Konoha's C-Rank Mission?

"Kuchiki Kei, big sister."

"What is it?"

"What kind of place is the Land of Waterfalls?"

On a narrow path through the woods, a carriage rolled along at a leisurely pace, accompanied by a white-haired man and a blond boy.

Kuchiki Kuroi was driving the carriage. Inside, Yueshu, Kushina, Mikoto, and Kuchiki Kei sat together. Minato Namikaze was well-behaved and had volunteered to ride outside with Jiraiya to escort the carriage.

It had to be said: women's friendships were truly strange. In just a few days, Kushina and Mikoto had become quite close with their employer, Kuchiki Kei.

Yueshu leaned back in the carriage, watching the three women chatting.

"The Land of Waterfalls?"

Kuchiki Kei paused, as if trying to remember.

"It's a very, very small place. So small that you could call it a village rather than a country. It might not even be as big as Konoha."

Kuchiki Kei smiled. Her smile was undeniably captivating—pure and innocent.

Honestly, Yueshu admired Kuchiki Kuroi, who was driving the carriage outside. He was a merchant, yet his daughter was so pure and innocent. That was impressive.

"Huh? It's that small?"

Kushina was stunned. Mikoto listened quietly beside her.

"Mm. It's very, very small. And so are its people."

"Then why are you going there to do business? How would that work?"

Hearing Kushina's question, Kuchiki Kei smiled again.

"Who told you we were going there to do business?"

"It says so in the mission details."

Kushina and Mikoto looked at Kuchiki Kei, waiting for an answer. Yueshu glanced over at her, too.

Wasn't he a merchant?

Yueshu narrowed his eyes. In his view, this mission wasn't a C-rank one at all, so he'd stayed alert the whole time.

"Well, that's not entirely wrong. Everything in this carriage was bought with money contributed by everyone in the village. Dad was a merchant when he was young, so he was put in charge of the shopping."

"Is that so?"

"The village is small and remote. Everyone's used to staying there, and they've never seen the outside world. I suppose most of them would be a little afraid."

As Kuchiki Kei spoke about her village, her eyes softened.

Anyone would probably think she was a gentle person.

"Is that so? Kuchiki Kei, big sister, you're amazing."

"You're so kind, Kuchiki Kei, big sister."

Kushina and Mikoto were immediately touched by what Kuchiki Kei had done. They weren't the only ones; even Yueshu couldn't help admiring her.

Crossing the border for the sake of the villagers was certainly admirable, but also very strange!

Going to all that trouble just for everyday goods seemed more than a little odd.

Yueshu's rational side occasionally made its presence felt rather strongly.

As he thought this, an unexpected change came without warning.

The carriage was forced to stop. Since it hadn't been moving very fast, the sudden halt didn't cause any trouble.

The people inside were jostled a few times, then heard an explosion nearby.

"Yueshu, Kushina, Mikoto, protect Miss Kuchiki Kei."

Jiraiya's voice came from outside the carriage, sounding grave.

Yueshu usually seemed lazy and laid-back, but when the moment came, it took him only an instant to adopt a different bearing.

The bearing of a shinobi.

"Protect Miss Kuchiki. Let's get outside first."

Yueshu spoke to Kushina and Mikoto, then jumped out of the carriage ahead of them.

There was no way to see what was happening from inside. The right choice was to get outside and assess the situation.

Once outside, he saw Jiraiya fighting three people, while Minato Namikaze protected Kuchiki Kuroi.

Clearly, even while fighting three opponents at once, Jiraiya had the advantage as one of the Sannin. Minato Namikaze, however, was at a disadvantage.

Enemies were attacking from every direction. Even Minato Namikaze, hailed as a genius, was being suppressed—and he also had Kuchiki Kuroi, an ordinary civilian, behind him to protect.

"Multi-Shadow Clone Technique!"

The situation wasn't good, so Yueshu couldn't be bothered to hide his abilities. He formed Hand Seals and used the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique.

As soon as Yueshu finished speaking, clones of him began appearing one after another, stunning everyone present. Kushina and Mikoto, who had just come out of the carriage, were no exception.

Taking advantage of the brief opening, Yueshu directed his Shadow Clones to rush forward.

Some used Taijutsu, while others used simple D-rank ninjutsu.

Their advantage in numbers immediately gave Yueshu's side the upper hand again, easing the pressure on Minato Namikaze.

As Minato Namikaze's opponents were driven back, the three masked shinobi facing Jiraiya exchanged glances.

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Song Technique!"

"Wind Style: Hurricane Blade!"

As if they'd read each other's minds, two of the three used a combined technique. The other enemies standing nearby received a signal from the third and began to retreat.

The wind fanned the flames into a fiery dragon, making it burn even hotter as it surged toward Jiraiya.

Behind Jiraiya stood four children and two civilians.

Jiraiya had no choice but to face the attack head-on. He couldn't retreat with people he needed to protect behind him.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"

Jiraiya formed the Hand Seals in a single second.

In this waterless area, a mass of water appeared out of nowhere, gathering into the shape of a dragon and charging toward the oncoming fire dragon.

Ssssss.

The water dragon collided with the fire dragon, and steam billowed into the air.

As expected of Jiraiya, one of the Sannin. He'd managed to cancel out the enemy's combined technique with a single Water Dragon Bullet.

Steam drifted through the air, and the surroundings grew hot and humid, as if they were in a sauna.

Yueshu and Minato Namikaze protected Kuchiki Kuroi, while Kushina and Mikoto protected Kuchiki Kei. Jiraiya exhaled as he looked at the empty space in front of him.

The attack had come rather suddenly. If Jiraiya hadn't reacted quickly and knocked the incoming Kunai with an Explosive Tag attached to it aside, the enemy would have succeeded.

Of course, Minato Namikaze's excellent performance had also played a part. Otherwise, while pinned down, Jiraiya wouldn't have been able to protect Kuchiki Kuroi.

The attack had been exceptionally well planned. Against an ordinary Jonin, it would probably have succeeded.

And there had been three Jonin involved.

Jiraiya thought it over, his expression turning serious.

This was no longer a C-rank mission. It was an A-rank mission, verging on S-rank.

There had been no fewer than three Jonin.

Jiraiya's expression remained grave as he turned toward Kuchiki Kuroi.

"Then, shouldn't I be given an explanation?"

"Mr. Kuchiki."

Jiraiya stared at Kuchiki Kuroi. Under his gaze, a few beads of sweat trickled down Kuchiki Kuroi's forehead.

"Allow me to explain, Lord Jiraiya."

Before Kuchiki Kuroi could speak, Kuchiki Kei—his "daughter," who was standing nearby—stepped forward and spoke first.

Everyone looked at Kuchiki Kei, wondering what she would say.

"It happened like this..."