carriage."

Having been refused, the butler could only return to report back.

Over a hundred people in the convoy bustled around, loading all sorts of supplies onto the carriages. Even Chiyue felt anxious watching them.

Were they going sightseeing or moving house?

Did they really have to be this excessive?

No wonder Konoha's shinobi ran faster than anyone else whenever they heard about this kind of escort mission. Everyone wanted to stay far away.

Following a group this slow-moving, barely faster than crawling turtles, would make anyone anxious.

After dawdling until noon, the convoy finally set off.

Yet to everyone's surprise, less than two hours after leaving Konoha, the convoy stopped.

The big shots were hungry and needed lunch prepared.

As more than a hundred people in the convoy began bustling about, while several officials from the Daimyo Residence sat leisurely beneath the shade of trees drinking tea, Minato could not help asking, "Chiyue, at this rate, when will they reach the Land of Rivers?"

"Who knows."

With a blade of grass between his teeth, Chiyue leaned against a tree trunk and rolled his eyes.

He wanted to find someone and ask when these officials from the Daimyo Residence would stop dawdling so much.

In short, there was no way this escort mission would end easily.

It might drag on for over a month.

"How about you go urge them on?"

Chiyue jumped down from the tree, slung an arm around Minato's shoulder, and dragged him aside.

"No. If anyone's going, it's you. I'm not in a hurry."

Minato shook his head like a rattle drum. He had no intention of being tricked. He would rather go slowly than go looking for trouble.

They did not need to be overly polite to these people, but angering them was not a good thing either.

After all, they were officials of the Daimyo Residence. Offending them too badly was equivalent to offending the daimyo.

Even if Konoha's daimyo was just a figurehead.

"Ah, Minato, you've grown up."

Seeing that Minato would not take the bait, Chiyue let out a long sigh.

The Little Sun who used to merely scratch his head and grin foolishly was gone. The current Little Sun was sharp as a tack.

Had he finally learned his lesson after being taken advantage of too many times?

"Get lost!"

Minato exploded the moment he heard that.

"Hahaha."

Laughing loudly, Chiyue gave him a shove. "Go hunting. Do you still want grilled meat later or not?"

The three of them would not touch the food provided by their employer, so they could only fend for themselves.

I knew you wanted to trick me.

Huffing, Minato leaped into the woods and soon returned carrying two wild rabbits.