Kazahana Koyuki

Yuun handed the water flask to the little girl. Seeing that she had no intention of taking it, he set it on the ground and stepped back a few paces. When she still did not pick it up, Yuun could only shake his head helplessly and carry the pot of fish soup back into the room.

"Thank you," the little girl whispered after Yuun disappeared around the corner of the corridor.

Yuun, who had already returned to the room with the fish soup, did not care about the little girl's gratitude. To him, he had merely lent a hand because he happened to come across her. The world was vast, and there were many people who needed help. Yuun could not help every single one of them. The only thing he could do was help when he saw someone in need and had the means to do so.

Yuun was enthusiastically welcomed by Hana when he returned with the fish soup. Of the three, she was the one least able to endure hunger. Fortunately, Yuun and Itachi usually made a point of giving in to her. Itachi did not particularly like fish soup, but he found it much more acceptable than grilled fish. As for Yuun, he did not care much. There was nothing he especially liked to eat, though he hated all spicy food.

"Mmm, Yuun's cooking keeps getting better." Hana cradled the steaming fish soup and beamed. "I've decided. When I grow up, I'll marry Yuun."

"Leaving aside how shameless it is to marry someone over a single meal," Yuun said with a wry smile, smacking his forehead, "I'm obviously a boy, aren't I? Even if you want me to cook for you, you can't say you'll marry me!"

"What?" Hana pouted dismissively. "Yuun, you're so stingy."

"Ah..." Just as Yuun was about to teach Hana some common sense, the passenger ship's whistle suddenly sounded. Its long blast was deafening, but smiles appeared on the three children's faces. It meant they were nearly at land. None of them got seasick, but anyone who had spent a long time on land would find it unbearable to stay on a ship for days on end.

"We're finally here. Huh, what's that?" Yuun ran onto the deck and saw three tiny black dots speeding toward them from the distant shore. They were skimming over the sea itself. At that speed, they were clearly flying rather than running across the water. "Byakugan!"

With his Byakugan activated, Yuun finally saw them clearly. The three black dots were unmistakably ninjas wearing strange armor—two men and one woman. The woman was flying, while the two men stood on peculiar boards and approached as though skating.

"Who are they?" Itachi came over. His one-tomoe Sharingan was already active. Though his eyesight was still inferior to Yuun's, it far surpassed that of ordinary people. Once he saw Yuun activate the Byakugan, he too noticed the three approaching figures.

"I don't know, but they don't come in peace." Yuun frowned. Even from this distance, he could still see the chakra flowing through their bodies. The weakest man was much stronger than an ordinary Chunin, while the strongest was probably close to Jonin level. Combined with their strange armor, Yuun truly worried that the three of them would not be their match in a real fight. "Huh..."

"What is it?" Having partnered with Yuun for nearly two years, Itachi knew him fairly well. There were not many situations that could make Yuun show such an expression.

"One piece of good news, and one piece of news that's neither good nor bad." Yuun shrugged. He had indeed been careless. At some point, two Jonin-level people had slipped aboard the ship: Zabuza Momochi and Kakashi Hatake. These two future rivals had boarded without anyone noticing. Since they were at sea, Yuun only scanned the entire ship with his Byakugan once each morning and evening, so he had failed to discover them. They had likely snuck aboard in the morning or around noon. "There's a senior hiding atop the mast. He should be Kakashi Hatake, who became a Jonin a few years ago. There's also someone hiding in the cabin who is at least Jonin level, but he's injured, so he shouldn't pose a threat to us."

"Kakashi?" Itachi's brow furrowed slightly. The Uchiha clan and Kakashi did not exactly get along. After all, Kakashi possessed the Sharingan, something considered scarce even within the Uchiha clan. "Didn't he leave before us?"

"I don't know either, but there's a woman wrapped in a blanket beside him. She's an ordinary person." Yuun turned and called toward the mast, "Senior Kakashi, stop hiding. I've already found you."

"Uchiha? Hyuga?" Kakashi, dressed in a black bodysuit, leaped down from the mast with a girl in his arms. "Why are you here?"

"We came here to carry out a mission." Seeing that Yuun and Itachi did not seem inclined to explain, Hana spoke up. The Inuzuka clan and the Hatake Clan were on fairly good terms, so she knew Kakashi.

"Your Highness!" Before Kakashi could say anything more, Sandayu, Yuun and the others' client, heard the commotion on deck and ran outside. The moment he saw the girl in Kakashi's arms, he froze in shock, then hurried over to ask after her well-being.

"We're escorting this girl to Snow Country." Since even their client did not mind, Yuun did not mind explaining. It would be troublesome if there were any misunderstandings.

"Sir Ninja, what happened to my princess?" Sandayu cautiously checked the girl's breathing and only relaxed after finding nothing wrong.

"Who are you?" Kakashi watched Sandayu with guarded eyes. If not for the man's standard Snow Country attire, Kakashi would have already driven away this stranger who had rushed over shouting.

"I am Asama Sandayu, the envoy Snow Country sent to Konoha for aid." Sandayu anxiously asked, "What happened to Lord Sōsetsu? Why is Princess Koyuki here?"

Seeing that Sandayu's anxious expression did not seem feigned, Kakashi finally explained, "Doto Kazahana launched a rebellion and killed Snow Country's daimyo, Kazahana Sōsetsu. Before he died, Lord Sōsetsu entrusted Her Highness to me and told me to take her out of Snow Country."

"Lord Sōsetsu!" Upon hearing the terrible news, Sandayu could not help crying out in grief.

"Senior Kakashi, those three over there wouldn't happen to be after you, would they?" Yuun said with some dissatisfaction. Kakashi clearly could not take on three opponents alone, which meant Yuun's group would have to deal with the remaining enemies. That was far too much for three people whose strength was, at most, Chunin level. Besides, their mission was only B-rank; they were not supposed to face Jonin-level enemies.

"I'll share my mission with you. I'll only take twenty percent of the reward," Kakashi said calmly. Having completed hundreds of missions, fought on the battlefield, and killed many enemies, Kakashi could tell at a glance roughly how strong Yuun's group was. They deserved the title of geniuses. Even he had only been about this strong at their age.

"An A-rank Mission?" All three of their eyes lit up. Although this was only their first B-rank Mission, that did not mean they knew nothing about A-rank Missions. If a B-rank Mission's reward could let a family live comfortably for several months, then an A-rank Mission paid at least five times as much. And it was not merely about the reward. Completing an A-rank Mission would add a substantial entry to their records, and whenever opportunities for promotion arose in the future, the village would consider them first.

After estimating the distance of the three enemies, Yuun suggested that they needed one minute to discuss matters. Kakashi readily agreed. With his strength, escaping alone would pose no difficulty at all. However, protecting Kazahana Koyuki at the same time left him stretched thin. With three capable companions, things would become much easier.