"No way?" Although she had already expected this, Hyuga Ao still found it unbelievable.
TMD, she had only just received word that Kakuzu had arrived, and now he was already right in her face?
Didn't they even need a few chapters of buildup? Couldn't she complete a mission properly for once?
Hyuga Ao stepped forward and eyed Kakuzu warily. "Sir, this is a missing-nin from Konoha. Konoha will deal with him!"
"Heh. I remember that for Konoha, confirming the target's death counts as completing the mission, right?"
"Move aside. I'll deal with him!" Kakuzu said.
This counts as completing the mission? Hyuga Ao was astonished.
Thinking about it that way, there were many standards for completing a mission—or rather, many degrees of completion.
Hyuga Ao realized something.
Her previous understanding was that the Jonin assessment tested ability. Once the mission was completed, it was completed.
But now that she thought about it, although the mission was completed, there were still distinctions in quality.
The Jonin assessment might not only test ability. It might also test character and one's way of handling things.
Take Kuroki Shinya, for example. His defection had its reasons, and the losses from his failed mission could be great or small, all depending on what the higher-ups said.
Therefore, when it came to actual operations, he could either be killed or captured.
So what would Konoha favor?
Konoha's consistent guiding principle was undoubtedly to bring him back and make him admit his crimes and face justice, rather than simply returning with a corpse.
At this point, Hyuga Ao finally understood the core of this mission.
"No!" Hyuga Ao shook her head. "Although Kuroki Shinya is a missing-nin, there were reasons behind what happened. His crimes don't warrant death. He only defected because he failed to think things