"Captain, barring any surprises, those Konoha shinobi should be somewhere in this area."
On the outskirts of the forest, a little over twenty Iwagakure shinobi had gathered. A young Iwa shinobi spoke in a low voice.
Quite a few of them looked rather haggard. Their faces were covered in dust; clearly, they'd been caught in last night's huge explosion, too.
Fortunately, they'd been lucky enough to survive. Some had been chasing Might Guy, while others had been on patrol outside the base, away from the explosion, or had come from elsewhere.
But now, they were all furious. What those Konoha shinobi had done had made them look like complete fools—like a bunch of idiots running around in circles!
Forget about the enemy slipping into their rear. Just letting their camp get ambushed was already humiliating enough.
To make matters worse, those bastards had detonated the camp's Explosive Tags, killing a Special Jōnin and a whole group of shinobi stationed there!
After this, their future in Iwagakure wouldn't exactly be bright. If anything, they'd be utterly crushed.
Whatever the reason, they had to kill those Konoha shinobi!
"Now that we've found them, we'll split into teams and comb the area. Make sure we find them!"
The Iwa shinobi leading the group spoke through gritted teeth. He hated those Konoha shinobi.
But just as they were about to move out, a streak of color suddenly appeared in the sky.
All the Iwagakure shinobi looked up. A signal flare was streaking skyward, trailing a long plume of smoke!
"What..."
The Iwagakure captain leading the group was clearly stunned by the flare. He wasn't the only one; the other Iwa shinobi exchanged baffled looks, too.
They clearly hadn't expected things to turn out like this.
"Captain, what do we do now...?"
The young Iwa shinobi who'd spoken earlier asked cautiously. He clearly hadn't expected things to turn out this way, either.
The color of the signal flare meant they were calling for backup—and it was a high-priority request.
"We..."
The Iwa shinobi captain looked at the signal flare in the sky, then turned his gaze toward the forest before them.
After hesitating for a moment, he finally spoke.
"Go provide support first. Something important is clearly happening over there.
"Our reinforcements should be arriving soon, too. Leave one team here to meet them. The rest of you, come with me!"
"Yes, Captain!"
"Haori, they're gone?"
In the forest outside the cave, Yamashiro Aoba asked Haori quietly, his expression strange.
Guy looked just as confused. He'd already prepared himself to fight for his life, but he hadn't expected things to turn out like this.
"Yeah, they're gone. Looks like something's come up."
Haori nodded, but he didn't look nearly as relieved as one might expect.
He knew why the Iwagakure shinobi had left. The moment they took off, his system had given him the answer.
[New side quest acquired] [1. Support Kakashi and Nohara Rin] [2. Help Iwagakure take down Team Kakashi] [Quest rewards: Unknown]
Clearly, those Iwa shinobi had fired the signal flare—and, if he had to guess, Kakashi and the others were in trouble!
But seeing this quest made Haori feel like his head was about to explode.
He had to admit that he'd come this way because he wanted to run into Namikaze Minato.
After all, he had a whole bunch of pursuers on his tail. One wrong move and he could kick the bucket and leave this world behind.
They'd be much safer if they could meet someone like Namikaze Minato.
He also hoped Minato and Kakashi's team would learn what he'd done, because it would help him build his reputation immensely!
Haori was eager to get ahead.
But the person he wanted to meet was Namikaze Minato, not this Team Kakashi.
His luck just wasn't that good. He'd run into them at exactly the wrong time!
"Let's go."
Haori took a deep breath. No matter how frustrated he was, he had to accept the quest.
Still, he silently comforted himself: Namikaze Minato would come.
"Captain, why don't we use this chance to leave?"
Aoba blinked at that, then asked in a low voice.
"We don't know what's going on over there, and it could be dangerous. Shouldn't we stick to the plan?"
It's fine. We're still sticking to the plan. We've just shown up at the wrong time.
"Aoba, do you remember what I said the main goal of this mission was?"
As Haori headed outside, he asked Aoba the question.
"I remember. This is a mission to end the war!"
Guy didn't understand why Haori wanted to go, but he already admired him immensely.
And Haori was their captain. Whatever decision he made, Guy would support him!
"You mean..."
Yamashiro Aoba was very clever. A little prompting was all it took for him to understand.
"Iwagakure may have run into the team led by Jōnin Minato. Is that why they sent up the signal flare?"
"Exactly. Jōnin Minato is the main force. The rest of us are here to support him."
Haori nodded. After checking their surroundings, he took the lead and started running faster.
"If Iwagakure has stopped hunting us down, the most likely explanation is that they ran into Minato's team.
"Jōnin Minato's strength is beyond question. It'll take more people to hold him off.
"He's the main force, and we can't let anything happen to him. So whatever the case, we need to go see what's happening."
Haori's explanation seemed perfectly reasonable, and both Guy and Aoba nodded without thinking.
Indeed, the only thing that could get Iwagakure to mobilize in such numbers was Namikaze Minato's team.
And that team was the key to this mission. Thinking about it that way, they really did have to go check on them!
Before they knew it, Guy and Aoba had both been firmly indoctrinated by Haori.
They'd worked together in the Land of Whirlpools, and now they'd entered the Land of Grass together. They already trusted Haori completely.
Besides, they couldn't find a single flaw in his reasoning. More importantly, Haori had impressed them with what he'd done last night.
He was smart and strong, and he was their classmate, too. How could they not trust someone like that?
"I understand, Captain!"
Guy was the first to flash a thumbs-up. His big white teeth gleamed in the sunlight.
"Let's go rescue Kakashi!"
"Just take it easy. We need to proceed carefully."
Aoba glared at Guy, but Guy just laughed a couple of times.
Fortunately, Aoba was used to it. Guy got worked up easily, but he was a good guy otherwise.
"Then let's pick up the pace."
Seeing that the team had agreed on a plan, Haori nodded to himself.
Then he thought of Uchiha Fugaku. Even a squad out on a mission knew they needed to work together.
Why had that idiot been so obsessed with his 'balance' during such a critical moment?
"When we get back, I'll have to figure out a way to deal with him!"
Haori steeled himself. But thinking of Uchiha Fugaku reminded him of something else.
"Going by the quest details, I only need to save Kakashi and Nohara Rin. I guess Uchiha Obito's already gone.
"But I still need to be careful, because Uchiha Madara is nearby."
At the thought of Uchiha Madara, Haori pressed his lips together. Even barely clinging to life, that old man was terrifying.
Haori was even wondering what he'd do if Uchiha Madara captured him, too. Would he submit, or find a way to pull out Madara's oxygen tube?
"Haori..."
As Haori pondered, Aoba suddenly seemed to remember something. He spoke with a hint of embarrassment.
What he said nearly made Haori stumble.
"Are we... bringing a whole bunch of enemies along with us?"
Haori nearly lost his composure. Only one thought filled his mind.
Uh-oh, I've become a guide for the enemy?
This newbie humbly begs you to keep reading! Reads at this stage determine a book's entire future. If you put it on your reading list and forget about it, the book could easily die.
Thank you, everyone! Onz