Kakashi's Reluctance

"We..."

Before Minato Namikaze could finish saying he wanted to abandon the mission, Hyūga Kazuya interrupted him.

Hyūga Kazuya had long seen Minato Namikaze's inner conflict. Besides, he did not want one of his missions to end so hastily, so he spoke first.

"Teacher Minato, should we observe them first? I have a feeling Sunagakure sent such a powerful force for some other purpose."

"My Byakugan has a scouting range of around three kilometers, which is more than enough."

"Besides, they would never expect a Hyūga Clan ninja to be carrying out this mission."

That was not a lie. For sabotage missions abroad like this, during peacetime, they were generally carried out by the Anbu. And everyone knew that Konoha's Anbu had no Uchiha or Hyūga members.

There was no need to mention the Uchiha. The village did not trust them. As for the Hyūga, because of the Main Family and Branch Family system, the precious members of the Main Family naturally could not join the Anbu.

And the Hokage did not want the Branch Family either. Why would the Hokage allow people whose lives and deaths others could control to enter his direct forces?

Although Hyūga Kazuya and Kakashi were not Anbu members, Minato Namikaze was. Combined with his special status, that was why he could bring his own students along on an Anbu mission this time.

Thus, Sunagakure would not have expected a Hyūga Clan member to be carrying out the mission.

Hearing Hyūga Kazuya's plan, Minato Namikaze rhythmically tapped his fingers against the table and quietly considered it.

He felt that Hyūga Kazuya's method was feasible. With his Flying Thunder God Technique and Kazuya's Byakugan, they could scout from several kilometers away. Even if they were discovered, he could use the Flying Thunder God Technique to leave instantly.

"That works too. For an unusual mission like this, gathering the necessary intelligence is acceptable."

Upon hearing Teacher Minato agree to his plan, Hyūga Kazuya and Minato Namikaze exchanged a glance, then both turned their eyes toward Kakashi.

"Teacher Minato, how many people can your Flying Thunder God Technique carry? And what is its range?" Hyūga Kazuya asked Minato Namikaze after withdrawing his gaze from Kakashi.

"Two or three. Right now, I can only move through space a maximum of one hundred kilometers, and that distance decreases exponentially with each additional person."

After their brief exchange, both fell silent, but their gazes once again settled on Kakashi.

Clearly, bringing Kakashi along to investigate Sunagakure's intentions this time would be extremely dangerous.

Therefore, using the limitations of the Flying Thunder God Technique as an excuse to leave Kakashi in the Capital was undoubtedly a form of protection.

Seeing the looks the two gave him, Kakashi, who had already understood what was happening, could only nod helplessly.

"I understand. I'll wait for you in the Capital."

Seeing Kakashi's helplessness, Hyūga Kazuya felt that, as the one with the oldest mental age in the team, he ought to comfort Kakashi.

"Kakashi, it's okay. You're still young. Train hard in the future, and there will be plenty of chances for you to contribute." Hyūga Kazuya gently patted Kakashi on the shoulder as he spoke.

"That's right, Kakashi. It's okay. Sunagakure's forces are just too abnormal this time, so this is the only way."

Minato Namikaze hurried over to Kakashi as well, comforting him.

"You're already outstanding."

Watching the two comfort him, Kakashi could not help but feel a warm current flow through his heart, and his nose stung slightly.

"It's fine, it's fine. This isn't my first mission."

He waved his hand and put on an indifferent expression, speaking as though he did not care at all. But then his tone turned serious and resolute.

"My strength just isn't enough. After I return to the village, I'll work twice as hard."

"Keep it up." Kakashi clenched his fists tightly, his eyes filled with determined light. He cheered himself on to show his resolve.

Seeing that Kakashi was fine, Hyūga Kazuya said to Minato Namikaze, "Teacher Minato, let's go."

Minato Namikaze nodded, then left the building with Hyūga Kazuya.

