"What's with those looks?" Hankuang asked in displeasure.
He was late, and his teammates were surprised. Now that he was on time, they were still surprised?
"I thought you'd be late again today." Obito chuckled.
"Keep it up, Hankuang!" Rin encouraged him.
"Actually, it doesn't matter whether you come or not." Kakashi folded his arms across his chest, his tone somewhat cold.
Needless to say, Kakashi's words successfully provoked a retort from Hankuang.
"Did you hear that? He's mocking you!" Obito pointed at Kakashi and said to Hankuang.
"Oh." Hankuang shrugged, completely unconcerned.
"Aren't you angry?" Obito raised his voice.
My good buddy's temper is way too mild.
He had been mocked, yet he was actually this calm?
"Obito, do you know what kind of people mock others?" Hankuang asked seriously.
"What kind?" Obito asked curiously.
"Clowns! Only clowns mock others to show off their supposed superiority."
"Huh? Hahaha! You're right!"
Obito doubled over with laughter.
"Only clowns make fun of others. Did you hear that, Kakashi?"
At that moment,
Kakashi's expression beneath his mask stiffened slightly.
The "clown" Hankuang had mentioned was not only referring to Kakashi. Obito had been dragged into it as well.
So what was this guy laughing about?
His intelligence was truly pitiable!
At the same time,
Minato Namikaze appeared silently behind the four of them.
He had naturally witnessed the entire farce.
Because of this, Minato's evaluation of Hankuang was: Your strength is the worst, but your trash-talking is the best!
Next,
Minato assigned today's special mission.
"Today, the difficulty of your mission will increase dramatically!"
"I've accepted a B-rank mission for you!"
"Don't underestimate this mission. It may be even more dangerous than some B-rank missions."
After saying that, he tossed a scroll to the group.
"Remember, Kakashi is the acting captain for this mission. If he doesn't make any mistakes, he'll become Team 9's official captain in the future!" Minato said solemnly after sweeping his gaze over them.
"But what if he makes a mistake?" Obito suddenly asked.
Make Kakashi the captain?
How are Hankuang and I supposed to survive in Team 9 after that?
Wouldn't Rin's heart change completely?
After hearing Obito's question, Minato smiled.
Conflict? Good!
That's the only way to inspire their fighting spirit.
After thinking for a moment, Minato came up with an idea.
"Then we'll use this mission as the standard of judgment! Whoever contributes the most during the mission will become the captain!"
On the surface, this mission did not seem difficult.
The mission had been issued by an old woman in the village. She had explained that wild boars had damaged her farmland, so she had requested a B-rank mission, requiring ninja to capture or kill the boar.
After reading the mission, the four of them wore different expressions.
Obito was excited.
As long as he killed the boar, he could leap straight into the position of Team 9's captain.
Rin was surprised.
She felt that this mission seemed a little too simple.
Kakashi was expressionless.
A mission like this was effortless for him.
As for Hankuang, he looked thoughtful.
He had thought of many possibilities.
Soon after, the four of them arrived together at the old woman's home and began asking about clues regarding the boar.
Seeing the ninja arrive, the old woman leaned on her cane and led the four of them to the farmland.
"Look, it's right here!"
"When I came to inspect the fields yesterday morning, I discovered that much of the farmland had been destroyed. There were even traces of it being trampled by a wild boar."
Pointing at the messy farmland, the old woman said heartbrokenly,
"Please, you must get rid of that wild boar."
After leaving them with those words, the old woman departed.
Under the blazing sun,
the four of them stood spread out along the branches of a not-too-tall tree, quietly waiting for the wild boar to arrive.
After all, the weather was hot. Team 9 couldn't possibly wait beneath the sun, or they would faint from the heat before the boar even arrived.
"When the boar appears, none of you move. Leave it to me!" Obito spoke first, gripping a kunai tightly in his hand.
He was determined to seize the captain's position.
"Heh..." Kakashi sneered.
"Um, we can work together to kill the boar," Rin suggested.
Unfortunately, her suggestion was ignored completely.
"Huh? Wait, where's Hankuang?"
Rin had originally planned to include Hankuang in her suggestion, but when she turned her head, she discovered that he was gone.
"Hmm? Did you just call me?"
Hankuang had just lain down on a high branch. He lowered his head and asked her.
"Damn, how did you get up there and lie down?" Obito looked up and saw Hankuang's sleeping posture.
He clearly intended to take a nap.
Hey! This was the crucial moment in the battle for the captaincy, and he actually planned to sleep on a tree branch?
"Is there a problem with me sleeping?" Hankuang asked in return.
"You don't plan to catch the wild boar?" Obito looked constipated.
"The wild boar won't appear today." Hankuang yawned and replied casually before preparing to go to sleep.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
He wanted to sleep, but the other three had already leaped up one after another and surrounded him.
"What's your basis?" Kakashi stared at Hankuang and asked concisely.
"Yeah, how do you know when the wild boar will appear?" Obito was equally puzzled.
"Hankuang, did you figure something out?" Rin chimed in.
Being stared at by the three of them, Hankuang looked annoyed.
He was a little worried about this section of branch. What if it couldn't bear their weight? Wouldn't he fall?
Forget it. I'll explain first.
"Actually, it's very simple."
"There are no wild boars in the village's back mountains, so this wild boar most likely came from the Forest of Death."
Before you continue