Teammates Sent to Watch Him
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up at the woman with glasses.
This is my personal secretary/assistant, who is usually responsible for delivering and processing trivial documents and other tasks.
"Lord Third Generation, there are results regarding the investigation you commissioned from the intelligence department."
"This is all the information we found, which has been compiled and summarized. Please take a look."
The beautiful secretary handed a stack of documents to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
These are all materials and information about the Land of Sea that Hiruzen Sarutobi to be investigated previously.
Hiruzen Sarutobi saw that the intelligence data compiled and summarized by historians from Konoha and even the entire Land of Fire did indeed contain records about the Land of Sea.
However, that country is said to have existed thousands of years ago, but gradually faded from the stage of history during the subsequent changes in the Ninja World, disappearing into the long river of history.
According to historical records, the legendary Land of Sea does indeed exist in a very, very distant overseas region.
The few verifiable records even state that it is a country that ordinary people can never reach.
To reach the Land of Sea, one must cross the vast, endless ocean and sail for 108,000 li.
However, the weather at sea is unpredictable, with frequent storms, torrential rain, lightning, and thunder, and towering waves that swallow countless lives every year.
Very few are able to arrive safely from ocean voyages.
This is also a major reason why there is almost no evidence of communication Land of Sea and the Ninja World.
They are really too far apart.
In the past, several daimyo from various countries in the Ninja World had attempted to send delegations to sea to search for this legendary Land of Sea.
However, all the missions that set out, no matter how large the fleet, never returned.
In addition, the Ninja World has been plagued by constant warfare for thousands of years, making the situation extremely unstable.
All countries are busy preparing for war and developing their economies, leaving them with no extra time, energy, or money to do anything else.
So, the matter was eventually dropped.
After reviewing the documents in his hand, Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a puff of smoke into the distance.
"So... this Lin Yan really might actually be from the Land of Sea."
Was he not lying?
Hiruzen Sarutobi muttered to himself in thought.
After a moment, he looked up at his beautiful secretary, nodded, and said, "Thank you for your hard work. It's late, you should go home and rest."
The next day, the sun rose.
Lin Yan led Naruto to the training ground outside the village for the same training as the previous day.
After a while, Sasuke and Itachi, the two brothers, appeared here, bathed in the morning sun.
"Naruto, Sasuke, you two, practice the movements carefully according to yesterday's instructions."
Lin Yan noticed that Itachi's expression was off. After instructing the two boys to practice on their own, he and Itachi went to the side to talk.
"The Third Hokage appointed me and Kakashi to team up with you."
Who is Kakashi?
"A member of the ANBU like me."
"Oh? You've started to trust me?"
Lin Yan smiled knowingly.
However, Uchiha remained silent.
He gazed into the distance at his younger brother Sasuke, who was earnestly practicing taijutsu techniques with Naruto, even with a hint of competition between them, before speaking again after a while.
"You'll have a task to perform today, nothing too difficult, so don't be too nervous."
"Just follow us."
"How much?"
Lin Yan blurted out the question.
"?"
Itachi looked over in surprise, seemingly not expecting that Lin Yan was only concerned about this issue.
"Ninjas need to eat, so should I?"
Lin Yan explained with a smile.
Itachi nodded. "The reward for a Rank B mission is generally between 50,000 and 150,000 taels."
"Our reward for today's mission is 150,000 taels of silver. This is the money we'll receive, which we'll divide equally among you, me, and Kakashi- senpai."
Lin Yan stroked her chin thoughtfully and said, "That's 50,000 taels per person."
"This little bit of money isn't much... It'll be gone in one meal for Naruto, but for me it'll be gone in one meal."
Itachi said he had no way to respond to that.
He simply kept quiet.
When do we depart?
Seeing that Itachi remained silent, Lin Yan asked.
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a figure suddenly leaped out of the woods and landed beside the two people under the shade of a tree.
He wore an animal mask and dressed in a manner indistinguishable from other members of the ANBU.
However, Lin Yan knew his identity just by looking at his long, silvery-white hair.
"This is Kakashi- senpai."
Itachi introduced himself.
Kakashi looked Lin Yan over and calmly said, "Since this is your first mission, you must follow orders in all actions."
"I'm Kakashi, the team leader. I'll be explaining the mission's content and requirements to you now."
"We need to escort a merchant who came to Konoha on business back to his home country, the Land of Hot Water."
"But according to the intelligence we've received, this merchant has been targeted by enemy ninjas, which means we might encounter them on our way."
"We'll need to play it by ear when the time comes..."
Kakashi explained the mission details to the two of them.
Upon hearing that it was just a low-level task like escorting a merchant, Lin Yan curled her lip.
"Let's set off now."
Kakashi added.
After speaking, he glanced out of the woods and looked at Naruto and Sasuke, who were training in the distance.
A hint of surprise flickered in his eyes.
"I'll go and talk to them."
Lin Yan walked directly towards Naruto and Sasuke.
Seeing his actions, Kakashi asked Itachi, "Does the Third Hokage know about this?"
"I have already told Lord Sandai."
Upon hearing this, Kakashi said no more.
He knew Naruto's identity; he knew that this child was the biological son of his teacher Minato Namikaze.
But Kakashi couldn't say it.
Because the village leadership issued an order that, in order to protect Naruto, the secret that he is the Nine-Tails 'Jinchūriki must never be revealed.
Therefore, keeping the child in a low-profile manner and avoiding attracting attention is the best way to protect him.
But now, Kakashi never expected that Naruto would actually get involved with someone from the Uchiha Clan.
The two little ones seem to get along quite well.
However, rumors circulated that the Uchiha Clan controlled the Nine-Tails and attacked Konoha, a matter that has yet to be fully investigated.
Kakashi didn't want to speculate too much, but those thoughts kept popping into his mind uncontrollably.
He was a little worried.
If Naruto gets too close to the Uchiha Clan, something unexpected might happen.
However, Kakashi did not express these thoughts.
Now that the Third Hokage knows everything, let's leave it to him to decide.
The two waited for a while before Lin Yan returned.
Let's go.
Which way to go?
Looking around, Lin Yan turned to look back at Kakashi and Itachi.
Neither of them spoke. They leaped up into the tree and hurried back towards the village.
Seeing this, Lin Yan followed.