Hearing Jiraiya's doubts, the Chunin replied awkwardly, "Ah, well, this caravan belongs to the family of the Land of Fire daimyo's mother, and it'll be passing through the war-torn Land of Grass, so, well..."
"I see," Jiraiya muttered, his tone flat. Since the daimyo's maternal family was willing to pay the reward for an A-Rank Mission, he couldn't complain too much, especially when he stood to benefit from it himself.
He glanced at Uchiha Matsuri and the others, who were quietly waiting nearby, then waved for them to follow him outside.
The corridor outside.
After hearing Jiraiya's explanation of the mission, Kiba Inuzuka couldn't help exclaiming.
"An A-Rank Mission! That's awesome!" Kiba shouted excitedly.
"Kiba, don't get ahead of yourself. The reward for an A-Rank Mission is certainly generous, but compared with the B-Rank Missions we've done before, this one is much more dangerous," Minato Namikaze said calmly.
"Not worried at all! We've got you and Jiraiya-sensei on our team, don't we? If enemy ninja attack, you two can handle them without breaking a sweat," Kiba said dramatically. Whether intentionally or not, he didn't mention Uchiha Matsuri.
"..."
At Kiba's overconfident remark, all three of them developed dark lines above their heads.
Then Kiba turned to Uchiha Matsuri, taking the opportunity to needle him. "Matsuri, don't hold Jiraiya and Minato back this time."
"..."
Hearing Kiba pick a fight with him, Uchiha Matsuri smiled wryly but didn't respond. When you got stuck with a teammate who went out of his way to provoke people, silence was about the only option.
"Ahem. Since you're all so excited, let me go over a few things," Jiraiya said, breaking the awkward silence. His expression turned serious. "This is the first time our team has taken on an A-Rank Mission, so don't let your guard down..."
For the next ten minutes, Jiraiya emphasized various safety precautions. When he was finished, he checked his watch, then said to the three of them, "You have an hour to go home and prepare your ninja tools. Meet back here in an hour."
"Yes."
Minato Namikaze and Kiba Inuzuka ran off in different directions.
That left only Jiraiya and Uchiha Matsuri in the corridor.
"Hey, Matsuri, why aren't you going home to prepare your ninja tools?" Jiraiya asked when he saw that Uchiha Matsuri hadn't headed home.
"Sensei, I prepared everything this morning." Uchiha Matsuri took out a scroll and waved it at Jiraiya.
"You're certainly thorough," Jiraiya said, unable to help praising him.
"Jiraiya-sensei, what do you think of Lord Orochimaru?" Uchiha Matsuri asked first, trying to break the awkward silence.
"That guy..." Jiraiya hesitated, then spoke slowly. "You wouldn't know it from how cold he usually is toward people, but he's actually a pretty good person at heart."
Uchiha Matsuri merely smiled at Jiraiya's candid assessment.
So Jiraiya hadn't noticed anything unusual about Orochimaru yet. Or perhaps Orochimaru hadn't started conducting human experiments with Danzo.
"By the way, what made you ask that all of a sudden?" Jiraiya asked.
"Nothing. I'm just curious about Lord Orochimaru. He's so hard to pin down," Uchiha Matsuri replied with a smile.
"Matsuri, what does being Hokage mean to you?" Jiraiya asked suddenly.
After thinking for a few seconds, Uchiha Matsuri answered frankly, "Being Hokage is a dangerous job, but it's also a respected one."
"Dangerous?" Jiraiya hadn't expected Uchiha Matsuri to describe the Hokage that way.
"Yeah. For example, the First fought the rogue ninja Uchiha Madara at the Valley of the End to protect the village. A few days after Uchiha Madara died, the First also passed away from a serious illness. The Second Hokage, his younger brother, fought powerful enemies like Kinkaku and Ginkaku all by himself during the First Shinobi World War, and died in battle."
"Likewise, most of the other nations' Kage throughout history met their ends on the battlefield. That's why I think being Hokage is a dangerous job," Uchiha Matsuri said calmly.
Jiraiya nodded, then asked, "If it's so dangerous, why do you want to become Hokage?"
"Just because," Uchiha Matsuri said with a smile. "It's my dream. Even if I might die in battle, I still want to become Hokage."
"At the Ninja Academy, Sensei Yuito taught us that we should always be prepared to die fighting for the village. Dan Katō, the leader of Team 6, felt the same way. His dream was to become Hokage, and he often reminded me that the greater your ability, the greater your responsibility."
"So a Genin or Chunin might sacrifice their life for a mission. But the Hokage may choose to give up his life to protect the entire village, or even the whole country. That's what makes the Hokage great and worthy of respect."
Uchiha Matsuri had a keen sense that Jiraiya's seemingly casual questions were likely part of an assessment by the Third Hokage.
So he didn't act overly stiff, nor did he recklessly point out the dark sides of the ninja world and Konoha's administration. Instead, he focused on the idea of "protecting everyone," voicing shared values that would make Jiraiya think he had inherited the so-called Will of Fire.
The hour passed in no time. Minato Namikaze and Kiba Inuzuka returned to the meeting point with their backpacks on.
Seeing that his subordinates were ready, Jiraiya swept his hand forward. "Let's go."
They had barely left the village when Kiba impatiently asked, "Jiraiya-sensei, where are we going?"
"Kyoto," Jiraiya said leisurely, walking along in his wooden sandals.
I've heard the women in Kyoto are exceptionally beautiful. I'll just have to see if the rumor is true, he thought with a lecherous grin.
Two days later.
In Kyoto.
"I've heard all about how prosperous Kyoto is, but seeing it for myself is astonishing!" Jiraiya said, folding his arms as he excitedly watched the merchants coming and going and the countless restaurants and shops lining the streets.
Kiba Inuzuka, who was also visiting this "big city" for the first time, was even more excited. Along the way, he pointed at everything, looking just like a country bumpkin who'd never been to town.
Of the four of them, only Minato Namikaze and Uchiha Matsuri remained unmoved by Kyoto's novelties. In terms of size and prosperity, Kyoto was no more than a large town by the standards of Uchiha Matsuri's previous life. Having lived in the "Magic City" of Shanghai, Kyoto held no appeal for him.
"The weather's nice today. Why don't we go soak in the hot springs first?" Jiraiya said suddenly, excitedly.
Before you continue