Sarutobi Hiruzen was genuinely puzzled. He knew every mission Minato Namikaze's team had accepted.
Although the bandit extermination mission was not particularly difficult, the journey there was far from short.
After all, the mission location lay between Konoha and the capital of the Land of Fire.
By his estimate, a round trip alone, excluding the process of wiping out the bandits, should have taken at least a week.
So it was no wonder he found it strange to see Minato Namikaze and Yuki Yuichi back already.
As if recalling something, Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression changed. He looked behind the two of them, and when he saw no sign of Uchiha Obito or Kakashi Hatake, he immediately asked again, "Where are Obito and Kakashi?"
"Did you encounter enemies?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen rose to his feet, his expression somewhat grim. An Uchiha genius and Hatake Sakumo's child—if anything had happened to them, it would be no small matter.
Seeing his reaction, Minato Namikaze instantly realized that he had most likely misunderstood. He immediately explained, "Lord Hokage, we did not encounter any enemies."
"I brought Yuichi back first."
As he spoke, he glanced at Yuki Yuichi, whose hand he was holding, before continuing, "As for Obito and Kakashi, I created a Shadow Clone to accompany them on their way back. If they encounter any danger, it will use the Flying Thunder God Technique to take the two of them away."
"And the two of them are strong enough to protect themselves."
Hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen let out a sigh of relief, though he still reproached him somewhat. "Didn't I tell you—"
At that point, he glanced at Yuki Yuichi and did not say the rest about ensuring their safety. However, Minato Namikaze understood what he meant. He took a deep breath and looked at Sarutobi