Setting Out

The Third Hokage took a puff from his pipe and sighed. "Unfortunately, the major merchants and the Consortium had no intention of giving up their armed forces. Instead, they chose another way to make up the shortfall."

"Another way? You mean robbing civilians?" Nawaki and the other ninjas in the hall asked curiously.

The Third Hokage shook his head. "Something even crueler and more despicable. They abduct young children, train them as slaves, and sell them to nobles in various countries to serve as servants."

The Warring States era of the Shinobi World had ended only a little over twenty years ago, so many old customs still persisted, including the systems of nobility and slavery. Nobles could own servants and decide their fate with a single word, while slaves had no right to resist. The Senju Clan, for example, still had a few household servants. But few commoners were willing to serve nobles these days, so they mostly replenished their servants by taking in the children of their existing ones. As a result, the number of servants naturally dwindled.

"What? The major consortia wouldn't dare do this without the nobles and the Daimyo turning a blind eye. No wonder the Daimyo hasn't said a word about it! Making a deal with bandits and brigands—what filthy politics!" Nawaki said with disgust.

The Third Hokage sighed again. "The Daimyo himself can't possibly control the entire country. Under pressure from the major nobles, he has no choice but to compromise."

Nawaki's expression turned serious. "No matter what, this was ultimately caused by the village. Since people have already filed requests for help, why hasn't the problem been dealt with yet?"

"The missions are very difficult. There are rogue ninja among the bandits, and they're using civilian children as hostages, so wiping them out won't be easy. But the victims are poor, and the reward they managed to scrape together barely meets the minimum of fifty thousand ryo for a B-Rank Mission. Even more victims can't afford to pay at all. So no ninja in the village is willing to take these missions. After all, ninja risk their lives when they take on a mission," the Third Hokage said, his voice strained. He clearly sympathized with the civilians, but he couldn't force the village's ninja to accept the missions.

Nawaki glanced at the other members of his team, then said firmly, "Since this all started because of us, we have to get justice for the victims. I've decided to take these extermination missions and rescue all the hostages. We'll rid the Land of Fire of these scourges! Konoha is the Land of Fire's guardian, after all! I ask for your support!"

"Count me in, Nawaki! These bandits are despicable!" Shinnosuke was the first to support him.

"To uphold our belief in protecting others, let's fight side by side!" Uchiha Hikari agreed with Nawaki.

"For Konoha, let's pour out our youth and passion!" Dai naturally supported his teacher's decision.

"Since you've already decided, I can hardly stop you as your supervising jonin," Torifu Akimichi said, nodding in agreement.

With everyone's support, Nawaki said confidently, "As long as we work together, we can complete these missions! Lord Hokage, leave them to us!"

"You need to think this through. The village doesn't know exactly how strong these bandits are. There could be someone with jonin-level strength hiding among them! Even so, do you still want to take the missions?" the Third Hokage asked gravely.

"Lord Hokage, I've said before that with great power comes great responsibility. Protecting the Land of Fire is our responsibility, isn't it? If the Daimyo and the nobles can't fulfill theirs, then let Konoha take their place!" Nawaki said meaningfully.

Hearing the double meaning in Nawaki's words, the Third Hokage and Torifu Akimichi's eyes lit up. They remembered Nawaki's plan to replace the Daimyo and rule the Land of Fire. Perhaps Konoha could use this opportunity to win over the common people and undermine the Daimyo's and nobles' standing among them. Nawaki truly had a keen eye for the bigger picture.

"Very well. These missions are yours. Do everything you can to keep the hostages safe!" the Third Hokage said solemnly after exchanging a glance with Torifu Akimichi.

"Yes, Lord Hokage!" Nawaki and the others replied in unison.

Torifu Akimichi took the mission slips from Nawaki, looked them over, then handed them back. "Nawaki will draw up the plan this time. His intelligence is on par with the Nara Clan Head's. I'll give him my full support."

With Torifu Akimichi's backing, Nawaki took charge without hesitation. "Then let's all go home and get ready. Remember to bring your ninja tools. Dai, take off your weights. This mission will be difficult, so we need to give it everything we've got. You have one hour to prepare. Meet at the village gate in an hour!"

"Yes!"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! The group quickly dispersed and went their separate ways, leaving behind the Genin classes, who were still talking among themselves.

Seeing the commotion, the Third Hokage frowned and rapped his pipe sharply. "Quiet! Do you have nothing better to do? You've got missions, so go complete them. Don't waste time here!"

Not everyone had the nerve to defy the Hokage like Nawaki and Shinnosuke. The Genin were all deeply in awe of the Third Hokage, and when he scolded them sternly, they obeyed and left to complete their missions.

Watching them leave obediently, the Third Hokage nodded in satisfaction. If only everyone were this well-behaved. Thinking of a certain someone, he felt a headache coming on. "Arrange for an Anbu squad to leave with them in an hour. Make sure they stay safe—especially Nawaki. Even if everyone else has to die, make sure he survives!"

An Anbu wearing a mask emerged from the shadows and knelt on one knee. "Yes, Lord Hokage!" Then he used the Body Flicker Technique and disappeared.

"I hope everything goes smoothly," the Third Hokage murmured, gazing out the window at the sky.

An hour later, every member of Nawaki's team gathered at the village gate.

"Head north. We'll talk as we go." Once everyone had arrived, Nawaki dashed north, with the others close behind. They raced from branch to branch, quickly vanishing into the depths of the forest.

Not long after they left, a squad of Anbu set off after them in the same direction.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..." The trees flashed past them as Nawaki and the others darted nimbly through the forest canopy. Even Torifu Akimichi, despite his "ample" build, moved with remarkable agility.

"Nawaki, where are we going?" Shinnosuke, the most straightforward of them, couldn't help asking.

"According to the mission intel, we know the locations of these dozen or so bandit groups. The nearest one is a few hundred miles east of the village," Nawaki replied.

"Then why aren't we heading east? Why go north?" Shinnosuke asked, puzzled.

"The Hokage once said there were far more bandits in the Land of Fire than the dozen or so mentioned in the missions. So I'm guessing these bandits each have their own territory, and they're based near the main roads throughout the Land of Fire so they can rob merchant caravans. And after facing off against one another for so long, the bandits and brigands working for the major merchant groups have probably reached an understanding. Even if they don't communicate directly, they're likely keeping an eye on the neighboring groups," Nawaki explained patiently.