S-Rank Mission

Time flowed slowly.

Half a month had passed since Uchiha Aoba became a Jonin and joined the Anbu.

During this period, acting on the instructions of Sarutobi Hiruzen, he went to meet Namikaze Minato.

This renowned "Little Sun" of the village, a big figure who had already carved out the fearsome reputation of the "Yellow Flash" in the ninja world, was visibly delighted to learn that Uchiha Aoba had joined the Anbu and would be serving under him.

Come to think of it, Uchiha Aoba and Namikaze Minato were no strangers to each other.

After all, there was the connection through Uchiha Obito, and on top of that, he was in the same graduating class as Kakashi Hatake and the others.

They had known each other for a long time and were quite familiar.

Consequently, Namikaze Minato was very accommodating when it came to assigning missions to Uchiha Aoba.

Although Uchiha Aoba did not particularly want this kind of special treatment—compared to serving as a guard for Sarutobi Hiruzen at the Hokage Building, which in his past life would be called being a security guard, he preferred to be out killing enemies.

Furthermore, Uchiha Aoba had been waiting for news of Sarutobi Hiruzen sending him to the Iwagakure front lines.

Yet, half a month had passed, and there was still no movement.

Instead, another S-rank mission arrived quietly.

This day.

Uchiha Aoba was on leave and had arranged to meet Uchiha Obito and the others to try out the newly opened Ichiraku Ramen.

The friends hadn't seen each other in a long time, and they chatted while waiting in line.

Just as they were listening to Uchiha Obito brag about how "heroic" he had been during the Chunin Exams.

Kakashi Hatake mocked him from the side, pointing out that in reality, he had been eating candy during the battle, choked on it, failed to perform a Fire Style jutsu, and was instantly defeated by a kick from Might Guy.

This caused Uchiha Obito to lose his composure instantly, and in a fit of rage, he demanded a duel with Kakashi Hatake.

An Anbu operative suddenly appeared.

"Uchiha Aoba, Kakashi Hatake, the Hokage requests your presence."

Everyone stopped their horseplay.

Uchiha Aoba and Kakashi Hatake exchanged a glance and nodded in unison, replying, "Understood, we are going now."

As soon as the words fell, the Anbu member vanished from the spot.

"It seems we won't have the pleasure of enjoying the newly opened Ichiraku Ramen today."

Uchiha Aoba bid farewell to the others, then quickly ran toward the Hokage Building with Kakashi Hatake.

Before long, they arrived at the office door.

They knocked twice.

"Lord Hokage, Uchiha Aoba and Kakashi Hatake reporting for duty."

"Come in."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice came from within.

The two pushed the door open and entered, only to be startled.

Inside the office, besides Sarutobi Hiruzen, there were three other people.

They were Namikaze Minato, Shibi Aburame, and Choza Akimichi.

"Lord Hokage."

Uchiha Aoba and Kakashi Hatake first bowed to Sarutobi Hiruzen, then greeted the three men standing to the side one by one.

"Lord Minato, Senior Shibi, Senior Choza."

"Hello."

The men smiled and nodded in response.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke with a serious expression: "Uchiha Aoba, Kakashi Hatake, I have summoned you here to assist Minato in carrying out an important mission."

"The mission rank is S-rank."

"Yes, Lord Hokage!"

Uchiha Aoba's eyes lit up, and he accepted immediately.

Kakashi Hatake followed suit.

An S-rank mission.

The reward provided by the system for this alone would be a full 4% template synchronization rate.

If they encountered enemies and participated in the kills.

Tsk tsk, how wonderful.

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded in satisfaction and continued to explain: "This mission stems from the fact that after Sunagakure's defeat, as part of the war reparations, some of their commissioned missions were transferred to us in Konoha."

"The situation for this mission concerns a town called Rōran on the border of the Land of Wind."

"Namikaze Minato will inform you of the specific details; now, go and prepare yourselves, and depart as soon as possible."

"Yes!"

The five of them replied in unison before leaving the Hokage's office together.

Outside the building.

Namikaze Minato said gently, "You all have half an hour to organize your gear. Meet at the Konoha gate afterward."

Uchiha Aoba nodded in agreement, then parted ways with the others.

Back home, he quickly selected the ninja tools he might need for the mission from his equipment chest.

This included kunai, shuriken, steel wire, and a long sword.

Suddenly.

Uchiha Aoba's movements paused as he organized his gear.

Land of Wind, Rōran?

The Lost Tower!?

Uchiha Aoba realized belatedly that this mission was exactly the plot of the seventh theatrical film he had watched in his previous life. This meant he might encounter Naruto Uzumaki, who had traveled through time from the future.

Interesting.

A smile appeared on Uchiha Aoba's face. He wondered how much fusion progress a single puppet inside would be worth.

Ten minutes later.

Uchiha Aoba arrived at the Konoha gate, where Kakashi Hatake was already waiting.

"Yo, you got here pretty fast."

"I didn't have much to prepare, so naturally, I was quick."

Kakashi said in a flat tone.

"I heard you were promoted to Jonin as well."

"Yeah, so? Are you going to give me a Jonin promotion gift?" Uchiha Aoba asked with a smile.

"..."

Kakashi was speechless.

"I didn't even ask you for a gift."

"Come to think of it, it's been a long time since we sparred. When should we find time for a match?"

"How about after this mission ends?"

Uchiha Aoba suggested, "I'm also very curious to see how much you've grown in the years since you graduated."

"It's a deal, then." Kakashi nodded in agreement.

During their brief chat, Namikaze Minato, Shibi Aburame, and Choza Akimichi arrived one after another.

"Since everyone is here—although we are all familiar with each other—as per custom, please introduce yourselves. I am Namikaze Minato, the captain for this mission. I specialize in the Body Flicker Technique and Wind Release."

Namikaze Minato's expression was gentle as he smiled.

"I am Shibi Aburame. I specialize in insect control."

"I am Choza Akimichi. I specialize in the Multi-Size Technique."

"I am Kakashi Hatake. I specialize in swordsmanship and Lightning Release."

"I am Uchiha Aoba. I specialize in swordsmanship, taijutsu, and ninjutsu. I have already awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan."

Upon hearing the last sentence, both Shibi Aburame and Choza Akimichi turned their gazes toward him.

Seeing this, Uchiha Aoba thought they were questioning him.

The next second, he activated his Sharingan.

The three tomoe spun within his pupils, carrying an intangible sense of pressure.

"Is there a problem?"

At these words.

Because Shibi Aburame was wearing sunglasses and his high collar obscured his face, his expression was unreadable.

Choza Akimichi gave an awkward laugh. "No, it's just surprising, that's all."

Seeing the atmosphere become somewhat awkward.

Namikaze Minato quickly said, "Alright, we need to cooperate with each other from here on out."

"Let's head out of the village now. I will explain the specific mission details on the road."

"Yes!"

Uchiha Aoba deactivated his Sharingan and replied.

He had to give Namikaze Minato face; at this stage, the man was definitely someone he could rely on.

(The plot of the Lost Tower has been slightly modified by me, and the timeline has also been adjusted. In short, everything in this book takes precedence.)