S-Rank Mission

Time passed slowly.

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

During that time, following Sarutobi Hiruzen's instructions, he had gone to meet Namikaze Minato.

The village's famous "little sun," who had also made a name for himself in the Shinobi World as the Yellow Flash, was delighted to learn that Uchiha Aoba had joined the Anbu and would be serving under him.

As it happened, Uchiha Aoba and Namikaze Minato weren't strangers.

After all, they were connected through Uchiha Obito, and Aoba had been in the same class as Kakashi and the others.

They'd known each other for a long time and were fairly familiar with one another.

As a result, Minato took special care when assigning missions to Aoba.

Aoba didn't want that kind of preferential treatment. Compared with guarding Sarutobi Hiruzen in the Hokage Building—in the words of his previous life, working as a security guard—he much preferred going out to kill enemies.

Besides, Uchiha Aoba had been waiting for Sarutobi Hiruzen to send him to the Iwagakure front.

But half a month had passed without the slightest word.

Instead, another S-rank mission came along.

That day,

Uchiha Aoba was on leave. He'd made plans to go to the newly opened Ichiraku Ramen with Obito and the others.

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

Aoba was listening to Uchiha Obito boast about how "heroic" he'd been during the Chunin Ninja Exams.

Kakashi, however, was making fun of him. In reality, Obito had eaten candy during the battle, choked on it, and been unable to perform his Fire Release jutsu. Might Guy had taken him out with a single kick.

Uchiha Obito instantly lost his cool and, flushed with embarrassment, challenged Kakashi to a duel.

A member of the Anbu suddenly appeared.

"Uchiha Aoba, Kakashi Hatake, Lord Hokage summons you."

Everyone stopped fooling around.

Aoba and Kakashi looked at each other, then nodded and answered in unison, "Understood. We'll go now."

As soon as they'd spoken, the Anbu member vanished.

"Looks like we'll have to wait a while before we can enjoy the newly opened Ichiraku Ramen today."

Uchiha Aoba said goodbye to the others, then hurried with Kakashi toward the Hokage Building.

They reached the office door in no time.

They knocked twice.

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

"Come in."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice came from inside.

The two opened the door and stepped in, then were both surprised.

Besides Sarutobi Hiruzen, there were three other people in the office.

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

"Lord Hokage."

Uchiha Aoba and Kakashi first bowed to Sarutobi Hiruzen, then greeted the three beside him in turn.

"Lord Minato—sensei—, Senior Shibi, Senior Choza."

"Hello."

The others smiled and nodded in response.

Once everyone had arrived, Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke in a serious tone. "Uchiha Aoba, Kakashi Hatake, I've summoned you to assist Minato with an important mission."

"The mission is S-rank."

"Yes, Lord Hokage!"

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

Kakashi followed right after.

An S-rank mission.

The system alone offered a reward of four percent template synchronization.

And if they ran into enemies and took part in killing them—

Tsk, that'd be great.

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded with satisfaction and continued, "After Sunagakure's defeat, some of their commissioned missions were assigned to Konoha as war reparations."

"This mission concerns a town called Rōran, near the border of the Land of Wind."

"Minato will explain the details. Go prepare, then set out as soon as possible."

"Yes!"

The five answered in unison, then left the Hokage Office together.

Outside the building,

Namikaze Minato said warmly, "You have half an hour to get your gear ready. After that, meet at the Konoha Gate."

Uchiha Aoba nodded, then parted ways with the others.

When he got home, he quickly picked out the ninja tools he might need from his equipment box.

Kunai, Shuriken, wire, and a long sword.

Suddenly,

Uchiha Aoba paused in the middle of sorting his gear.

The Land of Wind. Rōran?

The Lost Tower!?

Uchiha Aoba belatedly realized that this was the mission from the seventh movie he'd watched in his previous life. Did that mean he might meet Naruto Uzumaki, who'd traveled through time from the future?

Interesting.

A smile appeared on Uchiha Aoba's face. He wondered how much synchronization one of those puppets would be worth.

A little over ten minutes later,

Uchiha Aoba arrived at the Konoha Gate. Kakashi was already waiting there.

"Hey, you got here pretty fast."

"I didn't have much to prepare, so of course I was quick," Kakashi said flatly.

"I heard you became a jonin too."

"Yeah. What, are you going to give me a jonin promotion gift?" Uchiha Aoba asked with a grin.

"..."

Kakashi was speechless.

"I didn't ask you for a gift when I became one."

"Come to think of it, we haven't sparred in ages. When should we find time for a match?"

"How about after this mission?" Uchiha Aoba suggested. "I'd like to see how much you've grown since we graduated."

"Then it's settled." Kakashi nodded.

While they chatted, Namikaze Minato, Shibi Aburame, and Choza Akimichi arrived one after another.

"Now that everyone's here, even though we all know each other, let's introduce ourselves as a formality. I'm Namikaze Minato, the leader of this mission. I specialize in the Body Flicker Technique and Wind Release," Minato said with a warm smile.

"I'm Shibi Aburame. I specialize in controlling insects."

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

"I'm Kakashi Hatake. I specialize in swordsmanship and Lightning Release."

"I'm Uchiha Aoba. I specialize in swordsmanship, taijutsu, and ninjutsu, and I've awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan."

At that last remark, Shibi Aburame and Choza Akimichi both turned to look at him.

Uchiha Aoba assumed they doubted him.

The next second, he activated his Sharingan.

The three tomoe revolved in his pupils, giving off an invisible pressure.

"Is something wrong?"

At that,

Shibi Aburame's sunglasses and high collar hid his expression, making it impossible to see his face.

Choza Akimichi gave an awkward smile. "No. I'm just surprised, that's all."

Seeing the atmosphere turn awkward,

Namikaze Minato hurriedly said, "All right, we'll need to work together from here on."

"Let's leave the village first. I'll explain the mission along the way."

"Yes!"

Uchiha Aoba deactivated his Sharingan and answered.

He had to give Minato some respect. At this stage, Minato was absolutely someone he wanted on his side.

(I've made a few slight changes to the Lost Tower storyline, and adjusted the timeline as well. In short, this book's version is the one to go by.)