Watching the two depart, Kakashi felt a wave of helplessness wash over him. Ever since arriving in the Land of Artisans, he could say that he had done nothing at all, merely following behind them as they "scouted" the Capital of the Land of Artisans.

Yet he knew very well that he had done nothing, that his contribution had been almost zero.

For someone who had been raised believing himself to be a genius, this was the first time he had felt so powerless, so insignificant.

Kakashi knew it was because he was too weak. He could not help but crave power even more, and he despised his own weakness.

A strange urge for destruction rose within Kakashi's heart.

But his father's teachings, passed down through words and actions since childhood, flowed through his mind, allowing Kakashi to quickly steady himself. He knew that he had just been too eager for quick success.

He should not be like this. His lack of strength was no one else's fault.

"I'll work hard, Senior Kazuya, Teacher Minato."

"Father, I will surpass you."

Kakashi raised his head toward the roof, as though he could see through it to the vast starry sky, toward the star called Hatake Sakumo.

Meanwhile, relying on the Byakugan, Hyūga Kazuya and Minato Namikaze quickly located the Sunagakure teams again.

They deliberately kept their distance from the two Sunagakure teams, hiding in a secluded alley about one kilometer away.

"How is it? What are they doing?" Minato Namikaze spoke first. He wanted to know Sunagakure's current movements.

"I saw several people investigating something in the city. They should be confirming the trading target."

"Mm. In that case, they should be making the exchange soon."

In an unfamiliar location, regardless of the mission, necessary intelligence gathering and terrain scouting were among the rules that ninja relied upon to survive.

Hyūga Kazuya nodded. Ninja was also a profession that valued efficiency, so once they had completed the initial reconnaissance and confirmed that the exchange site was safe, they would conduct the exchange immediately, without dragging things out.

Neither of them spoke again as they waited for Sunagakure's next move.

Finally, after roughly half an hour, the Sunagakure personnel seemed to have completed their reconnaissance.

The Sunagakure team in the open gathered together, then moved toward the center of the Capital in a dispersed formation. A dispersed formation was the standard ninja alert formation. Aside from the few people in the center, the other ninja maintained watch from rooftops, shadows, and other positions around them.

The center of the Capital of the Land of Artisans was the enormous factory, which was also the client for this mission.

However, Hyūga Kazuya observed that while the Sunagakure group in the open was moving, those in hiding made no move at all. They were simply waiting.

"Teacher Minato, Sunagakure is moving."

Minato Namikaze immediately became fully alert and quietly held a shuriken in his hand.

Just a few minutes later, from Hyūga Kazuya's perspective, several Sunagakure members stepped forward. One of them seemed to pull out a large Scroll from his waist, then swallowed an entire warehouse of weapon crates into the Scroll as though a whale devouring its prey.

They did not even count them?

Oh, right. Ninja villages were violent organizations. Who would dare play petty tricks in front of them?

When Hyūga Kazuya saw several Sunagakure members use a Storage Scroll, he clearly noticed that their chakra reserves were instantly depleted by more than half.

A large Storage Scroll? Those had always been extremely expensive.

Due to technical limitations, large Storage Scrolls had drawbacks such as slow storage speed, enormous chakra consumption, and a greater risk of collapse the longer storage took. Of course, there were ways to compensate. The safest method was to have a ninja proficient in Sealing Jutsu monitor it at all times to reduce the risks and prevent accidents.

That was why they generally were not used during wartime. After all, training a ninja proficient in Sealing Jutsu was far more difficult than training an ordinary ninja, and during war there were far too many places where such ninja were needed.

They would only resort to this method when there was truly no way to transport supplies normally.

Only because it was not wartime could any village possibly allow a ninja proficient in Sealing Jutsu to leave the country.

Simply put, every ninja proficient in Sealing Jutsu was like a scientist from his previous life who developed aviation, aerospace, and other weapons of war—and one who carried a vast amount of their nation's technology in his mind.

So if they could bring those people back to Konoha alive, they would be worth at least five or six S-rank missions.