Mission Upgrade! Hiruzen Sarutobi's Huge Mistake!

"If you think the missions here are too low-level, you can go to the Hokage's Office and request something more advanced." The ninja in charge of recording the missions offered a reminder.

After all, every mission here was D-rank.

In the end, Hankuang accepted a [Cleaning the Ancient House] mission.

The moment they left the Hokage Building, Obito exploded again.

"This is just cleaning! Hey, aren't you usually pretty smart? Did your brain get infected by mung beans?" Obito began his tirade.

The dignified Team 9 was actually going to clean an ancient house?

If the other teams found out, they would definitely laugh at them again—especially Mitaraishi Anko.

It wasn't just Obito who couldn't hold back. Even Kakashi had objections.

"Hankuang, instead of doing this meaningless mission, you might as well focus on training," Kakashi said unhappily.

After glancing at the two opponents, Hankuang turned to Rin.

"I think this mission is pretty good." Rin thought for a moment and took the side of justice.

Hankuang smiled.

As long as Rin agreed, he wasn't worried about the others refusing to come.

"Since that's the case, Rin and I can handle this mission," Hankuang said, spreading his hands.

"How can we let that happen?" Obito took the bait.

Kakashi said nothing, but he didn't leave either.

Half an hour later.

Team 9 stood in front of a dilapidated ancient house with brooms in hand and blank looks on their faces.

Two crows cawed several times before flying out through a hole in the roof.

Foxtail grass over a meter tall had nearly filled the yard. Even the house was almost overgrown with it.

That wasn't the main point.

The main point was that the wooden beams of the ancient house were all crooked. No matter how they looked at it, the place seemed ready to collapse.

"T-This isn't something you can clean! Why not just tear it down and rebuild it?" Obito was close to losing his mind.

"Indeed. There's no need to clean it anymore." Kakashi felt the same way.

"That's strange. It's already like this, so why does it still need cleaning?" Rin voiced her confusion.

Hankuang also found it strange.

Anyone remotely sensible wouldn't bother cleaning an ancient house like this. They could simply tear it down and rebuild it.

"The mission was issued by the village. They probably don't want to invest the money."

After thinking for a moment, Hankuang guessed the general reason.

An abandoned ancient house like this would affect the village's appearance if it wasn't cleaned. But rebuilding it would require another investment. So the village had issued a D-rank mission for a very low price.

Since they were already there, Team 9 could only grit their teeth and start cleaning.

Obito rolled up his sleeves and pulled at the foxtail grass in the yard.

This kind of grass had an extremely well-developed root system and remarkable vitality.

As a result, even after exerting himself for quite a while, Obito still couldn't pull it out.

"This is way too hard to pull out!"

The moment he finished complaining, his eyes widened.

He saw Hankuang effortlessly pull out the weeds nearby, seemingly without using any strength at all.

"How is that possible? Could the soil on his side be looser?"

Scratching his head, Obito moved beside Hankuang and grabbed the foxtail grass with both hands.

"Mm!!!"

His face flushed red as he used every ounce of strength he had.

Thud!

Obito fell onto his butt, two red marks left on his hands.

The foxtail grass still hadn't come out.

"Hankuang, why can you pull it out when I can't?" Obito couldn't understand.

"Hm? Did you forget to eat?"

Hankuang replied casually and pulled out another clump of weeds. It looked as easy and effortless as picking mushrooms.

Obito fell silent.

He suddenly realized that this tiny D-rank mission had actually stumped him.

"There must be a trick to it!"

Obito began carefully observing the way Hankuang pulled the weeds.

He wasn't the only one.

Kakashi was also secretly studying Hankuang, gaining a new understanding of his strength.

"He's stronger than I am."

Kakashi was shocked inwardly.

He couldn't pull out the weeds as effortlessly as Hankuang could.

In fact, in this short while, Hankuang had already cleared nearly half the yard. Kakashi, meanwhile, had only pulled out a few plants.

The difference between them was enormous.

Before long.

All the foxtail grass in the yard had been pulled out.

Hankuang had cleared ninety percent, while Kakashi, Obito, and Rin had cleared the remaining ten percent.

"You three clear away the foxtail grass in the yard. I'll go inside."

As the team captain, Hankuang displayed a spirit of hard work and endurance, walking into the ancient house alone.

In the yard.

Kakashi, Obito, and Rin gathered together.

"Did you notice? Hankuang is incredibly strong," Obito said first.

"Obito, you two have been hanging out together for two years. You didn't know?" Kakashi asked, puzzled.

"What the hell would I know? He was lazy all day long before this. How was I supposed to know?"

Compared with the two of them, Rin had thought of something else.

"If Hankuang is so strong, why did he score only twenty-one points on the graduation physical test?"

Exactly.

With strength like that, how could he have scored only twenty-one points?

"Could he have been looking after you all along, afraid you'd come in last, and covering for you?"

Rin's words struck Obito like a critical hit.

"You're saying Hankuang has been covering for me all this time?" Obito's expression immediately turned extremely ugly.

"I think Rin has a point." Kakashi felt the same way.

The meaning behind Rin's words was obvious.

The true last-place student wasn't Hankuang—it was you, Obito.

Inside the house.

Hankuang stood before the wall, staring thoughtfully at the peeling plaster.

Because a Explosive Tag was exposed beneath it.

Chapter Twenty-One: Mission Upgrade! Hiruzen Sarutobi's Huge Mistake!

Staring at the Explosive Tag, Hankuang thought for a moment.

Then he reached out and lifted it, revealing the thin wire connected behind it.

"So that's what this is about~~"

He remembered.

This Explosive Tag was merely the tip of the iceberg hidden within the village. The entire village had been rigged with Explosive Tags, all connected by thin wires.