Namikaze Minato

After hearing Mikoto's request, Qingshui thought it over briefly, then nodded in agreement.

"With the relationship we have, something this small is no problem."

He agreed because he felt he needed some real-world experience himself.

Actual combat was the best way to test one's strength.

After a month of hard work, his strength had improved greatly compared to a year ago.

According to Maruboshi Kosuke, he was already not much weaker than a Jonin.

Of course, the more important point was that this mission would take them to the Land of Rain.

He might even run into Nagato there, use the Copy Scroll on him, and, if he was lucky, copy a pair of Rinnegan.

A person had to have dreams. After all, if he succeeded, it would be far more worthwhile than copying the Sharingan.

Even if he didn't run into Nagato, he could always use it on Mikoto later.

Hearing this, Mikoto's face lit up with an excited smile.

"That's wonderful. Thank you, Qingshui. I'll treat you to a meal after we finish the mission."

"Mikoto, haven't you heard the saying that beauty is a feast for the eyes?"

As soon as Qingshui finished speaking, a faint blush spread across Mikoto's lovely face, making her look even more beautiful and alluring.

Seeing that she was embarrassed, Qingshui didn't tease her any further.

"Mikoto, wait here for me. I need to ask the deputy director for leave first."

Konoha was located in the Land of Fire, while the Land of Rain was one of the small countries bordering it.

Even for a Ninja, traveling abroad would take several days.

And since this mission involved escorting a merchant caravan, they would only move more slowly.

Qingshui couldn't possibly stay away from work at Konoha Hospital for so long without telling anyone.

"Qingshui, is something the matter?"

Fukada Minako was working when Qingshui came to see her. She smiled and asked him at once.

Ever since Tsunade had told her to focus on nurturing Qingshui, she had taken it to heart and had been paving the way for him.

But Qingshui's experience was still too limited for her to promote him in any substantial way.

Otherwise, even someone in her position would have had a hard time convincing everyone.

Fortunately, Qingshui's medical skills were solid, and he was kind and easy to work with. Everyone had a good impression of him.

His promotion in the future wouldn't be a problem.

"Director Fukada, I'm planning to take a C-Rank mission outside the village. I'll need to take leave for a while and won't be able to come to work."

At this, Minako furrowed her brows.

Qingshui was someone Tsunade had high hopes for. What if something happened to him on the mission?

Medical Ninjas were naturally no match for combat Ninjas in battle.

After all, learning Medical Ninjutsu took a great deal of time and energy. Where would they find the time to learn other Ninjutsu as well?

And she remembered clearly that before becoming a Medical Ninja, Qingshui had been just an ordinary Genin.

He had decided to study medicine precisely because he lacked talent in combat.

So she wanted to talk him out of it.

But Qingshui had already made up his mind. A few words from her wouldn't change it.

In the end, she had no choice but to approve his leave.

She comforted herself by thinking it was only a C-Rank mission, so nothing would go wrong.

After getting his leave approved, Qingshui didn't leave with Mikoto right away. Instead, he went home first.

Since he was heading out on a mission, he needed to make preparations.

By the time Qingshui arrived at the meeting point he'd agreed on with Mikoto, the others had already gathered.

But to his surprise, there was someone familiar in Mikoto Squad.

"Minato, what are you doing here?"

During the Second Shinobi World War, Qingshui's team had once gone on a mission with Jiraiya's team, and that was how he had met Namikaze Minato.

Back then, Qingshui hadn't yet acquired the System, so he knew all too well how important it was to have powerful allies.

Naturally, he had looked after Namikaze Minato, the future Fourth Hokage, a little more than most.

"Big Brother Qingshui, it's been a long time. I'm a member of Big Sister Mikoto's squad now."

Minato greeted Qingshui with a bright smile.

Back then, his teacher Jiraiya had needed to take on high-level missions on the battlefield. There was no way he could bring his three Genin along.

Fortunately, Big Brother Qingshui had looked after them and taken them on missions, almost like a real older brother.

In fact, if it hadn't been for Big Brother Qingshui, Minato might have died in the war.

After the war ended, Minato had lost his teammates, and his teacher Jiraiya wasn't in the village anymore, so he could only train by himself.

He had been surprised when the Third Hokage assigned him to Mikoto Squad some time ago.

"I see."

Qingshui nodded, then looked at the other two members of Mikoto Squad. One was a boy and the other a girl, and both looked even younger than Minato.

"Hello, I'm Hirakawa Aosui. You can call me Big Brother Qingshui, just like Minato does."

"I'm Mukai Yuki, the future Fourth Hokage."

The other boy introduced himself with a smug look.

He seemed like a boy who was very confident in himself.

"Getting to go on a mission with the future Hokage—I guess I'm pretty lucky."

Qingshui replied with a smile.

Yuki's face immediately showed how pleased he was to be recognized.

"Big Brother Qingshui, all you need to do on this mission is look after our client. Leave the protection to me. I'm very strong."

"You're very reliable, Yuki-kun."

"Hello, Big Brother Qingshui. I'm Sasaki Ayami."

The remaining girl introduced herself right after him.

Unlike Mukai Yuki, she seemed rather shy. After introducing herself, she fell silent.

Qingshui didn't mind and smiled at her.

Although this was his first time meeting Sasaki Ayami, he had heard about her from Mikoto long ago.

She was the youngest member of the squad, a Genin who had just graduated this year. She had been assigned to Mikoto's team right from the start.

She was also the only girl among Mikoto's first three students who had survived.

After introducing himself to everyone in Mikoto Squad, Qingshui followed Mikoto to meet the client for the mission.

He was a middle-aged man with a worried look on his face.

"My name is Ide Juuhachirou, and this is my son, Ide Hiroya."

Ide Juuhachirou was a food merchant from the Land of Rain.

He had come to the Land of Fire this time to buy supplies.

Unlike the pleasant climate of the Land of Fire, it rained almost all year round in the Land of Rain, and the sun only came out for a short time.

Because of this environment, the Land of Rain couldn't grow crops and wasn't self-sufficient.

As a result, many food merchants like Ide Juuhachirou had sprung up.

He had always traveled to the Land of Fire to buy supplies by himself.

This time, he had brought his son because Hiroya was curious about the Land of Fire and had kept begging him to come along.

The sights in the Land of Fire were unlike anything Hiroya had seen before, since he had never left the Land of Rain. As a result, he'd gotten distracted and fallen, breaking his leg.

"Please look after my son during the journey, Ninja-sama."

"Don't worry. I'll take good care of your son."

Qingshui smiled warmly.

His smile seemed infectious. At last, Ide Juuhachirou relaxed, and the worry on his face eased considerably.