Polite Request

If it were other more unscrupulous ninjas, they might have just packed up and left. But as Konoha Village's Little Sun, Minato Namikaze, known for his good looks and kind heart, wouldn't do such a thing.

Facing the client's inquiry, Minato Namikaze explained the reason: "Mr. Jōji, I have only temporarily restored the village's water source, not completely solved the problem."

"According to my investigation, the reason why your village's water source disappeared was because someone deliberately did it."

Startled, Takeuchi Joji asked in disbelief, "Lord Minato, wasn't it because of a landslide that it was blocked?"

At the same time, upstream along the river that circled Yamagō Village, near the spring on the mountain, a group of fierce-looking individuals armed with blades and weapons were gathered.

The man in the lead looked at the spring, which he and his subordinates had spent considerable effort blocking.

Now that it had been reopened, restoring water supply to Yamagō Village below, he roared in anger: "Has that Konoha ninja left?"

This roaring leader was named Kawamura Daiji. He was a former prisoner of the Land of Fire who later escaped and became a bandit, gathering the bandit group he now led, which still numbered nearly eighty men.

A little over half a month ago, Kawamura Daiji brought more than fifty men near Yamagō Village, intending to establish a stronghold there.

However, before establishing the stronghold, he led his subordinates to raid Yamagō Village. What Kawamura Daiji didn't expect was that the villagers of Yamagō Village were all hunters. In the ensuing conflict, facing the exceptionally fierce Yamagō villagers, Kawamura Daiji not only failed to steal a single coin, but more than twenty of his men were killed. At that time, Kawamura Daiji had fled in disarray, escaping the vicinity of Yamagō Village.

The water source that supplied the villagers of Yamagō Village was blocked by him when he fled, as an act of retaliation.

Two days ago, after taking in a new batch of subordinates, Kawamura Daiji returned, intending to take Yamagō Village in one fell swoop. Unexpectedly, he encountered Minato Namikaze, who was on a mission.

At that time, he recognized the Konoha Ninja Headband on Minato Namikaze's forehead. Knowing the immense power of ninjas, he fled once again.

However, he also knew that Minato Namikaze wouldn't stay long, so he didn't go far.

And now, he had returned again, leading to the scene just witnessed.

Amidst Kawamura Daiji's roar, a bandit he had assigned to monitor Yamagō Village immediately appeared before him and said, "Boss, that Konoha ninja hasn't left yet. Moreover, two more Konoha ninjas arrived tonight, but they are just children of six or seven years old."

"At the same time, I also discovered that the village chief of Yamagō Village, Takeuchi Joji, has returned."

Upon hearing that Minato Namikaze had not left, Kawamura Daiji cursed in anger: "Damn it, why hasn't that ninja left yet?"

As for Veigar and Kakashi Hatake, he had overlooked them due to their young age.

Then, Kawamura Daiji instructed the subordinate responsible for monitoring Yamagō's movements: "Go and monitor them again. As soon as that ninja leaves, we will make our move."

Meanwhile, at Takeuchi Joji's home.

Hearing Minato Namikaze say that a group of bandits had been discovered nearby and that they were likely the ones who blocked the spring, Takeuchi Joji was instantly aghast.

Because Takeuchi Joji was very familiar with and held a grudge against the group Minato Namikaze described. It was because of them that his only son remained unconscious to this day.

Seeing Minato Namikaze, who had been flustered for a moment, then said to Takeuchi Joji: "Mr. Joji, don't worry. We will complete the mission tonight."

"As for the receipt in your hand, you can give it to me tomorrow."

Takeuchi Joji nodded blankly, then put away the mission completion certificate that should have been handed over to Minato Namikaze after Minato Namikaze and the other two completed the mission.

Not long after, Nanako prepared a table full of dishes to entertain Minato Namikaze, Veigar, and Kakashi.

At the dinner table, Nanako kept winking at Takeuchi Joji, but Takeuchi Joji kept refusing her.

Seeing the expressions of the host couple, Minato Namikaze put down his chopsticks and said deliberately, "Mr. Jōji, if you have something to say, please say it directly."

At the same time, Veigar and Kakashi Hatake also put down their chopsticks and looked at Takeuchi Joji.

When asked by Minato Namikaze, Takeuchi Joji, who was about to pick up food, stopped his hand in mid-air.

After a long pause, Takeuchi Joji put down his chopsticks, sighed softly, and then pleaded with Minato Namikaze, "Lord Minato, can I ask you for a favor?"

Minato Namikaze asked very seriously, "Mr. Jōji, just say what you need."

Before Takeuchi Joji could answer, Nanako beside him couldn't hold back and knelt directly towards Minato Namikaze, wanting to kneel in front of him.

However, Minato Namikaze's current strength was far beyond what Nanako could reach. He immediately supported Nanako, preventing her from kneeling.

Nanako, who was being supported, looked at Minato Namikaze and then pleaded with him tearfully, "Ninja Lord, please save my child."

Seeing Nanako's actions, Takeuchi Joji also immediately knelt in front of Minato Namikaze and pleaded, "Lord Minato, please save my child!"

Minato Namikaze looked at the couple, Takeuchi Joji and Nanako, and finally nodded, saying, "Okay, I can promise to take a look, but whether I can save him, I can only answer after I've seen him."

Immediately, Takeuchi Joji and Nanako nodded frantically at Minato Namikaze, repeatedly thanking him, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

After dinner, Minato Namikaze called Veigar and Kakashi aside and said, "Your mission target tonight is that group of bandits nearby. Whether you kill them or drive them away is up to you to decide."

Veigar and Kakashi Hatake exchanged glances and both replied, "Yes."

Then, Minato Namikaze said, "In that case, you may go!"

Veigar and Kakashi Hatake both replied again, "Yes."

Soon, Veigar and Kakashi Hatake disappeared from Minato Namikaze's sight.

After Veigar and Kakashi Hatake had completely disappeared from his sight, Minato Namikaze also used the Body Flicker Technique and vanished.