She pressed the attack, planting her hands on her hips as she stood up.
"Not only are you all dead last, even your teacher is inferior to mine!"
"You bunch of dead las—"
Before she could finish the word "last," Mitaraishi Anko froze in place.
That was because she saw the leader of Team 9 walk in.
Minato Namikaze smiled and glanced at Mitaraishi Anko.
"Give my regards to Lord Orochimaru."
"Huh? Oh, sure."
Mitaraishi Anko hurriedly replied, then paid the bill and fled.
She had heard her teacher mention that Minato Namikaze was a shinobi even more gifted than her teacher.
Although she had belittled Minato Namikaze aloud, Mitaraishi Anko knew very well that he was incredibly capable.
After taking their seats.
Minato Namikaze ordered several plates of grilled meat, then announced two pieces of good news.
"There are two pieces of good news. One concerns all of Team 9, and the other concerns your captain, Hankuang."
"Which one do you want to hear first?"
They were both good news. Was there really any difference which one they heard first?
Hankuang, however, was stunned.
There was good news about him too?
"Teacher, tell us about our team first." Obito spoke impatiently.
"All right. In view of the difficulty of your previous escort mission, the Third Hokage raised its rank to B-rank. In other words, you completed a B-rank escort mission."
"That's great!"
Obito and Rin were both incredibly excited.
Hankuang, on the other hand, showed no reaction.
What was there to be happy about?
"What's the second piece of good news?" Kakashi asked.
"The second one..." Minato Namikaze said with a broad smile, looking at Hankuang.
Then he announced a bombshell.
"Minako has transferred Happy Hot Springs to Hankuang."
Clatter!
Hankuang had just picked up a piece of grilled meat when even his chopsticks fell onto the table.
Had he heard that right?
Happy Hot Springs? That huge bathhouse?
"Happy Hot Springs? Oh my gosh!" Nohara Rin could not hide her shock.
That was a large bathhouse located in the village's most prosperous district.
"Why would she give it to Hankuang?" Jealousy practically spurted fire from Obito's eyes.
Minako was someone they had all escorted together, so why was Hankuang the lucky one instead of him?
"I get it! It must be because Hankuang held—"
"Ahem, don't say things like that." Hankuang hurriedly cut him off.
Minako had just given him such a huge bathhouse, and Obito was already slandering him.
How could that be allowed?
"You probably don't know this yet, but Minako is now the Daimyo of the Land of Hot Water." Minato Namikaze dropped another bombshell.
Everyone in Team 9 was dumbfounded.
They clearly remembered that Minako's profile described her only as the daughter of the owner of the largest bathhouse in the Land of Hot Water.
How had she suddenly become the Daimyo of the Land of Hot Water?
Could it be...
Simply because Hankuang had held the Daimyo and slept with her, the Daimyo had given him a bathhouse?
"If it were me, I could do it too!" Obito shouted inwardly, feeling as if he had missed out on a fortune.
A large bathhouse in a prosperous district was worth at least a hundred million to start with.
"Hankuang became the bathhouse owner. Then, if I go there to bathe in the future..." Rin began imagining all sorts of things.
"Hankuang, you're treating us tonight, right?" Kakashi pulled down his mask and swallowed seven or eight slices of grilled meat in one bite.
Chapter Nineteen: Hankuang Refuses! Strength Attribute Doubles to Kage Level!
After the gathering.
Hankuang did not go home immediately.
He had noticed that Teacher Minato had not left, so he guessed that there was still something he wanted to say.
Sure enough.
"The Third Hokage assigned a B-rank mission for Team 9 to complete," Minato slowly said.
"A B-rank mission?" Hankuang frowned.
"That's right."
Minato Namikaze took out a scroll and tossed it over.
"You can take a look."
Hankuang opened the scroll and scanned the mission details. His expression immediately turned grim.
The mission was to infiltrate the Land of Grass and gather intelligence.
Had the Third Hokage lost his mind?
The Land of Grass—was that somewhere Genin could go?
As far as Hankuang knew, the Land of Grass was an extremely chaotic country that made its living by selling the intelligence of the three major ninja villages.
Just that alone meant the Land of Grass was bound to be filled with spies from numerous villages.
Moreover, it lay wedged between the Land of Fire, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Earth, making the chaos within the Land of Grass even worse.
Precisely because it was so chaotic, everyone in the Land of Grass was a shinobi. Ordinary civilians simply could not survive there.
Hankuang closed the scroll.
He respectfully handed it back to Minato Namikaze.
Then he continued, "Teacher, I refuse to accept this mission."
"Hm?"
Minato Namikaze was stunned. He had not expected that answer.
After all, Hankuang was a genius who had once killed a Jōnin while he was still a Genin.
Therefore, in Minato's eyes, there was nothing inappropriate about the mission assigned by the Third Hokage.
"Hankuang, this is a mission personally assigned by the Third Hokage." Minato reminded him.
"Our squad is currently in its recovery period. We have seven days of rest, right, Teacher?" Hankuang asked in return.
"That's correct." Minato nodded.
"And according to the village's Article 75, during peacetime, the village may not force a Genin squad to carry out a particular mission."
Upon hearing of such a regulation, Minato Namikaze was dumbfounded.
How had he never heard of it?
"The village has such a regulation?"
"It does." Hankuang was utterly certain. "And it was issued by the Second Hokage."
Good grief.
How did you know about a regulation issued by the previous Hokage?
Minato Namikaze really wanted to ask.
But considering that even he did not know about it, he held his tongue.
"Even so, that means you're disobeying the Hokage's orders, which is equivalent to violating the shinobi code." Minato reminded him again.
"Teacher, am I really the one violating the rules?" Hankuang asked seriously.
Before you continue