Back in the small rental house in Konoha that had been assigned to him as an orphan.]|I{•------» «------•}I|[
A month was more than enough time for Yang Xing. Why? Because he'd already discovered that he could claim the mission, and its activation conditions had been fulfilled without him even noticing.
Staring at the button on the system that said the mission was ready to claim, Yang Xing felt his heart race. He was rarely this excited.
With his heart pounding, he pressed the button flashing before his eyes.
"Claim!"
Sudden S-rank mission accepted!
"What the hell? S-rank? And a sudden one, at that." The mission sounded tough, which meant the reward must be generous. Unable to resist, Yang Xing looked down at the screen that had appeared on his phone. "Let's see."
"Host must defeat Minato Namikaze once within two days and make Konoha's legendary Fourth Hokage admit defeat. Mission reward: one fixed reward and one random unique dark-tier achievement!"
A dark-tier achievement. He seemed to remember getting a white-tier achievement before—the most basic one, which had increased all his attributes by 10 percent. White tier was Level 1, the lowest tier; collecting a certain number could grant additional bonuses. Above that was Level 2, the green-tier unique achievement, which had to be better than the white one. And the unique dark-tier achievement was Level 3. He could skip a whole tier and get one outright, on top of the fixed reward. This was definitely a high-paying mission.
"Holy crap, what a generous reward! What a great mission! What a—what a ridiculous mission! Damn it, defeat the Fourth Hokage, and I've only got two days?" Yang Xing was thrilled at first, then nearly smashed his phone. "The Fourth Hokage, who even the big boss Madara is wary of? Could this mission get any more ridiculous? Could it get any more absurd? Damn it!"
After a moment of excitement, Yang Xing still didn't smash his phone. It probably couldn't break even if he did, but he needed to think about his situation.
It was obvious that he could only accept one mission at a time. If he failed to complete it before the deadline, the mission would disappear, and only then could he accept another. It was safe to say this was a real pain in the ass.
Besides, he'd promised to get Kakashi and Obito to accept him as their leader within a month. That was something he absolutely had to accomplish.
So he could leave an impression on little Rin Nohara... No, no, that was a slip of the tongue. It wasn't because he was trying to get a girl! It was to make them recognize his strength.
No matter what, every one of those thirty days mattered to Yang Xing.
This damn sudden S-rank mission had completely wrecked his plans.
"Ugh, I can't accept another mission for two days? Forget it. I'd better figure out how to complete this one." Resting his chin on his hand, Yang Xing sat there brooding with a gloomy expression.
The sun sank toward the horizon, and the day passed with surprising speed.
Today was the second day since Yang Xing had joined the Fourth Hokage's team, and the second day of training.
Early in the morning, as the Fourth Hokage had instructed, Yang Xing went to the grassy area where they'd met the day before.
The place was beautiful even in the early morning, with dewy green grass and the fresh scent of nature in the air. The atmosphere was so peaceful that—what the hell! That Fourth Hokage was obviously messing with them. It had been an entire hour, and he was nowhere to be seen!
And that was how things stood!
Kakashi, Obito, Rin Nohara, and Yang Xing had waited together for nearly three hours. The sun was already high in the sky, shining brightly.
Minato Namikaze still hadn't shown up.
The others didn't know the Fourth Hokage well enough to leave without permission. After all, he was Lord Hokage.
Bored out of his mind, Yang Xing could only crouch on the ground, looking thoroughly fed up. "I'm telling you, is that guy messing with us?"
"Lord Fourth Hokage must have something important to take care of. He wouldn't joke around with us for no reason." Obito glared at Yang Xing. It was obvious he didn't like anyone badmouthing the Fourth Hokage—or the office of Hokage, for that matter.
Yang Xing curled his lip and pretended not to hear him.
After all, a blockhead like him wouldn't understand.
Yang Xing didn't bother looking at Obito. Kakashi still had his usual deadpan expression, which made Yang Xing even less interested in watching him. But little Rin Nohara was certainly easy on the eyes.
She wore a lightweight black outfit, and her skin was pale with a rosy flush. Her youthful, alluring figure was still less than an A cup... No, maybe a B? No, no. Judging by the slight curve, she might be wearing something that held them in place. Yeah, definitely a B.
And if her face were rated out of ten, she'd get an eight. At her age, and with all her training, she'd kept her long legs in such good shape. They wouldn't lose their shape even when she grew up. Especially the soft, smooth skin at the bend of her thigh—maybe all that protein from exercise had gathered there.
Long legs, rosy skin, youthful and cute.
All things considered, a score of ninety wouldn't be an exaggeration. Ninety-five, tops.
"Um, Yang Xing, what are you looking at?"
"Her legs! Ahem. Lord Fourth Hokage, where did you come from? What did I just say? My mind's gone blank. I wasn't looking at anything with a lecherous gaze!" At the voice beside him, Yang Xing turned his head and saw the Fourth Hokage crouching right behind him. The man's eyes held a hint of amusement, and Yang Xing nearly spat out his tongue.
The Flying Thunder God Technique was truly amazing. It made it impossible to guard against him.
"Is that so?" Minato Namikaze wore a faintly amused expression. His gaze swept over Rin Nohara, who had no idea what was going on, then turned back to Yang Xing with a hint of warning.
Minato Namikaze was way too mean. Really, really mean.
"Lord Fourth Hokage."
"All right, everyone's been waiting for ages. You must be exhausted." Minato Namikaze stood up and glanced over the four of them, a strange smile spreading across his face. He didn't tease Yang Xing any further.
"My stomach's been growling for ages." Obito rubbed his belly and complained. "I didn't even eat breakfast."
Kakashi nodded beside him.
"Haha, this one's on me. I'll treat everyone to lunch. The scenery and atmosphere here are both lovely, perfect for a meal. I asked Kushina to make a few extra lunch boxes today." Minato Namikaze took the pack from behind him and smiled.
"A lunch made by Lady Kushina?" Rin Nohara perked up at the mention of her name.
The others all stared at him eagerly. The Fourth Hokage turned around to get the lunch boxes. "Don't rush. I said I'd treat everyone to lunch, but... this is strange. One lunch box is missing." His hand froze halfway to the pack.
When he turned back, his smile hadn't changed. "So, let's play a game!"
"Huh?"
"Here we go?" Yang Xing yawned as he watched the Fourth Hokage act out his little performance. Only when the Fourth Hokage's expression changed did Yang Xing perk up.
"I was only joking earlier." Minato Namikaze's smile stiffened, then vanished, replaced by a rare stern expression. "But the joke ends here. I have three lunch boxes, and obviously one person won't get to eat. That means the last person to lose today won't get to eat."
"What are the rules, Lord Fourth Hokage?"
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