Although Tazuna was somewhat dissatisfied, he had commissioned a C-rank mission. It was already fortunate that Konoha had assigned a Jonin like Kakashi to lead the team.
Naruto and the others might be a little unreliable, but with Kakashi there, things should be relatively safe.
After Kakashi and the others left, the Third Hokage wore a troubled expression and complained, "Kakashi will have to put a lot of effort into teaching Naruto properly."
"Would you like to go out on a mission, too?"
The Third Hokage asked Yeyu.
Yeyu looked up, thought for a moment, then said, "Sure, that works."
"We'll see when an opportunity comes up. There haven't been any particularly difficult missions lately," the Third Hokage said.
Yeyu smiled. "Why does it have to be a particularly difficult mission?"
The Third Hokage explained, "You need to build up your mission record. Taking on more difficult missions will benefit you."
The Third Hokage intended for Yeyu to accumulate a number of high-difficulty missions, preferably S-rank ones.
That way, even if Yeyu completed relatively few missions, he would still have earned the respect of others.
The Third Hokage genuinely wanted Yeyu to take over the Hokage Position before he turned twenty.
He couldn't afford to wait for Yeyu to build up his record gradually.
With Yeyu's strength, there were basically no ninja in the Ninja World who could threaten him.
The Third Hokage was also comfortable sending him out on difficult missions.
Yeyu said nothing more and nodded.
But there weren't that many S-rank missions, especially during peacetime.
Even A-rank missions were uncommon, and S-rank missions were rarer still.
The Third Hokage naturally couldn't send Yeyu on missions below B-rank. That would be a complete waste of time.
It had been over a month since Yeyu graduated from the Ninja Academy, and he still hadn't gone on a single mission.
During that time, his work had consisted of helping the Third Hokage organize documents. He was more like a civil servant than a ninja.
Most of the documents Yeyu organized, however, contained Konoha's secrets.
Still, in Yeyu's eyes, they weren't much different from ordinary documents.
About a week passed.
There still hadn't been any missions rated A-rank or higher.
Yeyu still hadn't gone out on a mission.
But today, an A-rank mission came up.
It was an escort mission.
And Yeyu knew the person who had come to Konoha to commission it.
He hadn't recognized him at first, but once the man gave his name, Yeyu remembered.
His name was Asama Sandayu.
The moment he heard the name, Yeyu realized this was a mission from the Land of Snow.
But wasn't Team 7 supposed to take on the Land of Snow mission?
Team 7 hadn't returned yet, though.
In the Hokage Office, Asama Sandayu pleaded earnestly with the Third Hokage. "Third Hokage, Miss Fujikaze will be going to the Land of Snow to shoot a movie this time. Her safety is extremely important, so please have your village assign several Jonin to accompany and protect her."
"We'll pay the full fee."
The Third Hokage looked at Asama Sandayu with a troubled expression. "Several Jonin?"
"Mr. Asama, I'm sorry, but our village has a limited number of Jonin. We probably won't be able to provide several."
"At the moment, the most we can assign is one Jonin."
Many of Konoha's Jonin were already occupied with other matters.
Several Jonin could take on an S-rank mission together.
Even if a few Jonin really were available, this was only an A-rank escort mission. It wasn't enough to warrant sending several Jonin.
Asama Sandayu hesitated.
As if he had made up his mind, he said, "We're willing to raise the mission's rank to S and pay the corresponding fee."
The Third Hokage waved a hand. "Mr. Asama, this isn't about money."
"We really can only provide one Jonin at the moment."
Asama Sandayu didn't seem very pleased.
But there was nothing he could do. They were out of time.
So he could only nod. "Then I'll leave the arrangements to you, Third Hokage. Please make sure to assign a powerful Jonin. Nothing can happen to Miss Fujikaze."
The Third Hokage smiled. "You can rest assured. Miss Fujikaze is a major star in the Land of Fire, so naturally we'll take her safety very seriously."
Fujikaze Yukie, also known as Kazahana Koyuki, had made a name for herself in the Land of Fire. She was a very famous star.
She was well-known even in Konoha.
The Third Hokage naturally understood how important this escort mission was.
The Third Hokage quickly contacted the Jonin assigned to the mission.
A short while later, the Jonin he had contacted walked in.
"Lord Hokage, you wanted to see me?"
The person who entered was Mitaraishi Anko.
She was Orochimaru's student and a Special Jonin.
This was Yeyu's first time meeting Mitaraishi Anko, too.
Seeing that the person who entered was a female ninja, Asama Sandayu breathed a sigh of relief.
After all, a female ninja would find it more convenient to protect Kazahana Koyuki.
He just didn't know how strong she was.
The Third Hokage said to Anko, "Anko, there's an A-rank escort mission. I'm planning to assign it to you."
Anko agreed without hesitation.
An A-rank mission posed no difficulty for her.
The Third Hokage introduced her to the client. "This is Mr. Asama Sandayu, the client for this mission. He's also Miss Fujikaze Yukie's manager."
"Your mission is to escort Miss Fujikaze Yukie to the Land of Snow so she can shoot a movie."
"I'm sure you know who Miss Fujikaze Yukie is. Make sure she stays safe."
Mitaraishi Anko frowned slightly.
"Protecting a star?"
She wasn't very keen on the idea.
Protecting a star was much more troublesome than protecting an ordinary person.
The Third Hokage asked, "Is there a problem?"
Anko thought for a moment, then said, "Protecting a star isn't particularly dangerous, but it is troublesome."
Asama Sandayu, standing nearby, wanted to say that it wouldn't be so troublesome.
But when he thought of Kazahana Koyuki's personality, he couldn't bring himself to say it.
It really would be troublesome.
The Third Hokage nodded. "I'll assign you an assistant this time. Take him with you on the mission so he can gain experience."
Anko looked puzzled. "Who?"
"I'm not an instructor."
Yeyu, who had been sitting off to the side watching, had a feeling the Third Hokage was talking about him.
Just as he furrowed his brow, the Third Hokage looked over at Yeyu.
Yeyu thought, As expected. But how did this mission end up falling to me?
Doesn't that mean Team 7 won't get the chance to take on this mission?
Anko followed the Third Hokage's gaze and looked at Yeyu.
Asama Sandayu looked over at Yeyu as well.
He hadn't noticed earlier, but Yeyu was incredibly young—not just young, but still a child.
Isn't this kid under fourteen? Asama Sandayu wondered.
Anko looked at Yeyu, curious. "You mean him, Lord Hokage?"
Anko had heard about Yeyu.
After all, she was a Special Jonin, and Yeyu's story was no secret among Konoha's Jonin.
They simply didn't know what was so special about Yeyu that the Third Hokage had promoted him straight to Chunin and even made him Hokage Assistant.
Yeyu had only just graduated.
Yet he had been given such a high position right away.
Even the Third Hokage's own son hadn't received that kind of treatment.
Asuma was still living in the dormitory.
But Yeyu was already living in a luxurious apartment.
Before you continue