Escorting Supplies

"Eri, Mikoto's here."

After returning home, Uchiha Nagi called into the house.

Soon, Uchiha Eri came hurrying out. Her eyes lit up when she saw Uchiha Mikoto.

"Eri, it's been so long."

Mikoto had barely greeted her when Eri walked right over, took her hand, and spoke affectionately.

"Mikoto, it's been so long."

Uchiha Eri led Mikoto into the house by the hand.

"Come in and sit down." She turned to Nagi. "Go pour us two glasses of water."

Seeing how happy Eri was, Uchiha Nagi could only agree.

Mikoto followed Eri and sat beside the low table, looking around the room.

It wasn't large, but it was very tidy.

Eri looked at Mikoto. "I heard you and Nagi were assigned to the same team. That's wonderful. I'll be counting on you to look after him from now on. This boy is always causing trouble."

Mikoto hurriedly waved her hands. "You're too kind, Eri. Nagi and Minato are both very impressive. They did exceptionally well on today's test. I was the one who..."

She looked a little embarrassed.

Just then, Nagi came over with two cups of water and set them down in front of them.

He pulled over a cushion and sat down by the table too, looking rather relaxed.

Eri picked up her cup and took a sip. "Don't say that. You're a team. I feel much better knowing Nagi's on a team with you."

Eri looked over at Nagi. "Did you pass the test?"

"Yeah." Nagi answered briefly and picked up his cup.

A smile spread across Eri's face. "That's wonderful! I knew you'd be fine. Mikoto, why don't you stay for dinner? It won't be anything special, but we can celebrate."

Mikoto hesitated. "Wouldn't I be imposing?"

"Not at all," Eri said warmly. "I'll get started right away."

She stood and hurried toward the kitchen.

Nagi watched Eri's back, then glanced at the somewhat awkward Mikoto. "Don't mind her. That's just how she is. Make yourself at home."

The faint clatter of pots and bowls came from the kitchen.

Mikoto picked up her cup and took a small sip.

The room fell quiet for a moment.

Uchiha Mikoto found herself sneaking curious glances at Uchiha Nagi again.

The atmosphere here was warm and cozy, but how had he become so strong?

Was it talent?

But if he had that kind of talent, why had she never heard anyone in the clan mention a genius named Uchiha Nagi?

Was Uchiha Nagi hiding his strength? And why would he do that?

Mikoto was curious, but she didn't think it would be appropriate to ask. She could only try to figure it out by observing him.

Inside Konoha.

"Nagi, one o'clock. Mikoto, ten o'clock," Namikaze Minato called.

"Got it!"

Uchiha Mikoto answered and quickly took her position.

Uchiha Nagi strolled over to his position too, blocking the path of a cat that looked fat but was surprisingly nimble.

When it realized the path ahead was blocked, the cat had no choice but to turn around and charge at the only person there: Namikaze Minato.

Its instincts told it that one person would be easier to deal with than two.

It would use its agility to toy with him, then make a clean getaway.

That was what it always did, and this time would be no different.

The cat charged out with "confidence," moving incredibly fast.

As it darted past Namikaze Minato, a humanlike look of disdain appeared on its face.

But in the next moment, it realized it couldn't move.

Namikaze Minato had grabbed the cat by the scruff from behind. It wasn't that he couldn't have caught it from the front; that would just have risked getting scratched.

"Mission complete." Namikaze Minato held up the cat and smiled at Uchiha Nagi and Mikoto.

"Minato really does have faster reflexes than a cat," Uchiha Nagi remarked, watching the scene.

Mikoto nodded. She had tried catching cats herself and found that the ones in the village were far from easy to catch.

"Hahaha, well done!" Jiraiya said with a loud laugh as he came over.

He looked at Namikaze Minato with an expression that said he'd known it all along. He had already thought Minato's reflexes were incredibly fast, and now he'd seen that he was right.

"Teacher, what's our next mission?" Namikaze Minato asked.

For the past few days, most of their missions had been odd jobs, like catching cats or helping people weed their gardens...

But they didn't really mind.

Namikaze Minato's personality meant he wouldn't object to Jiraiya's arrangements, and Uchiha Mikoto was much the same.

As for Uchiha Nagi, he had even less to complain about.

He could earn money just by weeding and catching cats, and the pay wasn't bad either. Only a fool would turn that down.

If he could, Uchiha Nagi would happily take missions like these for the rest of his life.

But he knew that wasn't possible. These missions were meant for newly graduated Genin.

And during a time like this, there were even fewer of them. Jiraiya could get his hands on these missions because he was the Third Hokage's student.

"Yeah, Teacher Jiraiya, do you have any more missions like these? Let's take a few more," Uchiha Nagi added.

Jiraiya looked at Uchiha Nagi strangely. Not just members of the Uchiha Clan—even ordinary people usually got excited after becoming Genin.

After doing a few missions like these, most would complain and ask for something more challenging.

So why did it seem like Uchiha Nagi wasn't complaining at all? He actually seemed to be enjoying himself.

Then Jiraiya remembered Uchiha Nagi's dream. Could he really mean it?

That... seemed a little strange for an Uchiha.

Jiraiya cleared his throat.

"Well, little Nagi still wants to do these missions, but unfortunately, we've already finished all the ones of this type."

Jiraiya was a little troubled too. Because of the war, so many people had graduated this time that getting his hands on as many missions as he had was already an achievement.

"That's too bad."

Uchiha Nagi sighed. A mission this safe and easy, with decent pay, was one less every time he took it.

"Don't be discouraged. I've found you a good mission," Jiraiya said mysteriously.

"Hm?"

The three of them turned their attention to Jiraiya.

"You'll be escorting supplies to the front lines," Jiraiya explained. "It's only an escort mission, with no other requirements, so it should be fairly safe."

Uchiha Nagi noticed something off about what Jiraiya had said.

"Teacher, aren't you coming with us?"

If Jiraiya came along, then as long as they didn't act recklessly, there shouldn't be any danger at all.

Jiraiya nodded with a helpless look.

"As your teacher, I have to follow the Hokage's orders. I can't just show up on the battlefield whenever I want."