"A-Rank Mission?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's wrist twitched, and he looked somewhat surprised. They were ready to take on an A-Rank Mission so soon?
Afraid that Minato did not understand the deeper meaning of the team system, Sarutobi Hiruzen pondered for a moment before advising, "Minato, you'd better think this over carefully.
Leading a graduating class on missions and carrying out missions alone are entirely different things. You need to understand that.
Your three students are all promising children, but aside from Kakashi, who had been carrying out missions for several years, Mai and Might Guy had only just graduated.
For them to grow better, the first few missions should be ones they could complete independently. As their Jonin leader, you would only need to assist from the sidelines and make up for any oversights.
Only then could they receive the best training. Rather than you charging in and cutting through everything like vegetables, leaving them to cheer you on.
I think you should take a B-Rank Mission first."
Sarutobi Hiruzen earnestly tried to persuade him.
When Team 7 first carried out a mission outside the village, even with Kakashi as their Jonin leader, the Third Hokage had only assigned them a C-Rank Mission in the Land of Waves.
Being willing to arrange a B-Rank Mission for Minato's team already showed considerable regard for them.
Namikaze Minato glanced at his students, then shook his head. "Lord Hokage, I am certain my students already possess the strength to independently complete an A-Rank Mission."
"An A-Rank Mission concerns the safety of a nation and its ninja village. It requires one Jonin or several Chunin working together to complete. You should think this through."
"Yes, I have." Namikaze Minato nodded.
Sarutobi Hiruzen narrowed his eyes slightly. It seemed Minato was extremely confident in his team's strength.
Had Kakashi advanced further and gained strength approaching that of a Jonin? Or had Uchiha Mai improved further and gained strength approaching Kakashi's?
Emmmm, both were possible. If that were truly the case, then if this team worked well together, they really might be able to complete an A-Rank Mission.
Sarutobi Hiruzen instinctively ruled out the possibility of Might Guy suddenly unleashing his potential.
It was not that he looked down on Might Guy. For a hard-working genius like him, there was basically no chance of such an explosive breakthrough in the early stages.
Kakashi and the Uchiha were different. Both clans produced geniuses in abundance; even fighting some little brat could improve their strength.
"In that case, I happen to have an unassigned A-Rank Mission here. It would suit you quite well."
Sarutobi Hiruzen tapped his fingers against the desk. After considering it for a moment, he pulled a file from the stack beside him and handed it to Namikaze Minato.
Uchiha Mai glanced over. Because she was not tall enough, she could only vaguely make out the words "protect" and "bring back."
The less composed Might Guy simply jumped up to look at the contents of the file, filled with curiosity about his first mission in life.
Master Minato carefully examined the file, then said in surprise, "Lady Tsunade still hasn't returned to the village!?"
Tsunade?
Uchiha Mai raised an eyebrow. This mission was actually related to Tsunade.
After he finished reading, Master Minato handed the file to Uchiha Mai beside him. Kakashi and Might Guy hurriedly leaned in as well. Since it concerned Princess Tsunade, one of Konoha's strongest, no one could remain indifferent.
The file listed the mission requirements: bring Princess Tsunade, currently in Tanzaku Town, back to the village. If they truly could not bring her back, they were to remain there and protect her.
There was no time limit for the mission, while the reward was tiered. Bringing her back would earn them 800,000 yen; remaining there to protect her would grant the team a monthly bonus of 80,000 yen.
Bringing her back was definitely the better deal.
Sarutobi Hiruzen interlaced his fingers and sighed. "This will not be an easy mission. Its difficulty and nature are well suited to your team.
After the Second Shinobi World War ended, Tsunade fell into despair and spent every day wandering through major casinos. Not long ago, a ninja brought back intelligence saying that Tsunade had been spotted in Tanzaku Town.
Recently, the smell of gunpowder has grown heavier again. The village urgently needs Tsunade to return and serve as a deterrent to the other ninja villages."
A faint trace of worry appeared in Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes, and Uchiha Mai understood what the Third Hokage was concerned about.
The timeline before Shippuden was rather chaotic. In her previous life, some believed the Sannin had left Konoha after the Second Shinobi World War, while others believed they had not.
Since Uchiha Mai had transmigrated here, she had always heard news of Jiraiya and Orochimaru from the clan elders. Those two probably had not left Konoha yet.
Tsunade, on the other hand, was rarely mentioned. She had likely already left Konoha in all but name, much like Zhang Jike had effectively retired from table tennis.
Without the Sannin, no matter how many prodigies Konoha's new generation had, it would be impossible for them to fight four enemies at once.
Dan Katō and Nawaki had both died in the Second Shinobi World War. From then on, Tsunade had developed Hemophobia, and her combat strength had been greatly diminished.
She was the only one among the Sannin with a reason to leave Konoha, and also the only one who had left while the Ninja World had not yet completely settled down, yet Konoha had not been in any hurry to bring her back.
But now, the situation was different again.
The situation in the Ninja World was becoming increasingly chaotic. Although Tsunade's return could not bring Konoha much practical help, it could strategically restrain the deployments of the other ninja villages.
Tsunade truly had Hemophobia, but who knew that?
Besides, if Tsunade were left outside all this time, what if something happened one day and a few Jonin from an enemy village assassinated her?
There were even idiots who used Kunai to stab Susanoo. Who was to say there would not be a few Chunin or Jonin idiots bold enough to try assassinating Tsunade?
Konoha was bluffing now, like holding a three and four in Texas Hold'em while pretending to have pocket kings. A convincing performance could bluff some skilled players.
But what if some rich boss did not care how much he lost and went all-in just to see your cards? It was still safer to bring her back.
"Good."
Namikaze Minato clapped his hands together and promised, "Though it is not the sort of mission I most wanted to take, this is not bad either.
Within a week, we will definitely bring Lady Tsunade back."
Master Minato was brimming with confidence. Wasn't it just bringing someone back? How hard could it be? As a Konoha ninja, would Lady Tsunade dare defy the Hokage's orders?
Sarutobi Hiruzen was amused by Master Minato's inexplicable confidence. If the Hokage's words worked, this mission would not have been rated A-Rank.
"Half a month—no, a month. Bring her back within one month, and I will count the mission as complete.
If you cannot bring her back, your team must remain at Tsunade's side. Wherever she goes, you will follow. You must ensure her safety."
"Yes!"
After accepting the mission, Master Minato gave his students a few instructions, arranged a departure time, then dismissed the team so they could prepare for the journey.
When they gathered the next day, Uchiha Mai and Kakashi were both calm, while Might Guy was far more excited, chattering endlessly to his teammates.
"My father said Lady Tsunade is Konoha's strongest taijutsu ninja and medical ninja, and the dream lover of countless Konoha ninja.
I really want to reach Tanzaku Town soon and ask Lady Tsunade for guidance."
Before you continue